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As one of the top rated health food restaurants on the planet, “Radiance” at the Spa Resorts have an agenda to grow their own organic vegetables. Initially the plan was to grow enough here in Chiang Mai to supply all four of their Spa “Radiance” Restaurants and perhaps a little left over to supply a small organic veggie shop at the property.
“Well we got a little carried away” says Guy “and we now have over 34 rai of property dedicated to organic farming. The larger picture involves converting as much of this fertile valley into organic gardening as possible, and raising toxin free vegetables and fruits for distribution throughout Chiang Mai.”
“We are pursuing this goal from two separate approaches First off, we are offering our neighbors, the local farmers, to either purchase their properties outright and then lease the land back to them with the stipulation that all produce grown must be certified organic and that the property will be used exclusively for this purpose. The other option is that we will agree to purchase all the organic produce that the farmers are able to grow at a premium price that will make it economically viable for the farmers to remain independent and self sufficient while contributing to a cleaner and healthier environment. This will accomplish two things; it will give us a steady supply of the organic produce that we require for our own use as well as create a surplus of produce to supply a new wholesale supply outlet that we will establish. As an additional benefit it also will assure that there is a minimum of future development in the valley, retaining the natural beauty of this very special place.”
Guy adds, “we are also currently looking into using adobe and bamboo as building materials for treatment rooms, our “Health Mart” shop, all utility buildings, employee housing, and farming related structures. The idea is to use all natural and sustainable materials wherever possible in order to contribute to a zero carbon footprint. Grey water recycling and natural irrigation methods are also a part of the plan.”
In keeping with their commitment to work with the local community, “The Spa Resort” has formed an alliance with the local Chiang Mai based environmental group “Green Chiang Mai Project” (www.greenchiangmai.com) and is currently consulting with them to plant large areas of indigenous greenery around the entire parameter and throughout the resort.
Two Bedroom Semi Detached
2 bedroom, 3 bath, single level duplex. 118 sq.meters of living area on 500 sq.meter lot, solid teak floors, 3 air conditioners, kitchen cabinets with granite tops and sink, basic landscaping.
Price 4.1 mil baht (approx. $122,000 U.S/ 61,000 GBP/ 78,000 Euro)
Two bedroom + villa
With large guest suite, den or office.
2 bedroom, 3 bath, single level Villa. 236 sq. meters (2539 sq. ft.) of living area. Solid teak floors, 4 A/C, built-in wardrobes, kitchen cabinets with granite top and sink. Outdoor Thai style gazebo and basic landscaping.
Price Approx. 8 mil baht (approx. $240,000 U.S/ 120,000 GBP/ 152,000 Euro)
Three bedroom + villa
With guest suite, den or office.
3 bedroom, 4 bath, two level villa. 417 sq. meters (4480 sq. ft.) of living area. Solid teak floors, 5 A/C, built-in wardrobes, kitchen cabinets with granite top and sink. Outdoor Thai style gazebo and basic landscaping.
Price Approx. 12 mil baht (approx. $360,000 U.S/ 180,000 GBP/230,000 Euro)
Private steam room . Infrared Sauna. (2-4 person) Swimming Pool Custom furniture packagesGourmet gas stove and oven Attic meditation room.*Prices available upon request.
There has been much speculation recently with regard to foreign ownership of land in Thailand .
To clarify the situation:
Technically speaking, foreign individuals are not able to purchase freehold land. Until recently the commonly accepted method for foreign real estate investment has been to form a Thai company which was partially owned and 100% controlled by foreign individuals.
Due to proposed changes to the Foreign Business Act, and Commercial Department regulations, this is no longer considered an option under Thai law.
There is however one sure method of foreign property ownership that has remained constant throughout all variations and interpretations of the law: buying land via a long-term leasehold agreement.
This is the only method whereby a foreigner can legitimately own land. The registered lease is renewable in 30 year increments, and can be renewed every 30 years. The actual structure (home) is owned outright by the foreign investor.
The Spa Chiang Mai Resort Co. Ltd . is a 100% Thai owned Co. The company has transferred ownership of the property to the newly formed ‘The Residences Co. Ltd.' This is a 51% Thai owned Company with 49% owned by the “The Spa Chiang Mai Home Owners Association Co. Ltd.” (A British Virgin Islands registered company). These two entities are the legal owners of the property and therefore fully comply with the foreign ownership laws of Thailand .
In addition, The Residences Co. Ltd. guarantees the renewal of this lease every 30 years in perpetuity.
This registered lease is fully transferable and may be sold, traded, bequeathed, or otherwise transferred at lease holder's discretion.
Shares in the “The Spa Chiang Mai Home Owners Association Co. Ltd.” (A British Virgin Islands registered company) will be issued and registered on a pro rated basis, effectively giving purchasers a clear title to their property.
