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 Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Poacher arrested in Pathum Thani for allegedly catching and selling macaques
An alleged poacher was arrested by the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department officials today. The suspect and another man would allegedly shoot wild macaque monkeys with tranquilising darts and later sell the monkeys for 1,000 to 1,500 baht each. Officers say 40 year old Pitak Thongsu was found with 6 macaques in his possession. Head of special operations for…
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Real estate trends across Thailand’s resort markets
Where are property investors looking in Thailand at the moment? How has Covid impacted the resort property markets of Phuket, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Koh Samui? Tim Newton speaks to Brennan Campbell, CEO of Thai proptech group FazWaz, in this rundown of current and future trends in Thailand’s most popular resort destinations. And there’s a few surprises too.
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Happy birthday to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, Thailand’s Queen Mother
Today is the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit who was married to Rama 9, HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Following the Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, her son, and his marriage to the new Queen Suthida, Queen Sirikit was bestowed the title of Queen Mother. Her Majesty Queen Sirikit is the daughter of His Highness Prince Chandaburi Suranath…
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Government submits proposal to allow department store restaurants to sell food online
Department store restaurants may be allowed to sell food online through a proposal that will be submitted to the CCSA today for approval, says deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul, today. The spokeswoman says the CCSA’s operation centre decided on July 22 that the Ministry of Public Health should decide on criteria to allow department store restaurants to sell their food…
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Inside story behind the Thailand property seachange
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com For Thailand’s real estate market, Covid-19 has brought massive changes in lifestyle and ongoing pandemic fatigue is pushing many domestic buyers to shift property investment preferences in favour of resort or countryside destinations. Whether you call it Plan B, a sea change or an escape plan, one thing for certain is that change is in the…
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Nakhon Sawan farmers make large profits growing fingerroot as Covid cure
While the science may be on the fence, herbal extracts are still growing in popularity as a Covid treatment. krachai khao, AKA fingerroot is providing generous returns for growers in Nakhon Sawan, a northern Thai province. Sales are also booming for the extract of the green chiretta plant AKA fah talai jone, which is used in “traditional” medicine and is…
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Monk uses electric cart on morning alms, other monks reportedly not thrilled
A monk in the central Thai province of Ang Thong is being chastised by his higher-ups for using an electric cart to expedite his morning alms. The higher-ups have called his actions “inappropriate”. Wanchai Dhammatharo of Ang Thong City’s Wat Channimitr has been ordered by the chief of the Ang Thong Provincial Office of Buddhism, Sakdanai Woradetch, and Sakdani’s team…
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Bangkok Book Festival returns, online
The “Bangkok Book Festival” is returning this Friday, after making prior appearances in 2015 and 2016. The theme will be “The magic of Paper” as the 3rd non-annual festival seems to invoke a mood of wonder and “knowledge” of paper. The intention is to inspire readers and promote reading through 6 activities. Activities such as talks and books for sale.…
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Power outages coming to Kathu, again
Power outages are coming to Kathu, Phuket again. The power will be out in parts of Kathu from 9 am to 4:30 pm. The affected areas will be along the Kathu-Koh Kaew road. This includes the Ban Suan Loch Palm housing estate, Golf Land View housing estate, Red Mountain Golf Club, Phanason Private Home housing estate, Soi Kathu 4 and…
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Entertainment and nightlife reps submit petition for aid, reopening
At 10 o’clock this morning a rally of owners, staff, musicians and entertainment sector workers gathered at the House of Representatives to submit a petition for support after long-term Covid-19 closures or permission to reopen August 1. Dozens of representatives from the entertainment industry took part in the demonstration after 3 continuous months of shuttered businesses due to the pandemic…
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Nightlife, restaurants suggest opening in defiance of restrictions
After a year and a half of closures and lockdowns and restrictions and regulations that often start and even end with the nightlife and entertainment industry, some bar and restaurant owners are sick of it and growing defiant. Citing the lack of government assistance and the sporadic and last-minute closure decisions that through livelihoods into chaos, some owners are urging…
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Man finds 4 metre python in his garage
Yesterday, a dream (nightmare) came true for a Pattaya man when he found a python that weighed 30 kilograms in his garage. At 1 am rescue were workers were dispatched to the man’s garage, a second-hand car shop/house in Nongprue. The rescue workers and local media got to the scene to find a 4 metre (or 13 feet/about 2 Michael…
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Wife wins case against police husband’s mistress, awarded 200,000 baht
She has been shamed by the whole country all throughout the media. This is worth more than the money that she must pay. A woman in the Central province of Chai Nat, has won a case against her husband’s mistress with Juvenile and Family Court ordering ordering the mistress to pay 200,000 baht in damages to the “rightful wife”. 33…
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121 arrested in raid of “restaurant” clubs violating Covid-19 rules
A raid around Pattaya at the earliest hours of this morning brought over a hundred arrests for violating Covid-19 measures, drinking, gathering, and smoking shisha. The raid of 2 venues that attempted to skirt the national bar and club closure laws by operating as an alleged restaurant took place between midnight and 2 am. The so-called restaurants had been operating…
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Elephant that broke into Hua Hin kitchen now in memes and ads
Andy Warhol said, “in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” But in today’s world, you haven’t arrived until you’ve become a meme. The elephant that broke the wall into a Hua Hin home’s kitchen on Sunday to snack may have gotten a taste of fame (and a taste of rice too, reportedly) when its video went viral…
