Ban Doc Si Khao (White Flower Villa) is in the estate attached to VIP Condominium. Access is on the drive directly from the Sukhumvit Highway to the condominium building which is directly on the seafront. There are 16 plots of which 5 have been built on. All have been sold.
The highway to Pattaya and Bangkok is 250 metres also from the house and is immensely convenient but offers no noise or other disbenefits. There are public bus services at the front gate for local and nation-wide destinations including the capital.
As part of the VIP complex, the house and its occupants enjoy for a maintenance fee presently Baht7000(USD200) per year all the services and facilities on offer. This includes the beautiful and extensive gardens, parking, the large and children's pools, gym and meeting facilities, 2 tennis courts, and especially full security and minor maintenance services. Access to the exotic seafront and barbecue area is by elevator. The condo has a small shop.
The house will have neighbours either side eventually but to the rear, permanent and clearly in view, are the stunning private gardens of Sunset Heights, a very exclusive and well guarded condominium, and across the street the VIP condo maintained broad garden strip; somewhat akin to living in a protected botanical garden. Current zoning laws including beachfront setback make mean no overbearing neighbouring development is possible.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The House
The name I have informally given the house, White Flower Villa, is a bit whimsical but I have tried to be true to it as all the flowering plants, except our very numerous orchids, bear white flowers.
The house was completed only in December 2007 and it was built be an international team of contractors. The structure was erected by an experienced Thai builder with years of building in Austria as part of his background. The electrics were planned and installed by a Swiss tradesman. The windows and PVC doors, all Thyssen products, were installed by British fabricators and the pool was the work also of a British contractor. These men acted with the Bangkok architect to form the panel which guided me through the construction progress to, I believe, a really successful result.
The theme of the house is "beachside living". An elegant and practical single floor layout, clean open spaces, airy high ceilings, large windows and terrace doors, an enfolded plunge pool, largely white walls with modern art and feature wall colors are the main aspects of this concept. This is certainly not yet another a run of the mill Thai-Bali lookalike.
The house divides practically in 2 around the huge living, dining and kitchen space with a guest bathroom with 2 wings, one for the family with 2 bedrooms, a family room and a bathroom and the other wing a master suite with double bedroom and huge walk-in closet and bathroom. There is a Thai kitchen and laundry area, pool house and storage place along one side of the house.
Power supplies are regular and the house has its own deep bore (42 metres) which supplies up to 5000 litres per hour of potable water which is then filtered and ultraviolet treated before entering the house system.
House area is approximately230 square metres and the land is 525 square metres.
There is undercover parking for 2 cars.
The land has the highest class of title deed issued in Thailand, a chanote, and the land and house are owned by a company legally legitimately formed by me and my Thai adopted son and 2 Thai friends for this purpose. Ownership can be conveyed by a simple and fee free transfer of shares.
The house was completed only in December 2007 and it was built be an international team of contractors. The structure was erected by an experienced Thai builder with years of building in Austria as part of his background. The electrics were planned and installed by a Swiss tradesman. The windows and PVC doors, all Thyssen products, were installed by British fabricators and the pool was the work also of a British contractor. These men acted with the Bangkok architect to form the panel which guided me through the construction progress to, I believe, a really successful result.
The theme of the house is "beachside living". An elegant and practical single floor layout, clean open spaces, airy high ceilings, large windows and terrace doors, an enfolded plunge pool, largely white walls with modern art and feature wall colors are the main aspects of this concept. This is certainly not yet another a run of the mill Thai-Bali lookalike.
The house divides practically in 2 around the huge living, dining and kitchen space with a guest bathroom with 2 wings, one for the family with 2 bedrooms, a family room and a bathroom and the other wing a master suite with double bedroom and huge walk-in closet and bathroom. There is a Thai kitchen and laundry area, pool house and storage place along one side of the house.
Power supplies are regular and the house has its own deep bore (42 metres) which supplies up to 5000 litres per hour of potable water which is then filtered and ultraviolet treated before entering the house system.
House area is approximately230 square metres and the land is 525 square metres.
There is undercover parking for 2 cars.
The land has the highest class of title deed issued in Thailand, a chanote, and the land and house are owned by a company legally legitimately formed by me and my Thai adopted son and 2 Thai friends for this purpose. Ownership can be conveyed by a simple and fee free transfer of shares.