Semi Detached Bungalow Plan
Two Bedroom Villa Plan
Three Bedroom Villa Plan
“The Spa Chiang Mai Resort” and the “Residences” are located within a 30 minute drive of the northern capital of Chiang Mai.......... ( www.chiangmai.com ) Thailand 's “Rose of the North” and within 8 km. of the rural community of Mae-Rim ................. ( www.maerim.com ) with several outdoor markets and many local Thai restaurants all at a fraction of the cost you would expect to pay. It is also located within 2 kms. of the prestigious “ Prem International School ”.......( www.premcenter.in.th ) known as one of the top international schools in Thailand , grades 1-12.
The spectacular Mae Sa valley, just a few kilometers away, is home to the luxurious Four Seasons Resort, as well as numerous natural attractions.
The valley is home to spectacular waterfalls, botanical gardens, butterfly farms, and flower markets. For the more adventurous the valley also boasts bungee jumping, off road 4wd adventures, and cart racing .Elephant trekking and river rafting are also popular activities here. Within 15 minute drive is the spectacular “ Green Valley ” golf course and country club. One of six in the Chiang Mai area.
Besides the world renowned natural and architectural beauty that Northern Thailand is famous for, many retired expats here consider the most important attraction to be the quality of life at such a favorable cost of living. It is definitely a factor in creating the lively foreign community that thrives here in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is also well known for its many advanced medical facilities.
Welcoming visitors is an art perfected in Chiang Mai, and recent decades have seen the city emerge as one of Asia 's most popular and best value destinations. People come to experience the beautiful mountainous scenery of Northern Thailand , go trekking, eat, drink, party, delve into history and seek out adventure. The quiet winding lanes of the old town, the rustic old wooden guest houses, and Bed & Breakfasts, lively riverside restaurants, colorful hill tribe folk and bustling night bazaar all contribute to make Chiang Mai an unforgettable destination. With its rich cultural heritage, and rapidly growing contemporary music and arts scene ,Chiang Mai offers visitors an eclectic and rewarding cultural experience.
The city of Chiang Mai is considered to be Thailand 's second most important city and one of its largest. Despite this, it remains a tenth of the size of Bangkok , with an estimated 400,000 people living in the greater urban area of the city. A growing community of long stay foreign residents and tourists swell this figure by an estimated 100,000 during the tourist season.
Chiang Mai is located approximately 700kms north of Bangkok and 250kms south of the Myanmar border. It sits well within the tropics, located 18? north and is surrounded by mountain ranges which form the tail end of the Himalayan range.
Chiang Mai sits in a broad valley at an elevation of 330 metres above sea level. The valley is dissected by the Ping River - one of the four main tributaries of the great Chao Praya - and it runs roughly from north to south.
As much as 70 per cent of Chiang Mai province is covered in mountains and forests. Agriculture, mainly fruit, vegetables and some rice cultivation, is the mainstay of the local economy. In the past ten years, tourism has become an increasingly important economic growth point for the city. Other industry includes cottage industry, handicraft production, exporting, small scale business and manufacturing.
The city dates back to 1296 when it was founded as the new capital of the thriving Lanna Kingdom . Lanna (meaning 'a million rice fields') predates the kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayuthaya and incorporated an area stretching from Chieng Sean, on the northern reaches of the Mekhong river, to Lamphun, just to the south of Chiang Mai. It is one of the few cities in the world that boasts a fully preserved square mile moat and, even today, the corner ramparts and restored gates remain.
Chiang Mai has been continuously inhabited for more than 700 years, but its fortunes have waxed and waned at the hands of invading armies from Laos , Central Thailand and Burma . From the pinnacle of its strength under King Mengrai (c.1300) to its submission as a vassal state under the Burmese in the mid 16th century, the city has managed to remain largely independent and was only formally included in the greater Thai Kingdom when the Lanna monarchy was extinguished early in the 20th century.
More Facts On Chiang Mai
The rooftop "Kalaes" are a unique Lanna icon found everywhere Eighty per cent of the local population are deemed 'Khon Muang' (meaning Northern folk) and they speak a slightly different dialect to the central Thai language. The last census determined that there are 1,547,085 residents in the Chiang Mai province, although this figure doesn't include the minority hill tribes whose status is often in limbo.
Chiang Mai is bordered by the provinces of Lamphun and Lamphang to the south, Mae Hong Son to the west and the country of Myanmar to the north. Chiang Mai is also home to Thailand 's highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, along with five other peaks counted among the country's ten highest. It also has five main national parks and more than a dozen smaller ones.
The region enjoys a mild tropical climate, regulated by the mountainous terrain.
