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 Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
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Up in the air: Passion for aviation: Part I
This month, Up In The Air presents the first of a two-part series chronicling some of the aerial experiences of well-known Phuket-based aviator Pat James, an American who completed two tours as a combat helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. PHUKET: Most recreational flyers on the island know Pat James as the affable Texan in charge of flight and safety…
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Excuse Buster: Substituting never tasted sweeter
PHUKET: “Sweetness is the favorite taste for everyone. Eating too much sugar (sucrose) or artificial sweetener is not good for health. Nowadays, the natural sweetener from stevia is a good choice for sugar substitution because it is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, non toxic and has no calories,” says Pisamai Kulkanjanatorn PhD, Pharmacist, Assoc. Prof, Department of Pharmaceutical…
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Sneak a peek: June 27 Cryptic Crossword answers
NOTATION:Abbreviations: UPPER CASE (if used as part of anagram, in brackets).Normal spelling: lower case. Anagrams: italic (indicated in clue by words ‘out’, ‘possibly’, ‘strangely’, ‘wild’, or similar). Letters left out: underlined. Across:9. PROVIDES: provedis 10. LOG: cut branch 11. IMAGES: games 12. BEARER: errbea 13. RAVIOLI: valori-1 14. TORN: to-R-N 15. STRAWBOARD: worstadrab 17. ORGANIZE: oringaze 18. QUARTER: traverse ground…
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Profile: Foundation of education
PHUKET: Standing alongside eager students, the Chief Executive of Phuket International Academy (PIA) has started demonstrating how to build a bamboo shelter. As he knots the rope around two bamboo sticks, Julian Whiteley explains to the children how the hut will provide protection from the elements. His 30-minute lesson on basic survival skills cannot be taught properly in a classroom.…
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Property Watch: Innocent until proven guilty
PHUKET: The global hypocrisy of societies, governments, parliaments, judicial bodies, law enforcement agencies and even friends and acquaintances can be a fascinating subject. Hypocrisy exists everywhere in the world, including the Phuket property market. In recent months, there has been a notable and worthy attempt to clean up many issues here. This work is ongoing, and will take many years.…
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Books: Lusitania: The other Titanic
PHUKET: Erik Larson is an accomplished writer of non-fiction. I greatly enjoyed the fourth of his seven books: The Devil in White City, which contrasted the glories of the 1893 Chicago World Columbian Exposition with the sordid dealings of a charming serial killer. The contrast in his new book, Dead Wake (Crown Publishers, New York, 2015, 430pp) is between the…
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Fraudulent designing in disguise
PHUKET: When purchasing new furniture, it is always wise to keep an eye open for poorly made or refurbished goods in disguise. Some seemingly brand new, imported furniture is in fact a renovated secondhand piece with a big price tag, says Niwat Aunprueng, interior designer and executive partner of PIA Interior Company. This means that overseas dealers and local importers…
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Gardening: Neem: A tree for all seasons
PHUKET: Back in February, 2009, the Thai government, in the guise of the Industry Ministry, issued a decree listing 13 herbs as hazardous plants and forbidding their use nationwide. The penalty? Six months in jail or a 500,000 baht fine. There was immediately and, quite properly, an outcry from farmers. Why? Because these ‘hazardous’ substances were all traditional, organically derived…
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Express love for Hong Kong
PHUKET: If you’ve been in business in Asia long enough, eventually you land in Hong Kong. We know the rigmarole: airport to hotel to meeting to hotel and back to the airport. So, despite having been to Hong Kong many times for business, I’d yet to actually tour the city. I wouldn’t have known what there is to see in…
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Property Watch: Phuket pivots into regional education
PHUKET: Sun, sand, surf and study is without a doubt an unlikely combination of S-phrases. That said, Phuket is maturing into a key Asian resort destination for international level education and the upward trend is showing no sign of stopping. This past week, Thanyapura, the umbrella complex of Phuket International Academy, announced plans to further expand their already considerable 3.5…
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Montara Hospitality Group eyes young, wealthy Chinese
PHUKET: Montara Hospitality Group, owner and operator of Thailand’s ultra-luxury resort brand Trisara is set to increase its presence on Phuket in a bid to capture emerging markets while also expanding locally and abroad for the first time. “More private villa hotels and luxury residences have been opened on Phuket island and that has brought even tougher competition. Many players…
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Phuket Pads: Hide out in Nai Harn home
PHUKET: A very unusual yet stunning two-storey, four-bedroom modern Thai-style home is hiding in Nai Harn, only 1 kilometer from the famous beach and beautiful Nai Harn Lagoon. This is one of the most coveted locations in which one can live on the island because of its access to upscale lifestyle venues. This home is extremely private, located alone in…
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Fixie passion gives birth to criterium
PHUKET: One man’s love of fixed-gear cycling races gave birth to the Southern Criterium which took place in Saphin Hin, Phuket Town last month. Vissaves ‘Bon’ Kumphanthong, owner of Cuca Bike, event organizer and director of the Bangkok Criterium, got hooked on cycling only a few years ago. “It was between 2009 and 2010 that I started looking for a…
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Gardening: Design an aerie in Eden
PHUKET: In a previous article, I wrote about an extraordinary mountain top project in Cebu, in the Phillippines. My brief for this project was to suggest plants for such an environment. We started with an obvious choice: bromeliads. Another very different kind of epiphyte (air plant) is the staghorn fern. Ferns traditionally grow in shade and need moisture – there…
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Explore: References for underwater world
PHUKET: Coming to Thailand from a landlocked country, there are few points of reference that we can use to mentally prepare for a PADI open water diving course. For those who have never been diving before, most of our context for the underwater world is derived from urban references: movies, books, advertisements and aquariums – we all know what a…
