Hua Hin Blog

The real estate discussion section was bought back to life this week with the same conundrums on buying and leasing property in Thailand. Apparently there are some not-so-honest property developers in Hua Hin (yes we were amazed too) that have been selling houses with a 90 year lease disguised as three renewable thirty year leases. Some local legal advisors and officials in the land office have also been supporting this spurious practice and allowing buyers to be bamboozled by bureaucracy.

A 90 year lease does not exist as one inopportune home buyer later discovered following consultations with a Bangkok lawyer. Only the first 30 years of a property lease in Thailand is covered by law so the rest is just a loose agreement which is probably not worth the paper it is drafted on. The company route to buy property as a foreigner is pretty much a dead end also since the last wave of government restrictions included the enforcement of checks on operational, tax paying, companies with Thai shareholders – who will all be investigated. Not the most welcoming option for a retired couple seeking a holiday home in the tropics.

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Finally, after seven years of last minute scrambling for information, we have been contacted by the organizers of the Hua Hin Jazz Festival with confirmed dates of June 12-14. The official signing ceremony of the 8th Hua Hin Jazz Festival took place on March 23 at Municipality office. No lineup details have been released yet but they did state that there will be two stage locations this year which will alleviate some of the overcrowding at previous festivals.

The jazz festival is always a spectacular event regardless of your tastes in music; you can’t beat the carnival atmosphere on the beach and a cold beer (providing it is on sale). For those that can’t wait until June there will be another music festival on the beach in Khao Takiab though it will attract the younger crowd from Bangkok. The Honda Summer Music Fest 2 kicks off at midday on Saturday May 2 and runs into the night, the lineup will feature a number of Thai ska and reggae bands including T-Bone. News updates and photos for both events can be found on the forum – don’t forget to get online and book your accommodation early if you need somewhere to stay for either weekend, it will be jammed.

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We have a golfing bonanza to look forward to over the weekend as the Black Mountain Masters kicks off and runs from the 26th to the 29th. There is no entrance fee to the tournament so we expect it to be popular despite the heat. A new beer company called Federbrau will be one of the sponsors there so we hope that some bright spark in the government doesn’t decide to ban alcohol sales for it – there will be some thirsty people there.

Watch out for Hua Hin local Prom Meesawat who has been blasting balls down the range at Royal Hua Hin all week in preparation, the home favourite is Tongchai Jaidee but we’ll be rooting for Prom, the Hua Hin talent. Photos and reports from the event will be available on HHAD following the final day of play on Sunday.

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Price comparisons have always been hot topics of contention especially when that comparison is between Hua Hin and Pattaya. The two resorts are constantly being compared but the one that comes up on top in terms of value for money has always been Pattaya. From the cost of a room to the price of a beer, to anything else that you may indulge in the ‘Big P’ beats ‘Double H’ pretty much hands down.

In Hua Hin’s favour, and for many something that is worth the additional expense of living here, is the relative safety, lower crime rate and lack of unadulterated sleaze and generally dodgy characters (although the latter are definitely on the increase in Hua Hin). Pattaya has always been the place for those seeking a little more vivacity in their lives, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea which is why we chose to live in Hua Hin!

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Talk of a new theme park for the Hua Hin/Cha-am area has been heating up again as a story in the Bangkok Post last week stated that the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) and TCC Property Development of Thai Beverage tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi have agreed to launch a mega tourism project in Phetchaburi province.

The ten year project covering 13,335 rai and costing over 60 billion baht is expected to get underway this month following the signing of an agreement between the two investors. Critics of the proposed amusement park voiced concerns over giant rats and six foot ducks wandering around the complex as the area turns into Cha-America. Supporters praised the plan claiming that it would boost the local economy and give parents somewhere to drop off their kids for the day (or week).

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Now that the ASEAN hullabaloo is over, the brown uniforms have slinked off to count their takings, the road mayhem is back to its regular chaos level, the internet has been turned back on, and Hua Hin returns to a state of normality once again. The only lasting benefit we can see is the shiny new widened railway crossing at the G-supermarket, it certainly is a pleasure to navigate!

The local immigration saga is getting more attention, especially as not one of Hua Hin’s estimated 3,000 resident foreigners is looking forward to wasting the best part of a day making a 200 kilometer round trip to Prachuab every 3 months only to be told the ink on their forms is the wrong shade of blue, go back to Hua Hin!

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The hot topic of the week on the forum in Hua Hin is golf. A number of discussions have been raging over golf courses in and around the town, with the major concern to many being the prices. It is well known that Hua Hin isn’t the most wallet friendly destination in Thailand so it comes as no surprise that many expats have been grumbling about green fees on the major golf courses.

