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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Furniture firm sets bar high in Phuket
PHUKET: Long standing property furnishing company, Modernform continues to raise the bar for local real estate, and is confident of hitting and maintaining its “beefy” monthly sales target of 8-10 million baht.With its 30-year track record in the industry, the Bangkok-based firm has several branches and dealers throughout the country, namely in Bangkok’s Central World, Sri Nakarin, Rangsit (outlet), Crystal…
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Bee’s knees multi-purpose trees – Phuket Gardening
PHUKET: Today it is the turn of several small trees, which not only bear unusual and edible fruit, but will double-up as ornamental and shade-generating presences in your tropical garden. Baccaurea motleyanais more familiarly known to Thais as rambai or mafai farang. In common with the other trees on parade today, it is primarily grown for its fruit. But its…
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Mind over matter – Phuket Lifestyle
PHUKET: Among the most advanced and well-versed of Western Buddhist meditation gurus in the country and the region, if not the world, Andrea Capellari is Thanyapura’s esteemed Mind Trainer. Teaching meditation regularly to hundreds of students, the Italian-born, highly proficient, intelligent and disciplined Buddhist also leads intensive meditation retreats. The Phuket Gazette‘s Steven Layne recently enjoyed an enlightening lunch with…
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Save a life, get a friend
PHUKET: My name is Bianca Peace, I am 10 years old and I wanted to share something that I think is very important and must be stopped. At Phuket International Academy (PIA) our end of year project was on a topic of our own choice, but it needed to be about something global, so I chose to explore the dog…
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Boom in budget hotels
PHUKET: The changing regional and domestic tourism landscape is creating a lot of business opportunities. More budget hotels are opening, with investors out to cash in on the rising number of middle-class and solo travellers, thanks to the tourism boom and economic prosperity.Most operators agree that this hotel segment has good prospects. Thailand is a key tourism destination in the…
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Preserving Phuket’s old streets
PHUKET: As sprawl and congestion take full-hold of our island, Phuket city municipality planners and engineers strive, yet struggle, to preserve the last remnants of urban historical heritage, yet continue to face a number of obstacles obstructing the way ahead. Indeed, the narrow streets in Phuket’s Old Town district are currently undergoing a drastic makeover. The electrical wires that currently…
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“Business Landmark’ in the works on Bypass Rd
PHUKET: Keep your eyes on the look-out – Bypass Biz Town, currently under construction right smack along the middle of one of the island’s most lucrative roads, is poised to be Phuket’s latest and greatest “Business Landmark”.Building on previous successes, reputable developer Boat Development Co Ltd, is fulfilling a much-needed real estate niche with its latest project, touted to be…
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Phuket Books – A slow death by flashbacks
PHUKET: Well-bred, highly educated and cosmopolitan, a new generation of African women writers – chief among them, the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – has recently claimed their right of place in the publishing world. The newest entrant to this elite club is Taiye Selasi. Half Ghanaian, half-Nigerian, born in London, raised in Boston, a graduate of Yale and Oxford,…
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Phuket Gardening: Bromeliads offer a true taste of the tropics
PHUKET: I last wrote about bromeliads more than a year ago, but our focus on the letter “B” prompted a re-think. Apart from their deserved popularity as shade and house plants, I have re-focused my attention on this vast genus of more than 3,000 species for other reasons (click here for article). Recently I visited the Phuket Botanic Garden (click…
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Phuket’s QSI graduates ready for the world
PHUKET: QSI International School Phuket graduated another group of six secondary students recently. The graduation ceremony was held at Centara Karon Resort where 100 guests attended the ceremony, which included several singing and dancing performances by QIS students. After receiving their diplomas, two of the graduating students, Jasmin Jadick and Jakob Klaic gave speeches thanking the school, their teachers and…
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Phuket’s Airshow and Family Picnic sets the bar with record turnout
