Bangkok’s Grand Palace is set to close for two days next week to enable funerary rites for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej to take place. A government spokesperson noted that the Royal Household had mandated the two-day closure to enable ceremonies to mark 100 days since the king passed away.
Rainfall which has been battering the southern half of the Thai peninsula since the New Year finally eased off yesterday. The worst rains at this time of the year in the past three decades have dumped one-metre of water in some locations, caused widespread flooding and impacted on the lives of one million people.
Vehicles travelling between Bangkok and southern Thailand got stuck in a 200km traffic jam yesterday. The reason for the gargantuan tailback was that a bridge on the main highway was inundated and washed away by the floods and heavy rain which has been plaguing the region for the past 10 days or so.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has released an update saying most flights and ferries to the flooded south of the country are operating to timetables. The normal schedules are in place despite the fact large swathes of the far south have been inundated by torrential rain.
The Myanmar Earthquake Committee has announced a programme to assess the resistance of the nation’s famous Bagan temples to quakes and earth tremors. The programme has been inaugurated in response to an earthquake last year which damaged 389 temples and religious structures.
The organiser of the 2017 edition of the Thailand International Jazz Conference has confirmed the line-up will feature 60 different acts. This ninth jazz extravaganza will take place at the Salaya campus of Bangkok’s Mahidol University between 27 and 29 January.
The Cambodian government has announced the construction of a new airport for tourists visiting the nation’s illustrious Angkor Wat temples. The site earmarked for the new Siem Reap Airport is 50kms away from the temple complex.
A heritage bus once used to ferry holidaymakers around an English resort town has been given a new lease of life on the streets of Bangkok. A Brit on holiday in the Thai capital spotted the redundant double-decker in its Great Yarmouth livery and promptly shot off a few photographs.
After four days of postponements, a new Gulf of Thailand ferry successfully completed her maiden voyage yesterday. Royal Thai Navy frigate HTMS Kraburi accompanied Royal 1 as she made her debut voyage from Pattaya to Hua Hin.
Due to flooding and swollen rivers, authorities on Koh Samui have ordered the temporary closure of two waterfalls. Phaiboon Omark is the chief of the local administration on the southern Thai island and he says the waterfalls are just too dangerous to visit at present.
Thailand’s state rail operator was forced to lay on buses for passengers to bypass a flooded branch line in southern Thailand yesterday. Heavy rainfall over the last week has left large swathes of the south under low lying water.
A French tourist trying to snap the ultimate selfie was bitten by a crocodile at a Thai national park on Sunday. Witnesses at Khao Yai National Park say the tourist walked close to the stream in which the croc was basking, but slipped and was bitten on her leg.
The organisers of the popular Made by Legacy Bangkok flea market have set the dates and venue for this month’s episode. It will launch on the weekend of 14 and 15 January at the Fortune Town IT, shopping and lifestyle shopping mall.
The transport-minister of Thailand says it will be full steam ahead for a new high speed rail link this year. Confirming the new Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima line would be built, Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said work on the first 3.5kms of the line near Klang Dong Station would begin within the next month or so.
The company holding the concession to operate international airports in Cambodia has announced the start of an upgrade at Sihanouk Airport. The upgrade will see the passenger terminal doubled in size and the runway widened to provide additional space for a taxiway.
The directors in charge of Hanoi’s museums have signed an agreement which will see them jointly promote their exhibits. The city’s National Museum of History director told reporters the facilities would collaborate on improving collections, their online presence and arranging group tours.
The Lao Railway Department’s deputy-director has announced the government has given the go ahead for the completion of a Vientiane-Thailand rail connection. Sonesack Nhansana told media sources in the Lao capital the missing link between Thanaleng Station and Vientiane’s Xaysettha District would complete the line from Thailand.
A scheduled test run of a Pattaya to Hua Hin ferry service was scrapped yesterday because of bad weather. The head of the local Marine Department in Pattaya, Ekkarat Kantharo, made the decision to cancel the scheduled departure as four metre high waves were blowing across the Gulf of Thailand.
Thailand’s government ministers have announced the formation of a railway network regulatory department. The inner cabinet has decided to establish a Rail Transport Department which will be independent of the State Railway of Thailand.
Thai authorities have confirmed the launch date and fares for a new ferry service across the north end of the Gulf of Thailand. According to Sanook, Royal Passenger Line will inaugurate a ferry service linking the popular seaside towns of Pattaya and Hua Hin on the 12 January 2017.