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How to Survive on a Shoestring Budget in Phuket

June 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

How to Survive on a Shoestring Budget in Phuket
By Matt Crook

Although Phuket was once a haven for backpackers traveling around the world with only a handful of baht in their pockets, development and a rapid increase in popularity have meant that prices on the island have risen dramatically. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to live the backpacker dream in Phuket, so don your flip flops and let’s see how to do the island without breaking the bank.

The biggest expense during any trip to Phuket is usually accommodation. Flashy resorts and pricey hotels have sprung up all over the island in recent years. Spa tourism is also popular in Phuket, but what if you just want a bed to call home? If you’re after a cheap guesthouse to use as a base in Phuket, you have a few options.

Phuket Town is a sleepy place and there are several decent guesthouses offering beds for a few hundred baht a night. Patong is the most popular part of the island and, as such, most things are expensive, but if you shop around it’s still possible to find reasonable guesthouse accommodation. However, a stay in Patong might not suit the backpacker ideal – the area is full of people and street hawkers.

Kata and Karon are popular with Swedish tourists and there are some great digs in the area that aren’t too pricey. The bonus of staying in Kata-Karon is that there are less of the annoyances that Patong is famous for.

Everyone has to eat – even backpackers. Forget the glitzy restaurants serving up all manner of international bites. You can eat like a king for less than 200 baht a day if you choose to only sample the delights of Thai street food. Noodles and rice make up the staple part of the meals, but there are some great treats on offer. It’s really just a case of walking around and finding a street vendor selling the type of food you want.

Be adventurous and experiment a little. The locals eat like this for a reason. You’ll be paying at least 10 times as much in most restaurants around the island.

Getting around Phuket can be a pain. Taxis are out of the question if you’re on a tight budget. The taxis aren’t metered and you can expect to pay several hundred baht to travel from place to place if you find one – the taxis aren’t actually allowed to pick up passengers anywhere other than the airport, although they do try and sneak a few customers where and when they can. Tuk-tuks rule the road and their prices are nothing short of extortionate.

It’s much easier to buy a map and rent a motorbike for a couple of hundred baht a day. Petrol isn’t that expensive and having your own wheels makes all the difference. Otherwise, there are buses running back and forth from Phang Nga Road in Phuket Town to most of the island’s main destinations. For short trips you can always jump on the back of a motorbike taxi.

If you want to drink, scope out local places where the beer isn’t excessively marked up. All in all, you could survive in Phuket on less than 1,000 baht a day.

The author is article knows that surviving on a shoestring budget in Phuket is easy and that planning ahead and researching your destination is essential. For all the latest travel information about Phuket, including news and details about Phuket nightlife and restaurants, visit Phuket Vogue.

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Why Choose to Live in Phuket?

June 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment


Why Choose to Live in Phuket?
By Matt Crook

There’s no denying that Phuket continues to be a winner with holidaymakers, but it’s often overlooked just how appealing the island is to expats aiming to relocate. Thailand is a great place to live, but depending on your needs, each different province will be like heaven or hell. Most people’s first stop is Bangkok., but the appeal of the big city can wear thin in a short time. Phuket has most of the amenities of Bangkok with the added bonus of being a tropical island.

One of the main draws of living in Thailand is how cheap everything is compared to the places such as America, Japan, Europe, Britain and Australia. Money goes a lot further in Thailand than in many other countries, You may have read about how expensive Phuket is to live, but take those words with a pinch of salt. Phuket may be slightly more pricey than Bangkok, but if you’re careful with your money you can live on much the same as in the capital.

Accommodation isn’t expensive in Phuket unless you’re keen on renting a lavish condo or a big house. You can rent a basic studio apartment or a small house for about 5,000 baht a month in Phuket Town. You’ll find that renting a place somewhere like Patong is a lot more expensive. Alternatively, if you have a Thai wife you can buy your own house for a fraction of the price of something similar in the Western world.

Eating out is also reasonably priced and there are a variety of restaurants to choose from in Phuket. There are numerous places to go shopping, including Central Festival mall in Phuket City and Jungceylon in Patong. Tesco and Tops are two popular supermarkets that you can find all over the island.

Other amenities in Phuket include cinemas, go-kart tracks, shooting ranges, bars, clubs and pubs, and a couple of parks. The real draw of the island, however, is its beaches.

