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 Moving with family? Here’s how to cut health costs in Thailand
Relocating to Thailand with your family brings exciting new opportunities, but it also comes with the challenge of managing healthcare costs in a new system. Thailand has both public and private healthcare options, each offering different prices and quality of...
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Just a hop across the bay from Phuket
PHUKET: With traffic, construction and tourist arrivals all on the rise here in Phuket, its island paradise factor is easily lost amid the flurry of commerce. But Phuket is located in one of the most scenic regions on Earth, and little pieces of paradise do remain within very reasonable price – and boat – range. One such gem is Koh…
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Soi Dog Phuket facing closure, B5mn needed
PHUKET: THE Soi Dog Foundation’s future (SDF) on Phuket is uncertain. Currently situated on 11.5 rai in Mai Khao, the foundation, which has been tackling Phuket’s severe stray dog problem since 2003, purchased half of the site in 2009. They are now facing pressure from the landowner to buy the other half, which SDF currently utilizes, by October for 10…
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Phuket a haven for addicts
PHUKET: Although illegal, over-the-counter sale and purchase of benzodiazepine derivative drug like diezapam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax) is common in Thailand, and is even tacitly accepted by many local authorities. However the practice exposes buyers to health risks including addiction or overdose. Last year, a high-ranking source in the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) admitted to The Gazette that his…
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Pencilling humor into Phuket people’s lives
PHUKET: THE provocative and amusing work of Dutch artist Iskander Walen is everywhere, even on Phuket. His art has been exhibited in Paris and Singapore, featuring regularly in Today newspaper, FHM and I-S magazines to name a few, as well as being published in two best-selling books. His popularity lies in the simplicity of his art. Whether it’s a sculpture…
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Rapid rise for Phuket’s Chicky Net network
PHUKET: WHAT started out from a Phuket expat wanting to expand her social circle has grown into a commercial network of its own, connecting 1,400 women all over Thailand – in just two years. Chicky Net was launched in 2009 when Berthe Mandaat, 34, originally of the Netherlands, relocated to Phuket. The website started off as an online group for…
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Phuket’s Blue Elephant dazzles guests
PHUKET: Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide’s top salespeople were on Phuket earlier this month as part of the organizationn’s “Dazzling Thailand 2011” incentive trip. The once-in-a-lifetime incentive trip was part of hotel group’s annual reward program for sales people exceeding their targets last year. Accompanied by their partners, the hot-shot salespeople arrived on Phuket on May 3, and bedded down…
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Baby Tuptim’s year-long fight for life a tale of Phuket love
PHUKET: Tuptim is happy in the arms of her doting father Rattanachai “Kru Nai” as the Gazette arrives at Tiger Muay Thai in Chalong, where Kru Nai works as a trainer. A throng of beaming family friends faun over little Tuptim, eager to learn of her welfare. The eyes of Tuptim’s mother Soisuda “Nit” Pile are trained on her daughter,…
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‘Grand old dame’ of Bangkok Airways in Phuket needs some love!
