The Hua Hin forums had a long overdue facelift and software upgrade this month and readers have been treated to a multitude of new features and functions in addition to a new look and cleaner, fresher layout. With around 70 visitors per hour the site continues to grow and attract Hua Hin visitors and residents looking for information and quick answers. There is also a HHAD presence on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter now so if you use these portals you can get the latest updates from Hua Hin instantly in your profile.
The heat has started early with a number of blisteringly hot days recorded in March and more expected next month. Water shortages and outages have already been experienced by some around town and droughts have been forecast this year in some parts of Thailand. There is no doubt that April 13 will be wet as this is the day that Hua Hin celebrates Songkran, or Thai New Year, avoid it if you want to stay dry.
There are a couple of high-flying events this month including the Hua Hin Kite Festival which is held at the Naresuan military camp around 12km north of town and the Intercontinental Kiteboarding Competitions that takes place on the beach near the hotel. Hua Hin has become a world renowned place for kitesurfing over the past few years due to its favourable thermal winds at this time of year.
April marks the end of the high season in Hua Hin and a return to normality for those expats that are resident year round. Although the Christmas and New Year period was quiet in terms of tourism the last two months have been busy which may indicate a return to normality for the industry. The political unrest in Bangkok does not help matters for Thailand but Hua Hin is largely unaffected by these things so the town’s visiting population actually increases during such events.
The property gurus have been advising on the possibility of protecting your assets in Thailand as a foreigner such as setting up usufructs to buy real estate. The market itself remains very quiet with only lower end properties generating any interest at the moment. The rental market however is booming as more people seek to rent villas as opposed to staying in the hotels. A villa rental for a month can offer substantial savings over the large hotels, especially for families.
Currency conundrums continue to plague expats living on income from overseas with the Pound Sterling being hit particularly hard recently. At less than 50 baht to the pound Hua Hin starts to get very expensive very quickly, unfortunately this trend is likely to continue as Asian countries strengthen and Western ones struggle to get back on their feet again following the financial crisis. Of course choosing to live in a tourist town where prices are naturally inflated anyway does not help the problem!
The Hua Hin expats section was again filled with the usual array of weird and wonderful requests including hiring a bicycle, receiving mail from overseas, buying neoprene, dealing with fatalities and looking for fake clothing. Whatever your question you’ll get a quick answer on HHAD.