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 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Disaster Relief Fund in Phuket
PHUKET: The Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Disaster Relief Fund was started by the Rotary Club of Patong Beach, and aims to collect funds for the victims of the recent natural disaster. The donations will be sent directly to Philippine Rotary Clubs in the affected areas over the next few days and weeks, before being allocated in the most effective way. Already…
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Beasties and beauties – Phuket Gardening
PHUKET: In a recent email, a colleague enclosed some photographs with the observation: “At home I came across this group of [tiny] mantids – about 100 minimum” which appeared to be mimicking ants. He added: “Have you ever seen so many?” My response was “No”, but I said I suspected they had just emerged from the safety of their protective…
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Diamond condo sparkles – Phuket Property
PHUKET: Diamond Condominium, the latest project to be developed in Phuket’s high-end Bang Tao Beach area, is located just 400 meters from the beach, and minutes from the Laguna resort complex. The six rai (9,600sqm) property will contain four separate buildings surrounding a central swimming pool and landscaped community recreation area. In all, the four buildings will contain 388 units…
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Phuket Events: Abba-cadabra!
PHUKET: With no time machine available, it seems that only magic can take us back in time. But this past weekend at Laguna Phuket what took us for an amazing journey was music – and it certainly was magical!“The gates open at 6:30pm” the tickets clearly stated. But that didn’t stop a line forming in front of Laguna Latitude Marquee…
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Light shined on blackouts – Phuket Diving
PHUKET: The death of PADI professional and freediving enthusiast Denis Lipatov last month brought into sharp focus the specter that continues to haunt the sport of freediving – shallow water blackouts (click here for article). Even the term “shallow water blackout” is rife with confusion within the freediving community, and even more so within the scuba diving community and general…
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Phuket Gardening – A fly in the ointment
PHUKET: Insects are one of the most successful forms life has taken on earth. There are as many as 1,800,000 different species, probably more. And there is no shortage of them here in Phuket. Any self-respecting gardener will be aware of these “critters”: they lurk everywhere in our carefully tended flower beds, shrubberies and vegetable plots. And they are a…
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Phuket Gardening – Full of Ficus
PHUKET: In Saint Luke’s Gospel, Christ delivers a parable about a fig tree, barren for three years, in which the owner is exhorted to cut it down. The owner pleads: “let it alone this year “so that he can “dig about it and dung it. And if it bears, well: And if not thou shalt cut it down.” In another…
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Commercial real estate thrives – Phuket Property Watch
PHUKET: Direct investment volumes in global real estate markets reached US$125 billion in the third quarter (Q3) of the year, preliminary findings by real estate capital solutions firm, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) show. Preliminary transaction volumes in the first three quarters of 2013 are up 16% over the same time period in 2012, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Capital Markets…
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A blessing in disguise – Phuket In Focus
PHUKET: “Under the weather” is one way to describe how I was initially feeling one Monday morning last month as I started traversing the city-block on foot, westward bound for the province’s prime asphalt artery, where I could catch a sawng taeo to work. My oversized umbrella – held down at my side like it had been the pride of…
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Parisian street art colors Phuket
PHUKET: Renowned French street artist Noe Two is a regular visitor to Phuket, having visited the island several times in the past to paint murals in his signature style of psychedelic colors and graffiti lettering. Perhaps his best known piece here is the portrait of a young Thai girl, painted on a wall in the historic Soi Romanee in old…
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A Princess in Phang Nga Bay – Phuket Lifestyle
PHUKET: What makes a boat luxurious is not only the boat itself, it’s the quality of service on board. Boat Lagoon Cruises Luxury Charters proved this point clearly on their recent promotional cruise. I’ve seen it all – the spacious interiors, attention to detail, high quality materials, a design that combines beauty with comfort. In many ways, the White Pearl…
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E is for ericas and eucalypts – Phuket Gardening
PHUKET: There are plenty of plants which names begin with the letter “E” but none that can rival the 2,000 strong euphorbia family. So large is the genus that that one unheralded member completely slipped through the net last week. Naturalized here, E. cotonifolia bears absolutely no resemblance to the exotic crown of thorns, or even to the brilliant yellow…
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Bumper to bumper in Myanmar – Phuket Property Watch
PHUKET: There is nothing quite like raw, naked ambition. Well not exactly, but that’s perhaps best left for another time and place. Last week I found myself straight in the middle of boomtown – Yangon, Myanmar. Stopping off as I usually do for an afternoon coffee at the historically-twinged Strand Hotel, the smiling waiter pulled out his smartphone and showed…
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Building for sustainability – Phuket property
PHUKET: The earth possesses a finite amount of natural resources – ores, timber, oils, for example – but our demand for those resources is growing exponentially. It is time we start looking at serious alternatives to help reduce the amount of waste we produce in our quest for ever more buildings. It doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to…
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Good music is forever – Phuket Events
PHUKET: Mamma mia, Phuket’s gone crazy! The tickets for the upcoming Abba Forever show sold out in days. Guests from as far as Manila, Paris and Shanghai are coming to the island to sing along and dance to the evergreen hits of the legendary Swedish pop group – Abba! But not to worry – if you missed the chance to…
