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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Ten year ‘Geeza Visa’ now available for Retirees in Thailand.
The 10-year visa for foreign retirees is now available at an Immigration office near you. Despite the top Immigration officer’s announcement today many offices are unaware of the change and new availability of the 10 year visa option. Lt. Gen. Natthathorn Prohsunthorn says the new visa comes in two installments, each lasting five years. Foreigners from 14 countries who meet…
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What makes a good rental villa?
Not everyone who has gone through the process of owning or building a villa will want to rent it out. Even if you don’t, rentability can have a significant impact on the asset and resale value so it’s well worth being aware of a given property’s potential appeal to the rental market. Here are a few things to consider: Location…
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From Russia with Love. Russian buyers on the rebound.
From Russia with Love might is a James Bond 007 thriller but it has also been a mantra for island developers as the past nine months has seen a strong uptick in demand in Phuket real estate by Russian buyers. According to the recently released Phuket Russian Tourism Market report, over 51% of Russian travelers to Thailand come to Phuket.…
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Do we need a new airport at Phang Nga?
As Thailand’s Phang Nga Province recorded a record high of nearly 4.5 million visitors in 2016, the lack of a gateway airport is looking to be a key stumbling block, according to a new report by consulting group C9 Hotelworks. Annual arrivals growth has slowed since 2014, but the compound annual growth rate for the five years ending 2016 remains…
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Charging ahead. Electric car charging stations coming to Thailand.
The Thailand chapters of four industrial companies are pooling their resources to work towards public charging stations for the next generation of electric cars in the country. Greenlots, BMW Group Thailand, Polytechnology and the Central Group are set to launch ‘Charge Now’ in Thailand which they claim is already the world’s largest network of charging stations for electric and hybrid…
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Property Lawyer Matthew McEvily Passes Away
Well-known longtime Phuket real estate lawyer Matthew McEvily passed away in the United States on June 20th. He was 59 years old. McEvily was actively involved in the real estate sector in Phuket, Bangkok and Samui. For a number of years he was a a partner in McEvily & Collins law firm, and later on his own under McEvily and…
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Malaysia considers restricting foreign property purchases
A hot topic over the past month has been the Malaysian government’s review and possible increase of the set minimum of investment in property by foreign buyers.Currently the level for the most part is RM1 million (approximately USD225,000), The trigger of the issue has been the weakening Malaysian currency, the ringgit, which has been on the slide for a continued…
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Congratulations Mareeya Poonlertlarp, our new Miss Thailand 2017
25 year old Mareeya Poonlertlarp is a half-Thai, half-Swedish model, and has been crowned Miss Thailand Universe 2017 at Siam Paragon Hall in Bangkok. Marayee is 183cm tall, a postgraduate in marketing from the Stockholm Business School and claims to be fluent in four languages – Thai, Swedish, English and Mandarin. She has won one million baht, a diamond tiara…
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Smart solar roofs. Is this the start of free electricity?
There’s always plenty of sun here in Phuket, even in the wet season and particularly in the dry season. For owners of villas and condominiums the changes in weather signal a sharp escalation of electric bills which continue to be one of the leading costs of living in paradise. One new innovation that has caught my eye is the new…
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Letter to Thai Immigration
Congratulations to the Thai Immigration Department for its forward thinking on helping to attract additional tourists by waving visa fees for some countries and halving the visa-on-arrival cost for others. A stroke of genius. I’m not sure how you will inform the citizens of these countries of your cunning plan to lure back the tourists in the wake of the…
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Mixing drinking with Facebook
A recent statement by Pol Gen Verachai Songmetta and its subsequent reporting by Thai Rath and the Bangkok Post has created an uproar. The police officer stated that anyone posting photos of alcohol on social media could face legal action resulting in a maximum fine of 50,000 baht. Some people joked that they deleted half of their facebook photos after…
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Hooper Trips Asia – Inle Lake Sunset
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has been a rock and a large part of documenting the island’s news and culture for many years. I have been an avid reader since the day I arrived in Phuket 13 years ago. I am so honored to have finally been a tiny part of it as it takes it’s final bow. So many of…
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Hooper Trips Asia: Tennger Farmer
The Tengger Hill People of East Java, Indonesia are a strong, proud people rich in culture and full of life. Their livelihood is dependent on the volcano Mt Bromo that dominates their landscape. It brings them the fertile soil from which they so proudly grow their beautiful, giant vegetables. Their homes are perched precariously on the cliffs of the Bromo…
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Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek 2017 set to welcome sailors from around the world
PHUKET: Entries continue to be received for the 14th Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek which takes place July 19-23 off Phuket’s east coast. The four-day four-party format has proven popular with sailors from around the globe as the fleet is expected to grow to approximately 40 boats come race day, with up to 500 sailors from more than 25 countries…
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Excuse Buster: Importance of protein in our daily diets
PHUKET: I recently consulted with a client who was preparing for a triathlon here. It was clear from his lab results and symptoms (poor recovery and fatigue) that his protein consumption was too low. When we analyzed his daily protein amount, it was only about 50gs per day, when it was clear based on his weight and training routine that…
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Property Watch: Welcome to Phuket’s Darwinian season
