Real Estate In Phuket

One of the most beautiful places in Asia, and possibly the Eastern Hemisphere, is Phuket. The Island of Phuket is also one of the southern provinces of Thailand and it occupies the entire island. Roughly the size of Singapore, the island is connected to the mainland of Thailand by a bridge. Phuket, while once known for its tin and rubber, is now one of he most popular tourist areas in all of Thailand, getting most of its income from tourism.

Turbulent History

As with most places that had European contact during the Age of Discovery, Phuket is no different. During the 17^th century, the Dutch, English and French all arrived at the island to trade with the island thanks to its rich supply of tin. The island was eventually heavily controlled by the French, who were expelled in the 1688 Siamese Revolution. While they attempted to take the island back in 1689, their efforts failed within a few years. Things returned to relative normality for the island for the next century until the Burmese attacked in 1785. After a siege that lasted an entire month, the Burmese retreated. It was thanks to Than Phu Ying and her sister Mook that the attack failed. They were warned by a British East India Company captain that there was an attack coming. Ying, who was the widow of the recently-deceased governor, mustered what forces she could to defend the island. After the siege, both became local heroes and are still remembered to this day with statues on the island. Eventually, in 1933, the island became a province in Thailand, which it remains as to this day.

Amazing Landscapes

It is not hard to see why so many groups wanted this island; it is beautiful. The island has many mountains on it, with the Phuket mountain range running from the south to the north in the western part of the island. While the island is roughly 570 square kilometers, it has a stunning array of landscapes that will keep you exploring for years to come. Roughly 70 percent of the island is covered with mountains, while the remaining 30 percent of the island in the central and eastern areas is flat. The island has no major rivers, but there are nine brooks that provide water to thousands. Forests, along with oil and rubber plantations, cover 60 percent of the island, and sandy beaches can be found on the western coast of the island. Eastern beaches tend to be muddy, but you can still enjoy yourself there. Now, if you want to see one of the most stunning sunsets in the world, you would need to journey to the southern part of the island to see the sun set over the ocean at Brahma’s Cape.

Great Weather

Since Phuket is just north of the equator, it has amazing weather. The average high temperature of the island during the year falls between 29C/84F and 33C/91F. Average lows are what many in the northern hemisphere call highs, with temperatures ranging from 23C/73F to 26C/79F. Between November and April, you can expect things to be pretty dry. When May comes along, the monsoon season begins and rain can be expected from May until October usually.

Since the tin industry has faded to the background on the island, tourism has taken over as the biggest industry in Phuket. While in Phuket, you can expect to see a lot of tourist attractions and tourist centers. Since the 1980s, beaches have become heavily developed to accommodate tourists. This has not been for the bad though, as Fortune Magazine declared Phuket as one of the World’s Top 5 Retirement Destinations. The vast majority of the westerners who live in Phuket are retirees.

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Where To Travel In Vietnam

Vietnam is a country that offers uniquely breathtaking scenery, with mountains, rice fields, and islands surrounded by clear waters. Vietnam also has a deep history and significant cultural wealth, as well. Here, you will find that agriculture is a mainstay, and that traditional methods still exist.

When you travel to Vietnam, you will want to notice which region you are planning on visiting so that you can pack accordingly. Southern Vietnam is warm and dry during the months from March to June, then rainy from June to November. The winter months are typically cool and dry. If you are visiting during the rainy season, remember to pack both warmer and cooler clothing, since the temperature may change quickly.

The Northern section of Vietnam has traditional four seasons, with the coolest months running from December to March and the warmest months running from May until September. Monsoon season in Central Vietnam is the country’s most harsh, with cold, windy weather from September until February.

If you want to travel to Vietnam during its busiest season, then the holiday of Tet is the most important one to choose. Tet is the Vietnamese New Year, which occurs on a date that can be anytime from late January until March, with dates ranging from year to year. If you are visiting an urban area of Vietnam during Tet, you may find that there is a large amount of traffic.

