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 A healthy tomorrow starts today: Celebrate the great American Smokeout day
The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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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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“We are doing all we can” – the search for ‘Boss’ Yoovidhya
The Royal Thai Police are hitting back at claims from a top Thai prosecutor that they are doing nothing to bring international Red Bull heir and fugitive, Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, back to Thailand to face justice. Original story HERE. Daily News reports that a RTP spokesman, Pol Col Krissana Patanacharoen, says the Thai police were doing all they can. He…
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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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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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Phuket teenager helps mother clean up roads before school
A 17 year old boy helps his mother clean up the road before going to school every day. Pohnwit ‘Mint’ Kongrun is studying at the Phuket Vocational College. Pohnwit helps his mother to clean up the road outside their home in Narisorn Road near Suthat Road in Phuket Town every day before heading to school. Pohnwit says, “My mother is working…
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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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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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ALERT: Amoxicillin use in Thai orange orchards
The Thai Public Health Ministry is checking on pharmacies and antibiotics manufacturers that may have distributed amoxicillin (an antibiotic) for farms – reportedly used widely in northern and central orange orchards – as it could lead to drug resistance or even fatal allergies in humans as well as contaminating the environment. Amoxicillin is an antibiotic often used for the treatment…
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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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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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Plain packaging for cigarettes being introduced to discourage smoking
PHOTO: Example of the changes to cigarette packaging now being implemented in Thailand In the moves to modify polices relating to smokers in Thailand, some of the new legislation is directed towards manufacturer packaging Cigarette packets will soon be plain and much less attractive under the new regulations approved by the National Tobacco Products Control Committee. Public Health Minister Piyasakol…
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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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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 creative entrepreneurs funding passions through Airbnb
2,000 Airbnb Homes and Experiences hosts in Thailand are members of the Creative Community 25% of all creative Thai hosts are based in Bangkok. One in every five Thai Experience hosts are from the arts, music, fashion or entertainment industries. Like tourism, which now accounts for more than 10 percent of the world’s global GDP, the creative economy is thriving worldwide.…
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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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Leicester City players arrive in Bangkok for Vichai’s funeral
PHOTO: Goal.com Leicester City football club players and fans have paid emotional tributes to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash last week, ahead of last night’s Premier League match against Cardiff City. Meanwhile, Leicester City players and officials have arrived in Thailand to attend the funeral of the club’s owner and mentor at Wat Thepsirin in Bangkok. His…
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Central Group set to open new lifestyle mall in Cherng Talay
RENDERINGS: From Phuketify website Cherng Talay has become the new ‘go to’ area with an exciting array of new retail and entertainment options opening up at the end of this year and into next year. Including this one… A new lifestyle shopping mall is set to open by the end of 2019 in Cherng Talay, with Central Group investing a…
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9 years of providing Phuket’s lifeguards comes to an end
PHOTO: Constant training and up-skilling was at the core of the Phuket Lifeguard Service The nine year relationship between the Phuket Lifeguard Service and the Phuket provincial and Thesaban administrators is over. The contract for providing professional lifesavers at Patong beach, the final beach under their watchful eye, finished yesterday. Speaking to the MD of the Phuket Lifeguard Service Company,…
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Surachate Hakparn is the “People’s Policeman”
The new immigration chief Maj-Gen Surachate Hakparn, and the Thai government’s poster boy for rounding up all the baddies, has been hailed as the ‘People’s Policeman’. That’s according to the Immigration department’s own website. “He’s the man people are turning to when they need help in times of trouble.” Yesterday the Maj-Gen’s Immigration Bureau website featured a story about a…
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Foreign language Number One songs – rare indeed
The lack of non-English music is a constant in the US, and most other English-speaking markets. The world music industry has been a tightly controlled clique for decades with record labels having the power to determine which artists ever make it onto the charts. The selection of foreign music Number One hits in the American charts, for example, is tiny.…
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Last weekend’s horror road toll – nearly 11,000 died so far in 2018
At least 10,794 people have lost their lives on Thailand’s roads this year. This tally, with only two months remaining, is a timely reminder of the danger that lurks on Thai roads from Dr Taejing Siripanich, secretary-general of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation. Statistically, compared to last year, this is a drop in overall deaths on Thailand’s roads. But Taejing…
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“Don’t paint your temple gold” – Fine Art Department
After a report of historical temples being painted gold triggered an uproar on social media, the Culture Ministry’s Fine Art Department is warning people to stop unauthorised painting of national heritage monuments as it violates the law. Social media users expressed shock and dismay that ancient Thai temples were being given a make-over with a coat of gleaming gold paint,…
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A tale of three expats
Three expats, three lifestyles, three locations. We spoke to the trio and publish their thoughts on the costs of living to provide a broad comparison of lifestyles for expats living in the Kingdom. There are plenty of other variations and the story is not meant to be a definitive list of costs. The people are real but the names are…
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Soi Dog Foundation responds to rabies and dog registration stories
PHOTO: Bangkok Thailand Soi Dog Phuket’s Soi Dog Foundation has sent The Thaiger a response to an article published on October 16. The story was sourced from our Bangkok partners ‘The Nation’ and, according to Soi Dog, contains some glaring inaccuracies. You can read the original article HERE. We reprint the response from the Soi Dog Foundation below… “The Department…
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King Chulalongkorn Day
October 23 is a national holiday in Thailand as it marks “King Chulalongkorn Day”, known in Thai as “Wan Piyamaharaj Day”. He remains highly revered in Thailand and his portrait can often be seen, alongside the current King Rama X, in homes, shops and halls around the Kingdom. The day commemorates the passing of King Chulalongkorn, otherwise known as King…
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