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By the book: Prep your property for rent
PHUKET: Many Phuket property owners purchase here with the intention of renting out their property. Historically, Phuket has provided owners with very attractive rental returns on their investments, a trend which is likely to continue as the island’s appeal to tourists and long-term expats continues to grow. Preparing a property for rent starts at the purchasing stage. A buyer must…
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Property: Boat Avenue goes higher
PHUKET: The Boat Avenue community mall in the Laguna area is in the process of adding seven more shophouses in the main compound and will later build commercial structures along both sides of the newly constructed road. Boon Yongsakul, deputy managing director of Boat Development Company, an offshoot of the famous Boat Lagoon marina, told the Gazette that each of…
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Up in the air: Revamp taking its toll
PHUKET: There has been little reported progress in the ongoing restructuring of Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), and the slow-moving bureaucratic revamp is taking its toll across the entire Thai aviation industry. At the top of the aviation food chain, some Thai-registered commercial carriers have been forced to scrap requests for new routes. A number of important tourist source…
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Excuse Buster: Making Maori mighty
PHUKET: Seafood – alongside avocados and coconuts – is my all-time favorite meal. After living in landlocked locations in the United Kingdom and Europe for the past 12 years, it is good to be living in Phuket – back by the sea, enjoying fresh seafood again. On the menu in the Burton house last week were mussels tom-ka style, with…
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Brides go gaga for Baba wedding in Phuket [video]
PHUKET: The Thai Peranakan Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket, along with local government officials, are organizing a mass ‘Baba Yaya’ wedding ceremony at Sukko Spa Resort with dinner to follow at 75 VT Nam Neaung Restaurant in Phuket Town on June 21. The event celebrates more than 200 years of local traditional weddings in the ‘Baba…
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Phuket Pads: Great home, great community
PHUKET: The perfect family home is located on a secure estate just walking distance from British International School, and only 15 minutes from Phuket International Academy, two of the most well-known international schools on the island. The six-bedroom – or five-bedroom plus office – home is in an estate which is already full of expat families, making it extremely convenient…
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Property: Small condos boost in sales
PHUKET: A sea change set in for Phuket’s condominium market post-2008 with units smaller than 70 square meters now vastly outnumbering larger ones, according to in-depth research results by Knight Frank Thailand. Research director for Knight Frank Thailand, Risinee Sarikaputra, explained last month that prior to 2008, as much as 84% of Phuket’s condominium supply was larger than 70sqm, with…
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Gardening: Between a rock and a hard place
PHUKET: I was recently invited by my good friend Paul Maitland-Smith to Cebu, in the Philippines. Like Phuket, Cebu is an island, and on much the same latitude. It is, however, considerably larger, with mountains rising to 3,300 feet – twice the height of those in Phuket. Much of the tropical vegetation there prompted memories of the hillside rainforests in…
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Topping charter charts
PHUKET: Northrop & Johnson Asia won the distinguished ‘Best Asia-based Charter Company’ award at the 2015 Asia Boating Awards in Hong Kong earlier this month. Created by Asia-Pacific Boating and China Boating magazines in 2005, the annual Asia Boating Awards recognize the best in the Asian maritime industry and beyond. The awards serve as a benchmark for the industry in…
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Books: Failed search for next giant
PHUKET: I’ve long sought for the successors to the twentieth century giants of Brazilian literature, Jorge Amado and Erico Verissimo. So far, I’ve failed. Daniel Galera’s novel Blood-Drenched Beard (The Penguin Press, New York, 2014, 374pp) is the latest disappointment. The prose is pedestrian, the pace leaden and the plot improbable, shading into preposterous. The entire mess limps along in…
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Looking Back: Friar fights way to Siam
PHUKET: Throughout his life, King Naresuan fought many wars with the Burmese in order to liberate Siam from their control. Toward the end of his reign, in the year 1600, Siam had recovered its independence and peace was restored. During this time, the king worked to restore foreign trade for the Kingdom. Due to ongoing wars between Burma and Cambodia,…
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Southern Asian, Arabic visitors lift Phuket rental market
PHUKET: Although a plunge in the number of Russian visitors hit Phuket’s rental market hard this high season, the unsettling gap narrowed slightly through a small increase in Southern Asian and Arabic travellers, said Dexter Norville, Jones Lang LaSalle’s director for Thailand. This rental market is made up of the usual crowd of Europeans, Australians and Russians, but now more…
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Excuse Buster: Right kind of pressure
PHUKET: The word is out about self myofascial release – foam rolling – and, no, Phuket people, this doesn’t have to do with a ‘soapy’ or ‘happy-ending release’. Foam rolling was once a secretive technique used by professional coaches and therapists, but has become a regular practice for people across the spectrum of fitness levels. Self myofascial release is in…
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Sea Co-working space to bring waves of change to Phuket’s shores
PHUKET: THE SEA Co-working Space and Marine Library Cafe in Phuket Old Town welcomes people of all walks of life to join projects, events and discussions as the co-owners – Saovapa Atsilarat and Krongkaew Soo-ampon – work to make Phuket more sustainable, one minimized carbon footprint at a time. Housed in a 3-storey building, the venue offers complete office infrastructure,…
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In Focus: Pity the poor pangolin
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette recently reported a gruesome find: a couple strangled and left to rot in a dense rubber plantation in Krabi. People were guided to the spot by the stench; the couple had been dead for about five days. This man and wife were pangolin hunters and the likely explanation for their demise – so far not confirmed…
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