Shopping / Security and smart homes

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In the last two years or so there has been a lot of government activity in Thailand designed to tighten up on the unlawful use of residential property in a hotel context. The policy behind the tightening of review and enforcement is to level the playing field for investors who have incurred significant expense building accommodation to comply with the Building Control Act and environmental regulations, and to obtain all the necessary licenses connected with operating a hotel business. I should also mention that their corporate structure has to comply with Thai law, which is an additional layer of burden if there are foreign investors involved.

There have been raids on unlicensed hostel premises, inspections of properties clearly being built in locations where hotels cannot be located, reviews of the built-up area to un-built area ratios and surveys of beach setbacks and commercial property within residential property, which must be designated as such in particular in regulated estates such as ‘Moo Baans’ under the Real Estate Development Act or condominiums under the Condominium Act.

In addition to this, there has been a spate in the last five years or so of ‘disruptive businesses’, which have caused polarisation of opinion across the spectrum from complete disapproval through to gung-ho support for anything that ‘sticks it to the Man’. Many observers believe that ‘facilitators’ or ‘portal’ companies, such as Airbnb and all the new entrants in that saturated market, are shining knights and heroes of the accommodation industry because they provide so many more options for holidaymakers, especially for large groups of friends or families who may find homes to stay in instead of the smaller rooms in many hotels and serviced apartments.

However, there is another, more dangerous side, to this story. A side that many don’t wish to think about or apply their minds to when it comes to their own freedom of choice versus appropriate regulation and supervision of those responsible for providing lodging on a commercial basis.
Although there will be many outstanding properties available on the new disruptive portals, there will also be many that will have defective dangerous wiring, no emergency exits for fires, no extinguishers, rodent infestations, asbestos, poorly maintained air conditioning units, dangerous swimming pools with unchecked chlorine levels and a hotwired pump room. Noting this non-exhaustive list, it is clear that lodging for commercial purposes ought to be regulated.

An Australian national with an impressive work history under his belt, Michal Zitek was recently appointed by Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts as Area General Manager for Angsana Laguna Phuket. He has been tasked to drive and lead the strategic growth of the brand as well as oversee all of the Angsana brand operations in Phuket, including Angsana Laguna Phuket, Angsana Villas Resort Phuket and Angsana Vacation Club. While this may seem no easy feat, Michal Zitek is certainly up for the task.

Originally from Sydney, Michal’s career in the hospitality industry began when he was still a high school student. Working a part-time job in the catering sector, Michal realised he very much enjoyed the element of the job as every day was different and he had the chance to meet and interact with a large variety of people.

“This was my first introduction into how to make memories,” Michal reflects, “and how to generate experiences for people.”

Michal decided to further his education by attending hotel school in Sydney; this decision was pivotal as it helped shape his career path from a young man working in catering, to where he is now, an established general manager of a world-renowned five star resort brand.

His first assignment out of hotel school was working in the F&B department of Park Royal Hotel, which turned out to be an excellent training ground that opened the door for many more opportunities, including a promotion and a first international move to New Zealand. While Michal notes that this move was not on his agenda, he also states, “Sometimes when there is a knock on the door, you are better to answer it than to let the person walk past.”

Thailand is gearing up for its annual showcase of marine and luxury from 29 November to 2 December when leaders in the country’s boating and luxury lifestyle industries come together for the 7th Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show, and where consumers gather to see the latest products and technologies on offer.

There were some places that had, early on, convinced my ageing psyche that they really were the place to be. Nai Harn Beach was one such location. Today, Wan and I were going to picnic on the beach. We had been doing it for so long , it had become a sort of ritual. We knew from past experience that the best place to go was under the casuarina pines, where you could move your deck chair into light or shade, as the sun’s rays filtered through the high branches.

Wan, a model of efficiency, had packed the food in plastic boxes: a home-made chicken massaman curry with peanuts , boiled eggs, crisp stalks of Chinese kale, rice, a fresh coconut. Plus her own supply of nam prik. That wasn’t all. She also put a large carboy of fresh water in the back of the truck, conscious that I loved a shower after a sea-dip that left me feeling as salty and desiccated as an old kipper.

Wan sat, lotus-style on the woven mat she had brought, sprinkled powder around its edges to deter the wood ants, and dispensed food. Later, we would sunbathe on the beach and watch the world go by: prosperous-looking, portly couples on their daily constitutional from The Nai Harn, an eccentric Englishman exercising his three Jack Russell terriers, gay poseurs showing off their tanned, sculptured bodies fresh from a session in the gym, sinuous, bikini-clad Russian beauties, fully clothed Thai families, the childrens’ tee shirts still dripping salt water.