Published in the South China Morning Post. Copyright © 2007. All rights reserved.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
*Tourist dollars turn Chiang Mai into capital of cool* *JENNIFER CHEN*
To get a sense of how Chiang Mai, has changed in recent years, head to Nimmanhaemin Road, a street that runs south past the leafy campus of Chiang Mai University.
Five years ago, finding a decent cup of coffee in the biggest city in northern Thailand was a mission impossible.
Now on Nimmanhaemin, you find not one, but at least half-a-dozen cafes to please Java lovers. On one corner alone, there's a Starbucks and two local competitors with comfy seats and eclectic soundtracks that mix Ella Fitzgerald with Arcade Fire.
Foreign tourists to Chiang Mai, who flood the city during the peak October-March season, aren't the only ones getting their caffeine fix.
Instead, on any given day, the tableau would probably include a clutch of bespectacled local architects hunched over their laptops and artfully disheveled Japanese expats.
As well as slick coffee shops, Nimmanhaemin is bustling with other barometers of gentrification: boutique hotels, spas, upscale boutiques,art galleries, swish restaurants and newly built apartment buildings and
townhouses.
The trend is also apparent in the old city centre, where tourists usually start their trips. Everywhere you turn, there seems to be a spa
or boutique hotel - and at least four English-language guides telling you which ones to go to. Tourism gurus say Chiang Mai has shed the
stigma of being a backpacker destination and is now in the grips of another makeover. Some reckon that this once sleepy backwater is
becoming the hip alternative to Bangkok , a year-round playground for foreign and local artists, architects and creative types.
"Everything before was Lanna - Lanna, Lanna, Lanna," says Pim Kemasingki, managing editor of /Citylife/, a local magazine her father
started 15 years ago. "But you've suddenly got an era where you've got some really creative people who've said, `OK, Lanna is a great base but we're not just going to keep selling the same product and reinventing it over and over.' And Chiang Mai has suddenly woken up and there's now a lot of new, contemporary, cutting-edge modern and international design."
Pim and other long-time residents date Chiang Mai's revitalisation to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's tenure, which started in 2000. A hometown boy made good, Thaksin earmarked billions of baht for mega-projects in Chiang Mai, including the critically panned Night Safari and a three-month floral show last year.
Thaksin doesn't deserve all the credit, residents say. The recent proliferation of budget airlines in the region and, in turn, direct
flights from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and China have opened the floodgates to tourists, including expats coming for a weekend jaunt and demanding more sophisticated venues and services. Arrivals soared from nearly 4 million in 2005 to around 5.6 million last year.
At the same time, growing numbers of people from Japan , Europe and America are choosing to settle down or spend part of the year in the city. Official figures put the city's population at around 172,000, but residents and diplomats say it's closer to 300,000.
Among Thais, Chiang Mai has always had a special place. Founded at the end of the 13th century, the city was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lanna , which means "a million rice fields".
At its zenith, Lanna covered northern Thailand , Laos and Burma . Even as the kingdom declined, Chiang Mai was still regarded as the heart of Lanna culture, which has its own language and culinary traditions. It's also seen as the home of Thai creativity, part of the reason why the city has long appealed to artists looking to escape the spiraling expense and stifling conventions of Bangkok .
Surveying the construction site for an avant-garde boutique hotel he's designed, Thaiwijit Puengkasemsomboon, one of Thailand 's best known artists, exclaims enthusiastically: "You can only make such a design here in Chiang Mai." A long-time resident of Bangkok , Thaiwijit, a wiry, gregarious, energetic man of 48, is in the process of building a house in an area of Chiang Mai where two other noted local artists live.
Artists aren't the only ones flocking to the north. Att and Sineenard Viravaidhya, a young, wealthy couple from Bangkok , decided to leave the chaotic capital two years ago in order to start Puripunn, a 30-room boutique hotel. Though initially motivated by business, they found themselves beguiled by the slower pace of life here.
"When we go back to Bangkok , we feel like we don't belong. It's very hectic, all those traffic jams. We used to be used to that, but now I wonder, why spend your life sitting in traffic?" muses Att, 36.
www.premcenter.org (An International school located 2 Km. away.)
www.chiangmaiexpatsclub.com
www.guidelineschiangmai.com
www.guidelineschiangmai.com
www.chiangmainews.com
www.1stopchiangmai.com
www.spasamui.com
www.spachiangmai.net
www.chiangmai-mail.com
The Chiang Mai Orchid Hotel 23, Huay Kaew Rd., Chiang Mai,50200 Thailand
Tel/fax: +(66)(0)53 214-166
Map : http://www.chiangmaiorchid.com/map00.html
The Spa Chiang Mai Resort (Video 1)
The Spa Samui Resort(Video 2)
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Last Update on August 20, 2008
