Thai Life
Thailand guides, travel tips, cultural insights, and essential local information—discover everything you need to know about living, visiting, and experiencing the Land of Smiles. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Thailand guides.
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The legend of the Emerging Buddha – Phuket History
PHUKET: Wat Phra Thong, or the “Temple of the Golden Buddha”, at first glance may seem like any other temple in Phuket. This old temple, located in Thalang district in the northern part of the island, was built during the 18th century towards the end of the Ayutthaya period. Walking into the main chapel, visitors will be greeted with a…
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An incandescent talent – Phuket Books
PHUKET: Since the death of Walker Percy in 1990, Robert Stone has been the Big Kahuna of American literature. Here is what he has to say about Rachel Kushner: “The controlled intensity and perception in Rachel Kushner’s novels mark her as one of the most brilliant writers of the new century.” There is no denying the power of Kushner’s prose.…
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The ins and outs of usufruct – Phuket Property Legal
PHUKET: The right of usufruct is rarely used and often overlooked when it comes to securing one´s interest in immovable property. Usually, lease rights are registered against the property – providing use and possession rights for the benefit of the beneficiary until the lease is terminated or expired. The right of usufruct, which is a property right, the same as…
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Construction: Thai Watsadu Phuket now open for business
PHUKET: Numbered are the days of expensive and overpriced construction, home improvement, furnishing, landscaping and gardening materials in Phuket: The Central Retail Group have officially opened the doors of their Thai Watsadu store on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang, just north of the Heroines Monument. Phuket Governor Maitree Inthusut presided over the ribbon cutting this morning, which was also attended by…
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AMCHAM real estate event
PHUKET: Tomorrow (Friday November 22) the American Chamber of Commerce Thailand (AMCHAM) will hold a real estate event at Angsana Laguna Phuket. Topics covered will include the trend in leasehold ownership, regulating real estate agencies in Thailand, big development news in Phuket real estate and current property tends. Shine PR’s, Natasha Eldred will moderate the event. Audience members will be…
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EKA – Putting her heart and soul into Phuket
PHUKET: Canadian born singer EKA recently arrived in Phuket and has begun performing with her newly formed band at venues around the island. More than a decade ago she was a member of the hit Canadian girl group “Jai” which topped the Canadian charts with their first single “Checking Me Out” for three weeks in 2000. After a long hiatus…
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Much ado about Ewan McGregor – Phuket Books
PHUKET: Movie star Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Booring rode big BMW motorcycles from London to New York, chronicled in the book and TV documentary The Long Way Around. Nathan Braund has published a book called The Wrong Way Round to Ewan McGregor (FeedARead Publishing, funded by the British Arts Council, UK, 2013, 220pp). This slim volume is based…
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Phuket Gardening: A maze in a month?
PHUKET: Some weeks ago, I received a most unusual, perhaps I should say labyrinthine email – a request from Phuket resident Alex Riva who explained: “I am planning to plant a hedge maze and was wondering what is the most cost effective and recommended type of hedge.” Somewhat bemused, I wrote back requesting more specific details. The reply included the…
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Phuket hotelier seeks help to give kids a break
PHUKET: They say “what you give is what you get”. But Simon Luttrell, a Phuket-based hotel owner wants to take it one step further. His goal is to give to people who have very little and expect nothing in return. It was 2005 when Simon built his first hotel in Phuket – a small building near the international airport. And…
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Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Disaster Relief Fund in Phuket
PHUKET: The Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Disaster Relief Fund was started by the Rotary Club of Patong Beach, and aims to collect funds for the victims of the recent natural disaster. The donations will be sent directly to Philippine Rotary Clubs in the affected areas over the next few days and weeks, before being allocated in the most effective way. Already…
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Beasties and beauties – Phuket Gardening
PHUKET: In a recent email, a colleague enclosed some photographs with the observation: “At home I came across this group of [tiny] mantids – about 100 minimum” which appeared to be mimicking ants. He added: “Have you ever seen so many?” My response was “No”, but I said I suspected they had just emerged from the safety of their protective…
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Diamond condo sparkles – Phuket Property
PHUKET: Diamond Condominium, the latest project to be developed in Phuket’s high-end Bang Tao Beach area, is located just 400 meters from the beach, and minutes from the Laguna resort complex. The six rai (9,600sqm) property will contain four separate buildings surrounding a central swimming pool and landscaped community recreation area. In all, the four buildings will contain 388 units…
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Monsoon season skies – Phuket Aviation
PHUKET: Air. Of all the things we take for granted in our life, few are as easily overlooked as that chemical soup that surrounds and sustains us, breath by breath. Air is easy to take for granted; after all, it is colorless and odorless. Unless you are climbing Mt Everest, trapped in an air-tight vault, or happen to live near…
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Light shined on blackouts – Phuket Diving
PHUKET: The death of PADI professional and freediving enthusiast Denis Lipatov last month brought into sharp focus the specter that continues to haunt the sport of freediving – shallow water blackouts (click here for article). Even the term “shallow water blackout” is rife with confusion within the freediving community, and even more so within the scuba diving community and general…
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Phuket Gardening – A fly in the ointment
