Hua Hin Today
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Volume 9 issue 2 December 2011
Volume 9 Issue 2 December 2011
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Bank of Thailand trying
to ease flood victims’ problems T
he Bank of Thailand is trying to help victims of the recent floods by delaying the planned implementation of the loan value ratio rule on low rise residential purchases by one year. The rule applies to low rise houses valued at less than THB10 million (US$3.2 million). The rule limits mortgage loans at 95 per cent of home value. The Bank of Thailand is also helping borrowers obtain loans for house repairs needed to fix flood damage by dropping the risk weight of mortgage loans for low rise residential houses to 35 per cent of the loan value until the end of the year according to The Nation.Close to 40 per cent of 2.4 million houses in Bangkok and 40 per cent of 4 million houses in Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakan and Samut Songkhram have been affected by floods.
Thai floods create demand
for short-term rentals in Hua Hin S
ansiri’s property management unit Plus Property Co Ltd has been approached by over 150 Thai clients in late October when the floods approached the capital, applying for short rental contracts in the resort city of Hua Hin.The units that have been shown most interest are those for a stay of under 3 months, with unit rental pricing between US$814-1800. The spiked interest in Hua Hin and other resort destination comes after residents of Bangkok realise the necessity of a second home for refuge. Real estate experts predict that there will be future interest for more projects with systematic management and permission for pets. Meanwhile, budget and economy hotels in Hua Hin and Pattaya are fully booked while serviced apartments in Bangkok have higher take up rates, particularly those with parking above basement level.
Singapore’s government
planning for population boom
T
he population boom in Singapore will not affect the quality of housing available to its citizens according to Deputy Prime Minister Tao Chee Hean.“Even as our city becomes more populated, we can still, with good design and planning, build facilities for our residents. We opened Punggol Waterway just a month ago and built a park around Punggol to illustrate that we can still find the space for good-quality housing for Singaporeans” he said.
The MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC was at the opening of the 1.2km Punggol Point walk. Located next to the Punggol jetty the walk features a viewing area, children’s playground, an events plaza and two lily ponds. A 2.5 km nature walk is expected to be completed next year in Punggol.The parks and walk areas are being built to help
residents escape the population boom and urbanisation in Singapore. Future residents of Punggol are excited about the changes happening in the area. “(The area) has a very nice view, compared to 10 years ago, when it was just a beach” said Anthony Tan who is moving to Punggol in February.
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Hua Hin Today
Volume 9 issue 2 December 2011
Property News
Hua Hin Today
Volume 9 issue 2 December 2011
Sena goes golfing
TAT plans to promote domestic tourism
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Courtesy by http://www.nationmultimedia.com
Courtesy by www.nationmultimedia.com
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has designed a five-pronged strategy to rebuild domestic tourism after the severe flooding
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hawatchai Arunyik, deputy governor for domestic marketing, said the first measure, intra-regional travel, is set to start this week and run until the end of January. People will be encouraged to visit nearby attractions rather than go across regions. That would continue to augment business in communities. The authority will not focus on already crowded destinations such as Hua Hin ,Pattaya and Kanchanaburi. Four plans are set for next year, as the flooding will have completely disappeared by then. It will begin with cross-region travel by encouraging people from all parts of the country to visit the Central region and Bangkok. “TAT also will invite 10 travel agents from each province or more than 700 agents in January to see attractions in the Central region so they can develop packages afterward,” he said. TAT later will boost niche markets like medical and corporate in unaffected regions, particularly the Northeast. The plan is expected to start in January. Health and healing will also get attention in the coming year in order to assist people to release
stress and ease their pains. Expat associations in major cities, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Samui ,Pattaya and Phuket would be asked to help promote domestic tourism as well as to communicate with their people overseas about the tourism situation in Thailand after the flood. “We call this project ‘Local to Global’. We’ll ask Scandinavians in Hua Hin, Japanese in Chiang Mai, Germans in the Northeast and Europeans in Pattaya to help invite tourists to Thailand after the flooding,” he said. TAT plans to spend Bt70 million on the strategy. All 35 TAT offices nationwide are involved in the preparations. Chumpol Silpa-archa, a deputy prime minister and the tourism minister, ordered organisations to prepare special relief campaigns and implement them immediately after the flood crisis dissipates. TAT predicts that the flooding would cause domestic travel to drop by 2 per cent or 1.8 million trips from the forecast 91 million trips this year. However, TAT has not yet revised the projection as it is waiting for the situation to settle down first.
