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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  • Looking Back: History of the Emerald Buddha

    Looking Back: History of the Emerald Buddha

    PHUKET: The Emerald Buddha is one of Thailand’s most revered artifacts. Contrary to its name, it is actually carved out of jade. It is a figurine of the seated meditating Buddha. A beautiful and ancient piece of art, it draws tens of thousands of visitors to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew every year. No one really knows who…

  • Profile: Watcharapong Saikaew – First professional CMP in Thailand

    Profile: Watcharapong Saikaew – First professional CMP in Thailand

    PHUKET: Watcharapong Saikaew, or Pom, as he is better known, is the Assistant Director of Events at Angsana Laguna Phuket and the first Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) in Thailand. With a lucrative career and a four-year Hotel and Tourism Management degree from Prince of Songkla University under his belt, he is a proud flag bearer for the Banyan Tree group,…

  • Excuse buster: The miracles of nature’s ‘super foods’

    Excuse buster: The miracles of nature’s ‘super foods’

    PHUKET: One thing in common at nearly all the centers I work at in Phuket is giving clients Apple Cider vinegar. Either clients have it as a salad dressing or it’s given with water before meals. A lot has been written about its remarkable healing properties. Is it a true health wonder or is it mostly fiction? I am always…

  • Keep It Green: Small initiatives to clean up the environment

    Keep It Green: Small initiatives to clean up the environment

    PHUKET: In one of his last essays, “Civilization and Its Discontents”, Sigmund Freud, one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, argued that mankind had a ‘death wish’, a willed capacity for self-destruction. “Civilization’s aim was,” he said, “to combine single human individuals, families, then races, peoples and nations into one great unity, the unity of mankind”. But he…

  • Understanding your place on the happiness scale [video] | Thaiger

    Understanding your place on the happiness scale [video]

    PHUKET: There is no single key to happiness that will work for every single person out there, which is what makes Lisa Cypers Kamen’s holistic approach to understanding where we are on the happiness scale, and where we want to be, so insightful. ‘Are We Happy Yet? Eight Keys to Unlocking a Joyful Life’ is a hands-on guide to changing…

  • Law, Life and Society: Consequences of holiday debauchery

    Law, Life and Society: Consequences of holiday debauchery

    PHUKET: There are numerous ‘dek khrueng’ or ‘half-children’ born to women who work in Thailand’s red-light districts. Many foreign men come to Thailand for a short holiday to spend their time with Thai women. Some of them leave without knowing that they have a child. Others know about, but still decide to return to their home country. These women are…

  • Profile: What victory means for Miss Grand Krabi 2017

    Profile: What victory means for Miss Grand Krabi 2017

    PHUKET: Phuket native Pamela Pasinetti was recently crowned ‘Miss Grand Krabi 2017’. Poised and elegant in her gown and tiara, Pamela spoke to Simon J Hand of Gazette Radio to talk about her pageant experience. Now 23 years of age, Pamela has always had big dreams. “I’ve always wanted to be a pageant queen,” she smiled. “It’s something every young…

  • ‘Flying moth’ comes to town

    ‘Flying moth’ comes to town

    PHUKET: There’s a new bird in town that goes by the name of Shadow. Light as a feather and built entirely with carbon fiber, the Shadow is a Moth equipped with hydrofoils that allow it to ‘fly’ up to a height of at least 5 feet. The idea of the ‘Moth’ dates back to 1928 when the first model of…

  • Gardening: Two valuable Mexican climbers

    Gardening: Two valuable Mexican climbers

    PHUKET: I am not talking about social climbers or even those intrepid fellows who scale up the sheer cliffs at Railay. Rather, I’m referring to two members of the vine brigade who have received less than their due footage in these columns. I was reminded of the value of the garlic vine when I visited an estate, the common parts…

  • Party it up like you’re in Ibiza

    Party it up like you’re in Ibiza

    PHUKET: Did you know that the Balearic island of Ibiza and the Andaman island of Phuket are within a few square miles of being the same size? There are other connections too: quite a large chunk of Ibiza has UNESCO World Heritage status, while Phuket cuisine recently picked up the UNESCO seal of approval. Additionally, a significant and growing chunk…