PHUKET: The Airshow and Family Picnic held at Phuket’s Air Park over the weekend was a roaring success, with organizers estimating that nearly 7,000 people had attended by the time the two-day event closed last night. Navy League Phuket President Pat James, one of the key organizers, said the event was the largest of its kind ever staged in Southern…
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Traditions upheld at Baba Yaya wedding – Phuket Lifestyle [VIDEO]
PHUKET: The Peranakan Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket along with local government officials organized a mass “Baba Yaya” wedding ceremony recently at the Blue Elephant restaurant in Phuket Town. The event was held to celebrate over 200 years of local traditional weddings in the “Baba Phuket” style, and to promote the island as a wedding and…
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Phuket’s Thanyapura serves chef weight loss
PHUKET: Successful restaurateur Eduardo Vargas is a man who enjoys the finer things in life, and this includes food. Originally from Peru, he left South America in 1989 to embark on a journey that took him to cooking school in Toronto; Georgetown University, America where he aquired a Business Administration degree; Singapore and now Shanghai as a restaurant owner. When…
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A moment with Map Abday – Phuket Lifestyle
PHUKET: Art is the expression of human creative skills and imagination, typically in something that can be experienced visually, such as drawing, painting or sculpture. Such works are appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Indeed, many people try to define what art is, but its meaning is constantly evolving, and the concept of art means different things to…
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Industrial real estate demand on rise
PHUKET: This fiscal year, the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has forecasted sales and rentals to cover between 3,600 to 3,800 rai (1,440 to 1,520 acres) of land in both its own and privately owned industrial estates. The 2013 Thai fiscal year began on October 1, 2012 and will last until the end of September, this year. IEAT governor…
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How to legally own Thai land
PHUKET: I think there is a common misconception in Phuket, and in Thailand generally, that is often reinforced by many long term expats, who are always very eager to give their opinions to new-comers. It goes like this: As long as you remain a foreigner in this country, you will always have to use one of the available loopholes to…
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Phuket airport’s expansion progress to ease overcrowding
PHUKET: The Airport Authority of Thailand (AoT) has accelerated the construction of a temporary terminal building at Phuket International Airport (HKT) in order to ease passenger overload ahead of the next tourism high season. Quoted in a recent report by BangkokBizNews, AoT Board Director Sitha Tiwaree announced that the construction schedule for the temporary terminal had been tightened due to…
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Phuket Property Watch: Just how real is real?
Phuket Property Watch: It’s Wednesday and far too early in the day for an epiphany. I’ve just been online trying to book a trip to Nirvana and even my trusty sidekick Jimmy Zen can’t help. No leap of faith here, no walking on water, just an aisle seat on the big bus. In the whole wired world of travel, more…
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Aqua Villas: East coast luxury
PHUKET: Located down a quiet soi in Rawai, 150 meters from the beach, Aqua Villas will have nine luxury private villas with three or four bedrooms. The custom built four-storey tropical villas, ideal as holiday homes or permanent residences, will be designed to envelope owners in a totally unique tropical living experience that brings them closer to the natural seafront…
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The iron man of whimsy – Phuket Books
PHUKET: David Sedaris is a classic example of the American Dream. In 1992, he was a 36-year-old failure. College dropout, dabbler in crystal meth, lonely homosexual, drifting through lowly odd jobs in Chicago, New York and his native Raleigh, North Carolina. Sedaris was reading excerpts from his diary in a Chicago club when he was discovered by a radio host…
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![Phuket Food: Inspired – Re-think Thai desserts [VIDEO] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAyMzUgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
Phuket Food: Inspired – Re-think Thai desserts [VIDEO]
PHUKET: A renaissance in the world of traditional Thai desserts has taken hold, away from the sand and seas of Phuket, in the heart of the province. Nestled in the center of the island, Ms Vachiraya “Yulie” Thitalohakul has turned back to her cultural heritage after years of working as a western-schooled patissiere. With over a decade of experience as…
