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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Sponsored ICONSIAM launches 'Extraordinary Experience' campaign with iconic Thai street food
ICONSIAM, a global landmark along the Chao Phraya River, offers a unique and diverse range of experiences to fulfil every need in an unprecedented way with the campaign "ICONSIAM Extraordinary Experience." This campaign aims to provide customers with unique and...
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The Long March towards electric cars
by Syed Mansur Hashim – The Daily Star They’ve sold 770,000 electric vehicles last year, up 50% on the year before. And there’s already 352,000 electric buses on their roads already. When it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), the world has some catching up to do. According to Forbes magazine, Chinese manufacturers produced and sold 770,000 EVs in 2017. This…
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Internet freebies rolled out for Christmas
The government is finalising plans to give more than 11 million low-income Thai citizens free internet SIM cards and other subsidies that will together cost taxpayers billions of baht. The roll out is part of a charm offensive from the ruling NCPO in the lead up to next year’s poll, scheduled for February 24. The Finance Ministry is proposing that…
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Measles outbreak closes Tak school
A school near the Myanmar border in Tak’s Mae Ramat district has been closed indefinitely after local public-health officials discovered 13 students were contagious with measles. Tak is on Thailand’s central west border with Myanmar. Six of the students from the New Road Learning Centre are currently in serious condition in hospital. Most of the school’s students are Burmese children…
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Minister promises a year of ‘Khon’
“The ministry will next year nominate nuad thai (Thai massage) and the southern traditional dance nora for inclusion on the UNESCO list.” The Culture Ministry is planning a year of activities to further promote ‘khon’, the classical masked-dance theatre that has now been added to UNESCO’s list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’. Members of the UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation…
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Dam levels low in some regions – Dry season
PHOTO: Srinagarind Dam, Kanchanaburi The Royal Irrigation Department says there be enough water for domestic consumption this dry season. But they acknowledge that water reserves in many dams around the country are running low. The RID director-general, Thongplew Kongjun, is assuring the public that the country will have enough water for domestic consumption and businesses during this dry season. But…
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Walking on air. 314 metres above Bangkok.
PHOTO: The Nation King Power International Group has opened what is being marketed as the world’s biggest glass-bottomed skywalk. The new tourist (and local) attraction is on the rooftop of the 78 storey Mahanakhon building on Narathiwat Road in Bangkok’s Bang Rak district. Mahanokon is Thailand’s tallest building at 314 metres. The glass skywalk has 360 degree panoramic view, vertically…
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SHOW DC launches new 60,000 capacity outdoor SHOW DC Arena
Latest event space establishes SHOW DC’s positioning as the events venue of choice in downtown Bangkok with combined capacity of 90,000 Large scale events have a new stage in downtown Bangkok at SHOW DC, which has launched the biggest outdoor event venue in the city. Named SHOW DC Arena, the 120 million baht investment in a 31,790 sqm outdoor entertainment space…
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Chiang Mai official says the hotel sell-off is “because there were too many tourists”
PHOTO: This hotel is not for sale! Manager Online is claiming that a senior tourism official in Chiang Mai says the reason people want to sell hotels in the northern city is not because there are so few Chinese tourists now. It is because there are so many. Chiang Mai’s former tourism industry chief Pornchai Jitranawasathian, who now runs the…
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Chiang Mai’s small to medium hotels face challenges
FILE PHOTO (This hotel is not for sale!) Chiang Mai’s small to medium accommodation sector is facing fresh challenges as the tourist mix in the northern city changes, and shrinks in arrival numbers. The fallout from declining tourist arrival numbers, especially Chinese since the Phuket Phoenix tourist boat tragedy in mid-July, is forcing more than 10 small hotels and hostels…
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Phuket’s world champion flow-boarder is back in town
Annissa Flynn, Phuket’s young surf star, has done it again by retaining her world title in the arena of flow-boarding. ‘Anni’ won through in the final using her well-honed skillset of wake-boarding, surfing and skateboarding to put together three winning runs at the FlowRider FLOW Tour World Flowboarding Championships, hosted by Surf House Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Annissa…
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Government ready to develop medications, rejects seized marijuana
by Khanittha Thepphajorn and Kornrawee Panyasuppakun The move to getting medical marijuana legalised is edging closer. The bill on the issue has already made headway through the National Legislative Assembly (NLA). Yesterday, a bill was passed with 145 votes, allowing marijuana to be used for medical and research purposes. Only one legislator abstained. The NLA’s Somchai Swangkarn said a vetting committee…
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Part-time Samui snake man catches King Cobra with bare hands
King Cobra vs British Snake Whisperer. 47 year old UK citizen, Philip Brook won. Thai television TNA has show a video of the British resident who lives in Koh Samui responding to a call to catch a King Cobra on the Gulf island. Philip has lived in Samui for 18 years and now is a volunteer at “Samui Snake Rescue”. He likes…
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Uncertainty in Bangkok’s residential property market – CBRE
CBRE, an international property consultancy company, is reporting ‘looming uncertainty’ in the Bangkok residential property market. Although developers have recently increased their launches of condominiums, sales to Thai buyers have slowed in some locations and are likely to slow further with the coming imposition of tighter mortgage lending. Some developers are trying to find locations where there is real demand from…
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Walk on the wild side – the new Mahanakhon SkyWalk
YIKES! Is there anything more terrifying than a ride in a border visa-run passenger van? We think we’ve found it. The Mahanakhon SkyWalk – Thailand’s highest observation deck and rooftop bar at 314 metres high – offers spectacular panoramic views of Bangkok from Thailand’s tallest building. But that’s not the really scary bit. The new premium attraction, now open to…
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18 children dead as officials try to fight vaccine denial – Measles outbreak