PHUKET: I love nature, the environment, and all it has to offer. However, I know that my shark fin soup eating ways aren’t popular, and my Darwinistic sympathies applied to nature will be mocked on social media as simplistic and outdated. However, Darwin’s Theory and Phuket are linked. Phuket has it’s own environments – natural and economic, and these environments…
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Profile: Georges Ciret – Tales from the wine cellar
PHUKET: Georges Ciret is currently the Wine Director at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale in Phuket. With more than 40 years of experience in wine making and hospitality, he brings unique skills to the craft that few others could boast of. “We have a big collection at Villa Royale, with more than 300 labels from all over the world. We always…
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Hooper Trips Asia: Schwe Indein Pagoda Village Woman
I have always said that ‘wrinkles’ add character and show that someone has really lived a full and eventful life. On this particular afternoon in the remote waterways of Myanmar, I happened upon a fabulous example of life’s wrinkles. I had taken a very arduous longboat tour far up a tributary of Inle Lake as we were travelling to the…
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Hooper Trips Asia: Inle Lake Boy, Inle Lake, Myanmar
Life on Inle Lake hasn’t changed much in the last 150 years. It is an idyllic place in this modern world where life is far less complicated. It is not an easy life by any means; hard manual labor is commonplace, but the slow paced, easy going nature of the people is a treasure. Here a young village boy toils…
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Hooper Trips Asia: Pao Village Girls, Inle Lake, Myanmar
On the banks of the idyllic Inle Lake in Central Myanmar, the shores teem with life. Tribes from all over the region come down from surrounding villages to trade goods, fish, play, and of course gossip. These girls were deep into their stories as I happened upon them laughing on the Lake’s shore. The fantastic, rich colors of their headdress…
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Footloose: Exploring the wonders of Racha Noi
PHUKET: Racha Noi Island is located some 20 kilometers off the southern tip of Phuket. Unlike its big brother Racha Yai, Racha Noi is much smaller, more secluded and less frequented than Racha Yai. Construction is forbidden so it leaves Racha Noi with no hotels or accommodation. The island is covered in dense tropical jungle and is uninhabited by people.…
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Profile: Pawadee Suwannakarn – Striving to keep Phuket culture alive
PHUKET: Pawadee Suwannakarn is a Phuket native who has worked in her family’s business ‘Taweesuwan’ for years. Taweesuwan was originally established as a local jewelry business, selling diamonds pendants, necklaces, rings, earrings, bangles and bracelets. It is also one of the oldest and most well-known jewelry businesses on the island. A graduate from Exeter University in the United Kingdom, Ms…
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Hooper Trips Asia: Novice Monks walking morning alms
PHUKET: To visit Bagan in Central Myanmar is to walk through a portal back in time. Life meanders at a much slower cadence here and it’s simple beauty can’t help but soak into your bones. For over 2,500 years the tradition of Buddhist monks walking morning alms has been rooted here. It’s a glimpse into the very fabric of Burmese…
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Excuse Buster: Health benefits of raw, natural cacao
PHUKET: “Basic science has demonstrated quite convincingly that dark chocolate, particularly with a cocoa content of at least 70%, reduces oxidative stress and improves vascular and platelet function,” commented Frank Ruschitzka, professor of cardiology and Director of Heart Failure/Transplantation at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. Who doesn’t love consuming chocolate in one form or another? However, one question I often…
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Profile: Aaron Hooper – Striving for the joy of pure creation
PHUKET: Aaron Hooper is an award-winning chef, originally from the US. Having moved to Thailand and worked in the restaurant business for nearly 15 years in Phuket and Bangkok, he has recently refocused his interest toward writing and photography. Aaron was an English major in college, where he also studied photography. Choosing then to take a sabbatical, he travelled around…
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On Deck: Samui – The unpolished marine jewel of Thailand
PHUKET: Samui is an island of coconuts and a microcosm of Thailand’s modern tourism industry, with facilities geared to backpackers at one end of the scale, right up to five-star resorts at the other, and everything in between. From a marine perspective, it is – to some extent – an unpolished jewel. If Samui Island was on Thailand’s east coast,…
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Infinity Condominium launches new project in Bang Tao
PHUKET: Infinity Condominium held the grand opening of its seven-storey condo project in Bang Tao late last month. The project will comprise of 78 units ranging from 59 square meters to 60.6sqm and include one bedroom, two bedroom, and two bedroom deluxe condominiums. “Construction will start by end of the year and is expected to be completed in two years.…
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Profile: Mexican Ambassador Jaime Nualart meets with the Gazette team
PHUKET: Jaime Nualart is currently the Ambassador of Mexico to Thailand. Born in Mexico City in 1952, Amb Nualart remembers his childhood with fondness. “I went to a good school and was among the top three students in my class. I had good friends, but I was also very shy. That is perhaps the reason my mother decided to enroll…
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On Deck: Submersibles for the average Joe
PHUKET: Submarines are a hot topic in Thailand right now. These hulking underwater “monsters” have been top of the Royal Thai Navy’s shopping list for a long time and now, finally, they have been given the green light to buy. There’s been plenty of debate in the last few years, but previous attempts were ultimately shot down. The two main…
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Footloose: The hidden wonders of Koh Lipe
PHANG NGA: Koh Lipe is situated in the Andaman Sea, about 85 kilometers off the coast of Satun Province. The tiny island is part of the Adang-Rawi archipelago. In recent years Koh Lipe has grown to become a popular destination among backpackers and travellers looking for the raw and authentic island experience. Unlike some of the more familiar islands in…
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