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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Phuket Reminder: Family Rally to aid marine life conservation
PHUKET: Kriengsak Jarunonwiwai at Phuket Butterfly Garden & Insect World on Saturday, reminded everyone that the Family Rally to save the marine environment is still on for April 1. The Family Rally is a joint project supported by local government and private organizations that aims to return clownfish, seahorses and sea turtles to Phuket’s coastal waters. For more details and…
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Start your engines, the Phuket Invitational Car Rally is ready for road
PHUKET: Automotive tune ups underway, participants in the Phuket Invitational Car Rally are revving up for Sunday’s tour of the island which at the checkered flag will determine a top team of navigators, timekeepers and drivers. On Sunday March 11, this unique treasure hunt will start out from Chalong Pier Beer Garden at 10am. However, registration will begin at 9am…
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Phuket lifestyle: Keeping an ‘i’ on the prize
PHUKET: The requirements for getting hired as a foreign teacher in Thailand are incredibly low. Degrees and TEFL certificates are bandied about but not truly required in many schools. With Thailand’s low standards come low salaries, lower expectations and the profession’s ugly stereotype: the backpacker teacher. Typically transient, the backpacker uses his or her classroom as a means to a…
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Phuket property: The hotel owners’ great debate: Is it better to buy or to build?
PHUKET: Decisions, decisions. Our lives often revolve around them like a lotus in a whirlpool. In through the ‘out’ door and out through the ‘in’. Or just ‘smash and grab’ like some random jewelry heist. But wait, we have a topic, and rolling into 2012 it has never been more relevant. Hotels coming into the market place in Phuket have…
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Phuket lifestyle: Making a dog’s dinner of it
PHUKET: A while back I wrote an article on the benefits of a raw diet for your dogs and while the debate still rages among veterinarians, food manufacturers and the dogs themselves – I thought I’d leave that to one side and focus on some of the dog foods now available here in Phuket. The variety of commercial dog foods…
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Phuket lifestyle: Breaking the school barrier
PHUKET: Seven intrepid stand-up paddlers will take to their boards on March 13 to navigate the 90 miles around Phuket over five days. The circumnavigation of Phuket is to raise funds to build a school for impoverished children in the Rassada Port area, on the east side of Phuket Town. The port area is well known as one of the…
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Phuket lifestyle: Diving without water
PHUKET: Divers take water for granted, be it mucky water, cold water, beautiful Phuket water or even pool water. We presume there will be water when we dive. So my last dive, a “dry” dive at 18 meters in a sub-aquatic safety services (SSS) recompression chamber, was a novelty. Recompression chambers, also known as hyperbaric chambers, have been used to…
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The Absolut Mango House Festival 2012 kicks off today
PHUKET: The Absolut Mango House Festival 2012 kicks off today at 3pm with the ‘Sushi Lounge Party’ hosted by DJ Colin Edwards. Colin is internationally known for his voice and immensely popular Funk It Up radio syndication show and his signature ‘soulful style’. Colin will be joined by DJ Nutrip and celebrity Japanese chef Massa, for a saucy afternoon of…
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Phuket gardening: Vistas of paradise
PHUKET: It is always a great pleasure to be invited to a Phuket home, and to be asked for advice about aspects of the garden. This week’s visit proved predictably pleasurable and the upshot, hardly surprising – was a decision to write about the experience. The original intention had been to advise about pot plants but, as often happens on…
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Twinpalms designer Martin Palleros to join Phuket American Chamber of Commerce workshop
PHUKET: Noted designer of the Twinpalms resort, Martin Palleros, will be joining the panel of international designers speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) “Phuket Design Evolution” workshop at Royal Phuket Marina on Friday night (March 9). Mr Palleros is also renowned for his work on Baan Yamu and the ultra-residence Villa Mayavee on Kamala’s Millionaires’ Mile. Overseas, Mr…
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Phuket lifestyle: The art of life
PHUKET: A Frenchman who enjoys wine and rugby is nothing unusual, but a former international player launching his own award winning wines on Phuket is certainly worth our attention. Gérard Bertrand was born into wine and rugby and has excelled at both. Capped twice for France against Italy and Russia as a strapping loose forward, he also led the Paris-based…
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Patong readies for the Phuket Punchline
PHUKET: We’ve heard they’ve been scoffing our food, drinking our beer and eying up the women. Those dastardly comedians from the Whose Line Is It Anyway show have been seen floating around Phuket already, apparently “warming up” for their side-splitting show at the Holiday Inn tonight. That’s right folks, The Phuket Punchline Comedy Club’s exclusive and uncensored mirth-filled menagerie of…
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Phuket property briefs: Hotel search engine; SALA group; APEC
PHUKET: In an effort to keep revenue streams out of the hands of OTA’s (online travel agents), six major hotel chains have invested in a new hotel search engine called Room Key. Joining in on the consortium are InterContinental, Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton and Choice. Technology for the system came via a third party acquisition of ‘helicopter’. Room Key DNA…
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Phuket property: New residential market demand is generated by wealthy Asians
PHUKET: Demand in Phuket’s residential and property markets is growing among wealthy Asian “tourists”, leading property consultancy Knight Frank Thailand has reported. Knight Frank’s latest research was conducted following the Airport Authority of Thailand report that Phuket International Airport had welcomed 20% more passengers in 2011.Statistics showed that 4.2 million arrivals had been counted at the airport last year, compared…
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Phuket gardening: Brimming with bromeliads
PHUKET: Most people in Europe encounter their first bromeliad, without ever realizing its collective name as a fruit that tastes deliciously different, and can be eaten fresh or canned. But the pineapple is only one member, and indeed the only edible member, of a family of plants that comprises more than 3,000 varieties. Among bromeliads grown solely for their good…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Go with the flow