PHUKET: Insects are one of the most successful forms life has taken on earth. There are as many as 1,800,000 different species, probably more. And there is no shortage of them here in Phuket. Any self-respecting gardener will be aware of these “critters”: they lurk everywhere in our carefully tended flower beds, shrubberies and vegetable plots. And they are a…
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Phuket Gardening – Full of Ficus
PHUKET: In Saint Luke’s Gospel, Christ delivers a parable about a fig tree, barren for three years, in which the owner is exhorted to cut it down. The owner pleads: “let it alone this year “so that he can “dig about it and dung it. And if it bears, well: And if not thou shalt cut it down.” In another…
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Due diligence on outstanding tax – Phuket Property Legal
PHUKET: When land and/or buildings are held by a Thai company, many owners of such companies, when contemplating a sale of the company owned property, require prospective purchasers to buy and take over their existing company in lieu of a direct sale and transfer of the underlying properties. In many cases, such companies have a low registered capital and face…
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A blessing in disguise – Phuket In Focus
PHUKET: “Under the weather” is one way to describe how I was initially feeling one Monday morning last month as I started traversing the city-block on foot, westward bound for the province’s prime asphalt artery, where I could catch a sawng taeo to work. My oversized umbrella – held down at my side like it had been the pride of…
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Parisian street art colors Phuket
PHUKET: Renowned French street artist Noe Two is a regular visitor to Phuket, having visited the island several times in the past to paint murals in his signature style of psychedelic colors and graffiti lettering. Perhaps his best known piece here is the portrait of a young Thai girl, painted on a wall in the historic Soi Romanee in old…
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A Princess in Phang Nga Bay – Phuket Lifestyle
PHUKET: What makes a boat luxurious is not only the boat itself, it’s the quality of service on board. Boat Lagoon Cruises Luxury Charters proved this point clearly on their recent promotional cruise. I’ve seen it all – the spacious interiors, attention to detail, high quality materials, a design that combines beauty with comfort. In many ways, the White Pearl…
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Phuket’s ice cream man
PHUKET: Having your own ice cream factory… admit it, you dreamed about it when you were a kid, but sadly for most of us, life ends up getting in the way. For executive chef Flavio Manzoni, however, this dream came true. Along with his wife Gai, Flavio churns out as many as five hundred liters of delicious, icy goodness a…
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Bumper to bumper in Myanmar – Phuket Property Watch
PHUKET: There is nothing quite like raw, naked ambition. Well not exactly, but that’s perhaps best left for another time and place. Last week I found myself straight in the middle of boomtown – Yangon, Myanmar. Stopping off as I usually do for an afternoon coffee at the historically-twinged Strand Hotel, the smiling waiter pulled out his smartphone and showed…
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Building for sustainability – Phuket property
PHUKET: The earth possesses a finite amount of natural resources – ores, timber, oils, for example – but our demand for those resources is growing exponentially. It is time we start looking at serious alternatives to help reduce the amount of waste we produce in our quest for ever more buildings. It doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to…
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Good music is forever – Phuket Events
PHUKET: Mamma mia, Phuket’s gone crazy! The tickets for the upcoming Abba Forever show sold out in days. Guests from as far as Manila, Paris and Shanghai are coming to the island to sing along and dance to the evergreen hits of the legendary Swedish pop group – Abba! But not to worry – if you missed the chance to…
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How the west was won and where it got us – Phuket Books
PHUKET: Comanches and Texas Rangers feature prominently in Philip Meyer’s new novel The Son (Ecco, New York, 2013, 561pp) and its popular success undoubtedly springs from the buying power of a legion of fans of Larry McMurthy’s Lonesome Dove. This 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork centered on two ageing ex-Texas Rangers and the villainous Comanche renegade Blue Duck. The Son goes…
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Figs for all tastes – Phuket Gardening
PHUKET: One of the stranger aspects of attempting an alphabetical survey of plants is that you end up with some odd bedfellows. Take the letter “F” for example. It embraces the huge genus of figs or ficus to give the family its botanical appellation. In Plant Materials in Thailand, no fewer than 24 different varieties are listed; they dominate the…
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Hats off to the PIWC
PHUKET: While Australia’s Melbourne Cup is regarded as one of the great horse races of the world, equally important is what goes on off the track. And it’s all to do with fashion – or more particularly, the hats. The focus of this colorful extravaganza is known as Fashions on the Field, a tradition at every function that celebrates this…
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The evolution of Phuket’s MAMILS
PHUKET: One of the more amusing acronyms that the current boom in all things cycling related has spawned is “MAMILS”. MAMILS are of course “Middle Aged Men In Lycra” and if the tabloid media are to be believed, the Western world is awash with these rather dubious sounding creatures. Certainly Phuket has not been spared this plague, as a brief…
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Phuket Property Watch: Lost in Chiang Mai
PHUKET: I’ve always had an aversion to things that go bump in the night, but as our Thai Smile jet ramps up to 33,000 feet, an extended period of turbulence has left my forehead battered, but not bruised. Yes, the flight attendants shock orange uniforms put me into a Halloween mood, yet they move about the cabin like apparitions –…
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Royal Phuket Marina taps into rental market
PHUKET: Royal Phuket Marina (RPM) plunged into the island’s property rental market, releasing scores of luxury apartments for rent since the beginning of this year. There are almost 100 units in the RPM complex, and of these 40 units are available for rental, though currently only 20 per cent remain vacant. Formerly RPM was focused on property sales but since…
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