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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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Phuket AA: Party till you drop
PHUKET: Phuket is renowned for its party scene, especially during the holidays, when tourists venture from around the globe to enjoy the island’s nightlife, and expats let their hair down. For many people, the annual revelry is marked by a few heavy drinking sessions followed by a few hangovers – and a new year resolution to take it easier next…
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Phuket gardening: Heliconia and hibiscus
PHUKET: I have deliberately kept the heliconia for another day. Why? Because, despite the name, the connection with the sun is less obvious than with the sunflower brigade. I can only assume it is because one common variety has chrome yellow spikes, much used as a cut flower by florists. But whatever the reason, the heliconia is a favorite here…
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Consultant says gray out, green in for Phuket’s real estate boom in 2014 and beyond
PHUKET: Back in November, an energetic Chilean man paid a visit to the Phuket Gazette offices. Identifying himself as Ignacio Espoz Babul, the Director of (Santiago-based) LatinGreen – a patent holder, innovator and installer of “Green Walls” – the man passionately talked of a coming “Green Revolution” that he had envisioned for Phuket and the whole of Asia. In the…
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Hotels support coastal water safety
PHUKET: Several Phuket hotel general managers and marine industry stakeholders met recently to discuss coastal waters safety, agreeing that there will be a renewed push to move the island’s safety standards to the next level – and that they would give their full-hearted support to the recently launched Safer Phuket campaign. Also, see related story here. The meeting was held…
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Phuket Property: Laguna park condominiums launched
PHUKET: Laguna Park Condominiums, the latest development by Laguna Property, was launched as the final component of the Laguna Park master plan’s first phase.The condominiums follow the recent and successful introduction of townhomes and villas to the project’s plan. “With the Laguna Park condominiums, we are targeting single residents and young couples with the appeal of the integrated Laguna lifestyle…
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Outlook bright for Dubai property expo
PHUKET: The 10th International Property Show (IPS), which will coincide with the Annual Investment Meeting 2014, from April 8-10 in the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center, will attract 300 companies from 80 countries. The Phuket Gazette and PGTV are proud media sponsors of the exhibition, which this year will be the biggest edition since its inception. Supported by the…
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PIMEX 2014 draws to a successful close
PHUKET: It was all smiles last Sunday evening as the 11th Phuket International Boat Show at the Royal Phuket Marina drew to a close. Happy exhibitors cleared their displays before moving on to enjoy a well deserved respite from a busy weekend at the boardwalk restaurants and bars. By all reports, this year was a fantastic show with many exhibitors…
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Royal Melodies concert coming to Phuket
PHUKET: Jazz lovers are in for a treat starting tomorrow when the Royal Melodies concert and exhibition kicks-off in Phuket. Featuring the music of His Majesty King Bhumibhol Adulyadej (Rama IX), the three-night concert will be a star-studded affair. The exhibition of HM’s musical legacy will include the saxophone, which he used to composed many of his songs. There will…
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Property Watch: So near and yet so far
PHUKET: Asia’s resort property scene is not unlike any other industry, in that it’s always on the lookout for the next big thing. What do they say about the key to success – location location location. Is that one or three? Perhaps there is just an echo in the room or the snoring of an elephant next door. Of course…
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Living in Patong has its privileges
PHUKET: With the lasting development boom in Phuket, one might find it difficult to keep track of all the new condominiums and villa projects appearing on the island’s map. That’s why Karn Jiratuntathorn, the owner of the Privilege residences in Patong is aiming for something different. “My project is not the same as others. There are many projects coming to…
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Phuket Art: The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom
PHUKET: Richard Skene is no stranger to art nor to Phuket. While his professional training is in the management of property, he has maintained a lifelong interest in how art can reflect the struggle to find happiness. “I’ve observed that the path to happiness can lead either to the pursuit of pleasure or the pursuit of restraint as practiced by…
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Colorectal Disease Institute opens at Bangkok Hospital Phuket
PHUKET: Today marked the official grand opening of the Bangkok Phuket Colorectal Institute at Bangkok Hospital Phuket (BHP). The opening follows a colorectal symposium at BHP last month (story here). Directed by surgeon Dr Art Hiranyakas, the new institute specializes in the diagnoses and advanced treatment of a multitude of colorectal diseases including colon and prostate cancer. Dr Hiranyakas is…
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Phuket Gardening: An unkempt piece of paradise
PHUKET: It is a truism that your garden is an expression of yourself. In a literal sense, this is obvious: you are the person responsible for its design, its maintenance, and for the plants you put in or leave out. When I was an undergraduate long ago, the Professor of Biology, an acknowledged authority on botany, spoke on a weekly…
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Fight for your right
PHUKET: Not long ago, a close associate phoned to get a heavy burden off his chest. His parents in the UK were in need of help in moving to another state, but no other family members would help. “John” as we’ll call him, complained to me that he really wanted to go back but that his Thai wife had spent…
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Phuket Entertainment: Giving women what they want
PHUKET: What began as a language-learning exercise – watching Thai soaps with English subtitles online – has become, well, a problem. I stay up too late, watch during breakfast and abandon unessential tasks until I finish the series, all 20-plus hours of it.I became addicted despite the fact that from the first moment I know what will happen – the…
