Peterocket Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I am moving to Phuket in August and am wondering whether it will be reasonable for me to commute/travel each day to and from Cape Panwa to the The British International School (BCIS). I have looked on Google maps and the distance is 21km/15miles which it says takes 30 mins to drive, can anyone tell me if that is accurate? We would be staying at the Bel Air Panwa, Ideally we would stay in the Boat Lagoon north of Phuket town but property is expensive there. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 You have picked the worst cross town/city route possible. Traffic all the way. Your 30 minute estimate is realistic for normal traffic, but I guess you are traveling for school times = worst possible traffic. More like 45 minutes if you are an aggressive driver. But hey, Panwa is really nice. Just chill out when you get home ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterocket Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 You have picked the worst cross town/city route possible. Traffic all the way. Your 30 minute estimate is realistic for normal traffic, but I guess you are traveling for school times = worst possible traffic. More like 45 minutes if you are an aggressive driver. But hey, Panwa is really nice. Just chill out when you get home ... Wow what a fast response.... I guess after a few weeks of doing the same route i could become a semi-aggressive driver but i think it will take a bit of getting used to. So to round it off it sounds as though it can be done, but will take about 45 mins each way. Could start to get a bit annoying after a few months. The other issue is that i will be droping my wife off at work so will have to drive all the way back. Is it not faster to By-Pass Phuket town using the smaller roads? Thanks for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenl Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I used to live in Panwa, and my guess is that going straight through Phuket Town will be the fastest way. Where does your wife work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterocket Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 I used to live in Panwa, and my guess is that going straight through Phuket Town will be the fastest way. Where does your wife work? She is going to be working at BCIS Im the one without the job! Ill be looking when i get there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Your best route is to drive towards Phuket Town, the second set of traffic lights turn left, dual carriage all the way over to traffic lights on Chao Fa east, straight through onto next fast dual highway, lights at road end turn right onto Chao Fa West, now the traffic is very heavy, straight through onto by pass raod (heavy traffic all the way), until by pass end, turn left, and soon left again into BIS. I could do it in 30 minutes, but no-one would want to be a passenger.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 There and back twice daily ?? Dear god !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterocket Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 There and back twice daily ?? Dear god !! its that bad is it... ok i feel its going to be too far...maybe we will need 2 cars so i dont have to drive there and back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 There and back twice daily ?? Dear god !! its that bad is it... ok i feel its going to be too far...maybe we will need 2 cars so i dont have to drive there and back LivininLos is quite right. Twice daily - that's your full time job in itself matey. You experienced Phuket's driving styles yet. It's pretty aggressive. I'd be surprised if you could do it in 45 mins in rush hour in a car to be honest. It's gonna be closer to an hour. You're gonna get tired of that pretty quickly. And then what happens when you get a job? Cut to the chase. Treat the wife to a car and you get a motor bike. Or just buy two cars. Between 3 and 4 hours of your day are going to be tied up with sitting in traffic otherwise. And picking someone up at (say) 4pm means you are limited to what you can do with yourself during the day. Dont BIS have a staff/student bus? You may be able to drop her off in Phuket town. Or at Central or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelepulse Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Is there any reason why you're committed to Bel Air Panwa? If you're not committed, why not rent in chuan chuen lagoon or soemthing similarly close? That commute from Panwa will get old in a hurry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterocket Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 Is there any reason why you're committed to Bel Air Panwa? If you're not committed, why not rent in chuan chuen lagoon or soemthing similarly close? That commute from Panwa will get old in a hurry. We're not commited to Cape Panwa but its one of the few places where i could have a 2 bedroom apartment private pool and an ocean view for 30000 bht per month. Im sure if I hunt around i can find other places but i wanted to check to see if was feasable to commute from Cape Panwa each day. I wouldnt have thought 30-45 mins each day is too much of a commute, but we havent actually driven in the Phuket traffic yet. It seems clear that we will need 2 cars, It was a bit short sited thinking we could survive with 1, I'll bear that in mind before i arrive! The Boat Lagoon and Bang Tao both look appealing but both seem expensive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Is there any reason why you're committed to Bel Air Panwa? If you're not committed, why not rent in chuan chuen lagoon or soemthing similarly close? That commute from Panwa will get old in a hurry. We're not commited to Cape Panwa but its one of the few places where i could have a 2 bedroom apartment private pool and an ocean view for 30000 bht per month. Im sure if I hunt around i can find other places but i wanted to check to see if was feasable to commute from Cape Panwa each day. I wouldnt have thought 30-45 mins