Saturday, September 22, 2012

Updates on Luxury Pool Villas...The Vineyard 3!!

Phase 3 of the award winning Luxury Pool Villas Project...The Vineyard is selling very well. There are still a few units left starting from 12.5 Million Baht. They have released a new video which you can view below. Also here is a link to a virtual tour on this wonderful estate! Please contact Khun Sa at +66(0) 85 213 9457 or email at info@pattayarealestatemarket.com. For more information you can also view our ad for this property here.



Is Pattaya cleaning up its act????

It appears that the higher ups in Pattaya are finally realising their dream of turning the booming beach resort into a five star city is being jeopardised by rogue operators along the beach. It has long been a problem with jet ski vendors and all the scams they pull, leaving tourists with a bad taste about Pattaya and are not interested in returning....furthermore recommending to their family and friends not to holiday there.
There was a meeting in Chonburi to promote and protect tourism in the city. On the agenda was the growing problem of crooked jet ski operators and other beach vendors. Check out this article from Pattaya 103.

Pattaya: Provincial Governor and City Mayor look to protect Pattaya Tourists

Monday saw a large meeting of all concerned in local tourism as the Governor of Chonburi Province, alongside our own City mayor and representatives of the Tourist Authority of Thailand, headed  a meeting to promote and protect tourism in the city.

Pattaya’s Mayor has sworn to create a city that people want to return to  and a tourist destination second to none, and nothing is going to stand between him and that goal. Especially not a few itinerant  jetski rogue renters and tourist scammers. Pattaya City hall is determined to stamp out any corruption that affects visitors and create a resort that people look forward to returning to.

In addition to the Jetski problem, the agenda included ways to approach and solve the problems of  safety, security and confidence for visitors and improve the city facilities.

It was made clear that the rogue jetski operators were now a problem at national level, after international TV coverage and complaints from various foreign embassies in the capital.    Without a serious effort to introduce control and management  all  Beach vendors,  the damage to tourism is incalculable.

Specific jet ski locations were suggested along with the already planned idea of central ticket offices along the beach which would become the liaison between tourist and operator, ensuring that all rentals include insurance and that rogue operators be closed down.    

Boat and other rentals also came into the discussion and many disagreed with the rigorous bylaws that have been proposed.

Even those who disagree will have left with no doubt that the City, Province and Tourist Authority mean business and  will have the matter resolved quickly, as tourism is not only the life blood of the city, but also the future.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Big plans for Pattaya's little neighbor...Koh Larn

 Is Koh Larn getting ready to expand? Are there are any real plans laying out tourism, infrastructure, and future? How about a 10 Billion Baht plan from Hermaraj Land and Development PLC.

The new development is slated to have a new full marina with boat docking and hotels. Also on tap is an aquarium, safari park and a range of 3,4,and 5 star hotels. Small electric and cable cars will be the only available forms of transportation on the tiny island. Below is the entire article from "The Nation"

THE NATION September 17, 2012 1:00 am

Koh Larn chosen because it is ‘not too large and also has proximity to Pattaya



Sawasdi Horrungruang, founder of Hemaraj Land and Development Plc and now chairman of the advisory board, is geared the listed real estate firm towards the upcoming launch of a Bt10-billion entertainment complex on Koh Larn near Pattaya, to serve an expected increase in the number of both domestic and international tourists.

The project, undertaken by Million Island Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hemaraj, was aimed as a new link to destinations in Hua Hin. Getting to Hua Hin from Koh Larn off Pattaya by boat takes an hour, compared with four hours by road.

"This will be a choice for touristswho travel to Pattaya, Koh Larn and then towards Hua Hin," said Sawasdi. He said reasons for choosing Koh Larn is that it's not too large an island, offering serenity and proximity to the shore of Pattaya.

In addition, he foresaw tourist arrivals on the island of nearly 10,000 people a day on weekends and 6,000 a day on average. This could rise to 12,000 a day if there were more facilities.

Million Island Co Ltd bought 228 rai, half of Koh Larn's total area, for Bt2 billion from hotel developer Wicha Baopimpa in Pattaya seven months ago, Sawasdi said. There will be four phases, with construction expected to start next year.

The first phase will include a marina, hotels and boat docking. A ll four phases

are scheduled to be completed in thenext five years. Now, he said the company was selecting a foreign consulting firm to design the landscape. Roughly, he said the project would be in a vertical shape, comprising an aquarium, 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels, condominiums for sale,

restaurants, a walking street, pavilions, high-end shopping areas and a safari park.

On the island,small electric and cable cars would be the only transport options.

