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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Much ado about Ewan McGregor – Phuket Books
PHUKET: Movie star Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Booring rode big BMW motorcycles from London to New York, chronicled in the book and TV documentary The Long Way Around. Nathan Braund has published a book called The Wrong Way Round to Ewan McGregor (FeedARead Publishing, funded by the British Arts Council, UK, 2013, 220pp). This slim volume is based…
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Phuket Gardening: A maze in a month?
PHUKET: Some weeks ago, I received a most unusual, perhaps I should say labyrinthine email – a request from Phuket resident Alex Riva who explained: “I am planning to plant a hedge maze and was wondering what is the most cost effective and recommended type of hedge.” Somewhat bemused, I wrote back requesting more specific details. The reply included the…
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Party with red passion – Phuket Events
PHUKET: SKAL International Phuket and South Thailand is holding its Annual Charity Dinner next Saturday, November 23, and it looks set to be the biggest yet, with loads of live entertainment and gourmet food. This year’s event, dubbed “Red Passion”, will be held at the island’s hottest new venue – Zazada Beach Club. It’s open to the public and will…
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Phuket hotelier seeks help to give kids a break
PHUKET: They say “what you give is what you get”. But Simon Luttrell, a Phuket-based hotel owner wants to take it one step further. His goal is to give to people who have very little and expect nothing in return. It was 2005 when Simon built his first hotel in Phuket – a small building near the international airport. And…
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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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Monsoon season skies – Phuket Aviation
PHUKET: Air. Of all the things we take for granted in our life, few are as easily overlooked as that chemical soup that surrounds and sustains us, breath by breath. Air is easy to take for granted; after all, it is colorless and odorless. Unless you are climbing Mt Everest, trapped in an air-tight vault, or happen to live near…
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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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Due diligence on outstanding tax – Phuket Property Legal
PHUKET: When land and/or buildings are held by a Thai company, many owners of such companies, when contemplating a sale of the company owned property, require prospective purchasers to buy and take over their existing company in lieu of a direct sale and transfer of the underlying properties. In many cases, such companies have a low registered capital and face…
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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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Phuket’s ice cream man
PHUKET: Having your own ice cream factory… admit it, you dreamed about it when you were a kid, but sadly for most of us, life ends up getting in the way. For executive chef Flavio Manzoni, however, this dream came true. Along with his wife Gai, Flavio churns out as many as five hundred liters of delicious, icy goodness a…
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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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How the west was won and where it got us – Phuket Books
PHUKET: Comanches and Texas Rangers feature prominently in Philip Meyer’s new novel The Son (Ecco, New York, 2013, 561pp) and its popular success undoubtedly springs from the buying power of a legion of fans of Larry McMurthy’s Lonesome Dove. This 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork centered on two ageing ex-Texas Rangers and the villainous Comanche renegade Blue Duck. The Son goes…
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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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Phuket Property Watch: Lost in Chiang Mai
PHUKET: I’ve always had an aversion to things that go bump in the night, but as our Thai Smile jet ramps up to 33,000 feet, an extended period of turbulence has left my forehead battered, but not bruised. Yes, the flight attendants shock orange uniforms put me into a Halloween mood, yet they move about the cabin like apparitions –…
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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 In Focus: The bug buffet
PHUKET: Thailand’s Department of Health has concurred with a recent United Nations study, confirming that edible insects are indeed a high-protein food source, and thus may be an ideal solution in tackling world hunger and malnutrition if not turning a considerable profit for the keen investor. Through its Asia and Pacific regional office in Bangkok, the UN’s Food and Agriculture…
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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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