#Vietnam - No wave bay: a Ninh Binh ripple

 

Van Long wetland nature reserve in Ninh Binh Province, famous for appearing in blockbuster Kong: Skull Island, still retains its pristine tranquility – dozing beneath cloud covered limestone pinnacles.

Van Long, nestled 80 kilometers to the south of Hanoi, boasts the Red River Delta's largest wetland with mirror-like, tranquil water, which explains its nickname, "no wave bay". 

Located in the north of Gia Vien District, the wetland reserve, dotted with spectacular islands and caves, was created by the 30 km flood prevention dyke hugging the left bank of Day River.

At VND60,000 ($2.6) per person (maximum two passengers per boat), an hour-long, guided row across this 3,500-hectare lagoon will further make clear the origins of its nickname. 

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Dissecting the mirror-like, moss and algae rich water, nature enthusiasts can marvel at mountains like Meo (Cat), Mam Xoi (Raspberry) and Co Tien (Fairy) visible through the clusters of bamboo shoots and strewn grass.

This popular Ninh Binh destination holds two national records for the biggest troop of Delacour's langurs, a critically endangered species at home and abroad, and as "the largest nature picture."

Lesser known among travelers than Tam Coc or Trang An (considered Ha Long Bay on land), peaceful Van Long lagoon is home to thousands of terrestrial and aquatic fauna and flora. Among them are rare and endangered species such as waterfowl and giant water bugs, as listed in Vietnam’s Red Book. 

Over 32 stalactite-abundant caves pockmark Van Long, though only Ca, Bong, and Rua are accessible to the public.

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 The sunset view from atop Ba Chon, Van Long's highest peak, takes in magnificent cliffs, mountains and vast lakes. With langurs swinging from peak to peak, birds nesting inside the belly of caves, and a horde of other wetland species sauntering about, you might well imagine yourself immersed inside a veritable wonderland.

Late afternoon is best for boating, when thousands of white storks return home, painting an atmosphere, rustic and peaceful backdrop. Bicycle and cow rides add to the charm of exploring local villages surrounding the reserve, slowing down time just enough for the unfamiliar to quickly about-face.

Source - VN Express

Thailand - Guideline on charges of tourist guide service approved

The board of Tourism Business and Guides has approved the guideline on minimum guide service charges for three types of tourists - outbound tourists, inbound tourists and domestic tourists, said Thaweesak Wanitcharoen, director general of Department of Tourism. 

 

Thaweesak said the rates were in line with the policy of Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, to prevent tourists from being exploited in spending and service charges by tour businesses and guides.

“After the approval, the sub-committee will consider ways to improve the Tourism Business and Guide Act, B.E. 2551 (2008) in order to enforce it as a law ,” he said.

The approved minimum guide service charges for outbound tourists range from Bt1,600 to 9,000 per person (three days and two nights), exlcuding airline ticket price.

For inbound tourists, the charges are: a minimum of Bt800 per person per night (Asean), Bt1,000 (Asia), Bt1,500 for others. 

Domestic tourists will pay a service rate of Bt300 each for non-overnight stay, Bt600 per night for overnight stay. The charges include accommodation and transportation fees.

Source - TheNation

#Vietnam to update tourist visa regulations

The 14th National Assembly will debate this week some draft laws, including the law amending and supplementing some articles of the law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, as part of the ongoing eighth session.

Vietnam’s tourism has developed strongly over the recent past and brought about high economic values.

 However, experts in the tourism sector said there still remain bottlenecks, one of which being policies on the entry and exit of foreigners, which need to be settled in order to improve the sector’s competitiveness, thus attracting more international visitors.

Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the Secretariat of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said the law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam should be more open.

He cited as an example the stipulation that requires a gap of at least 30 days between two visa-free visits.

Chinh further said that many international visitors, especially those from Western Europe, Northern Europe and Russia, want to stay in Vietnam longer than the maximum visa-free 15 days.

He also emphasized the need for a national website that publishes official information about visa policies, citing a survey by the Vietnam Tourism Advisory which showed that most websites of Vietnamese embassies abroad fail to update latest information on the country’s visa policies.

