Police commanders in Thailand say they will be increasing the presence of officers in key locations for today’s Loy Krathong Festival celebrations. The festival is one of the biggest on the nation’s annual events calendar and a Thai custom is to launch a small boat (krathong) into a river, lake or pond.
Cambodia’s government has stated that it deems a gateway to the landmark Preah Vihear Temple from Thailand is not needed. A spokesperson for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry told media sources that the improvement in access roads to the border temple on the Cambodian side had rendered an entry point from the Thai side as superfluous.
Flights to and from Khon Kaen Airport resumed early this morning following a 36-hour closure. The main runway at the airport was blocked on Monday evening when a Thai Airways aircraft skidded off the edge of the tarmac as it was taxiing for takeoff.
An airport taxiing prior to departure from Khon Kaen Airport last night slipped off the runway and caused the enforced cancellation of subsequent flights. At around 20:50, the pilot of Bangkok bound Thai Airways' TG47 was just turning onto the main runway when one of the aircraft’s wheels slipped off the edge of the tarmac.
Myanmar’s Civil Aviation Department (CAA) has announced the winner of a tender to construct the nation’s new international airport. A consortium comprising Japan’s JGC Corporation together with Yongnam Holdings and Changi Airport Planners and Engineers from Singapore won the concession to build Hanthawaddy International Airport.
Bangkok authorities have named the 28 city parks where residents and visitors can celebrate the Loy Krathong Festival this coming Thursday. The park venues for the annual cultural extravaganza include Santi Chaiprakan, Lumpini and Chatuchak.
Thai authorities have declared that beach parties on the Gulf of Thailand islands are banned forthwith. The blanket ban applies to the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan. The only exception is the latter’s monthly full moon parties held at Haad Rin beach.
The bridge linking the far north of Thailand and Myanmar is going to get a long anticipated revamp. Council officers in the northern Thai town of Mae Sai have announced that they are just waiting for the green light for the THB7-million project to renovate the First Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge.
A senior official at Thailand’s Chiang Mai Airport says that next week’s Loy Krathong Festival will disrupt flight arrivals and departures. The festival runs from 5 to 7 November and Apichart Chopthamnuen says airlines have so far cancelled more than 100 flights during the period and changed the times of another 50.
Bangkok Airways operated maiden flights on routes out of its new secondary hub in Chiang Mai earlier this week. The Thai carrier inaugurated flights to the domestic locations of Udon Thani and Phuket as well as Yangon and Mandalay in neighbouring Myanmar.
Wintery weather has proved a major draw in enticing tourists into visiting Thailand’s highest mountain over the past few days. Park rangers at Doi Inthanon say temperatures as low as 8°C and the rare sight of morning mist in a tropical country have proved to be the key attractions.
Global hotelier chain Starwood Hotels has released a statement saying it is to open a brand new resort on the southern Thai island of Phuket. The statement says that the Sheraton Phuket Kalim Beach Resort will add 230 luxury rooms to the brand’s portfolio and is initially scheduled to open in the early part of 2018.
The director of Myanmar’s immigration ministry has told reporters that the number of e-visa entry points to the country is set to be increased. Speaking to media reporters on Friday, Muang Muang Than said the government planned to eventually add six more immigration points where tourists would be able to enter with visas applied for online.
Two Middle Eastern Airlines launched direct flight services to the southern Thai island of Phuket on Sunday. The two airlines, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, both operated the inaugural services from their hub airports and landed at Phuket Airport in the early evening.
Delegates at a seminar held in Vietnam discussed how to transpose the city of Da Nang into a preferred global tourist destination. More than 300 attendees listened as speakers at the weekend’s seminar expounded on Da Nang’s delights and proposed means of attracting more well-heeled visitors.
The Pattaya bar where a Kuwaiti army officer claims he was beaten has been slapped with a temporary closure order. Local district chief Sakchai Taenghor ordered the Spicy Girls Go-go Bar to close for 60 days.
Late last week Thai AirAsia announced it was increasing the frequency of flights on its Bangkok to Siem Reap service. The airline’s marketing manager told reporters that the number of daily flights in each direction between the two locations would be increased from two to three.
Yesterday, Thailand honoured King Chulalongkorn with a public holiday and various ceremonies of homage. King Chulalongkorn, considered as the father and saviour of modern Thailand, passed away on 23 October 1910.
Aeroflot and Bangkok Airways have entered into a flight codeshare contract to provide passengers with more convenience. The recently launched agreement allows passengers with connecting flights on the two carriers to check through to their end destinations.
Upmarket Japanese retailer Takashimaya has signed a contract with a Thai developer to build a department store in Bangkok. The company announced earlier in the week that it was investing THB3 billion in the new store at the ICONSIAM complex.