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A glimpse into the future
PHUKET: “I never think of the future – it comes soon enough,” said Albert Einstein. Maybe it works for the geniuses but for the rest of us, a look forward from time to time is inevitable, especially at the brink of the new year. Here are the Gazette’s predictions for 2014 – because as Malcolm X said, “The future belongs…
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Big fun for the little ones
PHUKET: This one is for the kids! Thailand is celebrating its annual Children’s Day on Saturday, January 11 and there sure won’t be a lack of good fun for the little ones on the island. Planned activities in Phuket are as follows:Phuket MunicipalityAt the grounds of Phuket provincial hall, from 8am to 4pm, this year’s festivities will encompass the theme…
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PIMEX 2014 to showcase Asean preparedness
PHUKET: Billed as “Asia’s favorite boat show” and the largest luxury showcase in the region, the four-day Phuket International Marine Expo will open its doors to an expected 5,000 visitors at 11:30 this morning at Royal Phuket Marina. A festival of everything marine and lifestyle, PIMEX shines the light on Thailand’s marine leisure tourism industry and the island’s leading position…
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Phuket Health: Seminar on colorectal disease
PHUKET: Leading medical professionals from all over the world gathered at Bangkok Hospital Phuket last month for the first annual Colorectal Disease Symposium.Organized from December 8-10 by the director of the Colorectal Disease Institute at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, Dr Art Hiranyakas, the symposium consisted of panel discussions, guest speakers and live surgeries. Topics included different types of colorectal diseases, research…
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Tesco says no to plastic bags with new store in Phuket
PHUKET: Tesco Lotus has reaffirmed its commitment to preserving the environment with its new “no bag store” concept for Express format outlets, having recently launched two pilot stores – in Koh Samui and Phuket. Tesco Lotus Head of Public Affairs Charkrit Direkwattanachai remarked: “Tesco Lotus has been able to save the use of eight million plastic bags and this year…
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Tesco Extra officially open in Phuket
PHUKET: Tesco Lotus recently held the official grand opening for its first “Extra” format store in Phuket. The rebranding and re-opening of the shopping center, its main Phuket store located off the bypass road in Sam Kong, follows an extensive renovation project undertaken in the final quarter of 2013. The development also complements the grand opening of a new, full-sized…
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Phuket Property Watch: Walking in the shadows of dinosaurs
PHUKET: With New Year’s celebrations mostly behind us now, the question everyone has is what’s in store for fourteen? My biggest challenge each and every successive drum roll of another 365 (or 366 in the case of leap years) is to remember to change the date on whatever I’m writing at the time. Typically things settle down by February but…
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Phuket Explore: Escape to Koh Kho Khao
PHUKET: You know it’s going to be a good day’s cycling when you see more water buffalo than you do hurtling pick-up trucks, and when the smiling locals stop what they are doing and rush out to greet you with a hearty “Hello Farang!” Such pleasures are rarely found in Phuket these days, but just 80 kilometers north of the…
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Phuket Property Watch – Not such a long way from home
PHUKET: It’s that time of year again – Christmas. And while Phuket’s idea of a whiteout is sand swept beaches, I find it hard not to get into a sentimental mood as soon as the calendar rolls around to the twelfth month of the year. Somehow the pace quickens in December, year in and year out. A few weeks ago…
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Tech: Be forwarned about 4G in Phuket
PHUKET: Lest you think it’s 3G dejavu all over again, the current state of 4G in Phuket has a few interesting, new wrinkles. In many ways, the impending 4G roll out – which is already under way, at least in theory – isn’t nearly as confusing as the 3G rollout two years ago. Thank heavens! Let’s start with the basics.…
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Phuket Property: Centara anticipates tougher times ahead
PHUKET: The insight, influence and impact that the Bangkok-headquartered Central Group employs and exerts across nearly every sector in Phuket is undeniable. The group’s interests encompass retail, infrastructure, construction, real estate, and especially hospitality – through its flagship hotel chain Centara Hotels and Resorts (CHR). The Gazette recently caught up with CHR Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Chris…
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Boutique or bust – Phuket Prop Watch
PHUKET: Obsession is quite a long word – with its three little Ss that sort of roll off the keys with winding twists and turns. Nothing is as it appears, nor is there a straightaway to pull away from the pack. When it comes to design hotels, these enigmatic properties just love to live the “S” life, where the squares…
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Phuket Town’s Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel acquired by Accor Group
PHUKET: Some good news for the property market in the heart of Phuket Town: the old Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel has been acquired by an owner affiliated with the Accor Group of hotels and is now undergoing a complete renovation for a scheduled rebranding under one of that group’s many hotel chains. Work at the site had been underway for…
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An invitation to Sleep With Me
PHUKET: A newcomer to the island’s hotel industry, “SLEEP WITH ME Design Hotel @ Patong” is comprised of 258 guest and suite rooms, overlooking the high-rises of Patong Bay. Located in the heart of Patong, close to Jungceylon Shopping Center, “Bangla Road” walking street and only a three minute walk to the beach, the hotel offers modern facilities, personal service…
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Phuket Events: 17th Andaman Motor Show underway at Central Festival
PHUKET: The 17th Andaman Motor Show was officially launched this afternoon on a jam-packed ground floor of Central Festival Phuket. The region’s most popular and anticipated automobile exhibition will last until Wednesday, December 18. Presiding over the opening ceremony was Phuket Vice Governor Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak, who was joined on stage in the official launch countdown by Phuket…
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