Such a website should be prescribed clearly in the law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, he said.

Chinh also pointed to problems in visa granting at Vietnam’s border gates, which still requires visitors to apply for visas at embassies and receive visas at the border gates. He said this has reduced the tourism sector’s competitiveness.

Experts in the tourism sector are concerned about the fact that the visa exemption policy for tourists from major markets like Russia, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) will end on December 31, 2019.

They said the number of visitors from those markets would drop 30-50 percent if the policy is not extended.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, proposed expanding the list of countries and border gates eligible for e-visas.

 Besides, Vietnam needs to reform visa grant procedures at border gates and review its unilateral visa waiver policy, she said. – Vietnam Plus

Source - BangkokJack

#Cambodia Huge eco-resort under way in Kampong Speu province

If you are an eco-tourism enthusiast, here is another good news for you.

A leading property developer in the Kingdom, Chamreun Sambath Construction Co Ltd, has announced that it is working on another massive eco-tourism project, this time in Kampong Speu province.

The new project, which is called KC Adventure/Agricultural Resort Basedth, will sit on more than 100 hectares of land in Kampong Speu’s Basedth district, Dr Alexander Evengroen, CEO of Chamreun Sambath Construction Co Ltd, said in an interview yesterday.

Just like with their eco-tourism project in Kampot province, Mr Evengroen said their Kampong Speu venture will benefit the Cambodian people and the Kingdom’s tourism industry. Chamreun Sambath Construction Co Ltd is separately working on a multi-million-dollar adventure Resort in Kampot’s Chhouk district.

“We want to give back to the people while growing Cambodia’s tourism industry,” he said.

According to him, their latest venture will feature a Cambodian history museum, fruit farms, cattle farms, special islands, restaurants, solar park, guesthouses, hotel, hobbit homes, cable carts, flower gardens, nature hiking trails, watersports facilities, coffee shop, sky tower, fish ponds, car park, clubhouse, resort, pavilion and cottages, among others.

“What is unique about this place is that visitors will also learn about the beauty of Cambodian history while enjoying the scenery,” he pointed out.

Mr Evengroen said Basedth district is an excellent choice for such project. According to many tourism experts, Kampong Speu, with its mountains, forests, and national parks, is among several provinces in Cambodia that hold vast potential for eco-tourism development.

“The location is green and fresh, with stunning views and mountains within and in the background. It is also easy to reach and ready for development,” he stressed.

“We are developing more than 100 hectares and might expand in the future,” he added.

Source - Khmer Times

Bangkok tops in 2018 for international visitors: Report

Bangkok ranked first in 2018 for the fourth straight year as the city with the most international visitors, according to an annual report by Mastercard released Wednesday.

With almost 23 million international visitors last year, the Thai capital outpaced both Paris and London, which were second and third with just over 19 million visitors. 

Other top cities in order were: Dubai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Istanbul, Tokyo and Antalya, Turkey.

The report pointed to broad increases in international travel, with the total number of international visits up 76 percent since 2009.

Nine of the top 10 cities saw increases in 2018 compared with the prior year. London was the exception, with a drop of four percent.

Dubai topped the list as far as consumption, with travelers spending an average of $553 per day and visitors spending a total of nearly $31 billion. Mecca, Saudi Arabia and Bangkok were second and third as far as spending.

Established in 2011, the Global Destination Cities ranks 200 cities based on visitor arrivals and cross-border spending.

Source - TheJakartaPost

 

#Vietnam - CNN names Hoi An among Asia’s most beautiful towns

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U.S. cable news channel CNN has listed the 400-year-old Hoi An Town in central Vietnam among “the most picturesque” in Asia.

The UNESCO heritage site in Quang Nam Province ranks fourth in the list of 13 most beautiful towns in Asia, behind another UNESCO site, George Town in Malaysia, the beautiful river town of Zhouzhuang in China and Japan’s Yufuin.

Hoi An, which used to be the busiest trading port in Southeast Asia in the 16th century and was famous for ceramics and high-quality silk, is now "a heaven for photographers, foodies and architecture lovers", CNN said.

