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 retirees in Thailand are choosing long-term health insurance over quick fixes
Retirees in Thailand are increasingly seeing the importance of health insurance in protecting their well-being during retirement. With insurance requirements for retirement visas and rising healthcare costs, many are moving away from short-term plans and choosing long-term coverage. Long-term health...
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Patong’s trash hero rewarded for collecting garbage in filthy canal
PHOTOS: Patong Police / Theeraphong Penmit / Newshawk Phuket A Phuket boy has been rewarded after setting an excellent example for the rest of the Patong community. 8 year old Kosin Ta-ngam, who is studying at Sai Nam Yen School in Patong in Pratom Suksa Three, has been collecting garbage in the filthy Pak Bang Canal and along Patong Beach…
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Reservations now open for ‘Twinpalms MontAzure’ with enticing promotions
Celebrate the grand opening of Phuket’s newest beachside hotel by booking now to snap up fantastic deals. Twinpalms MontAzure in Kamala is offering irresistible packages ideal for both short and long-haul getaways for those who book directly from their website. Guests may choose to enjoy three nights and pay for just two and for those who are looking to book…
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K-Pop dominating YouTube records – BTS and Blackpink
BTS, Blackpink, YouTube, Boy With Luv Last week’s Blackpink single-day YouTube viewing record has been beaten by fellow K-Pop supremos BTS notching up 78 million views for their “Boy With Luv” music video within its first 24 hours of hitting the video site. (Three days later it’s on 129 million with 7.8 million ‘likes’ and still going…) K-pop rival Blackpink…
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Phuket hotel watch – trends in 2019
by Bill Barnett of C9Hotelworks.com At the beginning of the year Phuket’s tourism and hotel sector was cautiously optimistic after a strong first half of 2018 and humbling second half. Key terms that kept popping up were Mainland Chinese, Thai Baht Appreciation, Elections and Supply Concerns. So today, with five months of performance under the belt in 2019 what are…
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Thailand swelters under the Songkran sun
Temperatures are soaring around the country, right on time, as the Songkran holiday kicks in. People are heading home for the annual Thai New Year break whilst the tourists are flooding into the main hot spots for the water fights. The annual celebration is meant to provide a ritual washing of Buddha images, ‘gentle’ splashing of family and friends and…
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Will music history repeat itself this Saturday? The Beatles vs BTS
Beatles, BTS, Boy with Luv, Persona, Saturday Night Live February 19, 1964 was a big day in music history. The most popular show in the US at the time, and musically extremely influential, was the Ed Sullivan Show. What now seems to be a rather stiff, old-fashioned variety show was, at the time, a maker and breaker for new music…
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BTS conclude their record-breaking Love Yourself world tour in Bangkok
Seven young South Koreans came to Bangkok over the weekend to complete a sell-out world tour and the finish of a year that saw them rise from a K-Pop anomaly to a global pop sensation. BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan – Bulletproof Boyscouts) have toured the world with their ‘Love Yourself’ tour in an eventful year that has seen them break through…
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Surachate Hakparn: Sidelined and sent back to the operation centre of the RTP
Thailand’s headline policeman, former Immigration Chief Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, aka. Big Joke, has been transferred to the Operation Centre of the Royal Thai Police. The order was signed by the Thai Police Chief Chakthip Chaijinda. The order was signed and executed last night. As of today, his social media account – Facebook and Twitter – plus the Immigration…
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Bangkok’s bye bye to Boyzone and hello to BTS
by Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul and Tim Newton In a stark reflection in the massive changes in musical tastes, music business models and the spread of world music in the last 20 years, Bangkok has witnessed the passing of one boyband icon and welcomes the next frenzy, all within 10 days. In both cases, Irish crooners Boyzone and South Korea’s BTS (Bangtan…
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Luxury beachfront suites at The Bay & Beach Club
The Bay & Beach Club boasts luxurious beachfront accommodation in the heart of Patong. Situated right on the soft sands of the beach in an area lined with palm trees, the resort is just a few steps away from the clear waters of the Andaman Sea. The Bay & Beach Club offers luxurious accommodation all designed with the finest contemporary…
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Facebook: The engagement is over
Facebook, and why your posts aren’t being seen much anymore… If you’re posting on Facebook these days you’re likely getting a much lower response than in the past. There were the golden days of Facebook, say 4-8 years ago, when the followers just kept stacking up and the engagement was high. Now it’s much more difficult to find new followers,…
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“Easier, faster and more watertight” – Surachate’s vision for Immigration
Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, Thailand’s Immigration chief, has outlined a few new directions for visitor and expat visas in Thailand. Speaking to TNA MCOT, the chief acknowledged the 1979 Act was “out of date” and “not in line with modern countries” and travel procedures. Surachate said that Thailand was the third most visited country in the world and was a place…
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Child drowning cases – dramatic drop over two decades
The leading cause of death in Thai children, below the age of 15, is drowning. “Even though the cases have recently fallen to an all time low, it’s still not low enough.” “In nearly two decades there have been 22,700 drowning cases, that’s between the years 2000 and 2018. That averages nearly 1,300 child drownings every year.” These numbers from…
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Event Round-Up – April 2019
by The Sponsorship Experts – Paul Poole (South East Asia) The first ever ASEAN Gastronomy Tourism Fair will kick off on April 9-10 at CW Tower Ratchadapisek Bangkok. Hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, it is the first time all 10 member states of ASEAN will come together to build a strong foundation for gastronomy tourism in the…
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K-Pop star arrested over sex tape scandal
K-pop star Jung Joon-young has been arrested over allegations he shared sexually explicit videos of women filmed without their consent. He appeared at a court hearing yesterday where he apologised to the victims for his actions. An arrest warrant was issued a few hours later. 30 year old Jung, who was first questioned by police last week, spoke to the…
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Heavier traffic violation penalties being discussed by police
Heavier penalties for drink-drivers and repeat offenders on Thai roads are under scission between traffic police and other agencies. Maj-General Ekkarak Limsangkatt, a member of the committee reviewing of traffic-law enforcement, is calling for harsher punishments in line with the Japanese model that penalises both the drink-driver and any passenger who “abetted the wrongdoing.” Ekkarak was speaking after a meeting…
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Siam Songkran Festival lights up this year’s Songkran in Bangkok
Sick of running around Bangkok with your 200 baht Tesco water pistol? Combine the annual water festival with a world class music festival instead. Welcome to Siam Songkran, Thailand’s newest four-day Songkran festival set to be held April 12 – 15 at Bangkok’s largest city centre entertainment zone, SHOW DC Arena. A time of tradition, Songkran is also a time…
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Six per cent of Thai university students have attempted suicide
Recent research reveals a disturbing finding that over 6 per cent of university students have attempted suicide. The study findings have been highlighted after several students killed themselves in recent weeks. “From research on university students’ depression during the past three to four years, it can be concluded that 6.4 per cent of students turned suicidal and tried to take…
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A new visa paperwork problem for some expats?
