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 Why health insurance costs more each year and how expats in Thailand can save more money
Each year, many expats living in Thailand see their health insurance premiums go up and often without a clear reason. This can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to plan your budget. But by understanding why prices rise and learning...
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The world’s longest flight needed new airline seats
PHOTO: Aviation International News Imagine sitting for 19 hours in one seat, travelling nearly 17,000 kilometres, from Newark to Singapore. The route, a return to long distances for Singapore Airlines since it canned the same route with the Airbus A340 in November 2013, will now be a lot more comfortable. The Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 Ultra Long Range service is…
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APEX launch Phuket’s most exclusive address
The Residences at Sheraton Phuket Grand Bay on Phuket’s east coast, a four billion baht development, includes a 5-star Sheraton resort and Phuket’s first Sheraton-branded residences of which 70% are already sold. Panoramic views across Po Bay to Ao Phang Nga National Park and the Phi Phi Islands beyond are what greet residents and visitors to Phuket’s most exclusive residential…
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More than 4 million Asians took a cruise last year – a 20% increase.
PHOTO: Travel Daily Media More than 4 million Asians took to the seas in 2017, aboard an ocean liner. A record-breaking 4,060,000 Asians took an ocean cruise in 2017 according to Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) – a 20.5 per cent increase from the 3,370,000 Asian passengers who boarded a passenger ship in 2016. At 20.5 per cent, the 2017…
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Six Outrigger Hotels sold to Singha Estate
Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort Singha Estate, trading on Thailand’s stock exchange yesterday (Wednesday), has announced the successful acquisition of six properties from Outrigger Hotel and Resorts, a Hawaii-based hotel chain. The acquisition is called at USD 310 million and part of Singha Estate’s strategic investment to expand its presence in high-yield tourist destinations around the world. Singha Estate has…
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Awaken life’s potential at Santosa Detox & Wellness Center
Located in the jungle-clad hills above Kata Beach on the Southwest Coast of Phuket, Santosa Detox & Wellness Center is a tropical retreat specialising in detox & wellness programs. If you are looking for an authentic detox experience with a personal touch, Santosa is the best choice. The dedicated staff at Santosa work with guests at their own pace to…
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Santiburi Koh Samui ‘launches’ a floating breakfast
Santiburi Koh Samui has created a choice of Exclusive Culinary Experiences for guests staying in one of the resort’s Grand Reserve Pool Villas or Grand Deluxe Pool Villas, as well as introducing more personalised in-room dining options for all resort guests. Those staying in a Grand Reserve Pool Villa or Grand Deluxe Pool Villa can indulge in the ultimate resort…
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Two more Chinese airlines flying into Pattaya
PHOTO: Planespotters.net More Chinese airlines heading to Thailand. This time they’re adding services to the eastern seaboard. Two Chinese airlines are headed to U-tapao airport, 36 km south of Pattaya. Donghai Airlines is flying from Wanzhou to U-tapao, while Kunming Airlines is launching a service from Kunming this July. Donghai Airlines is already flying three times a week to U-tapao…
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AXN Announces Asia’s Got Talent Season 3 – Open Auditions in Bangkok
PHOTO: Thailand’s “Powerstorm” made it into last year’s finals. Thailand, it’s time to get your act together! AXN has announced that the Bangkok open auditions for Asia’s Got Talent Season 3 will be held at SHOW DC, Thailand’s first entertainment and retail mega complex on Sunday, 17 June, 2018. Bangkok will be the first to kick off the regional Asia’s…
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A tale of two cities, Phuket style
By Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com The raindrops keep falling on my head. Rainy season always brings with it time to dust off the classics, and strangely enough, straight off my top shelf came Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Life is played out so well in these tattered pages, which are turned a mottled brown on the edges. There…
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Visiting the Elephant Sanctuary Park in Chiang Mai
By Sebastian Jacobitz At the end of last year, I had the opportunity to travel for more than three months through Southeast Asia. I have already stated my travel plans before, and now the time has come where I want to recap on visiting the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai. It was hands down one of the best experiences…
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13 take-aways from Anthony Bourdain
PHOTO: Paul Robb Anthony Bourdain rarely travelled with an itinerary. Or kept a schedule. And that was a good thing. His work reflected the haphazard nature of the places he visited and the experiences he enjoyed, and shared with millions. Here are 13 ‘take-aways’ from Anthony Bourdain, who died in Paris at the age of 61 on June 8. On…
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Trang: Southern Thailand’s rising star
As real estate in the markets of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi increasingly becomes unattractive to investors and speculators due to rapid appreciation and the lack of new land coming up for sale, markets in other southern Thai provinces are beginning to bud. Trang is one such market that speculators would be wise not to ignore. The President of the…
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Would you fly in an aeroplane without windows? Or a pilot?
