September 2014 – Phuketwan newspaper report:
The beaches of the far southern portion of Phuket are looking great. Here's a rundown on what the Phuketwan team encountered on a swing through Phuket's south. Palai Beach This east coast beach, mostly used by local fishermen, has plenty of atmosphere and a large restaurant right on the water's edge. Great spot for a walk and a seafood meal with a view out across Chalong Bay. Unchanged. Rawai Beach Not so much a swimming beach as a parking space for speedboats and longtails, the shorefront stretch at Rawai now seems to be more orderly with parking clearly defined. Yet the use of the shorefront pavement remains odd, with restaurants on the opposite side of Rawai Beach Road still using tables and chairs or low picnic-style cushions for customers. There is even a taxi sala with a driver watching television as we stroll by. Laem Ka Beach This small beach remains a favorite place for speedboats to collect and deposit Korean tourists for snorkelling day-trips to nearby islands. One after another or in twos or threes, the speedboats will deposit their cargoes of Korean tourists through the afternoon, hundreds of them. The tourists all walk across the beach and up the steps, where they board seong taew buses and are ferried to their resorts. Apparently picking up and dropping off hundreds of passengers every day is not commercial use of this Phuket beach. Nai Harn Beach Largest of the southern beaches, Nai Harn has always been a favorite of local expats, especially those with a pet dog to walk in the early morning. The beach looks great without the sunbeds and umbrellas. The day we passed by, one or two adventurous swimmers brought their own brollies. The area under the shady grove of trees looks worn but clear of the illegal restaurants that were destroying it. With time, the grass could recover. Ya Nui Beach A small cove with a rocky outcrop as an added attraction, Ya Nui still has a pile or two of rubble but that's a huge improvement on wall to wall sunbeds and commerce. Interlopers have always been a problem here. An illegal house stood on the spot where the parking lot now lies until the 2004 tsunami washed it away. Wonderful to sweep eyes from side to side across this little gem again. Ao Sane Beach Always the quirkiest of Phuket's beaches, Ao Sane is reached by driving through and under the Phuket Yacht Club Resort building. The restaurant alongside the rocky beach remains. Whether Ao Sane has been overlooked or whether the restaurant is legal we can't say. But if readers are looking for a place to eat by the sea, without the disturbing sound of inappropriate music, this is one place to try. Unfortunately the prices have gone up.
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Rent in Thailand - Buy in Malaysia
Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. Only Thais can. Many foreigners take the risk of buying land and putting it in the wife’s name. Then they build a dream home on it. Personally, I would never take that risk, because you could end up homeless and penniless or dead. Why buy land or property? I live in a rented home with my Thai lady. It costs just ฿2,000 monthly. It is in a rural area surrounded by coconut, mango and other trees and wildlife such as birds, animals and snakes. The normal monthly rent is about 3 to 4 thousand baht for a nice house in the provinces outside Bangkok. I like to have a base I can return to. My Thai wife stays there looking after the home. When I am working in another province and need some loving care, I call her and she comes quickly and stays a week. The house is cared for by Thai neighbours. There are many stories being told of the dreams of buying property in Thailand. Property purchases in Thailand are risky. You can't own the property. Some say condominiums are exempt from this but it's not entirely true. At the end of the day it's the land that counts, and the fact is foreigners cannot own the land. The following extract is from the Bangkok Post report dated 4 September 2010 entitled "Owning a piece of Thailand": According to current mortgage law, the lease-holder only has rights of possession, not ownership rights. As a result, the holder cannot use it to apply for a mortgage loan. "The leasehold contract terms are not favourable with foreigners because they are too short. They are not confident whether their leases can be extended when the contract expires. The leases are also unable to be financed and inherited." The words in quotes are those of Mr Wittaya, a partner in the international law firm Baker and McKenzie. So whatever an unscrupulous property agent will tell you, you don't have rights to the land in Thailand. If you are thinking of setting up a company to do a property deal, that just complicates matters even further. The general consensus is that Thailand is geared up for foreigners to fall flat on their face when it comes to investments, either through bureaucratic and outdated legislation or by the unknown. The unknown could be a lot of things. Corruption is rife in Thailand. A corrupt Thai lawyer is not unusual. Corrupt property developers are common place and the Thai legal system does not protect foreigners who invest in Thailand. Property scams operated by crime syndicates exploit the system in Thailand. Buy in Malaysia The Malaysians have a MM2H program (Malaysia My 2nd Home) http://www.mm2h.gov.my/index.php/en/ which gives easy entry and hassle free residence in Malaysia via a renewable Social Visit Pass, with a multiple-entry visa that is valid for 10 years. You do not need to make the dreaded Thai visa runs in Malaysia. The Malaysian–Thai border is free. Because the Malaysian visa is multiple-entry you can cross into Thailand at will and enjoy the carefree Thai entertainment (ladies!). You could even rent a holiday home in Thailand if you wanted a haven there. Foreigners are allowed to own freehold properties in Malaysia, and property ownership is well regulated and systematic so you can pass the property on to your kids. The country has a low cost of living and there is a widespread use of English. In addition, the country's political stability and ample financial liquidity are strong plus points that attract foreign buyers. Lion Air now fly to many destinations - http://www.lionairthai.com/en#
Bangkok (Don Mueng) to Phuket, Krabi, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani, Hat Yai, Udon Thani. Also from Hat Yai to Hua Hin, Udon Thani |
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