PHUKET: Dilapidation fears may cause Bangkok Airways to lose its rights to use a classic building in Phuket Town as its office. The two-storey building, located on six rai in the green enclave of the provincial offices on Damrong Road, has stood empty for seven years. Government Officers, led by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosut-thirak, inspected the building on May…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Thai firm aims to be e-book center for Southeast Asia
PHUKET: Dedicated readers of English-language books in Phuket and throughout Southeast Asia can now enjoy carrying a well-stocked bookstore with them wherever they go. Asia Books, the 42-year-old bookstore chain and distributor of English-language books in Thailand, has launched an e-bookstore service for its 150,000 existing members and newcomers. The company, which handles distribution for the Phuket Gazette in Bangkok…
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Phuket’s Home for Life: Now assisting more than 200 women, children with HIV/Aids
PHUKET: There aren’t many places to turn to in Thailand for the many thousands of destitute, HIV-positive women who have been cast out of their home communities due to ignorance, but the Life Home Project (LHP) on Phuket’s Sireh Island accepts such women from all over the nation, warmly welcoming them into their family. Last month, the LHP took in…
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Phuket’s Michael Venezuela is mad about fame, and bringing it here
PHUKET: He has danced with Jennifer Lopez, toured with Destiny’s Child, rubbed shoulders with OJ Simpson – in a Miami strip club – and talked his way into the Playboy Mansion. But why is Famous Nightclub’s Michael Venezuela so obsessed with fame and bringing celebrities to Patong? And why on earth does he wear that white suit? The former MTV…
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Phuket Personality: Capturing the essence of life
PHUKET: Chusak Uthaipanumas is one of Thailand’s most celebrated photographers, having won over 500 awards and photographed the Thai Royal Family and former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – all out of his humble Phuket studio in Chalong. But for Chusak, photography is not about fame or money. “I got out of Bangkok and moved to Phuket 24…
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Phuket Reminder: It’s sink or swim for the leatherback
PHUKET: A dead 200-kilogram leatherback turtle washed up in Phuket earlier this month, adding to fears of the imminent extinction of the pacific subspecies. The male, which had not quite reached full maturity, ingested a plastic bag and died from intestinal blockage, an autopsy by the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) revealed. Sixty years ago, Phuket’s beaches were host to…
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Decoding Phuket’s Wat Chalong
PHUKET: Most people in Phuket have had a peek at Wat Chalong, but few know the temple was once the site of a rebellion and hosted one of the largest funerals in all of southern Thailand. Even deciphering the full meaning of the paintings, statues and different buildings can be tricky. But for Phuket expat Paul Whittall, who describes himself…
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Phuket to Koh Lanta: Mango House Festival a big success
PHUKET: Across the bay from Phuket, the streets of Lanta Old Town, a century-old Thai-Chinese fishing village on the Krabi island of Koh Lanta, came alive earlier this month with the uplifting, funky music of the Mango House Festival 2011. “We’re delighted with the phenomenal reaction we had to this event,” says Phuket-based event organizer Duane Lennie. Lennie estimates that…
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PHUKET LIFESTYLE: ‘Phuket a diamond’ for rich jet owners
PHUKET: MJETS is in talks with Airports of Thailand (AOT) about building a private jet terminal at Phuket International Airport (PIA). The move comes on the back of the success of its first private jet terminal at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, the company says. MJets Executive Chairman, Jaiyavat Navaraj, believes the company’s venture at PIA could put Phuket on…
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PHUKET CHARITY: Blazing saddles, bangers and cash
PHUKET: Members of the Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club were in Phuket late last month after a mammoth cycle challenge in aid of a Phuket children’s charity. The eight fearless men set out from Bangkok on Valentines Day, and for five energy-sapping days labored on bicycles to reach Phuket in one piece – all in aid of raising 500,000 baht…
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Phuket’s little Bird on the water paddles her heart out
PHUKET: Rapturous applause and the roar of fog horns at Yacht Haven Marina signaled the end of 11-year-old Victoria Bird’s epic sea adventure – and a landmark moment in Phuket’s maritime history. Victoria, her Ironman athlete father Les, 59, and kayaking instructor Rob Ford paddled more than 120 kilometers around Phuket, completing the first recorded kayak circumnavigation of the island.…
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PHUKET DINING: Great value at vintage vamp Kopitiam
PHUKET: If you crave quality Chinese-accented Thai cuisine, and might like to savor it in a retro ambiance, you need to visit the latest addition to Old Phuket Town’s culinary scene. Kopitiam Cafe and Restaurant – a family-owned kitchen located at the Yaowarat Road end of Thalang Road – opened only three months ago but has already established itself as…
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PHUKET FINE DINING: Beat the rush to Brush
PHUKET: Kalim Bay has developed into Phuket’s fine dining epicenter, where the island’s trendiest restaurants stretch from Baan Rim Pa to IndoChine, and include the White Box, Acqua and Lim’s – and now the stylish new five-star bistro Brush Restaurant & Lounge. Brush is the creation of Australian sculptor John Underwood, whose studio also created the award-winning interiors at Phuket’s…
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Saving Phuket’s cultural heritage
PHUKET: Old Phuket Foundation President Kawee Tansukatanon spoke last week to the Phuket Gazette about preserving the resort island’s traditions, community values, and unique heritage. Reporter Janpen Upatising, herself a Phuket native, filed this report: Smartly dressed and upbeat, Kawee exhales and furls his lips in a smile as he recalls growing up in Phuket in the late 1960s. He…
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Phuket tourist trapped in a gutter
Phuket Island View: The following lament was filed at the Phuket Gazette office last week by Phuket tourist Hans Skarholm: This is our first visit to Phuket and I would like to report something that has happened to my wife. On Friday afternoon we came back to Karon Beach on a local bus from a visit to Phuket Town. When…
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Phuket Tourism: Has Phuket been ruined by tourism?
