Category: General

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Why Thai Bribes?

We are seeing the trend that more and more Westerners choose to marry Thai women in the last 5-10 years. Although we Thais have heard about the trend for sometime, I was quite surprised when a Thai guide who took us around a small town in Germany told us that there were a good size of Thai community even in that small town. In fact some tens of thousand Thai wives are living in Germany. Got on a plane to a North-Eastern city of Thailand one day, I was overwhelmed by a cheer number of “farang” (Westerner) passengers travelling with their Thai wives and kids apparently visiting the wives’s home towns.

So why are Thai brides so popular among Westerners?
Continue reading “Why Thai Bribes?”

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Romanizing Thai Words

I don’t know who is to blame but you may find names of Thai places, recipes or anything Thai get translated into English slightly differently sometime. For example, Chiang Mai may be referred to as Chieng Mai or Chiangmai and Koh Samui as Ko Samui, Samui Island. Similarly, the popular Thai recipe Pad Thai can sometime be Pat Thai. Don’t worry they are the same

Well, we Thais are flexible “saby saby” people, aren’t we?

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Muay Thai – The Martial Art of Eight Limbs

Muay Thai or Thai Boxing has become incresingly well-known outside Thailand as an exciting form of martial art. Apart from Thailand, Muay Thai is also practised in several other southeast Asian countries including Cambodia (where it is known as Pradal Serey) and Myanmar where it is generally known as Lethwei. Muay Thai gyms are also popping up in some Western countries.

Muay Thai has a long tradition in Thailand as a martial art used by the military. The military style of Muay Thai is called Lerdrit, while today’s “Sport Muay Thai” slightly varies from the original art and uses kicks and punches in a ring and with gloves similar to those used in boxing. Muay Thai is referred to as “The Science of Eight Limbs”, as the hands, feet, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art.

On your next trip to Thailand, find some time to experience the excitement of Muay Thai in action. There are 2 Muay Thai stadiums in Bangkok, Lumpini Stadium and Rajdamnoen Stadium which organize competitive Muay Thai matches every week.

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Retirees’ Paradise Thailand

Many foreigners have chosen Thailand as their retirement homes. Some move to Thailand to live and start businesses. Relatively low cost of living, good climate, Thai hospitality are among the reasons. Broadband Internet and other telecommunications infrastructure in Thailand has become more of international standards and very affordable pricing. Many international schools have popped up lately in Bangkok and major cities of Thailand to cater for both Thai and foreign children.

In fact, more people have bought properties in Thailand for the purpose of moving to and living in Thailand or for pure investment. See my previous post about Thailand property market here.

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Thailand Property Booming Again

8 years after the Asia financial crisis and just 2 years after the Asian Tsunami, Thailand property or real estate is booming again. Thanks to the financial crisis, the Thai government has relaxed rules and regulations for foreigners to acquire property in Thailand. The recent coup seems to have very minimal impact on the Thai real estate market condition.

Condominiums are selling fast, especially those in top locations. Sukhumvit Road is always popular. Phuket property is still popular, despite the Tsunami. Prices are high, but that’s what you pay for your lifestyle in paradise! Pattaya, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Samui, Phangan and Chang islands are all growing rapidly with some fantastic bargains available if you snap them up now!

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ThaiPhile.com is Going Through A Major Redesign.

If you happen to have visited this site before, you definitely would have noticed the big changes this site has been going through. First the site has become more lively with 10 photos about Thailand from flickr.com on top of the each page. These photos will be picked ramdomly from over 500,000 photos with the tag – Thailand on flickr.com so they will keep changing. You never know what will come up next.

Thaiphile Blog is now the main content of the site. Once you have registered, you may add comments to the posts.

And lastly, there are less ads on the pages.

This is still an on-going process which may take another month or two. Please come back often to be the first to enjoy our new developments.