"Thanks to centuries as an important trade hub, the narrow streets of Hoi An ancient town feature rows and rows of charming mustard-hued merchant houses though many have since been transformed into low-key restaurants, bars, design boutiques and tailors' shops."

For many, Hoi An is not just a collection of 16th century houses for which the former port town has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. A cuisine particular to the town, influenced by many different cultures including Japan, China and Portugal, is a major part of its attraction too.

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Don’t miss the array of delicious food experiences, from banh mi, a Vietnamese single-serving baguette filled with various savory ingredients, at the famous Banh Mi Phuong Restaurant (2B Phan Chau Trinh) that has been praised by bloggers and foreign media for several years now. Anthony Bourdain referred to the banh mi here as "the world's best", CNN said.

"Foodies can also enjoy local staples like herb-covered rice rolls, white rose dumplings and fresh seafood at Ms Ly’s café."

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 Famous towns in Southeast Asia appearing on the CNN list also include Vigan in the Philippines, Luang Prabang in Laos, Kampot in Cambodia, Kota Gede in Indonesia, and Phuket Old Town in Thailand.

Hoi An has been earning one laurel after another this year including topping this year’s tourism hotspot listing by New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure.

On July 16 Google Doodle featured an image of Hoi An with symbols of Chua Cau (Pagoda Bridge) and colorful lanterns, the first Vietnamese destination to be honored thus.

The number of foreign visitors to Hoi An skyrocketed by 90 percent last year to 3.7 million.

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Source - VN Express

 

#Cambodia - Ministry proposes aviation association

Phnom Phen International Airport 

The Ministry of Tourism on Wednesday proposed the creation of an aviation association in a meeting with the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation and five airlines.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said having an association for the industry will facilitate dialogue among all actors and help them find solutions to the challenges the industry faces.

“The association will play a significant role in finding solutions and will help the industry develop smoothly,” the minister said during the meeting, which included representatives of the national flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air.

Flight delays and cancellations, problems that beset the local aviation industry, were also discussed in the meeting.

Ministry spokesperson Top Sopheak told Khmer Times yesterday that the ministry’s proposal has had a positive reception among players in the industry.

“SSCA will look into the possibility of forming the association,” he said.

SSCA’s spokesperson Sin Chan Sereyvutha could not be reached for comment yesterday.

According to SSCA, the Kingdom’s three international airports handled 29,705 flights in the first six months of the year.

Source - Khmer Times

Lonely Planet names #Vietnam’s north-south rail journey among world’s best

Vietnam’s north-south railway is listed by the British travel guide, Lonely Planet, as one of 10 world’s ‘most amazing’ train journeys for 2019.

The Reunification Express, known as the Thong Nhat Railway, traverses more than 1,726 kilometers (1,072 miles) between Hanoi and Saigon, the country’s two biggest cities, in two days.

"There is no more atmospheric way to haul into Vietnam’s twin metropolises. And there’s no better way of exploring all the glories in between," Lonely Planet said.

The journey allows passengers to sit and enjoy romantic scenery and rural landscapes along coastal towns in the central region including the former imperial capital of Hue, the Da Nang City Port which was initially built in the French colonial time and the ancient town of Hoi An.

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The other train journeys Lonely Planet lists are the California Zephyr in the U.S., Baikal–Amur Mainline in Russia, China’s Beijing to Lhasa Express, and the TranzAlpine in New Zealand.

The north-south rail has been deteriorating after decades of use since being built by the French in the 1930s. Rail transport is rapidly losing popularity given the rise of cheap air travel.

Vietnam’s aviation industry has been growing at the third fastest pace in the Asia-Pacific, according to the International Air Transport Association.

The railways carried 9.4 million passengers last year, down 3.5 percent from 2017, according to government data.

Some companies have been trying to revive the romance of train travel, offering first-class trips with attached restaurant cars like the five-star services launched in 2017 from Saigon to the coastal resort town of Nha Trang and from Hanoi to the northern highlands town of Sa Pa.

