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 Why is it important to get colorectal cancer screening?
The population of the United States above the age of 50 is about 125 million. Among them, approximately 40 million people, or about one-third of eligible individuals, are not getting screened for colorectal cancer. In Thailand, out of the 72.8...
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Seven Seas Condo: Phuket’s downtown island luxury
PHUKET: Seven Seas Condo, a plush new resort-style condominium project, is about to shoot up in the heart of Phuket Town. The 2.5-billion baht Seven Seas Phuket project is located on Hongyok-Uthit Road, near Bangkok Hospital Phuket, and consists of four, eight-story buildings with a total of 975 units – all surrounded by views of Phuket’s lush, green hills. Developed…
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Excuse Busters: Remain a holiday hunk
PHUKET: So the festive season is here, as if you hadn’t noticed. Now, I’m not going to be Phuket’s very own Ebenezer Scrooge and tell you not to indulge and have fun (I’ll let Craig do that), but I will give you some tips on how to lessen the impact of excessive eating followed by vegging out in front of…
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Give me a virgin, please
PHUKET: Excessive drinking is a natural disaster waiting to happen. Where else will you run into earthquakes, mudslides, hurricanes and flaming volcanoes all in the same place except on a cocktail list? What else except booze causes otherwise stationary and benign items such as trees, power poles, telephone kiosks and the occasional parked police car to suddenly wrap around the…
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Excuse Busters: Drink cheats for New Year
PHUKET: I am mainly talking alcohol this week, because I honestly think that soft drinks are such a poor cheat option. By that I mean compared to alcohol, soft drinks give low rewards on a social level for high sacrifices of a physiological level because of the amount of sugar or artificial sweeteners which are in fact toxins. What about…
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Food: A perfect square for meals
PHUKET: For some, a day without street food is a day wasted, but for others, a real meal is one served up by a celebrity chef in a posh restaurant. And then there are the rest of us – not extreme in our choices – who enjoy good food, drinks and company. For us moderates, Karon Beach Square offers a…
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Diving: Herd of seahorses corralled off Mosquito Island
PHUKET: Off the north end of Mosquito Island, part of the Phi Phi archipelago, is a steep sloping hard coral reef. Happily, the staghorn corals there have not yet been destroyed by the anchors of speedboats just around the corner. However, it’s not these elegant hard corals that make this rarely visited dive site a must, it’s what lies beyond.…
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Phuket Pads: Beverly Hills of Thailand hidden in Nai Harn
PHUKET: The exclusive, very private and tranquil Baan Bua estate of over 60 rai is one of the best-kept secrets in Phuket. It could be described as the Beverly Hills of Thailand – hidden in Nai Harn, in the very south of the island, sheltered and surrounded by the hills on three sides with lakes and its own water supply.…
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Regent Bangtao targets Phuket holiday rentals
PHUKET: Expats in Phuket live in a tropical paradise, yet many work full time. Holidaymakers surround them while they divide their time between home and the office. Phuket can be a strange place to live – not to call it schizophrenic – but this dual character of island life comes with a distinct benefit, and The Regent Bang Tao is…
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Gardening: Phuket’s tasty roselle
PHUKET: I recently launched a series intended to cover fruits, vegetables and herbs that, like the hoary old advertisement for a famous dark stout, “look good, taste good and do you good.” Thailand is a huge repository of such goodies. And since we are on the topic of liquid refreshment, I am kicking off today’s offering with a member of…
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Boating: Sydney Hobart classic promises a Boxing Day treat
PHUKET: With Christmas behind us and New Year still to come, on any given Boxing Day any Phuket-based sailors worth their salt will have their eyes keenly fixed on the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. As is tradition, after a sail-past parade in Sydney Harbor at 10am on December 26, the fleet will go under the gun at 1pm Sydney…
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Environment: Oceans plagued by 5.25tn pieces of plastic
PHUKET: If you have been to a Phuket beach or beneath the Andaman Sea’s surface, you’ll know that discarded plastics are constantly present. Hardly a month goes by without a dive company, resort or local “green” group calling on volunteers to bag beach rubbish. Some groups, such as Clean The Beach Boot Camp, have regular campaigns to rid the beach…
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Thinking Green: I’m dreaming of an environmental Christmas
PHUKET: Only a few weeks ago, I appreciated the message on the front doors of Jungceylon which promoted “Zero Bags, Zero Waste”. “How commendable that action was taking place to help reduce the amount of waste that we have in our community,” I thought. Yes, it was only a promotion, but at least it promoted a good cause. Now with…
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On Your Mind: Tackling Phuket corruption
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette recently reported that the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Phuket office called on resident expats to report cases of corruption involving local government officials. Tawichat Nillikan, an NACC representative, told the Gazette that many foreigners had been victims of corruption, and that by opening a Phuket office last year to investigate complaints, the government was “showing the…
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Gardening: No paucity of pawpaws – Phuket’s famous hermaphrodite
PHUKET: I first encountered papayas as an exotic item in colorful bowls of dessert served up along with slices of kiwi and dragon fruit, chunks of pineapple and mango. That was many years ago. The venues? High-society restaurants in London’s Mayfair where the management was frantically vying with rival casinos to attract high rollers with sumptuous free meals. Not that…
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Phuket Renaissance, giving peace a chance
PHUKET: Situated in Mai Khao, the Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa is surrounded on all sides by the pristine nature of northern Phuket, “the island’s hidden gem”, explains Goetz Bauer, who joined the resort as general manager in April 2013. Designed by P49 Deesign Associates, considered to be one of Thailand’s foremost interior design practices, the hotel has been carefully…
