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 one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Phuket Property Watch: Welcome to my nightmare
PHUKET: “I’m as mad as Hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Remember that infamous Hollywood line? Network – Peter Finch going out in a blaze of glory for the entire world to see. In this case what’s driven me to the edge of madness? The place inhabited by bums in torn clothes, religious zealots and all manner…
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Phuket Diving: Building the reefs of the future
PHUKET: The texture from the flaking, oxidized iron of the 1700s hand grenade is a novelty in itself as we sit at five meters on the 1724 Guadalupe Underwater archaeological Preserve. The Dominican Republic “wreck” complete with ancient pieces of broken amphora pottery, ballast stones, cannons and other artifacts from the period, was developed as an underwater museum exhibit available…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Robin Gillow, the wandering artist
PHUKET: Robin Gillow’s paintings, now on display at Boathouse, remind the viewer of a disappearing style of country life found in Thailand.This talented South African began showing her drawings and paintings while still in school. She learned her craft while attending what’s now known as the National School of the Arts, in a program that included industrial design, sculpture, painting…
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Phuket Property: Lakeside living
PHUKET: The Lake House is a development of seven villas, located close to Laguna. Four of the villas are to be designed in a Thai-Balinese style and are ideal affordable homes for families. The villas will look out across a lake and come with a private swimming pool, jacuzzi, lush tropical gardens and an open sala entertainment area next to…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Nothing but blue skies for Yaowawit School
PHUKET: Yaowawit School and Lodge is getting greener with a new solar PV field donated by solar solution and service provider Conergy, The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to Thailand and freight-forwarding company Logwin Air + Ocean (Thailand) Ltd. The school celebrated the installation with a presentation to students, faculty and the community. “We were very happy when…
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Phuket Property Watch: Lifestyles of the rich and famous
PHUKET: News reports from around the world have lamented the passing of the actor Larry Hagman, who was best known as TV villain JR Ewing. Now trending across the world-wide web, it’s somewhat surprising how global the JR brand still is, despite being missing from the airwaves for more decades than I care to count. Villains, tycoons, bad guys, and…
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Phuket Business: Thai property firms’performance up
BANGKOK: Recovering demand for home purchases in the third quarter boosted the financial results of most of Thailand’s top 10 listed property firms over the same quarter of last year. As a result, financial performance in the first nine months also improved, though some firms did report reductions in revenue and net profit in the first nine months. However, these…
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Phuket Diving: Exploring SSI
PHUKET: There are almost a hundred dive training agencies in the world. Over a dozen specialize in cave diving, even more in technical diving. However, the market is dominated by recreational dive training agencies. Even the second largest agency in the world is hardly more than a name to many divers on Phuket. Scuba Schools International (better known simply as…
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Phuket Gardening: Floaters and Stalkers
PHUKET: As readers of last week’s column will have noted, there are, in essence, two kinds of aquatic plants: first, those that produce erect stems and flowers that keep only their roots in the watery element; and second, those with leaves and flowers that float, either with their foundations embedded in mud at the bottom, or, as in the case…
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Phuket History: Ancient air-con
PHUKET: Historic architecture is fascinating. Architecture surviving from a particular time in history can tell us a lot about that period. For example, the cultural influences of the period, the way people lived, their religious beliefs and a lot more. One of the most interesting aspects of historical architecture is the clever designs and features that are purposely built into…
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On The Menu: Very Versace
PHUKET: Versace is a name synonymous with quality and style and so it is with Le Versace restaurant lounge bar, which is perched high on the northern hills above Patong. This brand new venue officially opens next month, offering not only fine dining, but one of finest views of Patong available. Its not often I get to feel like a…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Giving thanks to the goddess of water
PHUKET: Thailand is beginning preparations for Loy Krathong tomorrow, one of the most colorful Thai festivals. It is a time to give thanks to the goddess of water and seek forgiveness for past misdeeds. The festival always occurs on the evening of the full moon of the 12th Thai lunar month which this year falls on November 28. Loy literally…
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Phuket Opinion: Disabled fighting for equal opportunities
PHUKET: Nalinee Boonthawadchai, 42, has lived in Phuket since 1990. She has an accounting degree from Phuket Rajabhat University and a second degree in broadcasting.A serious road accident in 1985 robbed her of her left arm. Five years later she lost both legs in another road incident. She now works at the Phuket Provincial Employment Office and in her spare…
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Phuket Property: Courting Phuket’s LGBT community
PHUKET: CC Bloom’s Hotel has been re-opened under the name ‘CC’s Hideaway’, a 42-room luxury full service hotel nestled in the hills overlooking the Andaman Sea in Karon, Phuket. CC’s Hideaway will be celebrating their grand re-opening party on Friday November 30, with an event called ‘Rise of the Phoenix Party’ featuring Ultra Nate from the USA, along with other…
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Phuket Property Watch: Finding the center of gravity
PHUKET: When I was in school, science classes usually just elicited a big yawn and most likely you’d find me ditching the enforced boredom for a smoke out back of the gym. Be it biology, physics or even branching out to those other affiliated headaches like algebra, calculus. My short breaks became afternoon off’s. Ferris Bueller only dabbled in this…