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Lock and load for dive high season – Phuket Diving
PHUKET: Lock on your tanks and load that gear on the boat because the Phuket diving high season is officially here. This year’s season was ushered in with the annual ruckus parties and dive show equipment suppliers, all brought to the industry pros of the entire Andaman region by Dive Supply and Aqua Master. Free flow drinks and all-you-can-eat grub…
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Figs for all tastes – Phuket Gardening
PHUKET: One of the stranger aspects of attempting an alphabetical survey of plants is that you end up with some odd bedfellows. Take the letter “F” for example. It embraces the huge genus of figs or ficus to give the family its botanical appellation. In Plant Materials in Thailand, no fewer than 24 different varieties are listed; they dominate the…
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Hats off to the PIWC
PHUKET: While Australia’s Melbourne Cup is regarded as one of the great horse races of the world, equally important is what goes on off the track. And it’s all to do with fashion – or more particularly, the hats. The focus of this colorful extravaganza is known as Fashions on the Field, a tradition at every function that celebrates this…
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The evolution of Phuket’s MAMILS
PHUKET: One of the more amusing acronyms that the current boom in all things cycling related has spawned is “MAMILS”. MAMILS are of course “Middle Aged Men In Lycra” and if the tabloid media are to be believed, the Western world is awash with these rather dubious sounding creatures. Certainly Phuket has not been spared this plague, as a brief…
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Phuket’s middle path – Lifestyle
PHUKET: Right beside Kathu Waterfall, there exists a Phuket culinary gem. Krua Pailin, or Pailin’s Kitchen, is a long-standing establishment that has been serving authentic Phuket food to discerning locals for almost two decades now. But what actually is authentic Phuket food? We all know of the Peranakan version, influenced by Chinese tastes – noodles and such – which is…
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Royal Phuket Marina taps into rental market
PHUKET: Royal Phuket Marina (RPM) plunged into the island’s property rental market, releasing scores of luxury apartments for rent since the beginning of this year. There are almost 100 units in the RPM complex, and of these 40 units are available for rental, though currently only 20 per cent remain vacant. Formerly RPM was focused on property sales but since…
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Phuket’s ACE condo holds all the cards
PHUKET: ACE condominium, a nine storey building planned on Pang-meangsai Kor Road in Patong, on Phuket’s west coast, aims to attract people seeking an independent, fast-paced and fun, urban lifestyle. Deputy Managing Director of Patong Centre Co Ltd, Ms Alisa Likitittiruks,stated that the company expects to sell as much as 80-90 per cent of the project’s units this coming high…
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Phuket Events: Royal music concert
PHUKET: The King Rama IX and Princess Sirindhorn Music Library is organizing a mobile music exhibition entitled “The 8th King Rama IX Royal Compositions” which will be held from October 31 to November 2 at Saphan Hin Park in Phuket Town (click here for map). The highlight of the event will be an impressive musical fountain and traditional dancing. The…
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Phuket Explore: World of small wonders
PHUKET: Founded more than 20 years ago by well known local doctor Prasit Koysiripong, Phuket Butterfly Garden and Insect World was the first tourist attraction of its kind on the island and is still thriving today. Six years ago Dr Prasit’s son-in-law Jaipet Hatthakham and his wife took over the business and have been steadily improving it to keep pace…
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Phuket Property: A fine finish for your pool
PHUKET: Currently expanding their operation in Phuket, Pebble Pools is leading the charge to bring an innovative and superior swimming pool surfacing product to the Thailand Market. Trained and certified by market-leading American company Pebble Technology Inc, Pebble Pools’ staff are able to surface any pool in Thailand with a patented, fine aggregate pebble finish – which has been developed…
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Phuket Events: Filling the gap
PHUKET: One basic need we share as humans, besides the bare necessities of food and shelter, is to tell and to hear stories – we all need some culture, some entertainment and fun to make our lives complete. In Phuket the shelter and food part are well taken care of, but the culture part sometimes seems to be a bit…
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Phuket Property: Best of the best 2013
PHUKET: Thailand’s real estate industry came together on Thursday, September 19 to acknowledge the best of the best at the 2013 Thailand Property Awards tand awards presentation ceremony held at the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Center at CentralWorld. In total, 33 awards were on offer, including regional awards for best condominiums and villa developments in Phuket, Hua Hin, Samui,…
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Phuket gardening: pure, natural ingredients
PHUKET: Though it is a 19th century Bavarian concept, there are plenty of beer gardens or biergarten around Phuket. Some really are gardens in delightful sylvan settings under mature tamarind or flame trees. Think Nikita’s in Rawai, or the row of hostelries along the hilly road from Nai Harn to Rawai. But I am more interested in a different kind…
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A walk in the (bird) park
PHUKET: I’m by no means a bird aficionado. Sure, I enjoy the chirping of birds in the morning and I was pretty stunned to see a tiny, humming-bird-sized sun-bird feeding on some flowers in front of my house the other day, but you won’t find me crawling through a bush with a pair of binoculars in search of a Great-billed…
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Ma Song on their way for Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Final preparations are underway as the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival draws closer. This year the festival will start on October 5. According to tradition, it will continue for nine days and draw to a close on October 13. Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket Office, Mr Chanchai Doungjit said: “This year we expect an influx of tourists…
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