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| 22 Mar 2010 04:16:27 am |
| 36 Hours in Phuket, Thailand |
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Elephant trekking near Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Sanctuary with Bang Pae Safari.
By INGRID K. WILLIAMS
Published: March 21, 2010
travel.nytimes.com
THE teardrop-shaped island of Phuket has long been known for its dazzling beaches and naughty night life. But for many, it was the catastrophic Asian tsunami in 2004 that finally placed Phuket on the map. Recovery has been swift, and in recent years the island has firmly reasserted itself as a premier beach resort in southern Thailand, with a growing crop of luxury hotels, top-notch restaurants and even a thriving art community.
Friday
4 p.m.
1) PARADISE LOST
The beach town of Kamala was hit hard by the tsunami, but today the town has sprung back to life with renovated cottages that dot the hillside and beach bars along the promenade. Grab a crepe-like roti — this Thai version is filled with egg and fruit and topped with condensed milk — from the Chef Roti stand (near the Coconut Garden bungalows; banana roti, 30 baht, or 95 cents at 32 baht to the dollar), and stroll along Kamala’s wide crescent of sandy beach, dipping your toes in the mesmerizingly clear water.
5:30 p.m.
2) BIG BUDDHA IS WATCHING
Seek nirvana at the top of Mount Nagakerd, where an enormous, white jade marble-covered Buddha is close to completion. Follow the red-and-white signs from the town of Chalong pointing the way to the 147-foot-tall Big Buddha, officially known as Phraphutthamingmongkhol-akenagakhiri Buddha (mingmongkolphuket.com). Workers are still finishing the Buddha’s big lotus seat, but already it’s an impressive sight, with magnificent views of the Andaman Sea.
7 p.m.
3) STALL TACTICS
Skip the tourist-filled beach restaurants and instead follow the locals inland to Phuket town and the night food market on Ong Sim Phai Road near the Robinson Department Store. A food market by day, it’s a lively food court at night. Portable stalls and carts pull up to the curb, and a sea of plastic tables and chairs spills onto the street. Tasty Thai and Chinese dishes include spicy papaya salad, barbecued pork buns, coconut curry, grilled fish balls and, for dessert, sticky rice with mango. Having trouble deciding what to eat? Look for the stall with the longest line and join it. The whole meal, plus a couple of beers, shouldn’t cost more than 200 baht.
9 p.m.
4) KICK FACE, WIN PRIZE
Thailand’s national sport is brutal. In the ancient martial art of muay Thai, fighters pummel each other with fists, feet, elbows and knees. An authentic place to catch a fight is Suwit Stadium (15 Moo 1, Chaofa Road; 66-76-374-313; bestmuaythai.com), where ceremonial prefight dances and traditional music are reminders that this is more than just violent entertainment. Friday night fights start with a few pipsqueak bouts, so if you’re opposed to watching oiled-up 10-year-olds duking it out in the ring, plan to arrive an hour late, around 9:30. Itching to get into the ring yourself? The stadium doubles as a gym and runs a training camp for aspiring fighters. Fight tickets start at 900 baht and include free transportation to and from the stadium.
Saturday
9 a.m.
5) ELEPHANT EXPRESS
Start the day precariously perched on a pachyderm. Bang Pae Safari (12/3 Moo 5, T. Srisoonthorn Road; 66-76-311-163; phukettoday.com/bangpaesafari) offers elephant trekking excursions through shallow streams and groves of rubber trees. Midway through the trip, you can scramble down from your seat and take a turn in the mahout’s spot, riding on the elephant’s head. A 30-minute trek costs 900 baht per person, or 1,300 baht for an hour.
10:30 a.m.
6) WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
Next door is the Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Sanctuary (entry, 200 baht), where singsong gibbon calls lead you to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (gibbonproject.org), a nonprofit organization that works to return captured gibbons to their natural habitat. If you can pull yourself away from the adorable, acrobatic apes, hoof it a few minutes into the rain forest to Bang Pae Waterfall and take a refreshing dip in the pool below.
1 p.m.
