Hua Hin Hot Topics - Return of the high season?
Following an expected lull over the holiday period the forums have burst into life again with more stories, experiences and information requests from Hua Hin’s visitors and residents. HHAD posted its annual readership stats which showed an increase on the previous year despite 2009 being a very slow one for businesses in Hua Hin. Current monthly readership is now over 58,000 and rising.
Photos of Hua Hin, specifically historical and old ones, were discussed as a few long term residents shared their images. The difference between the town now and say 15 years ago is astonishing, for one you could actually walk across Petchkasem road without risking death! The one time sleepy fishing village has been transformed into a modern metropolis in no time, much of which can be attributed to the 2007-8 property boom. Even in today’s tough times new resorts are springing up such as the Intercontinental, Best Western and a number of new properties in Khao Takiab. Hua Hin’s boom is not over yet, it has just taken a nap for a year or so.
The number of tourists this high season has also been observed with many stating that Christmas and New Year have been very quiet compared to previous years. Some major hotels were running at only 60% occupancy which seems to be a result of holiday cancellations last year. The good news is that January started to pick up in terms of numbers and this month should be good too so optimism for 2010 is gaining momentum.
A few property questions were posed last month as confusion arose over leaseholds, land title deeds and company ownership. The resident property gurus were at hand to set the record straight. The old discussion over buying versus renting sparked up again however there are no winners to that argument, it all comes down to the individual and his or her current situation.
A few events were held in January including a number of festivals at the newly opened Cicada Market in Khao Takiab, a Swedish music festival at Black Mountain and the Asian PGA qualifying school which took place at a number of Hua Hin’s golf courses. This month we have the Chinese New Year festivities to enjoy and next month sees the return of the Hua Hin Kite Festival which will be held at the Naresuan Camp on March 13-14.
A whole range of questions and bizarre requests were posed to the expats last month including some about picture frames, cleaning toilets, terminating termites, saving Koi Carp, finding a public fax machine, and renting a small plane. Whatever your request and no matter how weird or wacky you’ll get an answer on HHAD.