A practical guide to vets in Bangkok: which hospitals handle emergencies, exotic pets, and surgery, what routine care costs, plus pet taxis, house calls, boarding, and where to meet other pet owners.
Thailand’s new THIM app aims to simplify immigration, but it doesn’t replace the TDAC and is still in its pilot phase. Here’s what it does, what’s coming in Phase 2, and whether you should download it now.
Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket get all the attention, but Thailand has quieter, cheaper cities where expats live well. An honest look at six underrated places: Chiang Rai, Kanchanaburi, Rayong, Samut Prakan, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen.
Bangkok offers plenty of options for a proper Christmas dinner, from hearty German fare to a New Orleans buffet to New York style pizza. Here are three of my favorite restaurants for the holiday, with their locations, menus, and prices.
The two-week holiday and the long-term reality are two different things. Here’s an honest look at what daily life in Thailand is actually like: the heat, the visas, and the ‘rich farang’ dynamic, alongside the food, safety, and financial breathing room that keep people here.
Khon Kaen is the overlooked medical and education hub of Isaan: a real, functioning city with hospital quality rivaling Bangkok at a fraction of the cost. The catches are extreme summer heat, a small expat scene, and no direct international flights.
Sriracha is the eastern seaboard’s quiet, affordable ‘Little Osaka’: excellent hospitals, cheap Thai-Japanese food, and the best early-childhood schooling outside Bangkok. The beach isn’t swimmable and nightlife is thin, but Pattaya is 45 minutes away.
Most people only see Kanchanaburi on a weekend trip to the River Kwai. As a place to live, it’s a calm, cheap provincial city with great nature access and Bangkok two to three hours away. The catches: a small expat scene and no airport of its own.
Living in Samut Prakan: BTS into Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi on the doorstep, strong international schools, and rents well below the city. A full expat guide from a resident since 2014.
Koh Samui is the island a lot of people came to for a week and never left: good beaches, solid hospitals, a big expat community, and costs below Phuket. The catch is the island premium on everything, and pricey Bangkok Airways flights off the island.