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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Profile: Adisak Pitakrojananont – working his away atop the hospitality ladder
PHUKET: PHUKET: Adisak Pitakrojananont hails from Ratchaburi and is currently the general manager of Mom Tri’s Villa Royale at Kata Noi Beach, Phuket. He graduated from Ramkhamhaeng University with a Bachelor’s degree in hotel management and has more than 10 years of experience in the hospitality business, eight of which have been in management. “I was not born to be…
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Properly maintaining granite counter tops
PHUKET: If you buy new or upgrade, most likely you will choose granite counter tops. First remember that not all granite is equal. Granite is a lot harder than marble and easier to maintain, but experience shows, liquids can soak in to polished granite. If you notice a spill, clean it up right away and you may not be left…
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Ready, steady, get Footloos
PHUKET: The multi-billion-baht Phuket tourism industry caters to adventurers and wellness seekers from across the globe, with a seemingly endless stream of tour companies offering a multitude of services. Now imagine if you could get all these services in a few clicks on a single platform. That, in short, is the idea behind Footloos, an online marketplace dedicated to an…
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Unemployed primate released into wild due to ‘depression’
PHUKET: Pom, an eight-year-old unemployed monkey raised by a Bang Jo couple since he was two, has been let go because the family who owned him could not bear to see him depressed. Pom used to work as a coconut picker and also helped to peel coconuts at his owner’s coconut oil factory. A few months ago, coconut prices shot…
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On Deck: Large trimarans to the fore
PHUKET: Multihull sailing isn’t something new to Phuket. In fact, some would argue multihulls are the ideal boats for Phuket’s waters. With their shallow draft they can more easily access some areas as compared to their monohull cousins. While everyone has different tastes in terms of size, brand and two hulls or three, what is relatively new to the local…
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Property Watch: Unanswered questions in the Thai property market
PHUKET: I will admit, to anyone who asks, that consultancy services often involve assisting people with the kind of matters for which they should perhaps go to the authorities to receive assistance and guidance. Nevertheless, for one reason or another, consultancy services often involve providing advice to clear up uncertainties over laws, rules and regulations that are difficult to understand…
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Smart Life: Foundations of the next technological age
PHUKET: This is the first in a series of articles designed to engage the ultimate architects of smart cities: the mums and dads, the social workers, the councilors, small business owners… really the people that make up the city. The next technology revolution has the potential to manage, and maybe even unwind the damage caused by the last one. Many…
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Profile: Phuket’s Deputy Chief Judge Boonjuan Panich
PHUKET: Boonjuan Panich from Trang Province is the current deputy chief judge of the Phuket Court. He is also the president of the Trang-Phuket Club – a group of Trang natives living and working in Phuket. Now 49 years old, Mr Boonjuan has achieved much from a humble childhood as the second son of a rubber plantation worker in rural…
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Gardening: Picking the perfect palm
PHUKET: There’s a maxim in the so-called ‘noble art’ that states that a good big ‘un will always beat a good little ‘un. But what is true about boxing will not necessarily be true for the inhabitants of your plot. Small gardens require small trees and shrubs – indeed, they tend to look lost in a grand environment. However, if…
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Tsunami survivor’s tale turned into Regent’s Park stage production
PHUKET: The Regent’s Park Open Air Theater in London staged its largest-ever performance last month, inspired by a true story of resilience, courage and man’s relationship with nature. The play is set during the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck Phuket, and devastated large areas in Southeast Asia more than a decade ago. A cast of more than 50 exceptional young…
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Blazing Saddles: When in Phuket, do as Brisbane does
PHUKET: Queensland’s capital city of Brisbane has a population of 2.3 million people, some four times the official figure for Phuket. Yet driving around Brisbane, as I did recently, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a quiet country town. The traffic flows efficiently and there are rarely any bottlenecks, or congestion, with which to contend. Certainly Brisbane…
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Profile: Jiradech Chittawong – Born with the healing touch
PHUKET: Jiradech Chittawong, or Charlie Arm, as he is better known to his friends, is a physiotherapist from Hat Yai. Just 23 years of age, his clients refer to him as a ‘miracle worker’. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy from the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hat Yai Campus two years ago. “I spent my last year…
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Across the Land: Property drivers for high season
PHUKET: Who will be the market drivers for property this coming high season in Phuket? Phuket has always been a hotpot mix of nationalities, whether it be the long-term residents, holiday home buyers or tourists. Long-term residents in Phuket basically fall into two broad segments. The first segment tends to be families from the surrounding Asian regions, such as Malaysia,…
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Excuse Buster: Effects of cortisol on your body
PHUKET: The hormone cortisol is considered the ‘stress’ hormone because it plays a major role in the function of our body during times of stress. Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands. You have probably heard of the term ‘adrenal fatigue’, otherwise known as ‘burnout’, and may have suffered from this common 21st-century condition. Well, this hormone appears to play…
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By the Book: Benefits of professional real estate photography
PHUKET: Professional real estate photography is more essential than ever before, when marketing any type of property for sale. Between 2008 and 2012 real estate searches on Google grew over 253 per cent, with 90 per cent of buyers beginning their searches online (nearly 30 per cent of those using mobile devices). Listings with professional photos generated an average of…