Me and Ban Amphur---A bit of history and background
I have been living in Thailand for over 16 years since retiring from an executive banking position. I settled in here as I had had a small vacation house since the late 1980's and loved the place and its people. Living at first in the more urban area of Pattaya, I took opportunity in the year 2000 to make a change in lifestyle by moving only 15 kilometres down the coast to live directly on the beach near a small fishing village called Ban Amphur.
Ban Amphur, though close to the resort complex of Pattaya/Jomtien, is the "real" Thailand. The town lives on fishing, its seafood restaurants which are nationally esteemed and its function as a schooling centre with baccalareate, technical, commercial and agricultural high schools all clustered here.
Ban Amphur has a good clean atmosphere with virtually no nightlife or entertainment venues other than restaurants for locals, students and largely Thai visitors. There is a very nice beach with seating and food concessions and safe swimming in the centre of the town.
Nonetheless only 20 minutes (15kms) away on a fully lit divided highway to the north is the huge and active Pattaya/Jomtien resort /holiday complex. Everything needed for a sophisticated lifestyle from extensive shopping at department stores, several hypermarkets including Tesco and Carrefour to a bewildering and bewitching array of world class restaurants, 5 star hotels, nightclubs, discos and bars is available there. Every taste can be and is catered for in this cosmopolitan city.
Bangkok itself is only 1 hour 45 minutes north by car on a choice of super highways and its airport, Suvannabhumi, is even closer only 1 hour 30 from Ban Amphur.
A sporting life is easy here. The nearest championship golf course is only 6kms from town and it is only one of 20 world class courses in the surrounding area. The town is home to the only first class marina on the coast for those interested in yachting and boating with all dock and repair facilities on hand. There is a light plane airport only 6 kms away. Tennis courts, badminton, squash, gym and other such recreation facilities abound.
Schooling for expatriate children is good in this area and schools pick up and return day pupils in special mini busses.
Health care is terrific in Thailand. Local hospitals are well staffed and equipped to deal with minor matters and emergencies and for major medical needs Bangkok, only 1 hour 45 minutes away, is home to several world class international hospitals accredited by US and International health bodies. Within 20kms of Ban Amphur are Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and Queen Sirikit Hospital, both capable of handling almost any matter. A complete array of pharmaceuticals is available in Thailand.
Ban Amphur, though close to the resort complex of Pattaya/Jomtien, is the "real" Thailand. The town lives on fishing, its seafood restaurants which are nationally esteemed and its function as a schooling centre with baccalareate, technical, commercial and agricultural high schools all clustered here.
Ban Amphur has a good clean atmosphere with virtually no nightlife or entertainment venues other than restaurants for locals, students and largely Thai visitors. There is a very nice beach with seating and food concessions and safe swimming in the centre of the town.
Nonetheless only 20 minutes (15kms) away on a fully lit divided highway to the north is the huge and active Pattaya/Jomtien resort /holiday complex. Everything needed for a sophisticated lifestyle from extensive shopping at department stores, several hypermarkets including Tesco and Carrefour to a bewildering and bewitching array of world class restaurants, 5 star hotels, nightclubs, discos and bars is available there. Every taste can be and is catered for in this cosmopolitan city.
Bangkok itself is only 1 hour 45 minutes north by car on a choice of super highways and its airport, Suvannabhumi, is even closer only 1 hour 30 from Ban Amphur.
A sporting life is easy here. The nearest championship golf course is only 6kms from town and it is only one of 20 world class courses in the surrounding area. The town is home to the only first class marina on the coast for those interested in yachting and boating with all dock and repair facilities on hand. There is a light plane airport only 6 kms away. Tennis courts, badminton, squash, gym and other such recreation facilities abound.
Schooling for expatriate children is good in this area and schools pick up and return day pupils in special mini busses.
Health care is terrific in Thailand. Local hospitals are well staffed and equipped to deal with minor matters and emergencies and for major medical needs Bangkok, only 1 hour 45 minutes away, is home to several world class international hospitals accredited by US and International health bodies. Within 20kms of Ban Amphur are Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and Queen Sirikit Hospital, both capable of handling almost any matter. A complete array of pharmaceuticals is available in Thailand.
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