Nearly all of the ‘big eight’ around town have been reported to have a dual pricing system, one for Thais and one for foreigners, the cost to play some courses can be up to 200% more than the non-advertised local price. Naturally the societies can play cheaper and there is always the option of buying a lifetime membership but isn’t it about time the permanent expats of Hua Hin are given a break and no longer treated like rich tourists?

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The forum rumour mill has calmed down a little this week as the keyboard cops returned to their corners and the shooting story got brushed under the virtual carpet. This doesn’t mean that anyone of the moderators and staff at HHAD has forgotten about the suffering that Don and Dolly are still enduring. The hope is that the real mastermind behind this attempted murder in Hua Hin is apprehended without further delay. Since the arrests it has all gone quiet and many are still left wondering and, of course, blaming and accusing.

More rants were aired about the lack of English soundtrack movies at the Hua Hin Market Village Cineplex. It seems like the MV management have no interest or inclination in catering to non-Thai customers, the marketing department has already been contacted by several people from the forum and, without surprise, has refused to reply to any of them. It does seem rather perplexing that a cinema in a tourist town doesn’t even have one theatre showing soundtrack movies when Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Samui have no problems with them or farang customers.

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HHAD would like to thank all of our readers and forum contributors for sticking with us during 2008. We took a glance through our annual readership statistics and are pleased to report a growth of almost 20% from the previous year; we now average almost 1,900 readers per day and totaled approximately 690,000 on the website and forum for the year. We do have a number of new services and will be expanding the site in 2009 so hope you will carry on logging on to see what is happening in Hua Hin on the town’s only active web board.

Hot topics were actually of a cooler nature last month as a cold spell hit Hua Hin and Thailand. Some amusing observations around town were noted as foreign tourists from cooler parts of the globe reveled in the sun as their expat and resident counterparts were buried under several layers of clothing.

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HHAD staff and moderators would like to wish all of our readers and forum contributors a happy new year. Now should be the time to put those problems that are largely beyond our control behind us and look forward to better times ahead. We would also like to thank our sponsors for sticking by us in 2008 and we look forward to HHAD being bigger and better in 2009.

Hua Hin has been hit hard by recent political events and the resultant drop in tourist arrivals. Many hotels are at well below normal occupancy levels for this time of year and the town definitely has less foot traffic (although we can’t say the same for the roads)! All we can say is that Hua Hin has not changed in the slightest, it is still one of the best places in Asia to come for a holiday, the sun is still out, the sky is still blue and the beaches, golf courses, and swimming pools still await you!

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Fire up those chrome steeds, crotch rockets, or classic Italian stallions and rock on down to the Hua Hin bike week. The event will be held on December 5, 6 and 7 at 48 rai along the canal road. There will be ride on the Saturday and tattoo and bike competitions with a ‘Miss Hua Hin Bike Week’ beauty contest. More details can be found on the forum.

Firstly we would like to wish all of our readers and forum members an extremely joyous Christmas and a blossoming New Year. This is the best time of year to put away all of those political, financial and social blues and just join in the party wherever you are. The festive season has always been one of celebration regardless of national or global events that are largely beyond our control.

Hua Hin will be as busy as ever during the peak season and many of the hotels will be fully booked so get online and make your reservation early if you need to. The culinary festivities are as good as ever with local food purveyors Hua Hin Ham and Bacon providing all of the traditional Christmas food for the visitors and expats of Hua Hin. Christmas dinner will also be available in many of the town’s bars and restaurants, two that we can recommend are O’Neill’s and Buffalo Tavern, you can check their menus online.

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The wheels of tourism in Hua Hin are slowly starting to turn again as online accommodation and rental enquiries begin to increase. These are a good indicator of the coming high season as many people search the internet to book a rental villa or hotel a few months in advance. This said things are still very quiet for this time of year and we’re unlikely to see the numbers this season compared to previous. A global economy downturn combined with political tension in Thailand is taking its toll.

An interesting tourism survey was conducted on the forum where people were asked if the global financial crisis or political problems in Bangkok has caused them to cancel their trip. The results showed 75% not being influenced by either and 25% canceling or considering it. The civil unrest in the capital did not seem to bother many and the primary reason for reconsidering a holiday was a financial one.

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Recent political protests in Bangkok combined with the global financial crisis have made this one of the quietest low seasons Hua Hin has ever seen. Hopes are at rock bottom as to whether things will improve for the high season which starts in November. There seems to be no light at the end of Thailand’s political tunnel of turmoil and fewer pennies in people’s pockets means that more will be staying away this holiday season.

The only thing that has been as busy as ever is the forum as visitors and expats login to find out how Hua Hin is faring in these times of trouble. Naturally many of the hot topics of discussion have been politics and global affairs, both pro and anti government readers have been posting their comments but as farangs they will always be just observers to the often farcical events that make up Thailand’s political roundabout.

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