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The "Riviera of Asia" and Asia's foremost superyacht destination, multi-million-dollar holiday homes spread out along the landscaped plots of its coast.

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Phuket's status as a marine playground for the wealthy by Gareth Twist

Phuket's prosperity has never been more prominent. Thailand's largest and wealthiest island boasts the country's greatest concentration of multi-million-dollar holiday homes dotted across the landscaped plots of Phuket's coast.

Furthermore, over the past couple of decades I have witnessed Phuket evolve into a marine playground for the global jet set.

The "Pearl of the South", as Phuket has been aptly described by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, has rapidly become the natural base of the region's sailing community, in part due to its excellent geographical location, which has made it a natural port of call for boats traversing the Indian Ocean for many centuries.

Yet it's not solely down to the azure Andaman waters lapping the shores of Phuket that makes exceptional cruising grounds for seafarers and a prime launching pad for exploring Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma and the Andaman Islands. Phuket is already firmly on the international yachting map.

It has been 24 years since the island hosted the Land of Smiles' first international yachting event, the inaugural King's Cup Regatta.

The event that concluded on dec 11 this year is now a prestigious annual fixture on the international sailing calendar, and one that continues to grow.

Our new Superyacht building company, Ruea Yachts, recently finalised its modest contribution to the scene: our first original design concept was for a 60-metre luxury six-deck motor yacht, and, once the building was complete, the yacht was ready to cruise from our Bangkok facility to Phuket for the season.

This wouldn't be possible without the first-rate marine infrastructure that is already a firm fixture in Phuket, including its four well-established marinas

The first world-class marina in Phuket, the Phuket Boat Lagoon, became operational as far back as 1996. This 168-berth marina was at the forefront of marine development in Phuket and boasts numerous restaurants and bars and exclusive hotel facilities.

Furthermore, a more recent addition to Phuket's marina family is the Royal Phuket Marina, an exclusive $150 million luxury lifestyle marina in Phang Nga Bay. The upscale complex has already won Five Gold Anchors from the Yacht Harbour Association, making it one of only two marinas in Asia to rank in the British Marine Federation's top category for facilities and services.

This is clear confirmation that Phuket is fast becoming Asia's foremost superyacht destination, recognised as the 'Riviera of Asia' among the boating community. This accolade is corroborated by one of our clients who firmly believes Phuket has the potential to be the best superyacht destination in the world...

Gareth Twist is the managing director of Ruea Yachts, a division of Yacht Solution. He is also a founding member of the Asia Pacific Superyacht Association. For more information visit

(Source: Bangkok Post, business section, Phuket's status as a marine playground for the wealthy, 28/12/2010, Gareth Twist, link) 

status - situation or state of affairs at a particular time สถานะ
marine - relating to the sea and the creatures that live in (or on) it เกี่ยวกับทะเล
wealthy - rich, having a large amount of money, land, and other valuable things ที่มั่งคั่ง ร่ำรวย
marine playground for the wealthy - a place for rich people to have fun sailing boats (yachts)

prosperity - the situation of being successful and having a lot of money ความมั่งคั่ง ความเจริญรุ่งเรือง
prominent - important and well known สำคัญ เด่น
concentration - a lot of something in one place แหล่งชุมนุม หรือ ศูนย์รวม
dotted across - spread out over an area (not all at the same place)
landscaped - decorated with a nice garden and lawn
plots - pieces of land
coast - an area of land beside the sea ชายฝั่ง

couple - two or a few
decades - periods of ten years เป็นสิบๆปี
X witnessed Y - events Y happened during time period X
evolve - to develop gradually, or to cause something or someone to develop gradually ค่อยๆ พัฒนา
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
jet set - an international group of rich people who travel to interesting and expensive places and lead exciting lifes full of fun and romance (See Wikipedia)

aptly - done very well with skill
natural - what is expected and reasonable in a situation เป็นเรื่องปกติ ธรรมดา
base - a place from where an activity can be planned ฐานที่มั่น
sailing community - people with boats or who are hired to sail boats (who work together and socialize together)

port - an area of water where ships stop, including the buildings around it ท่าเรือ
port of call - one the many cities and ports that a boat or ship travels to and stays at for a time
traversing - going across a place such as "traverse a mountain range" or "traverse an ocean or body of water"
Indian Ocean - a huge body of water stretching from Africa past India all the way to Thailand and Sumatra and Java in Indonesia (See Wikipedia)