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Boating: Phuket inspires whole new breed of luxury RIBs
PHUKET: Phuket has inspired a new ride on the waves. It’s rigid, it’s inflatable… and it’s a boat. The new 13m tender by Acronautic is ready to ensure that every superyacht sojourn starts and finishes in luxury. The first of its kind is about to be built in the UK under the project name Thetis, with a design conceptualized by…
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Blazing Saddles: The Grape Escape – Cycling from Phuket to Oz
PHUKET: At first blush you’d be hard pressed to find a link between Phuket’s Chalong area and the world-famous Australian wine-producing region of Hunter Valley, some three hours’ drive north of Sydney. But there’s certainly one strong link in the friendly form of Greg and Liz Johnson, the founders of Delish Cafe located in the Fisherman Way Business Gardens on…
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Environment: CSR project helps Phuket crab catchers cut out middlemen
PHUKET: Phuket is one of the most charming and popular tourist destinations in the world, well-known for its gorgeous beaches. The number of people coming to Phuket increases every year, and while this is great for the economy, it has a direct impact on the environment, as well as local communities. However, there are positive aspects to being a world-renowned…
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Island Fever: Phuket bows to smartphones
PHUKET: Heads bowed in silence have always seemed to elicit a tacit sense of reverence. Be it from religious fervor, or perhaps a strict upbringing, but some one-on-one time with God, the J-man or whatever icon takes your fancy remains a voice heard around the world. These days, though, tilted heads and quiet means only one thing: the invasion of…
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Gardening: Phuket, some call it “fuk thong’
PHUKET: Halloween, the eve of All Hallows Day, has come and gone. Long ago, my family spent a year in California, where the kids made lanterns with ghoulish faces and scary costumes for the evening house-to-house visitations. Here in Phuket, there has been no “trick-or-treating”, no Jack-o’-lanterns, no pumpkin pie, no monster pumpkins. Incidentally, the world record weight for a…
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Titans line up for Phuket’s Asia Superyacht Rendezvous
PHUKET: The impressive 72m luxury cruiser MY Titania has announced it will be joining the 14th Asia Superyacht Rendezvous, which begins tomorrow off Phuket’s Kata Beach. Launched in 2006 by Lürssen Yachts, the Titania will join other greats at the three-day event, including MY Moonsand, which was fully completed in 2004 and was the flagship of the Royal New Zealand…
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Excuse Busters: How cheating can be good
PHUKET: The perfect diet is the diet which gets you results and suits your personality and lifestyle. I want you to know that you can cheat during a diet and still see the results you want. How strict do you really need to be to get great results? This, in my opinion, is one of the most important questions you…
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Excuse Busters: Make goals, hit goals – stay beautiful Phuket
PHUKET: Have you ever started a fitness program and then quit? If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Many people start fitness programs and end up stopping when they get bored or if it takes too long to see results. Here are a few tips to keep you motivated and looking good for those beautiful beach days in Phuket. SET…
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History: Nakhon Sri Thammarat – The short-lived kingdom of the South
PHUKET: Nakhon Sri Thammarat was a powerful city in the south of Siam during the 18th century. Foreigners often called the city “Ligor”. The ancient city spread its influence over many of the smaller towns in the region. Although powerful, Nakhon Sri Thammarat was never truly independent. The city’s governor answered to the King of Ayutthaya. In the year 1765,…
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Phuket Paramotoring: Para-normal skies above
PHUKET: Picture this. You are trapped in rush-hour traffic near Central Festival Phuket. It’s late afternoon, the skies are clear and the temperature perfect. But you are hardly enjoying these conditions as you slowly descend into Phuket’s first Bangkok-style highway underpass. Just before you go subterranean, however, you catch a glimpse of something soaring not too high in the sky…
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Video Report: Phuket Superyacht Rendezvous making history
PHUKET: To say that the Asia Superyacht Rendezvous, at just 14 years old, is soaked in history would be an understatement. As spectators look out across the bay from the Kata Rocks, the event’s host sponsor, this December 16-18, one boat sure to catch the eye is SY Sunshine, built as the “third sister” of the original Sunshine, floated 114…
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Video Report: Phuket children go far in Thanyapura’s Junior Challenge
PHUKET: Triathlon is up there with the most demanding, high-performance sports. The idea of combining an intense swim, a high-speed bicycle ride and a long run into one, exhausting race is not for the faint-hearted. Or is it? More than 200 children aged between 6 and 18 took part in the Thanyapura Junior Challenge on Saturday, proving that a triathlon…
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Evictions not imminent at Phuket luxury property, says developer
PHUKET: A report in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) claiming that more than 40 owners of luxury homes at a residential resort property in Phuket face eviction* has been refuted by the developer as a distortion of the facts. In a statement to Bangok-based Property Report, Andy Street of Tawan Properties, the developer behind the luxury homes in Chom Tawan,…
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Para-normal Phuket skies: Part II
PHUKET: Picking up from where we left off last with “Up in the Air” (story here), let’s jump into the effect the southwesterly monsoon-season weather has on paramotoring… “The weather isn’t perfect every day, but when the skies clear the visibility is amazing,” explained Sky Club Asia co-owner Paul Derstoff, adding that safety was of paramount importance and that weather…
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Phuket health: Top 10 liver questions you should be asking
PHUKET: There are many world-class detox centers here in Phuket that attract people from all over the world to lose weight, feel better and recharge. Our bodies are constantly waging battle to detoxify themselves of foreign entities that enter the system through exposure to pollution, chemicals in processed food, as well as through pathogens and by-products of metabolism. The main…
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