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 Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you
Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...
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Profile: Thomas and Sonia Baumgartner – all eyes on the finish line
PHUKET: Thomas and Sonja Baumgartner may be two among thousands of athletes who competed in this year’s Laguna Phuket Triathlon, but their story is an inspiring one nonetheless. Hailing from snowy Switzerland, the couple are regular vacationers to Phuket. Although of an active and sporty disposition, they had never thought about taking part in a triathlon event until their daughter…
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By the book: Preparing your property for sale
PHUKET: The onset of high season is here again. The monsoon rains have passed, the sun is out and businesses are preparing for the influx of tourists to Phuket. The next six months are when most buyers will visit Phuket and when most property sales occur. Phuket real estate brokers will have already been short-listing those properties they will concentrate…
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Second phase of Cassia apartments attracts investors with assurance of 7 p/c returns
Advertorial World-class developer of premium resorts, hotels and residences, The Banyan Tree Group is enticing investors to Cassia Phuket apartments at Laguna Phuket with a promise of 7 per cent returns over three years for owners. With the first phase already sold out, the second phase of the contemporary upmarket two-bedroom apartments in the grounds of the Laguna resort are…
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Profile: Silvano Stabile – Taking Phuket radio to new heights
PHUKET: It’s not everyday that you meet someone who inspires you and makes you look forward to what life has in store. A chat with Silvano Stabile, Phuket’s radio extraordinairé and the voice behind the popular Phuket radio show Voice of the Lizard, gives you exactly that. He was born in Italy, but moved to France at a young age.…
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On Deck: Perfect time to be messing about in boats
PHUKET: I’ve never met Kenneth Grahame. It would be rather difficult, as he passed away in 1932. However, he seemed to have a good outlook on yachting. In his classic book The Wind in the Willows, Rat said to Mole: “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing…
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Profile: ASR co-founder Gordon Fernandes talks superyachts
PHUKET: Gordon Fernandes, one of the best-known super-yacht professionals in Phuket, is the general manager of Asia Pacific Superyachts for Phuket and Myanmar. He is also the co-founder and organizer, along with Captain Charlie Dwyer, of the annual Asia Superyacht Rendezvous (ASR), which is this year celebrating its 16th event in Phuket. Having worked in Thailand for many years, Gordon’s…
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Property Watch: Not everything can be ‘unique’
PHUKET: No other word suffers as much abuse in the Phuket property market as the word ‘unique’, to the extent that the misuse itself is almost unique. The word is important for property investors, because the ‘Unique Selling Point’ is a factor that ought to be addressed at an early stage of investment. However, items that are not unique could…
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Laguna Phuket bags AMCHAM CSR award
PHUKET: The American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Thailand has awarded Laguna Phuket with the 2016 US Ambassador’s Award for CSR Excellence, in recognition of the resort’s long-term community development projects. The resort got a triple nod at the 2016 AMCHAM CSR Excellence (ACE) awards ceremony in Bangkok for its ‘Seedlings Internship Program’ along with its community development and environmental…
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Excuse Buster: Alternatives to the ‘white devil’
PHUKET: “This may seem exaggerated and far-fetched, but sugar is the most dangerous drug of the times and can still be easily acquired everywhere,” says Paul van der Velpen, the head of Amsterdam’s health service. This is the same Amsterdam where the sale of cannabis is legalized. Research that refined sugar is one of the main reasons for our current…
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Profile: DJ Kura draws crowds of thousands
PHUKET: DJ Kura, named as the 51st most popular DJ in the world, according to DJ Mag’s list of ‘Top 100 DJs of 2016’, performed for more than 3,800 partygoers at the Illuzion nightclub in Patong last night. A DJ and producer, Kura was born on August 21, 1987 and has been DJing for 11 years now. He is originally…
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Across the Land: Proposed 10-year visa for over-50s
PHUKET: Finally, after years and years of consideration and watching other neighboring countries benefit from attracting foreign residents for long-term resident stays, the Thai government has announced a long term (ten-year) visa for foreigners over the age of 50. The intention is to promote Thailand as an international hub for medical services. As Thailand plans to develop itself into a…
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First ‘Superyacht Winner’s Cup’ up for grabs at 2016 rendezvous
PHUKET: Elite sail and motor superyachts are meeting at the prestigious 16th annual Asia Superyacht Rendezvous (ASR) at SALA Resort & Spa on December 16-18. ASR 2016 co-sponsor Benetti Yachts, along with Asia Pacific Superyachts, Lux Media Group and a range of high-end sponsors, as well as global and national media partners, join organizers in announcing the first ever ‘Rendezvous…
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On Deck: Ready for a wet ‘n’ wild year end?
