Thai Life
Discover the latest regional stories and happenings in Thailand with The Thaiger, your source of credible, informative, and reliable updates. Stay informed about important local events, political happenings, social issues, cultural highlights, and entertainment stories, all curated to ensure you never miss out on what’s happening in the Land of Smiles. Our journalists will keep you informed with all the essential Thai life updates and allows you to connect with the community and experience Thailand like a local.
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New Disneyland ‘Star Wars’ park opens May 31
May the forward sales be with you. Fans have raced to be the first to experience the new Disneyland Star Wars theme park, based on the iconic film series. The park is being opened at the original Disneyland site in Annaheim, California. The new theme park began accepting requests on Thursday to visit “Galaxy’s Edge” during the first three weeks…
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Surachate returns to ‘clerical duties’ at the PM’s office
Welcome home Surachate. “Big Joke” has returned from his ‘break’ in America. He has returned to resume desk duties in a ‘special advisory role’ in the Prime Minister’s Office. Pol.Lt. Col. Surachete Hakparn, former commander of the Immigration Bureau and in the news almost daily flying around the country fighting transnational crime, chasing down scams and illegal internet gangs, is…
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Facebook bans political fanatics and conspiracy theorists
Facebook is banning prominent US conspiracy theorists like the Infowars founder Alex Jones and the outspoken activist Louis Farrakhan in its crackdown on hate speech and fake content. Others blocked from Facebook and Instagram (owned by Facebook) were Milo Yiannopoulos, a high-profile right-wing provocateur; Paul Nehlen, a political candidate espousing white supremacist views; and conspiracy theorists Paul Joseph Watson and…
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Thailand event round up – May
with The Sponsorship Experts Those with a love for shopping should head to Pattaya for the Thailand One Stop Shopping Expo Pattaya, on until May 5. With more than 47,000 square metres of floor space, TOSSE Pattaya is Thailand’s largest shopping expo with departments showcasing everything from Wedding, Electronics, Garden & Pet Baby & Family and Fashion. The Samui Regatta…
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Kra Canal – the 28 Billion Baht shortcut
By Jintana Panyaarvudh Despite a history going back three centuries, the highly controversial and politically sensitive proposed Kra Canal mega-project in southern Thailand is once again up for debate. At a forum held yesterday by Rangsit University entitled the “Stakeholders in Kra Canal@Klong Thai”, national security and the canal’s impact on tourism were among the main issues of concern as…
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Thai property startup FazWaz heads overseas
FazWaz, the Phuket startup that has built a tech-first platform to take on Thailand’s real estate giants, is announcing its overseas expansion today. The move underscores just how far and fast the company has moved since being founded in 2015 in the small beach town of Kamala in Phuket. While real estate markets go up and down, FazWaz has definitely…
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Facebook revamp. Less about business, more about people and relationships.
Facebook is aiming to foster real-world relationships and make the platform a more intimate place for groups of friends. Facebook’s shift comes response to criticism over failing to curb misinformation and manipulation of the platform used by 2.3 billion people, and missteps on its handling of private user data. The new strategy will emphasise private communications and small groups according to…
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BTS match long-standing Beatles’ record and reach the Top 6 in 26 countries with new album
South Korean band BTS is making waves across music charts around the world. Their new album ‘Map of the Soul – Persona’ has matched a long-standing Beatles record of having three number one albums on the US Billboard chart in one year. The all-male band comprises RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, all aged between 22 and 27…
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Bangkok home prices among the cheapest in the Key Global Cities report
Hong Kong maintains its position as the world’s most expensive residential city, while Bangkok ranks at #33 out of 35 global cities surveyed. In the fifth annual Global Living Report, CBRE profiles the property markets across 35 key global cities. The results highlight that investments in urban areas such as transport infrastructure, connectivity, retail, cultural centres and housing are key…
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In love with the lottery – The Thai obsession with the national lottery
Thais love their national lottery. On the first and sixteenth of each month the lottery numbers are announced and people’s favourite numbers either come up, or they don’t – usually not. You will see the lottery ticket vendors either on the pavement or wandering through restaurants selling a once in a lifetime dream of winning the lottery. The National Statistical Office…
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Bangkok luxury poised to push through the US$300 ceiling
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com PHOTOS: Rosewood Bangkok For hotel owners and managers in South East Asia, one of the great mysteries of the past ten years has been the low rate profile of Bangkok’s luxury hotel set. Despite soaring and sustained tourism growth, rising airlift and a strong economy, rates at Bangkok’s top tier properties have remained fairly stagnant. Have…
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‘Endgame’ proves a marvel on opening day
The Avengers are annihilating the competition. And that’s even before the 22-film franchise’s last hurrah reaches US movie theatres. “Avengers: Endgame” features the entire Marvel Universe of superheroes and has proven an effective weapon for Disney at destroying old opening-day records across Asia, specifically in China. The movie raked in US$169 million on its first day of screening when it…
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Finance Ministry wants to give 1,500 baht to each domestic traveller
The Finance Ministry says they are launching a new stimulus package to boost the country’s domestic tourism by giving Thais 1,500 baht each to spend when they travel to 55 provinces under the promotion campaign. Under the campaign, Thais aged 18 and over can register for the program. The government will then deposit 1,500 baht into their accounts though the…
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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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BTS smashes YouTube records with ‘Boy With Luv’ music video
BTS, Halsey, Boy With Luv, YouTube, record A YouTube record has been surpassed. No… SMASHED. Korean pop kings BTS’ video for their 2018 “Fake Love” received 35.9 million views in its first 24 hours, making it the biggest 24 hour debut of 2018 and the third biggest 24 hour debut of all time. But that’s nothing compared to the impact…
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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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Six arrested for drug use after raid on illegal Bangkok pub
Six customers have been arrested in a raid early today after troops and police, led by the Internal Security Operations Command, raided a Bangkok pub. The 2.30am raid on the New Jazz 2 pub in the Bangkok Noi district was made following complaints that it violated closing hour law and disturbed the neighbourhood. The six customers were arrested on drug charges.…
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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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Bangkok Motor Show opens as Thai car sales move online
PHOTO: New Nissan all-electric LEAF, on display at the Bangkok Motor Show by Kingsley Wijayasinha “Despite the increase in sales online, including new automobiles, we’re not worried that fewer people will show up at the event to purchase vehicles.” More than 1.6 million visitors are expected at this year’s Bangkok International Motor Show, which kicks off today at IMPACT Muangthong…
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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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Sold over 2.6 million copies and it’s not even released. Map of the Soul, BTS.
The new album Map of the Soul: Persona has already sold 2,685,030 copies. That was in just four days up to March 17. And it’s not even being released until April 12. It also came to light that the same band had the second and third best selling albums in the world for 2018, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic…
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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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