On the second day, I got on a private jet for the first time in my life. The six-seater took us to the site of Six Senses Soneva Kiri resorts on Kiri, Kood Island, the fourth largest island in the eastern Thailand. Construction is nearly finished and the resort is to open in April.
The island is the last remaining isle in Thailand tourism that has over 30 island resorts. The government master plan identifies Kood as an "exclusive zone."
Local Thais say tourist prices for recreation such as speed boats have gone up at least four times in the past three years.
Then I realized just how special that one-hour private jet flight was - Six Senses guests will be ferried from Bangkok in luxury.
The luxurious Soneva Kiri will have 42 villas for rent and 21 private residences for sale.
The villas will cost at least 40,000 baht a night, based on prices at other Six Senses resorts. The villas are around 200 square meters and the residences are in the thousands, with the largest having six bedrooms.
They are not that expensive either - starting from US$4.5 million for a four-bedroom residence. An apartment of 500 square meters in Shanghai's most luxurious areas might cost just as much, if not more.
The views and scenery are magnificent. The island was an untouched rainforest before construction started. I was attracted by the "green" house, built of natural materials found on the island, using solar panels, rainwater and seawater that has been naturally desalinated and filtered by flowing over planted areas.
We stayed at Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi on the small Yao Noi Island, an hour away by speedboat from the famous Phi Phi Island (from the film "Beach"). We had a private villa of around 200 square meters with a pool and a 24-hour butler.
To some extent, it was a haven like Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Spring. Turmoil in the outside world has no discernible impact. It's fully occupied during our stay. Staff told us the hilltop reserve, the most expensive villa costing over US$12,000 a night, has been reserved for Christmas and New Year's for the next two years.
Most guests are Europeans - French, Swedish, Swiss, German, etc. The owners of the resort, as well as many other resorts in Thailand, are also Europeans. Under Thai law, they have a 30-year lease, renewable three times - good for 120 years. And they can sign another contract afterwards, in virtual perpetuity.
It was very rare to see Asians, not to mention Chinese. All services are provided in English. That's fine for Europeans but what about rich Chinese who want to rent a villa?
The hotel management isn't worried about selling the private residences in the tough economy. In fact, seven of the 21 residences at Soneva Kiri were already sold though construction was underway.
From Yao Noi island, it's easy to take a speedboat ride to other beautiful islands, including the James Bond Island and Phi Phi Island. Seen from far away, the islands with different shapes in various layers form a scene like that in traditional Chinese landscape painting. The islands with jagged peaks, caves and fantastic cave rock formations are natural miracles. They remind me of Guilin in Guizhou Province in China - but with much cleaner water and bluer sky.
Surrounded by this beauty, I couldn't help thinking how much it would cost to visit again in five years' time.
(Shanghai Daily January 24, 2009)