Locals fleeing to Hua Hin as expats rush to Pattaya
Courtesy by www.nationmultimedia.com
Hua Hin and nearby Cha-am are the destinations of choice for Thais fleeing the floods, while expatriates are heading for Pattaya, Knight Frank Thailand has found
B
udget hotels in those resort cities are fully occupied, as are serviced apartments in Bangkok, especially in the Sukhumvit area. Risinee Sarikaputra, associate director of research and valuation for the real-estate consultancy, noted that the word “evacuation” has become popular in the media. And as the floods seep into the capital, the buzzword now is being applied to Bangkokians. Many Bangkokians have second homes in Hua Hin, more so than in Pattaya. Nowadays, infrastructure is relatively well developed in Hua Hin, and the city boasts supermarkets and restaurants with a range of international foods, international schools, universities and international hospitals, she said. While budget and economy hotels are brimming in both Hua Hin and Pattaya, the occupancy rate of luxury hotels is quite stable, although bookings by international visitors have been cancelled because of the flooding. These upscale hotels can boost their occupancy rate by accommodating Bangkokians, but their revenue is still diminished as locals’ spending power is less than foreigners’.
Another factor is that better-off Thais who own second homes in resort destinations are not likely to stay in hotels. So the hotels showing high occupancy rates during the flood crisis are the lower-priced ones, with average rates of Bt1,500-Bt2,500 per night. Meanwhile in Bangkok, the occupancy rate of serviced apartments has increased recently, especially those with upper-level parking such as Chatrium Suites. Bookings cancelled by international visitors avoiding the floods have been compensated for by locals, though the rental rates have decreased slightly. Many serviced apartments report that their units are fully occupied, especially those in the Sukhumvit area such as Grand President. A few expatriates have decided to go back to their own countries, while others have stayed in Thailand but moved out of the capital to such places as Pattaya. Many companies have rented hotels near their offices for expatriate staff, while the occupancy of hotels near Suvarnabhumi Airport is quite high. Under these circumstances, some sectors of the accommodation business are performing well thanks to demand by locals.
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isted property developer Sena Development (SENA) plans to launch a residential project in Pattaya next year, according to the Bangkok Post. The company will ask shareholders on December 27 to approve purchase of a 100 rai piece of land in Pattaya Country Club with an appraised value of almost THB2 billion (US$64.9 million). The decision comes after widespread floods are
believed to increase demand for second homes in resort destinations such as Hua Hin and Pattaya and the company sees opportunities in the golf home segment of the market. The first phase of the project will comprise of 10.2 units. The project is the company’s first development in the provinces and it plans to alter the design of the buildings so that they will be raised from the ground
Fringe Festival La Danse
3rd December 2011, 7.30 pm at Vic Hua Hin
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his unique program presents an exceptional variety of modern and modernist styles coming together in stunning unity. The first piece, “Le Cri” (the scream) is based on Edward Munch’s famous painting. This new choreography is a disturbing duet where each dancer in turn touches, gropes and feels the other. The created intimacy, undesired, initiates bothering results. The second piece is the classical piece “Faun” by Demetrius Klein, the noted American choreographer sees here its asian premiere: a tale of love lost and longing, it recreates the Nijinsky masterpiece in a modern style. The last piece, “Morphoses” by UBDC resident choreographer Philippe Saint-Paul starts from the same premise as “Entremains” but takes us in a very different world where space, time and dreams collide. We are taken back to the time in Paris where all artists from different generations, origins, dreams met and confronted their ideas in a unequalled dynamic: at the beginning of the 20th century in Paris, we see Matisse, Picasso, Braque, Rodin, Isadora Duncan, Fokine, Nijinsky, Stravinsky create a new world where nothing will ever be the same. A varied presentation, 1 hour 30 minutes long with 2 short transitions, it shows the richness of French choreography of today and its heritage from the 20th century. Tickets for 900, 700 and 500 Baht (students 50 % discount) are now available at Vic Hua
Hin: 032 827 814-5. The night will start with the Japanese dancer, director and choreographer Kae Ishimoto together with some students from Patravadi High School Hua Hin. In several workshops they will create a performance especially for this night. Start at 6.30 pm at the Flowerdome of Vic Hua Hin (outside). On Sunday, 4th December 2011, from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm please join the Workshop with director and dancers from the Urban Bones Dance Company. Please call for reservation, costs for the workshop is 200 Baht.
