The Ultimate Travel Competition

'

The Tourism Authority of Thailand TAT orginizes a competition, "The Ultimate Thailand Explorers". Winners receive 10 000 US$ in cash and 5000 $ in prizes, Holiday packages, air thickets, spa treatments... To participate one have to fill out an application form and upload a video clip on YouTube. Film 1 minute video clip telling which destination you wish to explore and tell why do you want to go and explore that destination and how you will promote it.

To semifinal 25 teams are selected. To final 5 teams are voted, one to each destination, Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and Koh Samui . The finalists receives 2 international air tickets to Thailand, 30,000 baht spending money for 6 days, accommodation and transport on selected destination, including Travel insurance and local medical service in case of any emergency or accident.

Deadline for submission is 15th October. If you can't participate you can vote. Prizes (total value 4 000 US$), holiday packages, spa treatments... are available for voters, whose names will be selected from a lucky draw after the voting period ends.

Below a link to the competition homepage, the schedule and one of the participant teams application video.

THE ULTIMATE THAILAND EXPLORERS

Event Schedule
'
•1 September – 15 October 2009: Video clip submission/contest entry period.
•19 October 2009: Announcement of 25 Semi-final teams.
•19 October-12 November 2009: Online voting period to select 5 finalists from 25 teams.
•16 November 2009: Announcement of Final 5 teams
•8 December 2009: Final 5 teams arrive in Thailand
•9 December 2009: Event briefing / welcome party & press conference
•10-15 December 2009: Competition
•16 December 2009: Thank you party
•10 December 2009 – 8 January 2010: Online voting period to select the winning team.
•8 January 2010: Announcement of the winning team.
•2 February 2010: Press conference

Participate, get a free holiday, learn online marketing!!! Mr Johan and Papa Göran.

Dusit Land

'

Picture 1, satellite picture from Dusit Land with Google Earth, klick on the picture to enlarge

We live in an area called Dusit Land 8. If someone of you ever visited Hua Hin you surely knows Hotel Hilton. It's in the Hilton area where tourists gather and where you find all the restaurants, shops, tailors, bars etc... and the prices are double compared to our area. Dusit Land is situated about 2 km west from the beach in Hilton area, on the other side of the railroad. The area is quiet and nice, but anyway close to everything... the markets and the beach.

Picture 2, the pool at Dusit Land 8

At the snapshot taken from Google Earth you can see our house and the route to Hua Hin railwaystation. Almost everyone who have been in Hua Hin know the railwaystation, a touristic spot here. King Rama VI, also known under the name "Plub Pla Sanamchan", built a palace here in the 1920's and also built a royal waitingroom at the railwaystation. On the west side of the railwaystation find Thailands you first golf court, "Royal Hua Hin Golf Course". Today Hua Hin is a golfers paradise with lot of golf courses.

Picture 3, Hua Hin railway station and the royal waiting room

What about living here? We have a small house, about 100 square meters, a big living room, a small kitchen and 2 bedrooms, both with own bathrooms. The rent is 260 Euro a month. We also pay an area fee, 10 Euro for street lightening and security. There is a wall around the whole area and two gates with guards. For ADSL we pay 20 Euro and for electricity 40 Euro a month... aircon is the "electricity eater".

There are 118 houses at Dusit Land 8. People from all around the world lives her, many Scandinavian families but also people from USA, Australia, Korea and of course Thai families... so it's a cultural melting pot. Some of the inhabitants only live here for a few months during the European winter. Our 18 years old son Khankau take care of the gardens for some of them and make a nice living compared to Thai income standards. Dusit Land is a village, everybody knows everything about everyone... the ladies gather together every day and change village news :)

Picture 4, "gossip news agency at Dusit Land".

Dusit Land 8 is situated at soi 88. Looked from the main street in Hua Hin, Petchkasem Highway, the streets to west have even numbers and the streets towards east (the beach) have odd numbers. Soi 88 is well maintained unlike many other streets here. Why? Because the princess of Thailand have a holiday pavilion here. From the mainroad in Dusit Land we can see the pavilion up in the hill.

Picture 5, the pavilion of the princes

It's very comfortable to live here. Our pool is located about 200 meters from our house and there is a small poolshop where you can buy everything from beer and snacks to food and medicine. 500 meters away there is a Family Mart that's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But it's not even necessary to go out shopping. There are "3 wheel" motorbikes driving around selling everything from drinking water, flowers, icecream to cooked food. On the picture mama Suphat is buying "papaya salad" and barbeque chicken from a "restaurant on wheels"!!!

Picture 6, a mobil restaurant

Now we have lived here for more than 2 months and we really like it. We have bought a lot of tropical flowers to our garden and we also have a nice aquarium outside... and life never get boring in Dusit Land thanks to many nice neighbors.

Picture 7, Mr. Johan.