Leisure gets a new look

Wet and wild

Urban Thais have long loved cooling down at a water park and indeed, the grandfather of them all, Siam Park City, has enjoyed millions of visitors a year since opening its doors back in 1980 when it boasted the world’s biggest water slide. 

Now the fun has spread out to other provinces, with Pattaya, Hua Hin, Songkhla, Phuket, Buri Ram and Nakhon Ratchasima all boasting one or more of these adventure playgrounds and packing in the crowds every weekend.

Among the most popular is Cartoon Network Amazone in Pattaya’s Bang Saray, where youngsters can get up close and cosy with their favourite superheroes and cartoon characters. 

Spread over 35 rai of coastal land, it features more than 150 customised water attractions by leading Turkish waterslide manufacturer Polin Waterparks, among them the XLR8TOR, Surfarena, Jake Jump and Humungaslide.

On the other side of the Gulf of Thailand is the newly opened Vana Nava Hua Hin, a 20-rai tropical jungle that is home to 19 water rides.

Among the highlights are a 13.4-metre-high rope course, a 13-metre climbing wall and the Free Fall at 18-metres - the tallest slide in Thailand, and boasting a stomach-bouncing 80-degree drop at a speed of 50 kilometres per hour. 

Splash Jungle Water Park in Phuket offers several thrilling water attractions from Canada, among them the 14-metre Super Bowl that starts with a drop through a Giant AquaTube and keeps riders high on the wall for several turns before ending through an enclosed flume into a splashdown pool.

And there are more to come with the brand new Ramayana Water Park in Jomtien, just outside Pattaya, slated to offer a splashing good time in the middle of the year.

– Pattarawadee Saengmanee

 

Offerings to the shopping gods

Bangkok already has more shopping malls than it can count but developers think urbanites still need more, spouting words like “iconic”, “luxury” and “world-class” as they introduce their latest high-end, mixed-use mega projects to consumers and invest billions of baht in prime land.

In May, Central Group threw the doors of Central Embassy, an Bt18 billion, seven-storey luxury retail mall and 30-storey five-star hotel on part of the land formerly occupied by the British Embassy at the corner of Wireless and Ploenchit roads. The curve of 200-metre facade is lined with high-end brands including the duplex stores of Gucci, Prada and Ralph Lauren and the towering 220-suite Park Hyatt Bangkok is expected to open this year.

The Mall Group has announced plans to raise the shopping ante on Sukhumvit and Bang Na with six mega projects that also extend to Hua Hin and Phuket. Three retail centres costing more than Bt20 billion are already being developed on a 50-rai plot in the heart of Sukhumvit. Renovation of the current Emporium is nearing completion and EmQuartier, a 200,000 square-metre mall, office building, event atrium and indoor park that stands opposite is scheduled to open in a few months time.

Adjacent to the Emporium and Benjasiri Park is the site for the Emsphere. Featuring a project area of 200,000 square metres, its design is inspired by the shopping complex Omotesando Hills in central Tokyo. It should open by the end of next year. 

The Mall Group is also preparing for the tsunami of shoppers washing in when the Asean Economic Community gets underway by building what it claims will be Asia’s largest centre, Bangkok Mall, at the intersection of Bang Na-Trat and Sukhumvit roads.

Costing some Bt20 billion, the 100-rai plot will be home to an 80,000-sqm department store, a 30,000-sqm theme park, a 20,000-sqm water park, plus 14 theatres, retail shops and a residential complex. 

Also under construction are the Blu Pearl project on a 150-rai plot in Phuket that will feature a shopping mall, arts and crafts bazaar, cabaret theatre along with a 60-rai theme park and resort and the BluPort in downtown Hua Hin, housing a department store, retail shops, theme park and a hotel. 

Residents of the areas near the Chao Phraya River are not being forgotten with Siam Piwat, the operator of Siam Paragon, Siam Centre and Siam Discovery, partnering with Charoen Pokphand Group and Magnolia Quality Development Corporation to build Iconsiam, a Bt50-billion landmark riverfront property project on Charoen Nakorn Road. Expected to open in 2017, it will feature Japan’s high-end department store Takashimaya and a super-luxury riverfront condo managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

– Khetsirin Pholdhampalit

 

Planes, automobiles and ‘braggies’

“When you make a choice, you change the future,” declares Deepak Chopra – the Indian-American best-selling author and New-Age guru. 

And the future has indeed changed as more and more people are taking to the air to explore destinations that 20 years ago were nothing but exotice names. That’s thanks to the likes of budget carriers like AirAsia, which today often such good-value fares that even trains and buses are feeling the pinch.

In 2015, Thailand will see a sizeable increase in the number of low-cost carriers flying around the country and that means more competition and even cheaper prices. AirAsia is already is competing with Nok Air in three small provinces – Nan, Roi Et and Loei. With the start of the AEC later in the year, some smaller airstrips in the border provinces will be renovated to handle craft like the ATR and Bombardier Dash 8 models.

Affordable air travel also means travellers want cheap and stylish retreats when they’re on the road. We will see people hop off planes, jump into rented cars and drive out of town for a week or more. They will be looking for authenticity and also pay more attention to local communities. 

While luxury hotels will remain popular with baby boomers and Generation X, younger “nomads” will look for the “Poshtels” – cheap but chic stylish hostels with en-suite bathrooms, breakfast and Wi-Fi connectivity. The stylish guesthouse and serviced apartment are the new Marriott for these travellers who want to cut down on the accommodation bill. 

Finally, no trip is ever complete without holiday snaps. Last year “selfies” and “groupfies” made a fashionable statement; this year will see the advent of the braggie”. To brag about their trips, you friends will keep posting their holiday photos in social media. A yurt in Mongolia, a lonely transit lounge, street dogs in Beijing, nut hawkers in Varanasi – all evidence that this generation has “been there, done that”.

– Phoowadon Duangmee

 

Wheels of achievement

The cycling community cheered loud and long when Suvarnabhumi Airport opened its Green Bike Lane back in March. Within weeks, the two-lane 23.5-kilometre track was welcoming more than 2,000 cyclists a day and will soon be expanded to accommodate demand and feature several more facilities and infrastructure upgrades.

Better news was still to come when not long after taking power, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced plans to construct a network of bike lanes throughout the kingdom and pledged Bt20 million to improve existing lanes and construct new ones.

 “We want to promote greater use of bicycles and we want to make sure that cyclists get more convenience and safety,” said Prayut, who has instructed the Transport Ministry to work with other government agencies in building bike lanes and expanding their coverage around the country. “Cycling could help Thailand save on energy use and lower pollution.”

“The prime minister’s policy is to campaign for the increasing use of bicycles to promote tourism, solve traffic problems and support exercise,” added Soithip Trisuddhi, permanent secretary for transport.

There are currently 31 bicycle routes in Bangkok. The new lanes are to be built under elevated expressways and include a 12km-long biking path along both sides of Pradit Manutham Road parallel to the Art Narong-Ram-Indra expressway. Outside the capital, the project will begin with a 23-kilometre route along the Nan River in Phitsanulok province.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has now finished building an 8-kilometre-long bike lane around Rattanakosin Island and in keeping with international standards, it’s painted in green, designated with a white stripe, a bicycle symbol, and signage. It runs from the Plabpla Jesadabodin pavilion along Tanao Road through Kalayanamitr, Sanamchai, Taiwang, Maharaj, Na Phralarn, Na Phratat, Rachinee and Phra-arthit roads and ends at Phra Sumeru road.

Cyclists and tourists can now fully experience the charm of temples and historic structures in the capital’s old city without causing any damage to the environment.

- Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul