New laws governing drink-driving in Thailand have been enacted and came into effect yesterday. Under the law, any driver stopped by police and suspected of being under the influence of alcohol has to comply with a request to take a breathalyser test.
The Vietnamese government has just confirmed it will carry on offering citizens of seven countries visa free entry. The new visa waiver regulation is due to last for the five years beginning on 1 January 2015.
Organisers in Bangkok are busy today putting the finishing touches to the venue for one of the biggest New Year countdown parties in Asia. The entertainment at the plaza outside CentralWorld Shopping Mall is scheduled to begin at 18.00 this evening and will run through to 01.00 tomorrow morning.
A Thai AirAsia pilot was forced to abort a flight from Bangkok earlier today because of strange noises. Tassapon Bijleveld, the carrier’s CEO, told reporters that the captain made the decision to return to Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport because the flight crew heard abnormal noises emanating from the luggage hold.
Air regulators in Vietnam say that the recent drop in the cost of fuel should be passed on to passengers and fares reduced accordingly. The national Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) is in the process of submitting a recommendation to this effect to the Ministry of Transport.
Officials at Don Muang Airport have warned that roads leading to it will be heavily congested for the next few days. In a statement, the officials say that passengers departing on flights from Bangkok’s second airport should allow two to three hours for the journey if travelling from the city centre.
A blazing Christmas tree sparked panic at the main interchange station on Bangkok’s Skytrain system yesterday afternoon. The blaze occurred at about 15:00 on an elevated walkway that connects the BTS Siam Station to Siam Square One Shopping Mall.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Environmental Conservation has started a campaign to get Twin Taung Lake listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Announcing the plan, the general secretary of the nation’s Renewable Energy Association, Aung Myint, said staff would be providing the technical expertise needed to submit the nomination request.
Countless tourists joined members of Thailand’s biggest Christian community in celebrating Christmas yesterday. For several generations, residents of northeastern Sakhon Nakhon Province’s Tha Rae Town have paid homage to Christmas with their own matchless Star of David Festival.
The Thai province with the responsibility for the Mae Sot border crossing with Myanmar says it will be open longer in the new year. Somchai Hattayatanti, the governor of northern Tak Province, says the bridge linking the Thai town to Myawaddy will open until 20:30 every evening from 1 January.
The chief ranger of Thailand’s most popular national park has announced a blanket ban on noisy motorcycles. Khao Yai National Park boss Kanchit Srinoppawan said the ban applied to all motorcycles with large engines as well as those that had been customised to make them louder.
The governor of Bangkok was on hand for the ceremony to open a street market on the city’s Silom Road last Sunday. MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) hoped the weekly market would prove a major draw for Bangkokians and international visitors alike.
The CEO of Thai AirAsia has announced the carrier will add three new domestic locations in the new year. Talking to reporters, Tassapon Bijleveld said the airline will launch routes to Roi Et, Loei and Nan from its main hub at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok on 8 February.
The new passenger terminal at Vietnam’s Hanoi Airport is officially scheduled to open on Christmas Day. Terminal 2 at Noi Bai International Airport will open when passengers board Vietnam Airlines operated flight number VN661 for Singapore.
Last week, Thai based airline Jet Asia Airways added additional scheduled routes to its flight timetable. The erstwhile charter carrier continued its foray into the scheduled flights market by launching services to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
A Vietnamese regional museum has released news of an ambitious plan to acquire and preserve a heritage house. Curators at Ha Tinh Museum say they discovered the beautiful 200-year old complex while on an exploratory trip in the province’s Huong Son mountain district.
The skipper of a Phuket dive boat left his vessel sitting on top of a rock yesterday following a navigational error. The skipper of the Electric Blue was heading for port at Rawai just before lunch when he missed the navigable channel and ran aground on the rock.
Vietnam’s national tourism bureau says plans are afoot to build a night market in the central city of Danang. The bureau has announced that it is seeking a budget equivalent to US$600,000 for the construction of the facility close to the city’s landmark Han River Bridge.
The US Embassy in Laos has confirmed that it is to provide additional funding for preservation projects in Luang Prabang. This time around, the embassy says it will provide grants to the tune of US$655,000 to conserve the comprehensive exhibits and artefacts housed in the UNESCO town’s Buddhist archives.
A regional airport close to Pattaya is set to get a revamp that will enable it to handle significantly more passengers and flights. The Thai Transport Ministry says it will enhance facilities at U-Tapao International Airport so its capacity will be up to three million passengers annually.