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Phuket Property: B1bn condominium in a prime location
PHUKET: The recently founded, Bangkok-based Able Asset developer group has announced plans to launch a billion baht, low-rise condominium project on a centrally-located parcel of prime Phuket real estate. Touted to be the biggest project of its kind on the island, the ‘Centrio’ condo will be developed on a plot that spans some 2,100 square meters, just opposite Central Festival…
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Phuket Gardening: Ecstatic aquatic
PHUKET: When I first came to Phuket, it was well nigh impossible to find ceramic pots that were completely waterproof. Indeed, I recall filling the drainage holes in glazed pots with cement in order to prevent leakage. I was reminded of this recently by Richard, a fellow Englishman, who is marketing a range of giant ceramic pots, so large that…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Drug addiction – Yassine’s cautionary tale
PHUKET: Morocco over the years has been romanticized by Hollywood and through the prose of numerous authors. It’s a place that conjures up images of bazaars, palaces and bustling market squares. But the vision of Morocco from those looking in, is a lot different to the one Yassine Darkaoui endured while looking out from the Northern city of Tangiers. Yassine…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Life Home Project preps for World AIDS Day
PHUKET: At the British International School (BIS), CAS students are making Christmas cards for Life Home Project, a Phuket-based charity that cares for mothers and children affected by HIV/ AIDS. CAS stands for ‘Creativity, Action, Service’ and is an integral part of the school’s IB program as CAS student Visnu Khanijou explained: “We are making the cards to help raise…
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Phuket Lifestyle: SKÃ…L members give up their shirts for charity
PHUKET: Phuket’s Skål club is planning some playful revelations at their gala charity fundraiser on Saturday, December 8, at Bliss Beach Club on Bang Tao beach. The Full Monty is the name of the event and yes, it means that some of the island’s most attractive hotel managers will be taking it all off to benefit both the club’s scholarship…
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Phuket Property: Kata Rocks gets new “Sky Villa’
PHUKET: Kata Rocks’ first “Sky Villa” comes with sleek louvres and tinted glass panels that wrap around a clean, modern “Ocean Loft” design. The Sky Villas range from one to four bedroom units. Located on Phuket’s west coast, Kata Rocks is a stunning collection of 34 luxurious oceanfront Sky Villas designed by architect Adrian McCarroll. The villas nestle within the…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Blazing Saddles
PHUKET: THE thought of cycling around Phuket probably enters most people’s minds about as frequently as wondering what it would be like to thrust a live cobra down the front of their underwear.However, cycling around Phuket is undoubtedly growing in popularity, despite the obvious challenges associated with the endeavor. On most days in the early dawn mist you’ll see phalanxes…
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Phuket Diving: Dive Bunny takes plunge
PHUKET: A lion fish is out in the open just over the sands of Kata Beach, but before a photo can be taken there is a sudden commotion. Dive instructor ‘Scuba Nick’, eyes wide-open, rips off his mask and reaches for his student’s regulator. Ex-British military, Nick is a big guy, with big hands going for the second stage of…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Watching the birds disappear
PHUKET: As we left Chao Fah Road and turned onto a dirt path, a truck carrying sand drove past, bobbing under its own heavy weight as it negotiated muddy potholes, made as a result of the recent heavy rainfall.“This sand is ‘pillaged’ from the lagoons around here,” says my nature photographer friend Rat, emphasizing the word ‘pillage’.We are here to…
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Phuket lifestyle: Emptying the Tank
In England there is a children’s TV series called Thomas the Tank Engine about a plucky railway engine called Thomas. In the USA there is another story called The Little Engine That Could. In Phuket we have our own cuddly DJ ‘Tom the Tank’ who is also bravely puffing “I think I can, I think I can, ” as he…
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Phuket Property: How to acquire Thai property
PHUKET: Separating emotional excitement from the need to impartially assess the risks of an important investment when purchasing a dream home is not easy. A real estate agent may have shown the purchaser glamorous photographs and conducted a personalized tour, so the desire to sign on the dotted line might impair the purchaser’s judgment. The real estate industry in Thailand,…
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Holiday Inn opens in Ao Nang
PHUKET: The Holiday Inn brand has arrived on the coastline of Krabi with the company taking over the 55-guestroom Sala Talay Resort and Spa on Ao Nang beach recently. “We are pleased to announce the initial phase of the opening of our first Holiday Inn property in this beautiful region of Krabi.” says Steve Ng, the general manager of the…
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Phuket Property Watch: Location, location, location
PHUKET: Reading the above headline you would have to believe that either I somehow suffered a momentary nervous breakdown, or else those three drinks before dinner were triple shots. Does the truth lay at the bottom of a glass, obscured from sight by the swirling ghost of a melting ice cube? Probably not. There isn’t much poetic license in real…
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Phuket Books: The resident fashionista of Guantanamo
PHUKET: Norman Mailer was never known for his generosity to young writers. The one author he did adopt was the convict Jack Abbott, author of the prison memoir, In the Belly of the Beast. Mailer championed his cause and when Abbott was released from prison, he promptly stabbed a waiter to death. But Alex Gilvarry has been named a Norman…
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Phuket Humor: Death from the Ozone Layer
PHUKET: There’s a new theory about what caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. It wasn’t a meteorite that wiped them out. It was their own farting. “The animals, weighing from 80 to 100 tons, would eat…between 130 and 260 kilos of food every day,” according to one report. “They would fart non-stop.” Their farts contained a high proportion of methane…
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