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.
-
Sponsored Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever
Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
-
Phuket Property Watch: The art of changing places; tax hoopla; more foreign banks?
PHUKET: Sometimes more is more. At the other end of the universe less can also be more. Sounds confusing? It’s not really. Take the recent repositioning of the upscale hotel Indigo Pearl into an all villa and suite property as a prime example. Working with legendary designer Bill Bensley, an estimated 1.2 billion baht has been invested in the extreme…
-
Samui hideaway secret unveiled
PHUKET: Ready to lift the veil on Koh Samui’s “best-kept secret”, the boutique Akaryn Samui is set to welcome its first guests next month. As the fourth and latest venture by Thailand hospitality pioneer Anchalika Kijkanakorn, the Akaryn Samui looks to redefine the boutique resort experience. The largely undiscovered, Hanuman Bay is a pristine crescent cove with a 500-meter powder…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: BIS kids get the blues
PHUKET: Music fans are in for a treat at this year’s Phuket International Blues Rock Festival as the main act is none other than Chris Thomas King who has sold more records, and appeared in more successful movies, than any other blues artist this century. Seeing him perform live is one thing, but imagine being able to get “up close…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Keeping your dog fit
PHUKET: Exercising your dog on a daily basis is essential. The best exercise channels the activity of both mind and body and for that, you need to take your dog out for a walk. Lack of proper exercise can lead to obesity, poor muscle tone, heart ailments and a host of emotional and behavioral problems. Take your dog different places…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Finn dining in Chalong
PHUKET: If anyone ever asked you, “Fancy a Flatty at Skiffer?” you would be forgiven for not knowing what they meant but after one visit to the trendy Skiffer restaurant in Chalong Bay you would likely answer in the affirmative as flatties are delicious. Having lived in Phuket for years I must have passed near this place hundreds of times…
-
Phuket Books: The all-American horror tale of a tough childhood
PHUKET: In 1989, Tobias Wolfe published his block-breaking memoir This Boy’s Life, later made into a movie with Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio. Tobias Wolfe was the mentor of Mary Karr who published her own masterpiece memoir in 1995: The Liar’s Club. These two books about hard-scrabble childhoods marked the emergence of a new literary era and unleashed a floodgate…
-
Restoring the historical buildings of Phuket Town
PHUKET: Premises such as the Standard Chartered Bank and the police station in Phuket Town will soon be restored to former glory. It’s always interesting meeting with Pranee Sakulpipatana, who works to ensure that local people learn and celebrate their heritage. She comes from a Chinese/Thai family who were originally merchants on Thalang Road, Phuket City’s “Road of Culture”. Pranee…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: What’s so funny, wee man?
In the run up to The Phuket Punchline Comedy Club’s February 29 ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ show, the Gazette asks each of the comedians about themselves. This week its the diminutive Ian Coppinger. Phuket Gazette: Where and when were you born? Ian Coppinger: I was born in Dublin in 1970. I was actually born in my parents house, my…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Day of the kiddies
PHUKET: Children are our future as the song tells us and to prepare them for the waiting world of adulthood we endeavor to provide a wealth of learning experiences that are an important tool for their development. National Children’s Day in Thailand was celebrated on January 14 and many places marked this special occasion with events filled with fun activities.…
-
Phuket’s Playground of comedy
PHUKET: Utterly uproarious and mind-bendingly brilliant is the usual hilarious result when a group of talented comedians improvise a sketch based on a random scenario pieced together by a willing audience. Phuket has its willing audience and this month the Punchline Comedy Club provides the comedic talent when they present their biggest show yet – the live stage show of…
-
Phuket Fashion: Distress that dress
PHUKET: When most of us think about good fashion one word comes to mind: quality. Well-made, classic pieces will always stay in our wardrobes longer, withstanding the test of time. But when it comes to some fashion trends, the emphasis away from impeccable craftsmanship might surprise you. Distressed clothing is nothing new; we’ve all had our share of ripped jeans,…
-
Phuket Books: Fair game in the Windy City
PHUKET: Thomas Pynchon’s epic 1000-page novel Against the Day opens with a boy’s adventure tale: the arrival of the Chums of Chance aboard their airship at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. In The Devil in the White City (Vintage Books, New York, 2004, 447pp), Erik Larson describes just such a dirigible arriving at the Fair at the climax of…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Classical music hits high note in Phuket
PHUKET: There is good news for those who appreciate European classical music: Mom Luang Tri Devakul is again welcoming Phuket residents and visitors to his luxury estate at Villa Royale tonight for an evening of music and fine dining. Mom Tri has long supported the arts on the island with his Baan Kata Artsfest, a celebration of music, art and…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Eye to eye contact
Doctor Captain Wiriyaluppain is launching a series of articles to help educate Phuket Gazette readers about eye health and what to be beware of. The articles will also explain advances in eye treatment technologies. Here is the first in the series. PHUKET: As an eye doctor who has practiced in Phuket for many years, I have found that the patient…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: BAKE brings uniquely Thai handcrafted coffee to Phuket
PHUKET: Since opening two years ago, BAKE by Twinpalms has become a go-to spot for Phuket island residents and visitors who love a selection of freshly baked goods, sandwiches, salads, chocolates, desserts, juice, smoothies, coffees and teas. They have now announced the addition of another sensory delight to their repertoire of premium baked goods with their new coffee roasting and…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Vladi good fish at Palau