7) MOM’S COOKING
Mom Luang Tridhosyuth Devakul, better known as Mom Tri, is a local architect and entrepreneur who runs a growing empire of respected hotels and restaurants on Phuket. His latest restaurant, Mom Tri’s Boathouse Regatta (63/302 Moo 2, Thepkasattri Road; 66-76-360-855; momtriphuket.com), is a breezy spot on the boardwalk of the Royal Phuket Marina. The service is as polished as the colossal yachts docked out front, but the real star is the food. Recommendations include lobster ravioli with morel mushroom velouté (500 baht) and curried fried rice with seafood, pineapple and cashews (300 baht).
3 p.m.
8 ) CANVAS COMMUNITY
The laid-back village of Rawai, near the island’s southern tip, has emerged as an enclave for talented local artists. Leading the way is the Red Gallery (66-8-7890-3722; phuketredgallery.com), where the artist Somrak Maneemai shows trippy paintings imbued with a whimsical dreaminess. The gallery recently relocated to the Art Village (88 Moo 1, Viset Road), joining a cluster of other small studios and galleries, like Tawan Ook Art Gallery (66-8-1956-5872) and the Love Art Studio (66-8-9471-5653; theloveartstudio.com). On an island inundated with mediocre imitation art, the originality of this bohemian art colony is refreshing.
7 p.m.
9 ) BOX ON THE ROCKS
With sweeping ocean views, floor-to-ceiling windows and an elegant terrace, White Box Restaurant (245/7 Prabaramee Road; 66-76-346-271; whiteboxphuket.com) has been a foodie favorite since opening two years ago on the rocky beach north of Patong. The menu is a mélange of Thai and Mediterranean flavors, and as the name implies, the design is sleek with white décor. Dinner with drinks for two is about 3,000 baht. After dinner, linger upstairs in the trendy open-air lounge sipping spicy Tom Yum martinis, made with vodka, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaf and chili (280 baht).
11 p.m.
10) BEER ON WHEELS
Beer-soaked Bangla Road in Patong is Phuket night life at its brashest and seediest — a heaving crush of hostess bars, go-go clubs and “ladyboy” cabaret. But if that’s not your thing, head south toward Rawai to the bright orange Volkswagen minibus parked along the right side of Viset Road, just past the Art Village. Customized with a bar, the minibus is a party on wheels that attracts a mix of locals, expatriates and sunburned Swedes sipping ice-cold Chang beers (35 baht).
Sunday
10 a.m.
11) WAKE UP, RUB DOWN
Inexpensive massage parlors staffed by gaggles of young Thai girls are everywhere in Phuket. For a quick foot rub, these places will do just fine. But for a head-to-toe treat, go to the sprawling Sukko Cultural Spa & Wellness (5/10 Moo 3, Chaofa Road ; 66-76-263-222; sukkospa.com). Book a traditional Thai massage, a method that incorporates acupressure and yoga-like poses to stretch your aching limbs into glorious submission (1,300 baht for 60 minutes).
Noon
12) PARADISE FOUND
For miles of untouched golden sand all to yourself, head to the blissfully deserted Mai Khao Beach, part of Sirinat National Park, along Phuket’s northwestern shore. Between the warm, cerulean water stretching out to the horizon and a backdrop of lush forests filled with palms, a wide swath of powdery sand sits tantalizingly undisturbed. So sling up a hammock and pretend that you’re stranded on a deserted island for a few hours.
IF YOU GO
Flights from the United States to Phuket require a connection. A recent online search for March found a Korean Air flight from Kennedy Airport, with a connection in Seoul, for $1,179. Flights with two or more stops that connect through Bangkok can often be cheaper.
If you’ve got baht to burn, the Amanpuri (Pansea Beach; 66-76-324-333; amanresorts.com) is the place to set it aflame. For more than 20 years, the Amanpuri has been one of the most exclusive spots on the island, with 70 pavilions and private villas starting at $925.
Farther north, the SALA Phuket Resort and Spa (333 Moo 3, Mai Khao; 66-76-338-888; salaresorts.com) opened in 2008 and is a serene hideaway with 79 rooms and villas — most with private pools — that start at 8,900 baht, about $278 at 32 baht to the dollar.