PHUKET: One of the many perks of dressing in a sheer fabric, like silk chiffon, is the versatility of the material. This free-flowing style is destined to become a staple for every fashion-forward female in Phuket this year, as it can be dressed up or down depending on your wants and taste. Don a short version as a cover-up at…
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Phuket Blues Festival and Blue Sky Air Show set to play to large crowds this weekend
PHUKET: Only hours away, this year’s Phuket International Blues Rock Festival is set to bring the canvas roof down at its new venue in the Festival Marquee at the Laguna Beach Resort’s Y-Junction. It is the place to be today and tomorrow for a sublime celebration of blues rock music with some of the finest musicians ever to appear on…
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Phuket development funds continue to pour in: Tanan Tanphaibul
PHUKET: Bangkok based developers will pump as much as 30 billion baht into the local economy this year, the head of Phuket Real Estate Association (P-REA) has said. Demand for reasonably-priced homes and condominiums is luring many investors to Phuket, P-REA President Tanan Tanphaibul said at a recent press conference to announce the group’s “Phuket Life & Drive 2012” exhibition,…
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Phuket property: A stress-free island lifestyle
PHUKET: Nestled along a virgin island cape is the Jindarin Beach Club & Resort, a minimalistic and authentically eco-friendly tropical retreat on Coconut Island off Phuket’s east coast. With the rare offering of stress-filtered island bliss at highly competitive prices, the new development is attracting moderate income weekenders and high profile investors alike. Speaking with the Phuket Gazette, project owner…
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Phuket Books: Yoknapatawpha on the Hudson
PHUKET: William Faulkner’s novels take place in Yoknapatawpha County in Mississippi. William Kennedy’s novels take place in Albany, New York. His Albany Cycle of eight novels include two of the very best in American literature: Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game (1978) and Ironweed (1983) which was made into a movie for which both Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep received Oscar nominations.…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Kata’s hot spot to chill by the sea
PHUKET: RE KÁ TA (doesn’t that name shout out loud?) is the newest incarnation of the passed-away Oasis, next to Boathouse at Kata Beach. The base for the annual King’s Cup Regatta, it’s not hard to see how the place got its spiffy name. Essentially, RE KÁ TA is a beach club: Simply lay your 1,000 baht down and you’ll…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Facetime with Dr Paul Ekman
PHUKET: Dr Paul Ekman has built an impressive career around research on the human face and the many subtle micro-expressions which expose emotions. He believes that regardless of geography or culture, mankind has facial expressions in common that even reach to the world of primates. Recently he presented a lecture, Emotional Intelligence and Education: Reading Faces, Recognizing Feelings and Revealing…
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Phuket Comedy club early bird special offer closing
PHUKET: Phuket’s Punchline Comedy Club special February 29 show is only a week away and this is the last call for early bird tickets. The infamous “Whose Line Is It Anyway” crew will take to the stage at Patong’s Holiday Inn next Wednesday evening for a performance that would even bring a smile to the face of Tom Cruise, considering…
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Bidding for Phuket Town’s Thavorn Grand hotel, soapy massage closes tomorrow
PHUKET: The bidding deadline for Phuket Town’s iconic Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel and adjoining facilities will close tomorrow at 4pm.A spokesperson from Star Asset Management Ltd told the Phuket Gazette that closed bidding starts at 415 million baht.The package for sale is for the 17-storey, 154-room hotel, its attached grand ballroom, car park and the adjoining “soapy” massage parlor in…
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Phuket property: Asia’s big two markets mature
PHUKET: Talk about “dream island destinations” in Asia and without a doubt Phuket and Bali rule the numbers game in terms of popularity. If talk turns to resort real estate both are heavyweight contenders in the title fight. Round after round, punches or blows only end with the ringing of a bell. Practically speaking, when it comes to the life…
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Phuket Property: Mövenpick celebrates; Budget brand takes on Asia
PHUKET: It was recently announced that Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts plan 11 new hotel projects across nine countries bringing the company’s total number of operating and planned hotels worldwide to 100. The new hotels are in France, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Thailand. The upscale company of Swiss heritage now has 69 hotels in operation and 31…
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Phuket Gardening: North and South – The biodiversity of Thailand
PHUKET: Thailand is a large and varied country, especially in terms of its length from north to south (1600 kilometers), and its coastline of 2,600 kilometers. Because of the resulting range of micro-climates, it is able to produce an unending range of flowers, trees and fruit. Put another way, Thailand’s biodiversity is immense, the country is still the trustee of…
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Phuket Gazette’s weekly horoscope by Isla Star
AQUARIUS (January 21-February 19): Opportunities could be missed in the heat of the moment this week. Aquarians who aren’t on the ball are likely to miss out to others with keener attitudes. The stars suggest that you need to focus more strongly this is not an auspicious time for multitasking. The stars advise keeping negative thoughts to yourself as speaking…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Jan Sylan as described by an officer and a gentleman
PHUKET: Captain James Forrest is a significant character in Phuket’s history as he was one of the few English naval captains who visited the island during the 18th century. His travel accounts are useful because they vividly depict the geography of the island, the abundance of resources, trade and how the inhabitants of the island lived during that period. Capt…
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Phuket Comedy: Who’s this Andy Smart anyway?
PHUKET: Phuket Gazette: Where and when were you born? Andy Smart: I was born in Portsmouth in a nursing home that is now appropriately a Casino, in 1959. PG:Any amusing tales from your childhood and/or school days? AS: I drowned when I was 7 in the Basingstoke canal, and was clinically dead for about 2 and a half minutes. Luckily…
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