OK, I've split up my existing thread about building a couple of mini-resorts in Phuket into two separate threads. This thread follows the build of what I will call The Country Resort, because the location of the project appears rural and right amongst the rubber tree and pineapple plantations, although it's actually less than 1Km from Phuket International Airport.

This project is actually owned by my ex-wife, and she is building a 10-room mini-resort to cater for the single-night transit passengers from the airport. If you doubt the financial viability of such an idea, go back and read the original (combined) thread.

My role in this project is as 'advisor', which means I'm overseeing the building work and making sure that she and her builders don't go and do anything totally stupid, which would be the natural path for them to follow

If you want to check out my own mini-resort project, I'm covering it in the other thread entitled 'Building a mini-resort in Phuket - The City Resort'

A quick recap and repost of some of the photos:

My ex has rented half a rai of rubber tree land for 15 years, at a low rent. The lease contract is registered at the Land Office.

The first job was to clear the land of the trees:



After some delays with the monsoon rain, the heavy equipment was brought in to remove the tree roots and to create a temporary parking area:



My ex needed to appease the spirits, so out with the naked chicken and cheap whisky:



The first construction job was to dig a well which would be used to supply water to the showers and toilets:



At the same time, the team of highly skilled builders arrived:



Now we are up to date (end September 2011), and so here is the latest progress report:

It's been raining almost every day, and this has slowed down the pace of construction. If you want to imagine the worst job of the project, it has to be this guy:



This guy is digging out the soil from the bottom of the well shaft. He fills up a bucket with the wet soil and this is pulled to the surface by a small motor. At the same time, the plastic pipe (on the left side of the photo), is pumping out the water which would otherwise fill up the bottom of the well shaft.

The well diggers worked for about 4 days and by Thursday (29th September) they had completed the well depth. Here is the completed well shaft before the concrete cover is put on.



So here's the latest photo of The Country Resort.



The rain has stopped and the workers have almost completed the basic construction of the boundary walls. You can see the rear wall (about 1 metre height to deter cobra snakes). The front wall will be faced with small 'it-daing' or facing bricks, with solar lights placed atop each concrete post. The land in front of the wall will be cleaned up and planted with attractive flowers. In the background of this photo you can see the crane lowering the final concrete rings into the well shaft.

The workers are now going to move to the other project - The City Resort, and will build the boundary walls there. The well diggers will also move next week and construct the well. The reason for moving is that the Country Resort has to wait for the OrBorTor to formally hand over the approved project plans, and then the guest room building construction can commence. This is expected to occur in the middle of next week.

I also want to ensure that my City Resort project moves forward at a similar pace to my ex's project. (Don't want her to have a completed resort and me sitting on a pile of sand and cement!)

Simon