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Experienced GM heads to Anantara Vacation Club [VIDEO]
PHUKET: Talking to Lyndon Ellis, it is easy to see how his great sense of hospitality makes him perfect for the position of General Manager of the newly opened Anantara Vacation Club. Mr Ellis brings a wealth of management experience to bear on this brand’s new signature resort in northwest Phuket, which offers a truly luxurious escape amid fantastic tropical…
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![New operations manager fits in at Phuket’s TSLC [VIDEO] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAxNDYgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
New operations manager fits in at Phuket’s TSLC [VIDEO]
PHUKET: Brian Finniss, the newly appointed operations manager for Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club lives by this simple motto: “Be committed to do what it takes to have what you want.” For many people, managing an international brand like Thanyapura is something that comes with age, but this young Canadian export is a definite exception to the rule. Mr. Finniss…
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Connext to work, life, play downtown
PHUKET: Local developer Phuket Thanee Co Ltd launched Connext Condo this week in its latest drive to transform “downtown” Phuket into a thriving residential community. When finished in December 2015, Connext Condo and Fit Sports Club will be part of the skyline on Sakdidet Road, near Sapan Hin and Suan Luang Park (click here for map), giving the area a…
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Patong beachfront most expensive land on Phuket
PHUKET: THE beachfront in Patong Bay comprises Phuket’s highest valued roadside real estate, while the most expensive land plots in Phuket Town are valued only 7% less.According to Phuket’s official road and street-access land value summary covering 2012-2016, plots along Taweewong Road in Patong (the beach road), had been valued from 70,500 to 150,000 baht per square wa (sqw), which…
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Great bowls of fire!
PHUKET: If you are from the Southwestern part of the United States, you already know what a chili cook-off is. However, given that expats in Phuket from that part of the country probably number less than a couple of dozen, maybe an explanation is due. A chili cook-off, as described by Wikipedia , is a social event, similar to a…
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Phuket’s Black & Blue brings those blues to you
PHUKET: You would think a great blues band would have its name rooted in some great emotional torment, a bruised heart or tragic love story. Soulful expat blues musicians Black & Blue, however, chose their name based on their stage outfits. “That was my idea,” rhythm guitarist Peter explains. “We were talking about how we were going to dress for…
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Organic living at Phuket’s Saiyuan Estates
PHUKET: The Attitude Club Co Ltd, who own Saiyuan Estate, are trying to reduce the environmental impact their developments have on Phuket. Saiyuan Estate is a new luxury boutique pool villa development nestled among the hills in Saiyuan, one kilometer south of Chalong circle. The Oriental Essence and Onyx Essence villas have been built with an environmental awareness that gives…
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Bonsai, cacti, palms and ponds – Phuket Gardening
PHUKET: One article could hardly begin to catalog the sheer scope and variety of the Phuket Botanical Garden, with its 15 rai and an army of 30 gardening staff. There are more than 30 independent zones, ranging from Thai inspired mini-gardens to a Japanese style affair complete with miniature pagoda and red rectangular arch; even an English Garden with raised…
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Phuket Explore: Blazing Saddles – Sok it to me baby!
PHUKET: Just three hours north of Phuket is one of Southeast Asia’s most stunning unspoiled natural resources – Khao Sok National Park. As Phuket becomes ever more febrile and hectic, residents and visitors alike increasingly need to escape to such places of physical, spiritual regeneration. We reached Khao Sok National Park on a sweltering April day by heading north across…
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![Phuket Food: Inspired – Re-think Thai desserts [VIDEO] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/phuketlifestyle_A_rose_by_any_other_name_21481_kzuzVoiBmA_jpeg.jpg)
![Experienced GM heads to Anantara Vacation Club [VIDEO] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/phuketlifestyle_Lyndon_Ellis_has_worked_all_over_the_globe_Photo_Anthika_Muangrod_21467_kEKchBHmFB_jpeg.jpg)
![New operations manager fits in at Phuket’s TSLC [VIDEO] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/phuketlifestyle_Brian_Finniss_Operations_Manager_at_TSLC_21465_UVDqeMhuhs_jpeg.jpg)
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