Situated on the northern edge of Kata Noi beach, Mom Tri’s Villa Royale Phuket (12 Kata Noi Road, Kata Noi Beach; 66-76-333-568; villaroyalephuket.com) is a boutique resort with 35 sumptuous, Thai-style suites from 12,500 baht. |
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Category : Phuket
| Posted By : admin |
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| 12 Mar 2010 02:31:32 am |
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Bear in mind, firstly that Sterling was around 52 to the baht this time last year, so Y-Y is less than a 5% difference. In the meanwhile Sterling was very strong in the face of a weak USD in 2009 and gave UK purchasers more purchasing power.
2009 was not a year for Phuket purchasing, so relatively few took advantage of the strength, however UK buyers were much more active in places like Miami, where super luxury gabled mansions in Palm Beach fell as much as 60-65%. With Sterling dropping this last few months and a rally in the USD buyers picked up a double whammy. A small uptick in prices and general stabilization in distressed US property prices also helped.
Here in Thailand the UK buyers remain solid, lifestyle buyers, who buy more for retirement than for investment. Would be buyers were not impacted so much by the currency, but more through lack of distress sales/bargains in our Phuket market. Throughout 2009 and into 2010 Phuket has again shown resilience in the face of global financial weakness much as we saw during SARS, then the Tsunami, then the Red shirt problems.
Buyers are returning cautiously, off plan developers need serious proven cash reserves/sales and proven building experience on site to gain trust, and attain premium development prices, which properties like Andara, Istana and Mandala have seen in 2010. Cash & Quality is King.
The Thai baht is stronger given overall net inflows to Asia from European and American long term investors, who feared the worst from a Greek default fallout, and from a double dip recession in the US this year. China and India continue to power our smaller Asian markets, and Thailands macro story, albeit with political question marks has been very solid with the Bank of Thailand forecasting GDP growth in 2010 of up to 5.3%.
Jeremy King of Bangkok based Knight Asset management believes that the bahts strength is its new status as the de facto currency in the Mekong region, also supported by a weak dollar.
“The Thai baht remains one of the soundest currencies in Asia, backed by US$ 140 billion in reserves (larger than China’s proportionate to the economy), a record trade surplus (US$ 19 billion 12 months rolling), and a strong banking system with low government, corporate, and household leverage. The silver lining to the political issues is that Thailand missed out on the global increase in leverage in the mid 2000’s. The recent strength in the baht may be more obviously attributed to the foreign portfolio flows into the stockmarket, but this could be offset by political outflows; more likely the strength is due to the growing role of the baht as reserve default currency in the Mekong region as Vietnam (particularly now the dong is being devalued), Myanmar (gas deals), Laos and Cambodia hoard baht rather than US Dollars.” says Mr King.
Thailand has a great opportunity to benefit economically from sustained Asian growth, strong macro fundamentals and structural weakness in both the Euro zone and North American economies into 2012.
Phuket as a property market is reaching maturity, limited land is available on the west coast, Indigo research suggests few new luxury projects are being launched in 2010 and few quality resales are offered. Our experience in February is that global interest remains buoyant from high end players who continue to spend on lifestyle and quality of life. Indigo Real Estate expects quality luxury housing stock to tighten further and we expect developers will on average increase prices by 10% or so in 2010. A stronger baht will have major long term implications that would support the Thai real estate market. |
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Category : Thailand
| Posted By : admin |
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| 02 Mar 2010 09:22:14 am |
| Nickel fee on bags cutting use in Washington |
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Baltimore debating levy of 25 cents on disposable bags
Belinda Moore, right, places Barbara Boyd's groceries in a reusable bag at Safeway in Anacostia. Food retailers in the District of Columbia say they're selling about 50 percent fewer plastic and paper bags than they used to give away before a nickel fee took effect Jan. 1. (Baltimore Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor / February 25, 2010)
By Timothy B. Wheeler
WASHINGTON — - "Paper or plastic?" is no longer the question most often on store clerks' lips in the nation's capital these days when shoppers are buying food. Instead, cashiers here routinely ask customers if they want a bag at all, since they have to pay a nickel for each disposable sack they use to hold their groceries, snacks or takeout meals.