“Young kids should avoid known infected areas, and patients should be quarantined.” Measles has now infected 2,280 people in the South and killed 18 in the mainly Muslim border provinces already this year. The largest group affected were young children up to the age of four. “Measles vaccination is free and is in line with Islamic principles,” Songkhla’s public-health chief…
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Confusion reigns over ‘proof of earnings’ letters for Retirement Visa
A letter crossed the desk of The Thaiger today. Not the first on this topic. Seems to be a growing chorus of concerned people on the ‘Retirement Visa’. We share this person’s despair and worries about the future and this vexatious problem. Name withheld due to privacy… “My visa renewal date is February 7. I inquired at the immigration office…
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Thai Environment Day – December 4
December 4 every year is declared Thai Environment Day. This year, according to Thai Residents, leading department stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores will not be giving away any plastic bags on that date (there’s a list of the participating stores below). “The main goal, since the establishment of December 4 to be the national environmental day is to educate the…
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“Round up the BKK soi dogs and send them up-country” – Soi Dog Foundation responds
The scheme to control stray dogs recently announced in Bangkok is inappropriate and unlikely to be effective, according to Soi Dog Foundation (SDF). The Thapthan shelter in Uthai Thani, where it is proposed that captured dogs will be impounded, is one of the best shelters in the country, but it is already at or near capacity. The former Bangkok Governor and…
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Despite a ban, permission has been sought to launch 64,000 lanterns for Loy Krathong
Enthusiasts are seeking permission to fly 64,000 lanterns on the night of Loy Krathong in Chiang Mai, despite a nation-wide ban. Loy Krathong is on this Thursday. Meanwhile, the Chiang Mai provincial administration has imposed strict regulations on the release of flying lanterns into the sky as well as on the sale and ignition of firecrackers and fireworks on Loy…
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Netherlands to Thailand, the long way
by Wattanapol Matcha Want to catch up with your father? Usually a short drive, phone call or quick email will solve that. But it wan’t quite so easy for this Dutchman. 28 year old William Coniris has completed a 17,900 kilometre cross-continent bicycle ride from the Netherlands to visit his 58 year old father, who lives in Thailand. The 10…
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Return to Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
By Mark Louie Maycong Phuket is one of the Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations and continuously booming. There are so many attractions and activities that you can enjoy. One of them is visiting the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. Visiting this place is heaven on earth specially for animal lovers. You get to know the elephants and their back stories and learn…
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Weakness in the BKK condo market
PHOTO: Nara 9 – www.nara9.net Property consultants, Edmund Tie & Company – South East Asia – report that the new condo supply for 2019 is ‘unlikely to increase’ and that sales rates are disappointing in Q3. Their report says that the take-up rate of newly launched condominium projects in Q3 in Bangkok’s CBD dropped from last year’s 58% to only…
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Hotel #4 for Centara Hotels in Krabi
PHOTO: Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi, another of the Centara properties along the Krabi coast Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s largest hotel group, has just signed a Hotel Management Agreement for a 180 room property on Ao Nang Beach, Krabi. The new hotel will be under its ‘Centara’ brand. Centara Ao Nang Beach Resort & Spa Krabi will…
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Smart Visa qualifications updated
The Smart Visa scheme was introduced last year as a new category to recognise the changes in people visiting and working in Thailand, and the skills the Thai Government are trying to attract to the Kingdom. Now the government’s introduced a fine-tune to the new visa, adding three new professions suited to the so-called Smart Visa. The cabinet has approved…
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Less growth – but more engagement. Social media in Thailand.
PHOTOS: Facebook/Kla Tangsuwan Wisesight, a BKK-based social media analytics company, says social media is reaching saturation point in Thailand but that engagement is increasing. The company is forecasting that Facebook will keep on increasing, 4% in 2018, to a total of 51 million users in Thailand. Wisesight says the application of artificial intelligence will continue to root out fake accounts.…
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BMA says it’s time to sort out Bangkok’s soi dogs
Bangkok’s governor says the time is up for the capital’s stray dogs. He says ‘enough is enough’ and that too many people are being bitten and harassed. Measures adopted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have so far proved insufficient and new plans are now being made to address the ongoing problem of stray dogs. The sight of soi dogs has…
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13 year old Muay Thai fighter dies from head injuries
Whilst legislation is pending, and under heated discussion about banning Muay Thai for certain age-groups, another tragedy has unfolded. A 13 year old muay thai fighter has died after a taking blow that sent him head first into the ground during a charity match in Samut Prakan on November 10. The Nation reports that a Mathayom 1 schoolboy named Anucha…
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Making ends meet – washing cars for 5,000 baht a day
A 70 year old Aussie expat has rolled up his sleeves and ended up with a prosperous little local business in Rayong. An Australian pensioner is washing cars in Rayong to make ends meet. And he’s reported to Ban Muang reported that he and his wife are earning a decent income. Thai customers have been heaping praise on 70 year…
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Thailand’s Seniors are world’s most active Airbnb hosts and guests
Seniors (hosts and guests aged 60 and older) have been a growing and integral part of the Airbnb community for many years – they are growing fast, earning important extra income, and continue to be the most-loved of any age group. They are fast growing, are booking on Airbnb in increasing numbers, and leading a new trend of multi-generation family…
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Meliá Hotels International signs up Meliá Phuket Karon
Meliá Hotels International, a leading Spanish hotel company, has announced the signing of Meliá Phuket Karon, the second property in Thailand, followed by Meliá Phuket Mai Khao. Meliá Phuket Karon will be the group’s sixth property in Thailand, continuing their dedication in providing exceptional hospitality with a Spanish touch, to the island’s thriving accommodation market. Scheduled to open in 2021,…
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