PHUKET: There’s a brand-new, gorgeous-looking, blue-and-white seafood outlet down in Nai Harn Village called Palau Fish. It turns out that the restaurant is named after a Pacific island some 800km east of the Philippines, one of the world’s youngest states. Pub quiz aficionados take note… Palau is way over the top, design wise, with billowing white curtains complementing its peripheral…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Count Snape gets his teeth into opera
PHUKET: Dressed in a flowing black cape, a certain Mr Snape mingled with the New Year crowds in Patong on New Year’s Eve, but Andrew Snape has no relation to the character in Harry Potter. Yes, they are both teachers, wear black capes and have English accents. But “Count Snape”, as Andrew calls himself when dressed as a vampire, performs…
-
In memory of Bjorn Täckmann
PHUKET: Bjorn Täckmann, an important member of the dive community in Phuket and Thailand, passed away on January 6 in a hospital in Surat Thani. He had been diagnosed with cancer last year. Mr Täckmann started diving in 1983 and moved from Denmark to Thailand in 1993 as a PADI Dive Instructor. Since then he has ushered thousands into the…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Bottom time is now family time
PHUKET: Everyone can learn to dive, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Diving is like everything worth doing, there are obstacles to overcome. Sometimes those obstacles are mental, sometimes they are physical and sometimes they are both. For Emil Engahl aged 10 it was no different. For years Emil has been coming to Phuket with his parents Mette and Lars…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Enter the dragon
PHUKET: Just when you thought all the festivities linked to the New Year were over, here they come again in the guise of Chinese New Year with celebrations to go on for 15 days. Today we enter the 4,709th Chinese year and the “Year of the Dragon”, according to the Chinese zodiac. Chinese New Year, the most important of all…
-
Phuket Property: Sansiri set to invest heavily this year
PHUKET: Residential developer Sansiri has earmarked 24 billion baht to launch 44 projects worth 46bn baht this year and to buy land for more projects next year. “This year we will expand our products to cover all market segments, including units priced lower than 2 million baht and over 10 million baht. This will stress our number one quality brand…
-
Phuket Gardening: I say paw-paw, you say papaya
PHUKET: When I was young, papayas (pronounced papaiya) were considered very exotic, rarities that occasionally came along with other fresh fruit – mangoes and kiwi fruit, at the end of an expensive dinner. Here papayas (stress on the last syllable please) are the most available of fruit. In Isarn, a meal without green shredded papayas in the mix is almost…
-
Phuket’s Simon Star Cabaret opens with a flourish
PHUKET: Simon Star Cabaret, Phuket’s third ladyboy extravaganza, opened with two performances and a lavish feast at the Phuket Orchid Gardens & Thai Village, behind Phuket Rajabhat University in Rassada. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was also attended by Phuket MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr and other dignitaries. They were joined by Phuket Simon Cabaret chairperson Wirat…
-
Phuket events / What’s on
A weekly digest of important events to be enjoyed in Phuket over the coming days, plus many more can be view here. New Year on January 23. The Cove Restaurant Take part in the festive celebration for prosperity, happiness and fortune. Enjoy our special Chinese buffet dinner with a great variety of delicacies such as whole suckling pig, Peking duck,…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Cables and canopies
PHUKET: Zipping along with the sea on one side and forest on the other is something residents and visitors do everyday on the roads interlinking Phuket’s beaches. Now they can do the same thing while flying over 40 meters in the air, propelled by nothing more than gravity. The island’s newest adventure attraction opens a door into Phuket’s often overlooked…
-
Phuket History: From tin to tourism
PHUKET: Compared to industries such as tin and rubber, tourism is relatively new in Phuket, although its growth over the past few decades has been phenomenal. The island has come a long way from the backpacker’s haven it once was and today has found its place amongst the world’s leading tourist destinations. Its white sand beaches and top class hotels…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Teachers taught ‘trauma release’ exercises
PHUKET: Children at Yaowawit school in Phuket Town are now undergoing a new therapy to release trauma by participating in specific morning exercises. The trauma exercises were introduced to teachers and a few children at a one-hour workshop held recently. The workshop was run by Christine Von Aufsess, a psychotherapist from Germany, who was visiting her son, a volunteer at…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: Two sugars, please
Former England cricket international and celebrity Phil Tufnell spins a yarn or two at The Village Coconut Island Sport brings many different characters to the table from those who are utter professionals and perfect role models, for the general public at least, and those who are themselves on and off the pitch and exude character and charisma constantly. Phil Tufnell…
-
Phuket Lifestyle: The Yankees are coming!
PHUKET: Patong’s already wide selection of international cuisines just got a little larger, with the opening of its first New York-style delicatessen. Big Bill’s Deli, which officially opened for business in early December, is run by Dokmai “Flower” Khamkheukong, long-time companion of one of Phuket’s one-of-a-kind expats: William Sawyer. Better known as “Big Bill” or “Large William”, Mr Sawyer has…
-
Czech beauties make a splash in Phuket
PHUKET: Fourteen finalists in the Miss Czech Republic Beauty Pageant 2012 who were busy doing photo shoots in Phuket and around Phang Nga Bay this weekend fly out of Phuket today. The beauties, who landed in Phuket last Wednesday, have spent the past five days taking part in publicity activities carefully orchestrated by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). On…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.