PHUKET: Are you ready for the busiest time of the year? Not Christmas and New Year, but the six or so weeks of marine industry madness that is upon us. Kicking things off is the Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show. From 24th to 27th November, eyes are on the Gulf of Thailand as boat brands from around the world join…
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Keep it green: A big world on a small planet
PHUKET: Louts and hooligans are often accused of ‘behaving like animals’. Unlike most cliches, the expression is a complete fabrication and does a grave disservice to animals everywhere. The world is full of human beings behaving badly. Homo sapiens, not your wild creature, are the louts mindlessly bent on destruction, not only of others but ultimately of themselves. Animals kill…
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Athletes, organizers prepare for Ironman 70.3
PHUKET: Some of the world’s fittest human beings are preparing to put their endurance to the test and compete for the US$15,000 professional prize purse at the upcoming inaugural Foremost Ironman 70.3 Thailand and Foremost Ironkids event to be held in Phuket on November 27 and 26, respectively. The Ironman athletes are to set off from Bangtao Beach for the…
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M/Y Narvalo wins superyacht design award
PHUKET: The International Superyacht Society (ISS) has awarded Cantiere delle Marche’s explorer yacht M/Y Narvalo the ‘ISS Leadership and Design Award 2016’ in the category ‘Best Interior Design’. Designed by Nauta Yachts and built at the Ancona shipyard in Italy, the 108-foot steel and aluminum vessel was given the prestigious award after a “highly selective” voting process, according to the…
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Property Watch: How to lose a property sale
PHUKET: Some of you will have had the feeling of seeing the bus you are waiting for gliding by just seconds before you reach the bus stop. Others will only be able to empathize, perhaps comparing their experience of their Mercedes breaking down and a mechanic not being immediately available to fix the issue. Whatever part of the wealth spectrum…
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Profile: Thai national Ironman Tassawan Sirivongs raring to go
PHUKET: Bangkok native Tassawan Sirivongs is a Thai national Ironman, a Master’s degree holder from France, and the Executive Director at Ramkhamhaeng Hospital, Bangkok. She has competed in at least a hundred triathlon competitions worldwide, including events in New York, Japan, Australia and Sweden. Ms Tassawan is competing in the Laguna Phuket Triathlon to be held in Phuket on November…
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Gardening: Putting annuals on display
PHUKET: All gardeners know about annuals, biennials and perennials: annuals bloom only once, and will need to be re-planted or re-sown the following year. Biennials, on the other hand, generally flower the year after they have been planted and then give up the ghost, while perennials, in the right conditions, will come back year after year. If the distinction is…
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Kata Group hosts its 18th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Under Royal Patronage will once again be hosted at Kata Beach Resort & Spa, one of six properties owned and managed by the Kata Group. The resort is the long-established home of the King’s Cup, with a partnership that stretches back to 1998. With its beachfront location on one of Phuket’s most scenic bays,…
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Excuse Buster: Obesity may be more complicated than we think
PHUKET: ‘The cause of obesity is eating too many calories and not exercising enough’. That’s still the current theory and what I was taught 20 years ago. It was the focus of my work with clients until I began to look beyond the physics and delve into other factors. These included the role of hormones such as thyroid, insulin, leptin…
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Profile: Sriya Yongsakul – Building her own empire
PHUKET: Born and bred in Phuket, Sriya Yongsakul is a well-known boating personality on the island. Hailing from the family that runs Phuket Boat Lagoon, Ms Sriya is a businesswoman, mother and sports enthusiast. After spending her childhood in Phuket, she left for Bangkok to earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting at Chulalongkorn University, and then to England to obtain…
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Looking back: Always there for his own people
PHUKET: Last month, on October 13, 2016, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away. As the royal procession brought his body from Siriraj Hospital to the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace, a surreal gloom blanketed the city of Bangkok as hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to pay their respects. The most vibrant city…
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Across the land: Burial plots become prime real estate
PHUKET: The current world population is 7.3 billion, but it is expected to hit 8.5 billion by the year 2030 and 9.7 billion by 2050, according to a new United Nations DESA report, titled ‘World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision‘. Asia Pacific is also now home to half of the world’s population of elderly persons, defined as people aged 60…
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Profile: The man who met the King
PHUKET: Ngeem Damrongkaset is a member of Rawai sea gypsy community. Now in his 70s, he had a chance to meet His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej when he first visited Phuket in 1959. “I was about 12 years old at the time,” says Mr Ngeem. “I can still picture it clearly. Every person in our community had gathered together and…
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By The Book: Renting a villa in Phuket
PHUKET: Renting a villa or apartment long term is very popular in Thailand, especially in resort areas such as Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Koh Samui. Many would-be buyers are deciding to hold off and rent for a year or more while they get to know the area and learn the ways of Thailand without so much risk. Renting long…
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Keep It Green: Mangroves – a vital eco-system component
PHUKET: Coral reefs attract far more publicity than mangrove swamps. After all, coral is spectacularly beautiful, and affords protection to some of the world’s most spectacular fishes – clown fish, parrot fish, wrasse and literally hundreds of other species. From the air, mangrove swamps also look appealing, but close up are muddy and turbid with unsightly roots and often have…
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Elite weigh anchor for Asia Superyacht Rendezvous
PHUKET: The Asia Superyacht Rendezvous (ASR) has welcomed many of the world’s finest uber-luxurious craft to Phuket over the past 15 years and this year’s event is no exception. The Phuket ASR 2016 is a custom-designed gathering specially for superyacht owners and captains, and the organizers are very exited about some of the new vessels streaming in for the show…
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Cycling to raise funds for tsunami victims
PHUKET: Charitable organizations all over the world receive thousands in aid to keep their operations running smoothly. However, advocates of one such organization, called the ‘Happy World Tour’, that represents an orphanage in Phuket, takes funding to the next level via projects across nations and continents. This year, three cyclists have decided to cycle around the world. The orphanage in…
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Profile: His Majesty through foreign eyes
PHUKET: In surveying the scope of achievements made by His Majesty the King, the incalculable benefits he wrought for Thailand and its people rightly take precedent. But no picture of his 70-year reign can be complete without appreciating the central role he commanded in Thailand’s foreign relations. His Majesty not only set the tone for warm ties with foreign leaders…
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