PHUKET: British TV personality Phillip Schofield revealed in a recent Daily Telegraph interview that he thinks Phuket – in particular Promthep Cape – has been ruined by tourism. Recounting a recent trip to Promthep Cape with his wife, Schofield told the newspaper he was shocked by how much the place had changed for the worse since he visited in his…
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Phuket paddling challenge: Birds ready to hit the water for ’round-the-island’ adventure
PHUKET: The countdown is on for the father-and-daughter team of Les and Victoria Bird whose epic quest to paddle more than 120 kilometers in a circumnavigation of Phuket starts this weekend. In the early hours of February 12, Ironman athlete Les, 59, and seven-time triathlon champion Victoria,11, will set out from Yacht Haven marina on the island’s northeast coast. They…
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Phuket Property: Eight new projects approved
PHUKET: Construction of eight new property projects was approved at a meeting of a Phuket provincial committee on residential estate development last week. The meeting, held at the Phuket Land Office, was chaired by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha. All of the eight projects considered by the committee were approved, namely: 1. Jomthong Thalang, by Jomthong Property Co Ltd 2. Promphun…
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OLD PHUKET: Moseying on down to Phuket’s old quarter
PHUKET: It was the American philosopher Henry David Thoreau who once said, “A morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” With this in mind – and in light of Phuket Town’s recent bid for UN Heritage status – I forwent a line-in last Saturday morning in favor of making friends with my feet to go explore the old…
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Hungry in Phuket? It’s kebab time in Rawai
PHUKET: THE Kebab House in Rawai has been open for a little over a week, but locals are already dining there and love it. Here are a few reasons why… Location: Simple. Kebabed between Serenity Terraces and the turnoff for Friendship Beach on Wiset Road. The Döner Kebabs (chicken 85 baht, beef 120 baht): Many a mouthful of spit-roasted meat…
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Phuket Comedy club back for an encore
PHUKET: Following sell-out shows last year, the Phuket Punchline Comedy Club returns to the Holiday Inn Patong for its first show of 2011 on February 23. Three of the sharpest comedic minds on the UK comedy circuit will take to the stage. Among them is Nick Doody, rated as one of Britain’s most popular stand-up comedians. Nick has tickled funny…
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Finding a gem in Phuket’s neighbor Phang Nga
PHUKET: JUST an hour’s drive from Phuket there is a little-known gem called Raman Waterfall. The five-tier waterfall and its emerald pools can be found in Phang Nga, and is perfect for a day trip from Phuket. Raman National Park is home to the waterfall (Nam Tok Raman in Thai) and delivers tranquility, free-of-charge.The gardens, clean toilet facilities, simple tuck-shop…
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Phuket Mega-event: Bring on the Blues Rock Fest
PHUKET: The Phuket International Blues Rock Festival, now in its sixth year, will return to the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa in Karon from February 25-26. Curtis Salgado, one of the headline acts to play at the festival, has been nominated for the Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year award at the 2011 Blues Music Awards. The awards,…
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