Asian Spice Museum Opens in Pattaya

Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard has a new tourist attraction; an Asian Spice Museum has opened in Pattaya and is ready to welcome visitors. 

Building restrictions underpin sustainable Koh Chang property development

It has happened all over the world; a quiet area of outstanding natural beauty is discovered by backpackers, written about in travel guides, eulogised over on the internet as a paradise; and then in move the developers. Often in these beauty spots there are few established ground rules for building and in the rush for profit, the initial draw that attracted people is destroyed by untrammelled property development.

Pattaya development plan offers a ‘Greenotive’ vision of the future

A consortium of local government and business interests has launched a bold and exciting Pattaya development plan. It is designed to create a model modern metropolis, combining urban vibrancy with natural beauty and breathtaking innovation with cultural tradition. The ambitious project is outlined in a report entitled ‘New Pattaya, the World Class Tourism City’. The Pattaya development plan calls for the city to shake off its sometimes tawdry image and live up to its potential as one of Asia’s most exciting and desirable energetic hubs.

Pattaya real estate purchase paves way for waterpark

Turner Broadcasting System Asia has made a 35 rai Pattaya real estate purchase, with the intention of building the world’s first Cartoon Network theme park in Thailand. The company is the Asian division of Turner Broadcasting System, the company that established CNN, and is now a subsidiary of the corporate media conglomerate Time Warner. The company also owns the Cartoon Network, the children’s channel that owns the rights to many of the most familiar animated characters including Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo and the Flintstones. 

Zoom Festival Pattaya 2012

International superstars to play at Thailand’s biggest electronic music and dance event

Following the disappointing postponement of the Pattaya International Music Festival last week (the event is now scheduled for 27 April), music fans will be relieved to hear that Zoom Festival Pattaya 2012 will be going ahead next weekend. The event is billed as nothing less than ‘Thailand’s biggest electronic music and dance festival’ and the city is sure to see an influx of fans from across Thailand and the world. 

Oversong on the beach – Koh Chang Music Festival

Next Saturday, 31 March, Koh Chang plays host to its first major music festival. Oversong on the Beach is generating a huge amount of excitement on the island and will feature a wide variety of popular Thai artists from many different music genres.

Holidaymakers visiting Thailand looking for perfect beach and guaranteed sun need look no further than the tropical paradise island of Koh Chang. There is a beach to suit every holidaymaker whether their preference is for a beach with a choice of activities, or just to sunbathe on a quiet strip of sand.

The popularity in the game of golf has never been higher in the Asian region. The Korean women golfers seem to be always on the back pages of newspaper as they continue to dominate women’s international golf with three of them currently in the top ten of the official rankings. For many years Japan held the title of Asia’s strongest golfing nation, but that could be about to change due to the amazing growth of the game in Thailand.

The Phuket Kings Cup is celebrating 25 years of successful sailing this year. In the early years, the results were dominated by sailors from such countries as UK and Australia, but now there is an increase in the Asian sailors dominating a number of the classes. The regatta grows year-on-year and was recently voted the most popular regatta in Asia. A survey found that 71% of sailors named Thailand as their favourite sailing place, with Pattaya being near the top of their places due to the weather, geography and the beautiful scenery. 

The Thai city of Pattaya is famous for its beautiful beaches and golf courses, however with increasing numbers of tourists coming to the city from every corner of the world, it is now building another reputation for itself as a city full of first class restaurants. No matter which country you are from and what your taste in food is, you can be sure there will be something to delight your taste buds in Pattaya. 

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand, earned international recognition as a sportsman through his love for sailing. He has also greatly increased the profile of sailing in his own country. Previously, sailing had been a largely unknown sport in Thailand but through the feats of their King, the Thai people began to appreciate the skills and endurance required in the sport.

Loy Krathong is not recognised as a public holiday, but it is the most romantic and popular festival in Thailand. It is normally held in the evening of the full moon in the 12^th month in the Thai lunar calendar which usually falls in the month of November.

For the holidaymakers who are looking to get away from the rat race and enjoy a relaxing vacation, there is no better way of achieving this than spending some time sailing the eastern seaboard of Thailand.

 The Phoenix Golf and Country Club is set among some of the most beautiful natural surroundings in the Pattaya area.

When television or feature films are set on paradise tropical islands, one of the common features is a dramatic waterfall. Waterfalls evoke exotic feelings in the minds of the viewer; something purely natural and intrinsically beautiful. The combination of deserted beaches, rich blue tropical seas and lush tropical forest with the mystical waterfall is presented on screen as the paradise idyll; exceptional in its rarity and almost unattainable in reality. Although such places are indeed rare, these earthly natural paradises do exist in real life and one of the best examples is on the Thai island of Koh Chang.

Sriracha International Golf Club is a well kept course situated among the hills of Sriracha and despite not being one of the longest courses in Thailand; it has twice been home to the Thai Open.

If you are looking for daytrips in and around Pattaya, you will not be short of options!  There are many places for you and your family to have an adventure or two. One of the most popular and most exciting places in the area is Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi. This is no ordinary zoo. It is located in beautiful forests and is more of a sanctuary with many animals free to roam in their very own secure environments. These individual habitats include: desert, grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, rocks and mountains.

The world number two ranked golfer, Lee Westwood, has spoken out in favour of a fifth major being added to the men’s golf calendar. He added that for him, the ideal place for the tournament would be Asia or Australia.

The Century Golf and Country Club is among the most beautiful courses in Thailand. This magnificent course was designed by the late world-famous golf course architect, Desmond Muirhead, together with one of the all-time golfing greats and six times major winner, Sir Nick Faldo.

In the increasingly globalised world where striving for international standards can lead to blandness it is often an unusual cultural event that catches our eye and sets the pulse racing. The Chonburi Buffalo Racing Festival is one of these occasions. A cross between Wild West style rodeo and horse racing, this year the annual event celebrated its 140^th anniversary. It was a heady mix of culture, music, feasting and the absolute madness of men racing astride enormous, and shockingly fast, bovine giants.