Fringe Festival X-mas Eve @ Vic Hua Hin
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n Christmas Eve, Vic Hua Hin and the Patravadi High School Hua Hin would like to invite you to spend a couple of hours with Christmas songs, turkey, students performances and the magic ambience of X-Mas Eve @ Vic Hua Hin – starting at 6 pm, December 24th. Donations for our scholarship fund for young performing artists are greatly appreciated. This very family friendly evening will offer you in a relaxed atmosphere live music from Patravadi High School teachers and students, Christmas songs by the British Educational Children’s Centre Choir (The BECC), games, delicious herb salad, traditional turkey, wine and of course hot wine punch! Please book your table in advance. Come and make your reservation at Vic Hua Hin or call us: 032 827 814-5. We are looking forward to an enchanting Christmas evening @ Vic Hua Hin
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Property News
Hua Hin Today
Volume 9 issue 2 December 2011
The Ultimate Residence Conveniences at GreenScape
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ua Hin , being a top holiday destination is slowly also establishing as a top residence for second homes and retirements from Europe. The reason being is that Thailand offers the security and tranquility these homesteaders seek. Not only are real estate prices in Thailand very reasonable, the building quality is good and walled compounds offer 24 hours of security. One of these developments is GreenScape and Black Lotus. Located just about 4 km. towards the West of Hua Hin, a stone throw away from the Floating markets, a tourist attraction, on Soi 112, connecting the main road in Hua Hin to the By-pass Highway making it very convenient to the South or Bangkok. In order to make a compound attractive,
developers usually ad a few amenities such as clubhouse, sport and exercise courts and a food facility. GreenScape has done a surprisingly excellent job, hardly seen in Thailand in a residential compound. The Entrance as you approach the compound is clearly visible, can´t miss it and you practically drive straight to the Clubhouse. As you enter the Club facility, the Bar and Restaurant is right in front of you. Smartly furnished with white modern furniture. On the terrace, rattan furniture invites the guests for a sit-out. To the right, the half Olympic swimming pool is surrounded by sun chairs, facing the pool and ponds in front. A fitness room and Spa facility is still under
construction but should be finished within a few weeks. Planned is also a tennis court and further recreational facilities. The Banyan Golf Club is practically around the corner slightly sloped in the hills. From GreenScape and Banyan, stunning views of the Sun setting in the west
Property firms seek dry land
RICD Wheelchair Project asks for used wheelchairs
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he RICD Wheelchair Project is a project of the Rajanagarindra Institute of Child Development (RICD) in Chiang Mai. The project started in March 2000 by Christian missionaries who wanted to help fellow-men who were less advantaged. The project has been ongoing since that time and is currently executed by Buddhist as well as Christian volunteers from Thailand and other countries. It is a joint venture between a government and non-government organizations. The RICD Wheelchair Project management is under supervision of the director of the Rajanagarindra Institute of Child Development (RICD). Volunteer /manager is a man who is himself using a wheelchair. The volunteers have many different passports: from USA, Australia, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Iran, Irak, Norway, Kenya and, of course, Thailand. All volunteers work for free in the project. The RICD Wheelchair Project provides mobility aid and other medical equipment free of charge to the people with disability who are too poor to buy mobility aid by themselves. As a consequence the project hopes to improve the value of the life of the disabled. Thus far wheelchairs have been donated by countries like United States, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands and Japan. Most of the wheelchairs have been used already but are still in very good condition. The second hand wheelchairs have been used e.g. by disabled children who grow out of their wheelchair and received a new wheelchair from their government under the condition that they return the ‘old’ wheelchair. Collecting wheelchairs from countries worldwide as well as the container shipments of these wheelchairs is a major task of the RICD wheelchair Project. The containers are imported duty-free in Thailand and transported from the harbor to the RICD- warehouse in Chiang Mai, where all inventory is administered. After administration