Russian news agency Sputnik recently included the north-south rail among world’s 10 most beautiful.

Last year travel publisher Rough Guides named it as one of the most scenic in Asia, where one can watch buffalos grazing in rice paddies, fishermen casting their nets in the sea, deserted white beaches, and lush rainforests.

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Source - VN Express

Bars and clubs in #Thailand open until 4.00am? Not everyone is in favour

Some academics oppose the Tourism and Sports Minister’s idea to allow entertainment venues to remain open until 4.00am.

Udomsak Saengow of the Centre for Alcohol Studies is one of those suggesting that more research is needed before such a move.

“Civic groups have worked hard to limit access to alcohol and they succeeded in lobbying for shortening the closing times from 4am to 2am. When opening times are extended, drinking hours are also extended. The more people drink, the less they can control themselves.”

But Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn argues that extended opening hours would boost the economy and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) agrees.

TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn says extending opening times would increase spending, particularly when some foreign visitors find that a closing time of 2.00am is too early. He also stresses that the new opening hours would not apply everywhere.

“The 4am closing time would be restricted to destinations which mainly cater to foreign visitors.”

But coordinator of Alcohol Watch Network, Chuwit Chantaros, disagrees that the move would help the economy, arguing that it may lead to an increase in injuries or deaths among drunk tourists. Such an increase would only end up costing businesses.

“We have research findings showing that we lose 2 baht for every one baht we gain because of property losses as well as deaths and injuries which cause further material losses. If the operating hours are extended, more losses are anticipated.”

But Weerawich Kruasombat, head of the Patong entertainment business operators’ union, is in favour of the move.

“For years, we have been pushing for extended closing times in the Patong and Bang La areas. These districts currently generate 20-30 million baht in income per night and the extra two hours will boost income by 30%-40%.”

The debate rages on, with interested parties in the relevant tourist areas planning to meet with the TAT to discuss the matter further.

Source - The Thaiger

#Grab aspires to be travelers’ ultimate companion, offers hyperlocal innovations

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the number of Indonesian travelers exploring the archipelago in 2018 increased by 12.37 percent year-on-year

Aware of this rising trend in travel, ride-hailing app Grab reintroduced a campaign that shows its commitment to serving as the ultimate travel companion.

Grab Indonesia managing director Neneng Goenadi said in a press conference in late July that Grab aimed to ensure that users experienced smooth, convenient and safe travels.

“As an everyday super-app […], Grab wants to provide essential services to assist users in their daily life [by] providing easy and safe services with a relevant hyperlocal approach,” Neneng said.

She went on to say that the company supported the country’s Wonderful Indonesia tourism campaign as well by offering services that helped holidaymakers explore the archipelago more conveniently.

Available in 224 cities across Indonesia, Grab is already known for its GrabCar and GrabBike services, but with the different personalities of travelers in mind, the company has expanded its repertoire.

GrabCar Plus, for instance, offers five-star drivers whose cars are also in prime condition. There is also the GrabCar 6-Seater option for small groups of travelers that can take up to 80 kilograms of baggage, GrabCar Airport that can be easily ordered in 14 airports across Indonesia and GrabRent that allows users to book a dedicated car for two to 12 hours.

Meanwhile, GrabNow is a service that enables users to hail a vacant GrabBike and enter their destination afterward.

Neneng further explained a service called GrabGerak, which is a GrabCar dedicated to disabled passengers and offers cars that are wheelchair-friendly and drivers who have been trained to help the disabled.

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Similar hyperlocal services are available in Medan, North Sumatra, with the GrabBetor that provides access to betor (motorcycle pedicab) and GrabBentor in Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, for sidecar motorcycles.

Neneng added that there would also be GrabAndong in Yogyakarta for users to book horse carriages.

More than a platform for travelers to book land transportation, Grab also makes it possible for users to book plane tickets and hotel rooms through the app, not to mention food and movie tickets from CGV and Cinemaxx in some Indonesian cities.

Meanwhile, to ensure safety, drivers are required to post selfies, including ones in which they move their heads, every day before signing on to work.