Over the past decade or so, Nai Harn Beach had undergone several transformations. Like a giant bulldozer, the 2004 tsunami had cleared all before it: every lounger, beach tent, drinks stall, all the money-making paraphernalia had gone. Only nature, in the guise of deep-rooted sea almonds and stilt palms higher up on the dunes, had resisted the inundation.

But slowly, perhaps inevitably, almost unnoticed, the man-made evidences had re-appeared. Unseen termites colonising a new site. The restaurants beyond the casuarinas, damaged but not destroyed by the flooding, had started to encroach, with tables and chairs set once again among the pines. More permanent structures had followed. Down on the beach itself, the march of loungers and parasols and massage tents had started again in earnest .

At a stroke, the new political regime changed all that. A massive “clean-up” of Phuket’s west coast beaches was ordered in 2016, and Nai Harn, along with Kata, Kamala, Surin and Karon, was returned, more-or-less, to its pristine state. The sunbeds and parasols, the massage shacks,the drinks vendors, disappeared once more. So far, so good.

Now it was time for a swim. It was a grand day for a dip. Red warning flags were stuck in the sand in the middle of the beach, so I walked along the sand, newly moistened by the high tide, to The Nai Harn resort end of the shore where the sea was always benign. Often I went snorkelling there, for the rocks that made up the headland still harboured plenty of coral. And where there was healthy coral, there were always reef fish in abundance – trigger fish, wrasse, damsel, angel and banner fish.

Today, however, I just wanted to swim. I waded out, dived through the breakers, into the calm, limpid waters beyond and swam. 200 metres out, I luxuriated in the calm of the moment. Hardly a sound. Ethereal.The people on the shore looked like Lilliputians, beyond them a dark green screen of casuarinas trees. Flanking the bay were gaunt rocky headlands, with stands of coconuts planted high on the hillside amid verdant trees. Looking seawards, I took in the arc of bay and blue, blue sea, the concave of a sky coming to meet the ocean.

It all began in the early 1900s, when tin ore was discovered in the Kathu area and hundreds of Hokkien Chinese were drafted in to do the mining. They either brought their families with them or intermarried with the locals. A thriving community blossomed and, in 1825, the Governor Praya Jerm moved the provincial capital from Ta Reua to Kathu.

The Chinese community had such critical mass that an itinerant Chinese opera company visited to entertain them. Here the story gets a little confused, but basically the whole area was struck by a major epidemic and almost everybody except the opera players became sick.

Following their beliefs, the players had stuck to their religious calendar, which at this time of year required that they observe a strict vegetarian diet and offer prayers to two Chinese gods, Kiew Ong Tai Teh and Yok Ong Sone Teh. The residents attributed their invulnerability to these religious observances.

An alternative explanation may be that since Kathu was a swampy jungle and it was the time of the monsoon rains, the visitors may have introduced a malarial strain – to which they themselves were immune – to the local mosquitoes, which thrived in the damp conditions. When the rains stopped the insects’ breeding ponds disappeared and the epidemic abated naturally.
Be that as it may, the following year, the Haio Lan and Lian Tui regalia and sacred scripts were brought from China. When this precious cargo arrived at Bang Niao, the whole community went there to welcome the ship.

The small island of Koh Lipe in the southern Andaman Sea rose to fame in the early 1990s when its unspoilt white sand beaches drew travellers from near and afar. Staying in simple bamboo beach huts and managing on just a few hours of electricity each day, they spoke of paradise found. A lot has happened on Koh Lipe since then, but the island remains a popular island getaway for both Thais and foreigners.

Getting your bearings on Koh Lipe is easy. The island is tiny and it’s easy to walk from one beach to the next. Taking a triangle shape, the island has three main beaches; by far the busiest beach is Pattaya Beach, where the water is calm for most of the year and the sand is deliciously fine. Pattaya Beach was the first to be developed and unfortunately also the first to become crowded, so expect a fair bit of hustle and bustle, not least after nightfall. Sunrise Beach is located, not surprisingly, on the long eastern side of the island and features a relaxed, laid-back vibe with very little going on after dark. On the northern coast, you will find the smaller Sunset Beach, which is home to a number of smaller, upscale resorts.

Restaurants, bars and shops centre on and around Walking Street, which connects Sunrise and Pattaya beaches. Here you’ll find everything from tattoo parlours and souvenir shops to seafood barbecue joints and cafes and restaurants serving western and Thai food. For a great cup of freshly brewed coffee and something to satisfy those afternoon sugar cravings, head to Kafair, a cosy café on Walking Street; try their pancakes with maple syrup or tuck into a bowl of homemade yogurt and muesli. For dinner, don't miss King Crab, also on Walking Street. Don't expect fancy surroundings or particularly attentive service; the focus here is on the seafood, which you choose from a display at the entrance. Simply point and tell them how you would like it prepared, then sit back and tuck into sea bass, snapper, tiger prawns, or the restaurant’s namesake, crabs.