Buddhists in Thailand are preparing to remember one of the most important days in Buddha’s life with Makha Bucha Day. When Makha Bucha is actually celebrated depends on the cycles of the moon and in 2017 it is on Saturday 11 February.
The government of Thailand has just endorsed a proposal to extend a promotion on free tourist visas for an additional six months. The current offer of free tourist visas was due to expire at the end of this month, but a government spokesperson says this has now been extended until the end of August.
City authorities in Bangkok say all BTS Skytrain stations will offer lift access before the end of 2017. The Thai capital’s deputy-governor told reporters the installation of lifts at the 23 Skytrain stations had been delayed by construction issues and having to relocate facilities at their sites.
Thailand’s Meteorological Department says cooler weather and rainstorms are set to sweep across the north half of the country. In a bulletin released earlier today, the department said the bad weather is likely to kick in tomorrow and will affect all regions from Bangkok upwards.
The management body in charge of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple park inaugurated a dedicated website at the beginning of the month. The site’s pages are in English and contain comprehensive details about visiting the ancient Khmer site, the main temples, and what is nearby.
The operator of a recently launched ferry service linking two Gulf of Thailand seaside towns has started selling travel tickets. Daily round trip services between Hua Hin and Pattaya launched last month and were free for all travellers.
Thailand’s transport infrastructure chief says construction of a sampler section of hi-speed train line has been delayed yet again. Chaiwat Thongkamkoon told reporters there is a difference in how Thailand and China measure the gauges of tracks and these need to be resolved before any work can go ahead.
The 2017 edition of the Japanese Film Festival kicked off on Saturday with a screening of the acclaimed In This Corner of the World. The Sunao Katabuchi directed WWII animated drama aired at Bangkok’s SF World Cinema.
Municipal transport officers in Phnom Penh say a viability study for a Skytrain line in the city will be carried out this coming April. A spokesperson told reporters the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) claims such a system would ease traffic congestion on the Cambodian capital’s streets.
Lao national park administrators say they have deferred the final submission date for an application to have Hin Nam No designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Officials say the final submission date will be in 2018 and not this month as originally planned.
The Yangon Region Transport Authority says it is in the process of equipping vehicles under its jurisdiction with GPS units. An authority spokesperson says the devices are a tool in the fight to curtail the notoriously bad driving endemic among the Myanmar city’s bus drivers.
Airlines flying domestic routes in Thailand are in the process of increasing their ticket prices. Prices are going up by an average of THB150 for a single journey and in response to a hike in tax for aviation fuel in Thailand.
The organisers of this year’s Thai Gypsy Carnival have confirmed the event will go ahead in two weeks time. Tonphung Farm in a pristine rural area of Ratchaburi Province is the venue for the one-day music and entertainment fest on 18 February.
Vietnam’s government has released a blueprint showing planned enhancements to Ho Chi Minh City’s airport. The revamp of Tan Son Nhat Airport will add two new passenger terminals and see runways and taxiways improved.
Thailand’s deputy-transport-minister says he is confident a fleet of eclectic buses will be plying routes in Bangkok before the end of 2017. Talking to journalists last Friday, Pichit Akrathit said a proposal to buy 200 electric buses was already being reviewed by cabinet ministers and he saw no reason it would be rejected.
Top UK comedian Eddie is due in Bangkok at the end of next month and will perform live at the Siam Pic Ganesha Theatre. The Bangkok gig is a stop on the Force Majeure global odyssey which originally kicked off in Bucharest almost four years ago.
Provincial authorities on Phuket say celebrations and events to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year will begin this Thursday. A public relations officer on the southern Thai island explained that the Year of the Rooster was being put back as it was so close to the dates for Phuket Old Town Festival.
Top Thai actor and media darling Tony Jaa was on hand last week to help clean up a southern Thai beach. The action film star joined in the big clean up at Prachuap Khiri Khan Province’s normally pristine Ban Krut Beach.
The price of a one-day ticket to visit Cambodia’s ancient Angkor temple complex will rise by 85 per cent on the 1 February 2017. The first price hike in 22 years will see visitors pay US$37 instead of the current US$20.
The Thai government has enacted legislation which will see the country’s public passenger vans consigned to history. The nation’s deputy-transport-minister told reporters yesterday that no new licences would be issued for vans currently on the road and they would be replaced with larger micro-buses.