each day is too much of a commute, but we havent actually driven in the Phuket traffic yet. It seems clear that we will need 2 cars, It was a bit short sited thinking we could survive with 1, I'll bear that in mind before i arrive! The Boat Lagoon and Bang Tao both look appealing but both seem expensive... The estates around the Thalang Monument will have 3 bed quite bungalows for 15000 ish no pool or sea view but 10 mins from the school, and 10 k from good beaches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Nice 2 / 3 bed condos in Kamala with multiple pools, manicured gardens and security for that kind of money.. Lala still a bit of a loop to get to the BIS but not Panwa bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanalli Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 It is pretty far, but it's not unbearable given the great place you'll be living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterocket Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 It is pretty far, but it's not unbearable given the great place you'll be living. Were you referring to Kamala or Panwa? I will keep looking in Kamala but havent seen anything yet which looked ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I will keep looking in Kamala but havent seen anything yet which looked ideal. Kamala rents are a lot cheaper than Panwa, lots of good places available if you hunt about on the ground (if you use agents then mucho ++), but I would guess it will be almost a 30 minute drive each way from/to Kamala. Slow slow twisty road from Kamala to Heroine roundabout, then dual highway to BIS. On the plus side there are no traffic lights on that route. Traffic lights are the problem on Panwa to BIS route, I can think of 7 traffic lights. On bypass they have 4 way sequence, so it's at least 2 minutes (often 3 minutes) wait, and not likely you will get through first time at rush hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterocket Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 I will keep looking in Kamala but havent seen anything yet which looked ideal. Kamala rents are a lot cheaper than Panwa, lots of good places available if you hunt about on the ground (if you use agents then mucho ++), but I would guess it will be almost a 30 minute drive each way from/to Kamala. Slow slow twisty road from Kamala to Heroine roundabout, then dual highway to BIS. On the plus side there are no traffic lights on that route. Traffic lights are the problem on Panwa to BIS route, I can think of 7 traffic lights. On bypass they have 4 way sequence, so it's at least 2 minutes (often 3 minutes) wait, and not likely you will get through first time at rush hour. Sounds like there isnt a huge difference between the 2. Everyone says that Panwa is such a great place to live..maybe we could take it for 1 month and then move on if we find it is too much hassle. Do people generally search for accomodation by just driving around and asking about? Sounds like a fun way to find a house...not quite the same as the UK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenl Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Do people generally search for accomodation by just driving around and asking about? Sounds like a fun way to find a house...not quite the same as the UK!Yes, that is the best and the cheapest way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggybear Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I am moving to Phuket in August and am wondering whether it will be reasonable for me to commute/travel each day to and from Cape Panwa to the The British International School (BCIS). Don't do it. 30 minutes is a crock of sh*t if you hit the Lotus intersection and Central between 5pm and 6pm coming back. You could weave through Phuket Town but then a ton of other people do the same. I understand the ocean view and pool are draws for you, but just find a decent house with a pool nearer the school and I guarantee you'll be sooooo much happier. Once you get here and see the traffic situation, you'll understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Do people generally search for accomodation by just driving around and asking about? Sounds like a fun way to find a house...not quite the same as the UK! If you use an agent then you will be at least paying their 10% commission add-on, and if you deal with the owner direct you maybe negotiate at least 10% discount, thus saving a possible 20+% on the agent's price. Only the well heeled or newbies use agents on Phuket Island. Plus there is far far more home available with a FOR RENT sign on the gate/tree/electric post. Plus owners usually accept one month deposit, through agents more like 3 months deposit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterocket Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Do people generally search for accomodation by just driving around and asking about? Sounds like a fun way to find a house...not quite the same as the UK! If you use an agent then you will be at least paying their 10% commission add-on, and if you deal with the owner direct you maybe negotiate at least 10% discount, thus saving a possible 20+% on the agent's price. Only the well heeled or newbies use agents on Phuket Island. Plus there is far far more home available with a FOR RENT sign on the gate/tree/electric post. Plus owners usually accept one month deposit, through agents more like 3 months deposit. OK...so i think ill give up on the Cape Panwa idea. It sounds like hassle. Im sure i can find somewhere over near Kamala, Surin or Bang Tao which is nice. Even if it doesnt have a sea view . At least then i could still walk to beach... It seems like the best shout is going to be to book somewhere for the first 3 weeks (as we are coming out early to sort out our car/s and accomodation) and then search for a place to live around the north of the island. All the help has been great..thanks people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 It seems like the best shout is going to be to book somewhere for the first 3 weeks (as we are