“The State of Real Estate in Pattaya… Now” followed by a brief presentation about an upcoming free English Language Meditation Instructor Course were the topics at the August 14 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC).
The program started with Andy James, managing director of “Thompson’s Pattaya Real Estate”, introducing Philip Thompson, sales director for the “Global Top Group.” Phillip opened by discussing some of the real estate successes that he has been a part of in the Pattaya area in recent years. For example, the City Garden Phratamnak project, a low-rise luxury condominium located near Cozy Beach was completed just five years ago and is already full. Other successful projects include The Cloud, a 20 floor luxury condo, also near Cozy Beach, which was finished at the end of last year and is almost completely sold.
The City Garden Tropicana, another luxury low-rise accommodation, is located in the Wongamat area, provides luxurious tropical living was completed just three months ago and is selling well. The City Garden Tower, a 30 floor, luxury high-rise apartment building with convenient access to both Pattaya and Jomtien is scheduled to be complete at the end of 2017. The latest project Phillip has been involved with is, The Olympus City Garden, a South Pattaya, low-rise luxury condominium with a Mediterranean inspired architecture, to be completed by the third quarter of 2018.
He emphasized that the design for a successful condominium project is important; it should take into consideration a desirable living environment, not just a dwelling to live in. He cited, as an example, that the Olympus project has several low-rise buildings, with each having a fully-equipped and fully-serviced state-of-the-art rooftop gym and a fully-matted, fully-serviced rooftop yoga room for quiet exercise and meditation. Likewise, there are a total of five swimming pools situated throughout the development for convenience. Further, it has a unique style of architecture creating a desirable place live. He believes these attributes are the reason their projects are successful since many other developers would have only one gym and/or meditation room for their project. Also, many do not take into consideration a unique and pleasing architecture instead of looking like a large box.
Phillip went on to say that he is very optimistic about the future of Pattaya real estate, which has changed drastically over the past five or six years. He sees a shortage of rental units, in coming years, when rapid transit finally arrives in Pattaya. He also believes casinos will eventually be allowed to be built in Pattaya, making it almost impossible to rent a condo in Pattaya. However, he cautions investors to be very careful when buying and that one needs to learn about the market and become knowledgeable of local real estate market, before investing.
The main presentation was then followed by Weerasak Kraiunpho, from the Willpower Institute 57. He provided information on an upcoming English Language Instructor Meditation Course. An orientation will be provided on 7 September 2016, on Sukhumvit Road, between Soi 63 and Watabunsumphun, call 08 8022 4106 (link below includes a map). The course is presented by the Hi-Tech Meditation group which has been around for about seven years and started in Canada. The Pattaya branch is the “Willpower Institute 57”, which was founded by Luangphor Viriyang Sirintharo, an eminent teacher of meditation, in Thailand. His vision is to reduce world conflict and attain world peace.
About 170 meditation centers are now located in Thailand, with two in the United States and six in Canada. Weerasak explained that meditation increases mind power and that people can then control their emotions, reduce violence and increase harmony in their relationships. Other benefits include a decrease of stress and enhancement of peacefulness. The goal is to promote a happier and healthier lifestyle, improve physical, mental and emotional well-being. Also, it can be used to enhance professional and academic performance.
Topics to be presented in the course include postures, silent recitation and the procedures of meditation. The procedures involve determination, concentration, specification, recognition of the soul, breathing, strategy and emotion. There is no tuition for the orientation course, beginner and experienced meditators are welcome. The meditation course will last for six months and are conducted Monday thru Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm. The instructors for the course are native English speakers from Canada and the meditation techniques do not include any associated religious or spiritual practices.
After the presentation, MC Roy Albiston brought everyone up to date on upcoming events and called on Ira Wettenstein to conduct the Open Forum, where questions are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya.
For more information on the PCEC’s many activities, visit their website at www.pcecclub.org.