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Source - TheJakartaPost

#Vietnam - Visit to Son Doong Cave among top adventurous experiences

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 For British travellers, an expedition to Son Doong in Vietnam, the world’s largest cave, is among the greatest adventures they would like to undertake.

British TV channel Dave, a panel of travel experts and editors of U.K. tabloid Daily Mail polled 2,000 people aged 40 or under earlier this week for a survey of ‘greatest adventures around the world and across the U.K.’

Of them, 24 percent said they want to explore Son Doong Cave in the central province of Quang Binh, dubbed Vietnam’s ‘Kingdom of Caves,’ putting it fifth in the top 20 adventure list.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, topped the list (37 percent), followed by trekking along the Inca trail in Peru (35 percent), rafting in the Grand Canyon in the U.S. (31 percent) and descending into Thrihnukagigur volcano in the U.K. (29 percent).

The rest of the top 10 also included dog sledding to witness the aurora borealis in Norway, kayaking in Arctic fjords in Denmark, climbing to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal, cruising the Antarctic, and cage diving with sharks in South Africa.

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 Howard Limbert, a former head of the British Caving Association, and his wife Deb spent nearly 13 years surveying caves in Vietnam since the early 1990s. In 2009 they concluded their initial exploration and declared Son Doong the world's largest cave.

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Son Doong opened to tourists in 2013 and the five kilometer-long system, which is 150 meters high and 200 meters wide, contains at least 150 individual caves, a dense subterranean jungle and several underground rivers.

Due to limited space, registration for Son Doong tours must be made well in advance. According to Oxalis, now the only company licensed to take tourists to the cave, only 300 slots are available this year.

A four-day expedition costs $3,000, and there are buses running from Hanoi to Dong Hoi, the capital town of Quang Binh, and then to the park.

The Quang Binh government recently increased the number of tourists allowed to visit the cave in a year from 640 to 900.

The tour is growing in popularity, and with Son Doong getting prominent coverage from the National Geographic, CNN and Good Morning America, Phong Nha-Ke Bang has become the go-to destination in Vietnam for adventurous travelers

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Source - VN Express

#Thailand, the land of festivals

 

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 We’ll start with Songkran because that’s the start of the Thai new year. It’s held on April 13. Having already blown most of the budget on fireworks for the western new year on January 1 and the Chinese New Year festivities, this time they use water as a means of ‘purification’, saying goodbye to the country’s hot season and welcoming the monsoonal rains. It involves a lot of water. In the past it was a gentle festival held at temples washing Buddha images.

It’s meant to be like this…

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  Fireworks, colour, smoke, noise, costumes, absence of occupational health and safety. That could describe any of the many, many festivals held around Thailand each year. Different regions, different festivals. Some reflect an ancient culture and a rich history, other make absolutely no sense but we enjoy them anyway. We’ll go through some of the main ones and a few you’ll NEVER see anywhere else in the world.

But it’s actually like this!

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 Somehow it’s morphed into a huge water fight, in some places, running over many days up to week (in Chiang Mai and parts of Pattaya). Ladeling water gently onto Buddha statues has been replaced by all-out water fights, loud music, foam and a party that has no rules.

If you’re outside during Songkran, especially in the main tourist zones, you WILL get splashed, probably drenched. The more the authorities try and play down the fun in Songkran the more tourists arrive each year determined to party in an event that’s somewhere between a video-game and the last half of ‘Titanic’.

And that’s just ONE festival!

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 The Vegetarian Festival, principally held in Phuket with it’s Chinese heritage, is an assault on all your senses. Parades are held around the island by various community groups with participants wearing white and followed up by either one or many mah-song. These mah-song have been ‘possessed’ by a spirit and display tourettes-like ticks, grunts and choreography that suggests their claims may indeed be true. If it’s all an act, it’s a very convincing one because, apart from all the cavorting down the street, they also have their cheeks and other parts of their body pierced – not by an earring or something tame like that – we’re talking spears, swords, petrol pumps, guns. It’s insane! These days there’s an ambulance following behind and probably more mah-song succumb to blood loss than is ever reported.