"All the projects I've done started from a dream and then transformed onto paper before

being materialised," he said. Since coming out of insolvency in February, Sawasdi, 71, has dreamed up another project and has been thinking of a way for it to happen. He aims to differentiate the huge investment complex on Koh Larn not only from rivals but from his former projects that left mounting debts of almost Bt100 billion on his shoulders.

The financial crisis of 1997 brought the collapse of Sawasdi's steel businesses - NTS Steel Group and Nakornthai Strip Mill (NSM) - which were flooded with debts once the baht went from Bt25 to Bt50 against the US dollar. NTS Steel Group eventually for med a joint venture with a subsidiary of SCG and changed its name to Millennium Steel before being sold to India-based Tata Steel. NSM has been merged into G Steel, owned by Somsak Leeswadtrakul. Sawasdi and his family members retain a combined 14-per-cent stake, or 1.35 billion shares (as of August

27), in Hemaraj, which is one of the businesses he founded. For the Koh Larn complex,

Sawasdi said Hemaraj would initially be a majority shareholder, but th is may be diluted in the future to such others as Wicha, who has offered to hold a 20-per-cent stake in Million

Island, and other potential strategic partners.

In the first stage, Million Island will use bank loans to finance the complex, which will be guaranteed by Hemaraj, while some funding would come from Hemaraj's cash

flow, Sawasdi said. "We do not fear creating new debts, as we have learnt a lesson from

the past. The property business is not like heavy industry, which must wait for the last baht before the operation can start. For the property business, we can gradually invest in

a project phase by phase, as well as generating income in parallel in a bid to finance the other phases." He proposed a new way of raising funds to finance projects: setting up a tri-party group consisting of the company, creditor and debtor's customers to reassure debts are repaid.

Once the company has an income on a monthly basis, this will first be deducted to pay off the principal sums and interest to banks, who are the creditors. The balance should be

given to the company.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Pattaya is one lucky city!!!

 If you have been paying attention to any of the local Thai news, you would know that rainy season is definitely upon us here in the "Land of Smiles"... and it aint all smiles.

Certainly for folks in the central plains like, Sukkothai, Petchabun, and Phitchit where flood waters have been measured as deep as two + meters.
 
Bangkok had a real disaster last year and even Yingluk herself has overseen flood tests of dykes and levys in Bangkok to try and ensure residents, corporate owners, investors, and tourists there is nothing to fear.

However, folks in other provinces are being over-run, businesses are suffering, and tourisits continue to lament. Check out what is going on in Koh Chang at the moment from this article today in the "Bangkok Post"

Heavy rains combined with mountain water run-off on Sunday triggered flash floods at four popular tourist destinations on Koh Chang off Trat province, including Hat Sai Khao (White Sands Beach), reports said.

The rainfall that drenched the tourist island from the early morning hours left areas in Hat Sai Khao, Ban Kai Bae, Ban Khlong Phrao and Ban Khlong Phlu under 30 to 120cm of water.

About 500 metres of the main road along Hai Sai Khao beach was under 30-50 cm of floodwater, causing difficulty in commuting.
Authorities said they and volunteer workers cleared debris off flooded roads and ensured that the water drainage system was not blocked.

The Ban Kai Bae area was worst hit with water rising to 120 cm on Ramayana Avenue after an overflow from a local canal. The community’s main road, many houses and resorts were flooded by 80-100 cm of water, according to reports.

Wanroong Kanornkul, a kamnan at Koh Chang, said backhoes and other heavy machinery had been sent to affected areas to dredge canals to accelerate the water flow into the sea.

He said the flood problem on Koh Chang island was temporary and would last only a few hours and that there was no danger. The situation was expected to return to normal by the evening.

However, six waterfalls needed to be closed to tourists due to strong currents.

Photo by Post Today
Photo by Post Today

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Shophouse Soi Gor Pai sold!

Shophouse for sale Soi Gor Pai Shop House Soi Gor PaiBad news is this single unit 4 story shophouse on soi Gor Pai has been sold, good news is we have another one, 3 units down that has just been put up for sale. This one will priced about the same at around 3.2 MB. Pics and info to follow!!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Nice house with garden for sale soi Chaiyapreuk 2

Very nice 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with mature garden is now for sale. East Jomtien just off of soi Chaiyapreuk 2. Outside terrace had nice garden and sala. Thai kitchen and maids quarters. See More...

Luxury Beach Villa for sale in Bang Saray!!

Just 50 meters from Bang Saray Beach!! Luxury 2 story, 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom Thai Bali style house. Electric door garage, private swimming pool, all rooms air con and full hot water through out the house. , 24 hour security. See more...