When money can buy you a sweet escape


In the lap of luxury: Yachts docked alongside luxury properties at the Royal Phuket Marina in Phuket, Thailand. Russian nationals were the No. 1 source of tourists to the island this year, according to the Phuket Tourist Association. — Bloomberg

Phuket: Russian businessman Alexander Nakhapetov has been a regular at the “banyas” in his adopted home of Phuket ever since several of the traditional steam baths opened in 2022.

Lately, though, the 41-year-old’s routine has been disrupted by an influx of his countrymen to Thailand’s biggest island – which has resulted in those new bathhouses being fully booked most of the time.

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Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 8.02/month

Billed as RM 96.20 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

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