For those looking for a relaxing spot on the beach, Nha Trang is the spot to visit. This small resort village is home to dozens of tourist attractions, although the beautiful clear waters of the beach are definitely the most popular. You will find that there are hotels and dining establishments for any budget, as well.

When traveling in Vietnam, you may be able to use a wide variety of international currencies, such as the US dollar, but the national currency is the Dong. The exchange rate between the dollar and is the dong is about one dollar US to eighteen thousand Vietnamese dong. You may want to consider carrying along both your own currency and the Vietnamese currency, even though both may be accepted locally.

The language in Vietnam is diverse, with Vietnamese being the official language. There are also large populations of people who speak English and Cantonese, as well. Visitors may find that signs are in both English and Vietnamese, making it simpler for English speaking tourists to find their way in large urban areas.

When traveling in Vietnam, you will inevitably want to enjoy traditional Vietnamese food. There are plenty of street vendors selling everything from spring rolls to pho, traditional dish of noodles, spices, and lime. This delicious dish is available everywhere in Vietnam. If you are lucky enough to be in a seaside town in Vietnam, then you will want to try the local seafood, which is freshly caught and prepared daily.

Vietnam is a scenic country, so take the time to enjoy the sights on a motorbike tour is the weather permits. There is plenty to see and do in any region of the country.

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Chiang Mai – The Best of Both Worlds

The world in which we live is such a diverse planet that even the most committed travelers will never get to see it all. This could easily be a depressing thought; that one life is not enough for us to see everything, and that no matter how far we travel and how much we spend we will still leave something undone. What it means, in practice, is that we have to pick and choose where we go. We need to decide what we want from our travel portfolio and leave undone some of the things that do not quite come up to the standards offered elsewhere. For some of us, it is enough to see a few countries of choice; for others, to see at least one country on each continent; still others, to see as much of the world as funds and free time permit.

More and more people are of the opinion these days that, no matter where else you visit, Thailand is a country which simply has to be visited. Positioned in a continent which already offers the wonders of Japan, Korea, China, India and Pakistan among others this is no small thing. There is already so much to see and do in Asia – what makes Thailand so special? For many of us, the answer is simply in a glance. Just to look at Thailand is to see a country which combines modernity and bustling metropolises with something that is becoming harder and harder to find in this world – sheer, unique natural beauty.

Thailand is one of the world’s most beautiful countries, with simple bucolic scenes as far as the eye can see. Among this, the metropolitan area of Chiang Mai allows the traveler the best of both worlds – indeed, the best of a number of worlds, with the aforementioned natural beauty adjacent to shopping that compares favourably with many other cities, and the amazing old-fashioned buildings which are Thailand’s hallmark – beautiful Buddhist temples and traditional settings which are always worth visiting. There is much to see and do in Chiang Mai. Festivals are frequent and showcase the best of the region – from classical dance and music to traditional handicrafts – as well as the wonderful cuisine of the region.

Chiang Mai is one of Thailand’s most diverse regions. With a population in the metropolitan area of close to one million people, there are residents from a number of different tribal backgrounds. There is however virtually no clash of cultures, simply a peaceful co-existence which would make most visitors from the busier cities of the world somewhat envious. This may be why another one million people pour into the city every year from all over the world. If the mere feeling of good-natured welcome is not enough to put you at your ease, Chiang Mai is also one of the best places in which to experience the wonders of Thai massage – if you have time you can learn the basics yourself, otherwise why not simply put yourself in the hands of an expert and feel your worries float away?

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Travel Kuala Lumpur

It is not always easy for other Asian cities to live up to the standards set by Dubai, especially given that Dubai is very much one of those cities that is a standing monument to the extraordinary – but if you are looking for a city that will offer all the things that Dubai does without costing as much, then Kuala Lumpur is a genuinely excellent choice for any tourist. It may be dominated in some people’s eyes by the Petronas Towers, but KL, as the locals call it, is really about a lot more than just some of the most striking architecture in the entire region. The city has become the focus of a Malaysian tourist industry which is very much interested in developing for the future while retaining clear links to Malaysian history.