For many shoppers in the District of Columbia, the nickel fee has been an impetus to cut back on previously free store bags that all too often wind up in the trash - or littering nearby streams and trees.
While Baltimore's City Council is debating whether to levy a stiff fee of 25 cents on each plastic or paper bag - or to ban plastic entirely - the district has gotten its residents' attention, it seems, with a fee that might seem trivial to most shoppers. The measure's chief sponsor says food retailers say they're selling roughly 50 percent fewer plastic and paper bags than they used to give away before the fee took effect Jan. 1.
"We wanted to get into people's heads, not into their pockets, by having them make a decision at checkout: 'Do they need a bag with that?' " said Councilman Tommy Wells. (It is unclear how much a 25 cent fee would reduce bag usage in Baltimore.)
For Barbara Boyd, the answer to "paper or plastic" this week was neither. She carried her groceries away from the Safeway at Good Hope Marketplace in southeast Washington in one of the supermarket's black reusable bags, which cost 99 cents apiece.
"The only problem I have is forgetting my bags," said Boyd, who works for the Architect of the Capitol. She said lapses have prompted her to buy more reusable bags, and she now has six. But, she said, "I need them all."
Washington is the first major U.S. city to go through with a fee on disposable bags for food. Seattle adopted a 20 cent fee, only to have voters repeal it in a referendum. San Francisco is the only major municipality to have banned plastic merchandise bags, although they're also outlawed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Government fees or restrictions on disposable bags have had a tough time taking hold. Plastic bag manufacturers and anti-tax activists, among others, say that litter should be tackled through voluntary recycling. And bag fees, opponents contend, are ill-disguised revenue grabs that hurt the poor by making them pay more for groceries and food.
The District of Columbia, however, appears to have overcome the traditional resistance with a relatively small fee that is earmarked for a popular environmental cause, plus a concerted public education campaign that includes merchants giving away free reusable bags and offering discounts to customers who use them.
"The fact that it has gone as well as it has says a lot not just about the residents, the customers, but a number of businesses really stepped forward to prepare their customers," Wells said.
Others say they don't mind paying the fee. Walking out of the Safeway, Stanford Gaskins carried his goods in a plastic bag, for which he'd paid an extra nickel.
"It's not that bad," the 56-year-old retiree said. "You really don't notice that, to be honest." Besides, he added, "if it's going to something worthwhile, I don't mind."
A portion of the fee goes back to merchants to cover their costs for collecting it and for giving customers incentives to bring their own bags. But the rest of the revenue is earmarked for cleanup of the Anacostia River. The tributary of the Potomac River, which drains the eastern half of the district, is fouled by sewage, pollutants and tons of trash. Plastic bags made up 47 percent of the debris littering the streams feeding into the river, according to a 2008 survey.
Restoring the river has become a popular rallying cry in the district, akin to saving the Chesapeake Bay. So proponents of the bag fee were able to blunt some of the criticism.
The Washington fee could raise $3.5 million in its first year - a relative drop in the bucket compared with the billions of dollars that officials say might be needed to restore the Anacostia. (Income projections for Baltimore's 25 cent fee range from $1.6 million to $6.4 million.)
But that amount is likely to decline if residents switch to shopping with their own bags. Wells, the fee's architect, says he's fine with that.
"We did not do this to raise revenue," he said. The fee was set at a nickel, he said, after learning that customers at IKEA stores had virtually stopped asking for plastic bags after the Scandinavian furniture chain started charging a nickel for each.
Merchants say there was confusion and grumbling when the fee took effect.
"There was a certain amount of pushback," said Greg Ten Eyck, spokesman for Safeway, which has 16 stores in the District of Columbia. "Over time, people have gotten used to it."
Smaller grocers also have made their peace with the fee.