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 Phi ta khon (or Ghost Festival) is held in the Dan Sai district of north-eastern Thailand (near the Lao border) each year and usually follows a parade of people dressed up in rags with ghost masks.

Phi Ta Khon is the name given to a group of celebrations held over three days in the province of Loei. The most striking is the first day, the Ghost Festival itself, when the town residents invite the protection of the river spirit Phra U-Pakut, and then parade wearing the ghosts masks made of husks and coconut leaves.

But they also carry with them large phallic axes which are meant to reflect… oh, Google it.

 In Esan and around the Laos border areas there are many rocket festivals each year around May to June. Probably the biggest is the Yasothon Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival. Imagine groups building their own rocket with the winner able to fire their rocket to the highest altitude. Like Songkran, the idea is to welcome in the forthcoming wet season (by piercing the sky to encourage rain).

The rockets used to be made out of bamboo but are more likely to be constructed out of PVC pipes these days and powered by ‘black powder’ which is regulated by certain rules (we doubt this claim!!). So there’s gun powder, loud music, alcohol and men in competition to fire home-made rockets high into the Esan sky – what could possible go wrong?! Some of the rockets reach heights of several kilometres and can travel a lot further down range.

Read more about the rocket festivals HERE.

 

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 Chinese New Year is big in China and it’s also huge in Thailand. Partly because there are many ethnic Thai-Chinese born in Thailand but also because there are so many Chinese visiting the Kingdom these days. The Chinese New Year festivities stretch from shopping centre sales to regional street parades to ceremonies for families and businesses.

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For a Buddhist country, Christmas is ironically enthusiastically celebrated. It involves presents, eating, celebrations, coloured lights and people spending money so it was always going to fly in Thailand. Thais remain completely bemused by Santa Claus, ‘baby Jesus’ and Christmas carols but, commercially, they’ve certainly embraced it now.

I have never seen better decorations or a celebration of Christmas than I have in Bangkok. My best Christmas moment was when I found a statue of Santa Claus nailed to a cross – a slight cultural faux pas where they’d confused Easter and Christmas and come up with a perfectly ‘Thai’ Christmas decoration.

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Source - The Thaiger

Caravan puts spotlight on new travel destinations

A caravan last week traveled from Thailand to Vietnam via Cambodia to promote the tourism potential of the southern economic corridor, which stretches from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City.

Organized by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the caravan rode on March 1-7, crossing the Thailand-Cambodia and the Cambodia-Vietnam borders, in an effort to generate awareness about up-and-coming tourism destinations in the area and sustainable tourism.

PATA chairman Thoun Sinan told Khmer Times the initiative seeks to boost awareness of new tourism destinations and promote land travel within the three neighboring nations.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, last year Vietnam and Thailand were second and fourth, respectively, for tourist arrivals to Cambodia by nationality. More than 800,000 Vietnamese and over 382,000 Thai nationals visited the Kingdom that year.

The caravan was supported by the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism and Thailand’s Trat Province Tourism Association.

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Source - Khmer Times

#Thailand - Park’s special status ‘at risk’ over drilling hole

Thailand’s Sri Thep Historical Park in Phetchabun may lose the chance to become a World Heritage Site if the government allows an oil company to build a drilling hole nearby, according to Wison Kosotanon, president of the Phetchabun Culture Council. 

 His warning came after a company, ECO Orient Resources (Thailand), called earlier this week for a public hearing process in order to prepare an Environment Impact Assessment report. The company plans to build the drilling hole near the 1,300 year-old Khao Kwang Nok Stupa located inside the park. 

“The new drilling hole is too close – just over 100 metres to the historical stupa – it will be harmful to our heritage and will lose us the chance to get the recognition as a World Heritage Site by Unesco,” Wison explained.

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Opinion is divided over the company’s application – at the first public hearing, many culture experts and local officials  opposed its construction and claimed they had concerns about the cultural and environmental impacts it would have, but some villagers supported it in the hope it might provide them with employment. 

Anan Choochote, director of the Culture Ministry’s Fine Arts Department, has assigned his archaeological teams to study the merits of the company’s application.