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On Deck: Optimize your boat, not your rating
PHUKET: Wise words from James Dadd, director of the RORC Rating Office, who recently took a detour from his Australia/New Zealand tour to stop over in Samui during the Samui Regatta and talk with sailors and event organizers about the IRC rating system prevalent in this area of the world. “We are cautious in our approach, introducing new ideas over…
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Keep It Green: Getting our environmental act together
PHUKET: Whether it’s mantas or methane, protection or disposal, the world needs to get its act together. First some facts. Half of the world’s carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans. That the seas are a sink for CO2 is wonderful; it’s just that they are being damaged in the process. Hence, the dramatically increased levels of carbonic acid. One…
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Tribute gig planned for late Phuket music legend Snake
PHUKET: Well-known Phuket-based musician Piboon ‘Snake’ Kayalak passed away on May 25, aged 51. Over the past eight years, Mr Piboon played all over Phuket at some of the island’s top live music venues. A Thai native, Piboon was the bassist for the Colin Hill & Pjae Stanley Band. “He will be remembered as a superb musician, friend and brother,…
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Phuket divers do it in the monsoon season too
PHUKET: Though nearly a month late, the southwest monsoon season finally arrived in Phuket. With the annual torrential rains comes the standard question, “Is there still diving around Phuket?” The simple answer is, yes. Unlike the diving in Khao Lak, which pretty much has its shutters pulled down when the Similan Islands are closed, Phuket continues to offer excellent diving…
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Post-high-season autopsy on Phuket’s luxury property market
PHUKET: As I sit in my office on a faceless Saturday afternoon heading into low season, a song that flips up on Spotify grabs my attention – Ike and Tina Turner’s ‘River Deep, Mountain High’.My heart nearly skips a beat as Tina grittily sings the lines “And it gets stronger, in every way. And it gets deeper, let me say.…
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Consequences of committing immigration fraud
PHUKET: In February, Sittichai Boonkeian murdered his 13-year-old daughter and committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan. His wife, Chonrat Mungmart, believes that Mr Sittichai’s murder-suicide was a result of the anxiety and problems associated with their separation. Mr Sittichai and his daughter were living in Florida and his wife was in Thailand. Ms Chonrat was separated from…
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On Deck: Small boats can be just as much fun
PHUKET: Size isn’t everything in the boating world, although I’m sure some people would like to challenge me on that. The fun you can have on a boat isn’t intrinsically linked to its size or price, it’s more related to how you use the boat, with whom, and how often. While the Thai government is rolling out the red carpet…
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Dealing with the trash problem in Phuket
PHUKET: Hygiene and cleanliness are very personal, and judging by the aroma at the airport and on airplanes, often seem to be an optional affair. But living in our environment is a shared community exercise, and Phuket does suffer from the stresses and strains of tourism, as well as a lack of regard by certain sectors of the community to…
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Profile: Peejay Stanley says farewell to Phuket
PHUKET: For half a decade Texan soul singer Peejay Stanley has been entertaining Phuketians with a larger than life stage presence guaranteed to get audiences on their feet. Peejay’s singing style has been described as similar to Joan Armatrading, Tracy Chapman and Nina Simone, but she is probably best described as a motown, soul and blues artist with a voice…
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Gardening: Caring for plants in dry weather
PHUKET: This is the time of year when the prolonged dry weather stimulates certain flowering trees to bloom as if their very lives depended on it. In a sense this is literally true, since an exceptional drought will probably mean that fruits may not form, and even that mature trees may shed so many leaves that they die. Already the…
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Phuket launches first government-run animal clinic
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality has established the first government-run small animal veterinary clinic, providing free animal care services in the area. The new clinic is located next to the municipality office, across the road from Provincial Hall in Phuket Town. “We are the first municipality to establish an animal clinic. To my knowledge, we are probably the first ones in…
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Phuket International Academy to join global United World College network
PHUKET: Phuket International Academy (PIA), located within the grounds of Thanyapura, in the north of Phuket, is set to become the first and only United World College (UWC) in Thailand, after two years of preparations and discussions with the London-based organization. With an alumni represented by more than 55,000 graduates from all around the globe, UWC has gained a worldwide…
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Coboat: Combining business with pleasure
PHUKET: Imagine running your business from almost anywhere in the world. Now imagine being on an 82-foot electric-powered catamaran and sailing around the world while doing that. That’s the idea behind Coboat, which combines co-working with sailing, travel and adventure. Many of us may be familiar with the concept of co-working, or sharing a rented office space with others who…
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A physiotherapy technique for the elderly at Patong Hospital
PHUKET: Patong Hospital has recently launched a new physiotherapy technique for the elderly, called Methode Mezieres, in collaboration with a French physiotherapist named Eric Lon. Mr Lon, now 65, works as a physiotherapist in France. Mr Lon explained that the origins of the Methode Mezieres technique dates back to World War II, when millions of people in France were adversely…
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Across the land: Dealing with water scarcity
PHUKET: Every April, the weather is blistering hot in Thailand, and it’s been no exception this year if not hotter. According to reports, it has not been as hot as this in Thailand for 65 years. Intense heat, attributed to the El Nino weather phenomenon, is causing a severe drought and water shortage throughout the region. No exception for Phuket…
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