To get anyone interested in visiting Kuala Lumpur, the first step anyone should take is to show them the city’s skyline. It will rapidly disabuse anyone of the notion that KL is the Petronas Towers and little else. A night-time cityscape of this magnificent location is a sight which goes far beyond impressive and right to the point of visually and architecturally stunning. For six years up until 2004 the Towers were the world’s tallest buildings, and they are still the tallest in the country now. Of course, Kuala Lumpur is not all about the architecture. Many people these days do not see fit to visit a country or a city unless they can shop ‘til they drop once there. If this is what you are after, the city of Kuala Lumpur is ideal.

While outside, the Western tourist may well find that the temperature can get a little bit severe. In actual fact it rarely, if ever, drops beneath 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius), even in the winter months. The shopping malls are air-conditioned and may well be the best places in the city for getting a bit of a breather if the heat is becoming oppressive for you. Assuming you are well equipped to deal with the heat, however, then you can take to the streets and enjoy the markets (which can get very busy but offer a real range of bargains and an opportunity to practise your haggling). You have surely been to shopping malls and seen inside them fountains, big-screen displays and other center pieces, but only in Kuala Lumpur will you see a shopping mall with a canal running through it.

You won’t be short of hotels to stay in either, no matter what your price range. While in a lot of other cities you will get a feeling you are paying for the name (of the hotel or the city), KL offers a great range of hotels where even the best by public decree are less than $150 a night on average year round. For people used to a Western climate it may well be the ideal winter break. Not too hot overall, but hotter than a Western summer, and affordable too. A really interesting experience

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Travel Cebu

Although tourism as an industry suffered from a significant drop in the twelve months from June 2008 to June 2009, it should be noted that there were countries and cities which actually increased the number of visitors during that time – no small achievement in a period when belt-tightening was the order of the day in many people’s estimation. One of the areas to increase its visitor numbers was the Philippine city and larger metropolitan area of Cebu. The Philippines is one of Asia’s largest and most diverse countries, and this makes it attractive to tourists. It hosted the ASEAN Tourism Forum in 1998 and the East Asian Tourism Forum four years later.

Tourists to Cebu can be guaranteed of seeing a city and larger province that has a varied landscape – one moment you can be in the excellent shopping district and the next you are out among leafy parks and public gardens. It is this type of easy, natural variety that makes the city and the province so attractive to so many people. This is not a place that will only appeal to a certain kind of visitor. Shopping is definitely an option for visitors to Cebu, with some wonderful malls neighbouring smaller more specialised stores and providing everything the visitor could wish for. Unlike  many other cities, Cebu does this without looking or being terribly congested or built-up. At the same time it is historic without being anachronistic.

Strange though it may seem Cebu has something in common with Los Angeles – an area going by the name Beverley Hills. While the LA version is home to a great many of the world’s most famous people, Cebu’s version is known more for its Taoist Temple. Set 300 meters above sea level and built as recently as 1972, the Cebu Taoist Temple is an attraction which really should be seen. It is a towering center of worship that is accessible by any one of three meandering routes that take the visitor through trees and other greenery. It is visited by every school student in the area as part of their education, and is a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours. It is the centerpiece of the city’s tourist industry, but by no means the full extent of it.

There is always plenty to see and do in Cebu city and neighbouring cities and towns and although the journey to get there can take some time from a Western starting point – over a day by air from New York, for example – it is worth it for some of the finest buildings, best shopping and finest dining in Asia. There are numerous five star hotels and resorts to stay in, and beyond the Taoist Temple there are a few national parks as well as excellent beaches. The Basilica Minore del Santo Nino is also worth seeing, as it is home to the oldest religious relic in all of the Philippines. Frankly, there are so many reasons to go to Cebu for a break, it is no wonder the tourist numbers visiting have increased.

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