It doesn’t take long for new residents to figure out which beaches are worth visiting and which are worth avoiding altogether. Forget Patong Beach if you want something scenic and try somewhere like Yanui or Mai Khao instead. It’s a fantastic feeling to be able to have your pick of more than a dozen beach spots on your day off.

In terms of work, there are ample opportunities to find employment with schools, language schools, magazines, newspapers, hotels and resorts, property companies, and other businesses. Get yourself to the island, get out there and meet people – soon enough the opportunities will begin to present themselves.

There’s no doubt that Phuket is a great place for a holiday or even as somewhere to relocate to. Phuket Vogue is a website that might help you make the decision, with all the latest gossip about Phuket events and restaurants in Patong, as well as a handy currency exchange feature.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Crook

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Retiring to Phuket

May 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment


Retiring to Phuket
By Rebecca Jane Karen Smith

If you’ve considered retiring recently then you’ve probably thought about where to retire to. For many people that’s a place where life is just a little bit slower paced and you can find time to relax, enjoy time with family and friends, soak up some sun and still enjoy all the things you did back home. But why wait until you retire to start enjoying that lifestyle, investing in a retirement home several years before you retire gives you the opportunity to spend holidays and weekends at your new home, get to know your neighbours and develop a social network, it also gives you the chance to experience the culture, the food and the area, so when you finally come to retire you’ll settle in straight away.

Life in Phuket is certainly very different from living in Hong Kong or even Singapore for a start you don’t have the heavy traffic to contend with queues and small apartments, the amount of open space is very appealing there are beautiful beaches, the food is great and the cost of living is low.

In fact…if you wrote a list of all the things you’d like to have access to when you retire, Phuket would probably feature somewhere near the top of that list:

1. A short distance from home…

Phuket’s a short direct flight from Hong Kong (3.5 hours) and Singapore (1.5 hours) and it’s also an international hub which means you can get to just about anywhere in the world from Phuket. There are several daily flights from Hong Kong and Singapore to Phuket…which means that hopping over for the weekend or hopping back to see family when you do retire is easy and convenient.

2. Excellent weather…

As I’m writing this the weathers a cool 28 degrees….it’s sunny with blue skies…and that’s normal weather in Phuket. In fact at the moment we’re right in the middle of the monsoon season, I love it – tropical storms and warm torrential down pours which don’t last long and keep the island looking so lush and green…..in fact I would go so far as to say that the monsoon season is actually my favorite time of year.

3. Top Quality Healthcare….

Phuket is fast developing into a major centre for overseas Medical Tourism, people come from all over the world to have major operations and treatment, why, because the quality is extremely high and it’s very affordable. The majority of Consultants, Surgeons and Doctors train abroad so they are well educated in the latest techniques and speak your language. Having two superb International hospitals on your doorstep has to be great news should you ever need them.

4. A low cost and high standard of living…

Compared to Hong Kong and Singapore and the majority of other places, Phuket has a very low cost of living. Where in Hong Kong can you go out for a meal to a fancy restaurant with wine and still get change from 1,000 baht (31 usd). The average food bill for a family of four in Phuket is just 4,000 Baht a week, which includes fresh fish, great fruit and freshly picked vegetables….You can hire your own chef for less than 1,000 Baht a day and ironing…what ironing? I haven’t ironed anything in five years…

5. Eating out beachside…

Eat besides the beach with the sea lapping at your feet and your feet in the soft white sand…watch the sunset over the ocean as you sip cocktails at a trendy beachside club, can you do that in Hong Kong? what about Singapore, I don’t think so?

6. Getting around is easy…

I’ve been to Hong Kong and Singapore so I know it’s not that easy to get around – in fact I’d say it was pretty crowded. OK, so there’s no MRT or tram in Phuket but who needs it when you can hire a car, motorbike, tuk tuk or taxi to take you around the island…and at relatively good prices.

7. Propety prices are low…

I just read an article about a Hong Kong Tycoon buying a land plot at the Peak Barker Road for a staggering 233m USD – that’s 8,750 US dollars per square foot and that makes it the most expensive property in the World. Property prices in both Hong Kong and Singapore are skyrocketing yet in Phuket you can still buy a stunning luxury villa for less that 1,540 US dollars per m2 – that’s less than a quarter of the price of most residential housing in Singapore and Hong Kong and it’ll have a decent sized garden and maybe even an ocean view….