and a thorough check, the mobility aid is transported to all directions in Thailand. These transports are executed for free by trucks of the Thai ‘Tiger’ company. Applications for wheelchairs from all over Thailand are received via local hospitals. The patient who is allocated a wheelchair has been selected by his/her local health authorities on the basis of disability (and poorness).To receive mobility aid, certain procedures have to be followed. When a patient meets all the criteria, he/she will be invited to one of the distribution venues in order to receive a wheelchair or other mobility aid for free. Another possibility is that an individual fitting will be executed at the local hospital or at the patient’s home (i.e. Community Based Rehabilitation). Wheelchairs and other equipment are distributed out of hospitals and health centers all over Thailand. Other equipment includes crutches, cushions, walkers, bath-chairs, toiletchairs, rollators, canes, etc. During the distributions the equipment such as wheelchairs are adapted to the size and special needs of the disabled person by a professional wheelchair technician team in cooperation with medical staff. If a disabled patient is not able to come to a distribution venue, the RICD Wheelchair Team will visit him/her at home in order to fit the disabled patient in the wheelchair. In this regard it is important to emphasize that people with disability have to be integrated and should have the right to lead a decent life in their own community. For this reason the RICD Volunteers make an assessment of the home situation of the people with disability as follows: 1. In case there is a person in a wheelchair, a judgment will be made whether the home is accessible for a wheelchair. If not, suggestions for improvements will be made and assistance will be given for implementation of these suggestions to adapt the accessibility of the house according to the special needs of the person with disability (entrance of the home, toilet, etc)
2. In case the person with disability is in need for equipment, attempts will be made to supply the necessary equipment (mattress, wheelchair, hand grip, sitting devices, standing tables, etc). 3. One of the main goals of home visits is raising awareness towards the other family members and members of the local community (head of the village and neighbors) that people with disability also have rights. For this reason the abilities of a person with disability will be emphasized and never the disabilities. 4. In case of emergency, transport will be organized to bring people with disability to the local hospital to get proper treatment. To date, the RICD Wheelchair Project has received 35 container shipments of medical equipment, totaling over 4,500 wheelchairs along with many other types of home mobility aid equipment. All has been given to the people of Thailand in coordination with the Department of Mental Health of the Ministry of Public Health, via local hospitals, public health centers and other organizations. Another limitation for the RICD Wheelchair Project is the lack of funding. The Project is constantly looking for additional money in order to pay for the transport of seacontainers to Laem Chabang harbor. The more containers with mobility aid the project will receive, the more people with disability the volunteers can help. Donations are most welcome in the bank account of RICD Wheelchair Project no. 547-0-16147-1 with Krung Thai Bank, Kuang Sing branch in Chiang Mai. The RICD Wheelchair Project Team in Chiang Mai already has a close cooperation with Hua Hin Hospital. This means that patients who are too poor to buy mobility aid by themselves, can apply via the Social Work department or the Physical Therapy department of Hua Hin Hospital.
can be enjoyed every evening. The view goes across the plain to the hills separating Hua Hin and Burma. According to the management, a membership for the Club facilities will be made available for residents of surrounding compounds. Summa sumarum, a win win situation for Hua hin.
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roperty firms are aiming to boost their end of year sales by launching projects in locations that were not affected by the floods in Bangkok, such as Pattaya, Hua Hin, Sukhumvit and Bang Na. LPN Development managing director Opas Sripayak said that the demand to buy residences at locations that did not face flooding will see strong growth. LPN Development is opening presales of Lumpini Park Beach Jomtien, worth THB4 billion (US$127 million), at THB1.49 million (US$47,650). Lumpini Riverside Rama 3 is averaging sales of 50 to 100 units a week. The recent resurgence of interest in residences in dry areas has seen LPN Development record pre-sales of THB12 billion (US$383 million)
during the first 10 months of 2011. LPN Development is not the only company doing this; Pruksa Real Estate is launching 3 residential projects in Chaeng Wattana Road, Khon Kaen province and Phuket. Raimon Land is launching its latest condominium project south of Pattaya. Raimon Land’s chief executive, Hubert Viriot, said that none of the company’s residential projects were flooded, which would drive sales growth. The company recorded pre-sales of THB3.43 billion (US$109 million) in the first nine months of this year. Real Estate Information Centre (REIC) said the floods have caused the property market to drop between 10 and 20 per cent this year.
Hua Hin Today
Volume 9 issue 2 December 2011
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Hua Hin Today
Volume 9 issue 2 December 2011
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Volume 9 issue 2 December 2011
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