We get occasional emails from expats relating their various problems with Immigration as they apply for new visas or renewals. The common thread is that applying for, and renewing visas, is becoming unnecessarily complicated. This one seems complex. Names have been withheld for privacy. “I am a British citizen and my baby’s visas were renewed without an issue, but the…
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Deputy PM orders review of intercity and rural road speeds
Deputy PM, Defence Minister and also in charge of police affairs, General Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed police and related agencies to review and set appropriate speed limits for various vehicle types on intercity motorways and rural roads in order to boost road safety and reduce accidents. He has instructed the Royal Thai Police to coordinate with Interior and Transport ministries…
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Another Yong bites the dust – K-Pop in crisis
Another K-pop star has been forced to quit their band after admitting he watched sex videos received from another idol. 29 year old Yong Jun-hyung is the third singer to be engulfed in the scandal sweeping South Korea’s squeaky clean music industry. The member of boy band Highlight, formerly known as B2ST, admitted that he watched a video of singer…
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Alcohol ban this weekend and the following weekend of the election
There will be a 24 hour alcohol ban this weekend as well as on the weekend of the general election on March 24. Sunday, March 17 will feature a day of pre-voting where alcohol sales and distribution will be forbidden from 6pm on Saturday, March 16 until 6pm on Sunday, March 17. That will precede the ban on the following…
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Cabinet supports bid for southern ‘Nora’ dance to be included in UNESCO heritage list
“The Thai government will nominate Nora at UNESCO’s upcoming meeting. “Nora, a southern traditional dance, has been given the nod to seek a place on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage representatives list.The Culture Ministry has been striving to preserve the unique Thai dance after ‘Khon’, the masked dance drama, was registered on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list at a…
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4 ways Thais use Twitter. Which one are you?
With hundreds of millions of users globally, Twitter is many things to many people. Amongst Thailand’s growing Twitter community, it’s interesting to see how users are evolving the way they use Twitter. Trending topics change rapidly as Thai users jump from one hot topic to another, while favourite celebrities and musicians remain relatively consistent. Below are just four ways Thais…
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Ocean Property launch first Phuket development
Thai real estate developer, Ocean Property, are continuing to expand outside of the capital with the launch of their first real estate development in Phuket – a townhome and modern commercial home office project “Ocean Town Muang-Ratsada”. Located in the heart of Phuket providing owners with easy access to all major infrastructure and island facilities, prices start from just 2.69…
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Cooking spotted eagle ray is OK – Fisheries spokesperson
“The use of spotted eagle rays as a main ingredient in a reality TV cooking show is not illegal, though the aquatic animal should be conserved rather than consumed.” This from the Deputy Fisheries Department Director General Arunchai Puthcharoen. He referred to controversy over the use of eagle rays as the main ingredient in the Thai MasterChef program, raising concerns…
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“Measles vaccine doesn’t cause autism” – conclusive Danish study
Even as measles outbreaks continue to mount among clusters of unvaccinated children around the world, in developed countries as well as a concentration in Thailand’s southern provinces, yet another large study finds NO association between the measles vaccine and autism – a reason often parroted by parents for refusing vaccination for their children. Measles infected 2,280 people and killed 18…
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18 busted in e-cigarette and vaping raid in bangkok
Whilst a new vaping and e-cigarette lobby group continue to push the government for a review on laws on vaping and e-cigarette products, the police are notching up more crackdowns on the sales of products related to vaping. Read about the lobby group HERE. Sixteen Thais and two Burmese men have been arrested in Bangkok for selling e-cigarette devices, nicotine…
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Parents urged to monitor children on ‘Momo Challenge’
PHOTOS: NBT / NNT The Mental Health Department is urging parents to closely monitor children’s online activities due to the ‘Momo Challenge’ reports. The Nation reports that ‘Momo Challenge’, associated with a grotesque bird, has sneaked into YouTube and its YouTube Kids platform and coerced young watchers to take up risky, potentially deadly challenges. The Momo Challenge, dismissed by many…
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Vaping network urges Thai authorities to rethink e-cigarette laws
“Thai authorities had demanded a 40,000 baht bribe from a Frenchwoman to free her after she was arrested for possessing an e-cigarette.” E-cigarette users are calling on the Thai government to quickly come up with appropriate solutions to regulate e-cigarettes, and clarify the current laws, in order to protect the country’s image among foreign tourists. The network say it also…
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