azure - a bright shade of the color blue (See Wikipedia)
Andaman Sea - the area of water near Phuket (See Wikipedia)
lapping the shores - when small waves wash up on a beach over and over again
exceptional - much greater than usual, especially in skill, intelligence, quality, etc; unusually good ยอดเยี่ยม, ดีเป็นพิเศษ, ดีเด่น
cruising grounds - the places where smaller pleasure boats go or "cruise"

seafaring - working or travelling regularly on the sea
seafarer - a person who works or travels regularly at sea
prime - main or most important ที่สำคัญที่สุด
launching pad - a place to start a voyage or journey
international - between countries ระหว่างประเทศ

a yacht - a large boat for recreation and leisure, usually owned by rich people, start at 32–35 feet (10–11 meters) and go up to hundreds of feet, can either by powered by sail or by engine (See Wikipedia on yacht)
yachting - the activity of sailing yachts or traveling

host an event - put on an event, make all necessary preparations for an event and then manage and guide the event as it happens (stage an event)
inaugural - the first in a series of events, initial อันดับแรก, ตอนต้น, ขั้นต้น
regatta - a boat race or series of boat races (See Wikipedia)
King's Cup Regatta - "Asia's biggest and most popular regatta. It is a one-week event held annually in Phuket, Thailand" (See Wikipedia)
concluded - ended
prestigious - admired and respected by people ที่มีชื่อเสียง ที่ได้รับความนับถือ
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
prestigious annual fixture - a prestigious event that has been held every year for a very long time
calendar - a printed table showing all the days, weeks and months of the year ปฏิทิน
international sailing calendar - all yachting events around the world and the dates they are held

modest - not large in size or amount (compared to others) ไม่มากมาย
contribution - something that you do that helps to achieve something or to make it successful ผลงาน,การช่วยเหลือ
concept - a principle or idea ความคิด
luxury - the best and most expensive of something ที่หรูหรา
deck - one level on a multi-level boat
six-deck - a boat having six levels 
facility - a building used for a particular purpose (here: a place for building yachts)

first-rate - first-class, among the best of its kind
infrastructure - The basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of the community, such as transportation and communications systems, water and power lines etc... (See Google Definitions)
a firm fixture in - has existed for a long time without changing
well-established - be in a successful position over a long period of time มีตำแหน่งที่มั่นคง has existed for a long time ก่อตั้่ง
operational - working; able to be used ที่สามารถใช้งานได้
berth - a place in a marina or port where a boat is kept ที่จอดเรือ
forefront - the first or most advanced position
at the forefront of - in the first or most advanced position of
development - the gradual growth and formation of something
X boasts Y - X has great thing Y
numerous - many มากมาย
exclusive - limited to a particular person, group or thing and not shared with others แต่ผู้เดียว
facilities - the buildings, equipment and services provided for a particular purpose สิ่งอำนวยความสะดวก

marina - a sheltered harbor where boats and yachts are kept in the water and where services geared to the needs of recreational boating are found (See Wikipedia)
yacht berths - places to park your yacht at a marina
high-end - very high quality goods and services for wealthy people
Royal Phuket Marina - a luxury marina in Phuket (See website)

lifestyle - the living conditions and things people do everyday (fashion, home decoration, pets, cooking, music, tv, movies, garden, etc) รูปแบบการดำเนินชีวิต
upscale - high quality expensive products (for customers in higher social classes or incomes) (See glossary)
complex - an area that has several buildings or several parts
rank - the position or level that a person, organization or thing has (compared to others, first, second, third, etc...)
category - a group of people or things that have similar qualities หมวดหมู่ ประเภท
services - บริการต่างๆ things produced in service industries, not a physical good that can be bought, a waitress and a cook in a restaurant provide a service, technically: a sequence of activities that does not result in ownership of the outcome (See Wikipedia on services and the goods and services continuum)

clear - easy to understand
foremost - first and most important
foremost - most important and best ที่สำคัญที่สุด
superyacht - a very expensive privately owned yacht which is professionally crewed, either a sailing or motor yacht (See Wikipedia)
destination - the place where someone or something is going (here: place where large numbers of tourists go) จุดหมายปลายทาง
riviera - the part of a country that is warm and near the sea, named after the "French Riviera" in the south of France (See Wikipedia)
accolade - an honour or award given to a person as a reward for their achievement, or praise and admiration
corroborated - providing additional information that supports as true what someone has already said or claimed
client - (formal) customer ลูกค้า
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ ที่เป็นไปได้
Managing Director (MD) - the leader and top manager or boss in a company under the British system (in the US system called a "Chief Executive Officer (CEO)")
division - one part of a large organisation
founding - starting an organisation, company, political party, etc.