"I think it's overall a good thing," said Gary Cha, owner of six Yes! Organic food stores in the District and head of Washington's Korean-American grocers, many of whom operate small neighborhood stores. Merchants have seen an increase in shoplifting, he said, because it's harder to keep an eye on customers who come in with their own shopping bags. But Cha estimated that his stores, which like many were promoting reusable bags before the fee took effect, are now dispensing 25 percent fewer plastic and paper sacks. But Louis Woodland, for one, isn't on board. "Why should you have to pay for a bag if you buy groceries?" the 63-year-old real estate salesman asked as he left the Good Hope Safeway with his turkey sandwich in hand.
More common, though, were shoppers such as Endia Sharpe, who stood at the bus stop in front of the Safeway with four green and blue reusable bags bearing the Giant Food logo. Sharpe, 24 and unemployed, said she got her bags free from Safeway's competitor. (Both chains gave away thousands of free bags in the run-up to the fee, according to spokesmen.)
"They're better than plastic bags," Sharpe said.
Baltimore's harbor and the streams that feed into it suffer from many of the same ills as the Anacostia. The city is under a federal mandate to reduce the torrent of trash getting into the harbor - as Washington is for the Anacostia - because floating refuse discourages public enjoyment of the water and often carries bacteria and other pollutants.
In the next few weeks, after more than a year of sporadically discussing what to do about bags, Baltimore's City Council might be edging toward a vote on taking a tougher stance than Washington's.
Councilman Bill Henry, representing North Baltimore, has introduced separate bills that would levy a 25 cent fee on disposable plastic and on paper bags. Henry said he proposed a higher fee than Washington's "to try to change behavior as quickly and strongly as possible."
Councilman James B. Kraft, representing the Canton area, is pushing for a ban on plastic bags. A committee vote on the bills is scheduled March 16.
Only a handful of council members have signed on to the bills, and they are opposed by some grocers and advocates for the poor, as well as by national manufacturers of plastic bags. Last year, Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake, then City Council president, opposed a 25 cent fee, saying it would hurt low-income residents. Spokesman Ryan O'Doherty said Rawlings-Blake, now the mayor, might support a smaller fee if it exempted those receiving food stamps or other public assistance.
Henry said he's open to "almost any kind of change or compromise" that would win over merchants and other opponents to make progress in reducing litter in the city's streets and waters.
"It's going to be a really tough issue," Kraft said.
Copyright © 2010, The Baltimore Sun |
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Category : Phuket
| Posted By : admin |
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| 02 Mar 2010 09:10:50 am |
| Higher end enjoying a comeback |
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A leading legal adviser says the property situation is not as bad as is perceived
After coming to a screeching halt for most of last year, Thailand's resort property markets have bounced back over the past six months with increased activity at the higher end and secondary-market sales also brisk, says Marcus Collins, a partner with DFDL Mekong Legal and Tax Advisers.
To go by transactions that have passed through his law office, a lot of people are making good money on their investments in Phuket even though global economic conditions are far from rosy.
"You would expect that properties would be offered at discounts, but sellers are still making at least 50% on their original investments and in some cases a lot more than that," he said in an interview last week.
"In the transactions I have seen cross my desk and in my office, there is not a single investment where people have lost money. In every case in which we have represented either the buyer or the seller, the seller has made very good money. This leads me to believe that in Phuket, Samui and Thailand in general, good properties are still a very good investment."
Mr Collins added that "higher end" does not just mean super luxury properties in excess of $US1 million (33,180,000 baht), but includes many condominiums and mid-market houses. One seller sold a condominium he had bought for 12 million baht for 20 million baht.
He added that he has also seen people who bought properties for more than one million dollars and all of them have also made money when they wanted to sell.
Mr Collins said this means that the situation is not as bad as is perceived. Yet it has to be understood that people are more cautious about spending money now. This leads to potential buyers looking for really well managed and well designed properties, and of course properties that are completed or are being built so that they can see what they are buying.
"Selling off-plan is no longer an option in most cases, I believe.
"A lot of people are looking for properties that are linked to a hotel or a well-known company."
Mr Collins has seen a fair bit of activity in the condominium market in Phuket, mainly because there actually are not that many condominiums on the island. The other reason is that foreigners can own 49% of the units in a building freehold and this type of a residence is less of a headache for them in terms of absentee ownership.