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4 marijuana strains to be become National Heritages, possibly help effects of Covid
It will generate economic benefits for the country Thailand’s Health Minister, and noted non-fan of “unwashed farangs“, Anutin Charnvirakul, declared yesterday that 4 cannabis strains in Thailand will be registered as National Heritages. The move is done to promote research related to medical marijuana and combatting the effects of Covid-19. Anutin says the Medical Plant Research Institute through the Department…
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Unsatisifed with haircut, grandfather goes to police station for help
A grandfather got a haircut he deemed bad enough to go to the police station. The man’s identity was not given. What is known is the man got a haircut that he believed did not make him look “handsome”. He said his hair was cut to different lengths. Logically, the next step was to file a police report. Which is…
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Dozens of python eggs found underneath home
A homeowner in Phitsanulok, a northern Thai province, had a surprise that many would see as far from lucky, yesterday. 45 python eggs were discovered underneath their home. A discovery the owners interpret as a sign of good luck. The Phitsanulok emergency rescue team had been brought to the area after a homeowner had found sizeable amounts of snakeskins behind…
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Almost 8 million register for stimulus scheme, app briefly goes down
Almost 8 million Thai people have registered for the 50:50 copayment in the scheme in just an hour. The application opened at 6 am today. There was a short “disruption” in the “Pao Tang” app as a result However, the disruption was short-lived and the app was available soon after going down. Currently, around 23 million people qualify to get…
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Thai PM not happy with soccer gambling
Prayut Chan-o-cha, has voiced his concern that there has been an uptick in illegal gambling by Thai people throughout the UEFA European Soccer Championship (AKA Euro 2020). The PM told the Royal Thai Police, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and “relevant agencies” to tighten the scrutiny of illegal gambling, with an emphasis on online gambling. He also asked…
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BTS make musical history with a slice of ‘Butter’
Four #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 12 months! South Korean band BTS have made history again with ‘Butter’, topping Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart this week… the 4th #1 hit from the 7-member BTS on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart in 1 year, following ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Life Goes On’, and their collaboration on the ‘Savage…
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Recent poll shows most Thai residents pin high hopes on first dose
According to a recent Super poll, nearly 90% of respondents say they want every Thai citizen to receive the first dose to fight Covid-19, but are less concerned when the second dose is given. Furthermore, almost 80% of respondents believe they can resume their pre-Covid-19 life as soon as Thais get their first dose. The director of the Super Poll…
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Thai company negotiates to import world’s first pet vaccine from Russia
Pet owners of Thailand can rejoice that their pets may soon be able to get vaccinated from Covid-19. Supreme Pharmatech, a Thai based company, has entered into negotiations with Carnivac-Cov, a Russian manufacturer to secure what Russian media said will initially be 10,000 doses. It was not said when the vaccines are set to arrive or how much they will…
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Woman says man she met online scammed her out of 1.5 million baht
In what appears to be a so-called “romance scam,” a 36 year old woman identified as “Miss A” says she’s been scammed out of almost 1.5 million baht. She had met someone over Facebook, a man with a good job at a hospital, she says. After messaging for a few days, the man asked for money due to financial difficulties.…
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BTS smash YouTube records with their new song “Butter” and are courted by Rock royalty
On Thursday the internet-of-music went into a minor churn when the band Queen’s Twitter account commented about the forthcoming BTS release of ‘Butter’, the South Korean band’s second full-English track. “Are you ready, hey are you ready for this? Another One Bites The Dust.” Was Queen doing a collaboration with the 21st century’s biggest music act? A quick listen to…
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Thaiger app sending you too many notifications? Quick fix here
We all hate it when our phone buzzes and the endorphins start firing, only for the excitement to be crushed as you realise it’s just a notification for an article about Tuk Tuk drivers having a fight somewhere off the Sukhumvit Road! Too many notifications can be really frustrating, which is why The Thaiger App lets you disable them and…
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‘One Night In Bangkok’, an unlikely hit about a bygone era in Thailand
“One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster The bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free” When ‘One Night In Bangkok’ was released in 1984 it was an unlikely hit. It was the opening song from a (at the time) little-known stage pop-opera called ‘Chess’. The song made Number 1 in South Africa, West Germany, Switzerland and Australia,…
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Sex toys popular in Thailand despite conservative laws
While Thailand is a conservative country with conservative laws, the underground sex trade and sex toy economy is a thriving not-so-well-kept secret. Thailand is famous for its LGBTQ acceptance and red-light districts, but many don’t realise that most drugs, gambling, soliciting for prostitution, sex toys, and even vaping are against Thai law. The customs department confiscated more than 4000 sex…
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A guide to being respectful when visiting a Buddhist temple in Thailand
Not all tourists do their research before going to a temple. Some take photos with Buddha statues in a way that is disrespectful to some Thais. Some don’t dress appropriately. A security guard at the popular Wat Arun in Bangkok would blow a whistle at many tourists, telling them to cover their shoulders and knees. Here’s a guide on how…
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All about Muay Thai, Thailand’s national sport
Muay Thai or Thai Boxing is Thailand’s cultural martial art and national sport. The origins of Muay Thai date back hundreds of years ago as modern-day Thai people needed a strong form of close-combat that used the entire body as a weapon to fight off those in neighbouring countries who were constantly trying to invade Siam, the former name of present…
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