A new aircraft design from Dubai-based airline Emirates plans to remove windows from aircraft. Yep, windows. Instead of real-life views of the sky and passing world below, passengers will look at “virtual windows,” enjoying projected views of the outside world. Emirates’ new “game-changing” cabins will be first-class private suites. The traditional glass windows will be replaced by screens to mimic…
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Singapore on top, Laos on the bottom – English proficiency
PHOTO: talkpoverty.org The EF English Proficiency Index is out for the past 12 months, the seventh overview of countries where English is not the native language. Ranked from top to bottom and broken up into specific demographics. And Thailand doesn’t fare well. Bad news, it’s #53 in the world this year. The good news, it’s risen from #56 last year…
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Four more Andaman islands close for R&R this year
PHOTO: Koh Kradan Four Trang islands have been closed to tourists for four months to allow time for their ecosystems to rehabilitate. The Haad Chao Mai National Park says Koh Mook, Koh Kradan, Koh Waen and Koh Chuak were shut on June 1 and would remain closed until September 30. The park officials say June to September was the period…
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Perspective: West coast hoteliers give some insight into low season hotel traffic – Phuket
Speaking to a number of west-coast hoteliers on the island The Thaiger heard a few ‘truths’ about Phuket’s surging tourism industry, from the front line and not from the Associations which are forever pitching extravagant occupancy rates, spinning the numbers. The TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) can sometimes be accused of painting a ‘too rosy’ picture of what’s happening in…
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Heading to Phang Nga Bay
FROM THE PHUKET GAZETTE ARCHIVES By Mark Knowles Caught up in the daily routines of living and working in Phuket, it’s all too easy to forget that you have some of the most amazing natural attractions in the world right on your door step. Phang Nga Bay, with its towering limestone cliffs, swathes of tidal mangroves, isolated island beaches and…
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Air Asia flight arrives in Hua Hin. Hey, it’s a really big deal!!
One flight a day, four times a week. Hua Hin Today goes grand with its headlines about the inaugural Air Asia flight. It’s straight out of the 1930s… “Hua Hin Realises the Age of International Flight” “In what may prove to be a game-changing event for the local tourism industry, Hua Hin airport has welcomed the inaugural Air Asia direct flight…
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Airline report card – April 2018. Travel growth slows.
IATA (International Air Transport Association) has released details of airline performance, worldwide, during its annual general meeting being held in Sydney, Australia. Fewer fare bargains, as fuel prices rise, may be contributing to a slowdown in passenger demand growth during April. This comes from the IATA’s passenger traffic data for April, 2018. Revenue passenger kilometres, or RPKs, rose by 6.2%…
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Hua Hin and Khon Kaen to get extra flights from Air Asia
Hua Hin and Khon Kaen, new flight destinations for Air Asia, are looking to get more passenger love with Air Asia announcing proposed expansion of routes to the two destinations. New routes are being added to and from the Hua Hin airport, adding to the first scheduled flights from KL, Malaysia this month. Hua Hin International Airport The proposed new…
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Similan Islands – no more sleep overs from October
by Pratch Rujivanarom With Maya Bay at Koh Phi Phi Ley poised to close for four months from tomorrow, an announcement yesterday that overnight stays will no longer be allowed in the Mu Ko Similan Marine National Park off Phang Nga province starting from this October. While the number of visitors to its pristine islands will also be limited as…
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Emerald Group says it will continue with its developments
(Translated from Thai) A press conference held at Dara Hotel on Saturday afternoon (May 19) was hosted by Emeral Development Group’s Sawit ‘Mai’ Ketroj. Mr Sawit says, “News about Phuket Future Group Co.,Ltd. real estate projects, which is one of companies in Emerald Group located at Kalim Patong, has damaged us. The news has affected the Phuket real estate business…
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Renting out rooms daily or weekly? You better read this.
SCREENGRAB: AirBnB website Illegal short-term holiday rentals, advertised and promoted by online portals like AirBnB, are coming under increasing scrutiny from authorities. Although there has been laws preventing short-term property rentals acting as ‘hotels’, the law has been loosely enforced with some condo developments around the country acting as defacto hotels and listing in many online booking websites. In May…
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April tourist arrivals in Thailand up nearly 10%
Thailand’s tourism racks up 13,701,411 visitors arriving in the first four months of 2018 – a 14% increase, year on year. For the same four months last year the passenger arrivals increased 3.35%. In April alone arrivals were 3,092,725. This is up 9.38% year on year according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Permanent Secretary, Pongpanu Svetarundra. The top ten…
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Phuket teacher turned away in Penang applying for visa
PHOTO: TielandtoThailand.com According to a British EFL teacher based in Phuket, officials in Penang are requiring a criminal background check from Thai police when applying for a Non-immigrant B visa associated with teaching. As reported in a Facebook post on the morning of May 17, Jay (who asked we omit his surname) stated the first thing embassy staff asked was,…
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First birthday competition and promotion at SIS Kata
The SIS Kata, Phuket celebrates its 1st Birthday by launching the “Stay in Style” promotion and “Photo in Style” contest. The winner of the “Photo in Style” contest will win 4 days/3 nights stay at SIS Kata. There are a total of 5 prizes to be won. Stay in Style Promotion, Stylish Room inclusive of Breakfast for 2 persons. 2,799…
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Netflix, Spotify and Chill – Navigating the brave new world of music and TV
Subscription movies and music services are booming, in particular Netflix which has over 125 million users worldwide and Spotify which has over 70 million paying users. The subscription model is where you pay a monthly fee and are entitled access to media which is streamed via the internet, rather than buy a physical CD/DVD, an album from iTunes or pay…
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Bangkok property trends continue to point upward
Bangkok’s property market continues to show price growth with an eight-point increase in the DDproperty Property Index from 205 to 213 in the first quarter of 2018. A strong opening for 2018, this growth is on the back of an improving economic outlook and an expected increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year to 4.2 percent (up 0.3 percent…
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Low cost flying fleets triple in five years
Thailand’s low cost carrier sector is continuing to grow rapidly since the first two LCCs, Nok Air and Thai AirAsia, launched back in 2004. Now we’re spoiled for choice with Lion Air, Thai Smile, Nok Air, Air Asia, JetStar, Vietjet and NokScoot vying for our budget-flying baht. Thailand Business News reports that growth has accelerated over the past five years.…
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