"But having said that, we have had clients who are very successful selling villas on a leasehold basis and I think people are getting more educated about leasehold structures."
The past repeats itself, with most foreign buyers in the Thai market again coming from Hong Kong and Singapore, as was the case in the past. These two islands have recovered a lot faster than many other places, and there is a lot of money. These buyers are both foreign expats and natives.
"There are also a lot of Chinese buyers in the market and a lot of Russian buyers. We see expats from the region, living in places like Indonesia and Vietnam, who want to have a second home in Thailand. Some of these expats are from the Middle East," Mr Collins added.
As he sees it, Thailand remains one of the top destinations and one of the most attractive places to have a second home.
"We also see a lot of expats who are moving to Thailand and basing themselves here. They may not necessarily work in Thailand but they want to base themselves and their families here," said Mr Collins.
"Expats who used to own properties in places such as Brisbane are selling these properties and moving to Thailand because it's cheaper for them and Thailand has such good infrastructure. It's easier for them to travel anywhere in the world."
While transactions are taking place at the higher end of resort markets, Mr Collins has not seen that many new developments coming onstream.
Although there are a lot being built and being completed, it is unlikely that there will be a lot of investment in new projects.
However, some successful developers who have sold out or who have at least got their money back are now looking around. They believe they can pick up land a bit cheaper because the market is not as crazy as it used to be.
"So they are picky and they are trying to find the best possible locations. There are developers who have done well who are looking to start new developments."
When it comes to lingering Thai political problems, Mr Collins believes a lot of people have become immune to all the bad news.
"There has been so much bad news, there has been the Bali bombing, there has been the bird flu, there has been the trouble in the South, there have been bombs in Jakarta, there has been financial crisis worldwide ... I think people are just shrugging their shoulders, and saying 'disasters happen and life goes on'.
"As for Thai politics, people are probably so tired of everything already and kind of saying, 'Maybe there is going to be another political crisis, but it will blow over too'.
"Politics is politics - I don't think that will change much. There will be continued bickering between the yellow shirts and the red shirts - that is not going to go away very quickly. That is probably a process that will last for years."
DFDL Mekong Legal and Tax Advisers has offices in Vientiane, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Min City and Hanoi. Mr Collins said the regional firm has seen that a lot of clients buying and developing properties in Cambodia.
"Cambodia has a very attractive beach region and very attractive islands, much like Thailand. We see that there is quite a lot of development going on and the regional airport in Sihanoukville is being expanded particularly with a view to expanding local industry and tourism.
"There has been a lot of investment in properties there and there will be more I believe.
"Vietnam is the same. The Vietnamese coastal area is very long and there is quite a lot of development going on there. Our offices are quite busy," said Mr Collins.
He added that Thailand remains the biggest regional market in terms of resort developments. This is mainly because it has a very mature hotel market.
WIN-WIN: Marcus Collins says profits are high in recent property sales. |
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Category : Thailand
| Posted By : admin |
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| 02 Mar 2010 08:51:21 am |
| KEEP PHUKET GREEN KEEP PHUKET CLEAN |
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Our beach cleaning efforts in 2009 have paid dividends with that initiative leading into a full scale Island GREEN initiative spearheaded by the Governor. After clamping down on Jet skis, illegal building and now talking about meters on Tuk Tuks he has come down hard on the islands waste management systems.
Phuket is starting an Island wide reduce, reuse and recycle program that includes a 2 baht plastic bag charge that started this last weekend with an eco Festival at CENTRAL. Virtually all retailers have voluntarily joined (excluding Lotus, Carrefour and 7/11), and is going to dramatically help our waste and litter situation. Phuket creates about 500+ tonnes a day of waste, half of which is incinerated, half land filled. Through curb side recycling and education the aim is to reduce this by at least 30%. Indigo is involved in co-coordinating an initial 150 recycling stations to be placed around Phuket, and is working with a Chiang Mai waste reduction program called the BIG BIN.
www.keepphuketgreen.com |
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Category : Phuket
| Posted By : admin |
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