coming out early to sort out our car/s and accomodation) and then search for a place to live around the north of the island. Yes, that what many newbies do. Stay in a guest house in your target area for the first few days, get a vehicle and drive about looking for areas you like, then seek out homes for rent. August is still low season and you will have no problem finding a nice villa within your budget range. Best of luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Do people generally search for accomodation by just driving around and asking about? Sounds like a fun way to find a house...not quite the same as the UK! If you use an agent then you will be at least paying their 10% commission add-on, and if you deal with the owner direct you maybe negotiate at least 10% discount, thus saving a possible 20+% on the agent's price. Only the well heeled or newbies use agents on Phuket Island. Plus there is far far more home available with a FOR RENT sign on the gate/tree/electric post. Plus owners usually accept one month deposit, through agents more like 3 months deposit. But rarely are those 'sings on the pole' type places farang quality furnished with pool and ready to move into (ubc / broadband / etc).. Yes if you want a cheap place.. Less so if your looking for security guards, nice decor, pools, etc.. Have a look at Kamala Hills condos.. Nice places at that kind of budget.. When my villa got destroyed I booked one as I knew I could walk through the door and it included everything including bedding, cutlery, wifi, ubc, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hkt83100 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) The estates around the Thalang Monument will have 3 bed quite bungalows for 15000 ish no pool or sea view but 10 mins from the school, and 10 k from good beaches Take a look at Kathu, along the road to the Kathu Waterfall. There ist a lot of houses for rent, about 16k to 20k per month, and it is something like 15 minutes to the school on the road along the golf course. And into town or to the beaches, it's a 20 minutes hop.(Edit for nasty typo. Better read again before you post, says my second I to me) Edited February 3, 2009 by hkt83100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 But rarely are those 'sings on the pole' type places farang quality furnished with pool and ready to move into (ubc / broadband / etc).. We have 'sign on the post' and offer all the attributes you mention. So it is possible .... But I do agree that the agents prefer to represent the more upmarket properties and are not interested in mid - low range rental properties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterocket Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Well it may take a mixture of looking at a few 'sign on the post' places and a few agency places then making the decision from there. It is nice to be able to move into a place and have everyting already sorted but its worth being a bit flexible if it maens we can save a decent amount of money. A swimming pool would be nice though! Is security really necessary? I wouldnt have considered it to be honest...not something I am really worried about...should I be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Is security really necessary? I wouldnt have considered it to be honest...not something I am really worried about...should I be? It is worth considering. Sneak thief is quite common here, a guy looking to see if doors/windows not locked, gets in and grabs any small valuable items (money/gold/mobile phone/note book PC/DVD). An estate with security is always good, but just having good locks on all doors & windows and security screens are a good enough deterrent. So long as you actually lock them, even when you are at home. Just the other week I caught a young guy wandering about our houses at 06.15 in the morning checking if doors or windows were not locked. I challenged him but he just ran away. Not worth tackling him as he might pull out a knive or worse. Calling the police is just a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I would say it depends on if your there all the time.. I like to take months away to keep my sanity, other parts of Thailand or asia.. Going leaving a place for a month when theres a security guard and some measure of oversight is a lot more comfortable than being away for a month with a house in a moo baan, and the knowledge of all and sundry you keep a lot of valuables. I have a lot of high end electronics, projection home theater, speakers that cost more than most cars.. silly stuff accrued from a life when I valued toys more. Leaving stuff like that in a regular thai style house for months per year is kinda tempting fate. The again I hate communual living and apartments.. So kinda rock v hard place.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorseDoctor Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 They Paved a parking lot... and put in a Paradise. How is it a grown woman can't get herself to work, is she from Kuwait? How anyone can live in that traffic snarl south of Heroine Monument is beyond me . Unfortunately if you live north of BIS , you'll be contending with having to drive south another couple of kilometers past the By- pass road as U turns aren't allowed, though it's probably done all the time. Then a u turn in rush hour. But then after the drop off , you're back in the same quandry. Why they haven't taken out that center strip in more places to allow for more u turns ? Oh, that would require actually having a concept of the future . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Why they haven't taken out that center strip in more places to allow for more u turns ? Oh, that would require actually having a concept of the future . More U-turns = more potential for bad accidents and stationary traffic in the overtaking lane. I think that the distance between U-turns is about right... Concept for the future would be overhead U-turns like they have in Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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