8. Take life at a different pace…

Retiring should mean that you have far more time to enjoy life and it’s hard to relax if you’re living in a fast paced environment such as Hong Kong. Life in Phuket is slow which means that you’ll have time to enjoy all the things you love back home but without having to rush around at break-neck speed. You can enjoy the beautiful beaches, stunning tropical landscape and glorious food and if you feel the need for some excitement there is plenty opportunity – including golf, sailing and even bungee jumping if you get the urge.

9. Sailing…

Take a boat to Phang Nga bay or even buy your own boat…Phuket is one of the best places in the world to own a boat. You can hire an experienced crew for a reasonable price…moor your boat at one of the several clean and well equipped marinas and explore the wonderful picturesque island of Phang Nga Bay or the Similian Islands. Phuket is host to the Phang Nga Bay and Kings Cup regattas which are held every year and teams from across the globe come to take part in the exhilarating races.

10. Golf…

If you imagine that the slow place of life may leave you feeling a little bored then why not use the time to brush up on your golf game…there are six championship courses to choose from and The Blue Canyon Golf and Country Club has hosted the Johnnie Walker Asian Classic twice – professional golfers claim its the best course in Asia.

That’s ten reasons to retire to Phuket for a start, I could go on.

Ocean Villas Group are specialists in lifestyle and investment property worldwide and are committed to supporting investors in both the emerging and established property markets across the globe. We have an extensive range of property throughout the world which enables us to satisfy the goals of the most demanding investment portfolios.

Resource: http://www.phuketoceanvillas.com/property-news-detail.asp?NewsID=275

Website: http://www.phuketoceanvillas.com

Email: pr@oceanvillasgroup.com

Phuket Ocean Vilas Co. Ltd.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Jane_Karen_Smith

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Acquiring Property in Phuket

March 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Acquiring Property in Phuket
By Jonathon A Smith

The options are endless when it comes to Phuket property because Phuket is an island that has a well-established ‘something for everybody’ property market. Investing in property in Phuket can be a rewarding as well as pleasurable experience. Picture perfect beaches and leisure activities to suit the young and old as well as the low cost of living all add to the islands desirability.

Phuket is Thailand’s wealthiest province and offers a high degree of protection and investment from the central government. Properties values in Phuket remained strong even after the Asian tsunami and the environmentally friendly planning laws and height restrictions will ensure Phuket property values will remain strong. Unlike other areas of Thailand Phuket benefits from a very high standard of build quality thanks to the international nature of the building industry. Many reputable companies thrive here under the management of overseas professionals and a reliable Thai work force.

Phuket is a well-established island; its potential was recognized back in the 80′s by wealthy Bangkok business men who saw the opportunities the island had to offer and invested in commercial, retail, resort and business enterprises. Today the focus is largely on residential investments for second homes and retirement homes.

Phuket is home to many part time residents who use the island as a base and commute to countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong to work, an easy trip thanks to some very attractive properties that are in easy reach of Phuket’s international airport.

Although entry level investment into acquiring property in Phuket is by no means cheap the availability of older style homes, in need of some renovation, offer an affordable option. There is a good choice of properties in both remote and residential areas and the Thai family values and respect for elders makes Phuket a wonderful place to bring up a family. Phuket offers fantastic opportunities for secluded developments as well as well-established condominium developments and increasingly desired villa style accommodation in fitting with the idea of tropical living.

Investment in Phuket is set to continue as Europeans and more recently Russians and investors from the Middle East recognize its investment value and lifestyle opportunities. Phuket’s well established infrastructure, year round climate and global location ensure that this island has a very solid and exciting future.

If you would like a home in the sun and a solid investment opportunity take your first step by visiting Phuket Property Store and see what great properties Phuket has to offer!

Jonathon A Smith is the lead content writer for Phuket Property Store and Ko Samui Property.

He has written extensively on the subjects of Phuket property and Ko Samui Property.

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A Visit To The Nai Yang Market Phuket

October 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Naiyang market Phuket is one of my favorite Phuket market stops whenever I am up visiting Nai Yang beach Phuket Thailand.

This market is very easy to find, it’s located on the corner entrance area just before you enter Nai Yang beach. I like this Phuket market because it is very simple and you can find some really good buys all around.

Markets in Phuket are one of the best places to really find some delicious Phuket fruits, meats, vegetables and great seafood. One advantage of the market is you can really buy a few days worth of food and take it back to your home or resort room.

Filed Under: Phuket News