“Our officers are studying its impact. If there is harm to our heritage, we will work with other governmental agencies to stop the project,” Anan said. “We are now gathering more information and we will submit it to Unesco later this year.”

The proposal for Sri Thep to be listed as a World Heritage Site is expected to be approved by the cabinet and the National Committee on the World Heritage Commission Convention on March 8.

Anan added that Sri Thep Historical Park had been listed as a national archaeological site since 1935 and also dates back some 2,500 years like prehistoric Ban Chiang. Therefore, he said, it also warranted being listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). 

Ban Chiang, an archeological site in Nong Han District, Udon Thani Province, has been on the Unesco World Heritage list since 1992.

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Following the Phetchabun Culture Council’s controversial opposition to the drilling project, ECO Orient Resources may postpone the second round of public hearings currently due to be held in April.

“As the result of the objection raised at the public hearing, senior officials at our head office will carefully study whether the firm should hold a second round of public hearings or drop it,” said company spokesman Navin Panphan.

The film has been drilling for oil in Sri Thep for more than a decade but the latest plan to build a new hole near the stupa has raised concerns on cultural, environmental and tourism grounds.

Source - TheNation

 

Somkid urges BOT (Bank of Thailand) action on baht

THE government’s economics chief has voiced his concerns over a strong baht with his central bank counterpart, citing the impact on farmers and calling on him to be ready to put the brakes on further gains in the currency.

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak yesterday said the government was worried that a chain reaction would set in as farmers across the country struggled with burden of an appreciating currency.

Somkid said he had aired these concerns with Bank of Thailand (BOT) governor Veerathai Santiprabhob and asked him to ensure that the baht won’t be allowed to rise too rapidly.

 “The governor understands the issue but the central bank cannot quickly bring the value of the baht down due to the many influencing factors,” Somkid said of his talks with Veerathai. Somkid said the central bank’s stance is understandable and that the government cannot intervene in the policymaking of the BOT.

Somkid’s comments follow a meeting he held with senior officials from the many ministries that are formulating economic policies aimed at helping low-income earners. Officials raised the issue of the impact of the appreciating baht on farmers, which makes their commodities less competitive on the global markets.

Somkid said the government plans to set aside Bt12 billion for fiscal 2020 on economic policies that benefit the poor.

 In a separate news conference, Veerathai vowed he would take action on the baht’s strength and has called for other parties to coordinate in actions to remedy its impacts.

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He defended the central bank’s actions in raising the policy rate in December, to 1.75 per cent. Veerathai said the move did not cause to the baht to rise against the US dollar, not did it encourage capital inflows.

This year, capital outflows from the bond market are at US$400million, while inflows into the stock market are just US$100 million, resulting in net outflows of $300 million, he said.

The weaker dollar, combined with the high current account surplus, has contributed to the baht’s rise, he said.

He expressed his concern that a less resilient economy would encounter difficulties with exchange rate volatility.

The currencies of some countries have experienced higher volatility than the baht but their economies are coping with it better than the Thai economy, Veerathai said.

He said that some experts may want the baht fixed at 31,32 or 33 to the dollar but the exchange rate cannot be fixed due to the many external factors that are beyond Thailand’s control.

“The most important is how to make sure the economy can absorb the exchange rate volatility,” he said.

This means that the competitiveness of Thai firms largely depends on pricing, he said in respond to exporters who have complained about the impact of the baht appreciation. 

Importers have been prudent as they have use financial tools to hedge against the risk stemming from exchange rate volatility, but exporters have not yet hedged against such risks on regular basis, Veerathai said.

He promised to make the forwards market more transparent and competitive in order to help businesses to cut hedging costs. Banks‘ clients do not understand how banks run the forwards market and are unclear on the competitiveness of this market, he said.

Veerathai encouraged exporters and importers to rely more on local currencies rather the US dollar.

Thailand’s exports to the US represent 10 per cent of the total, but they quote prices in US dollar on up to 70 per cent of total exports, he said.

He advises businesses to quote their product prices in yuan , yen, ringgit and other currencies of the country’s trading partners.

Thailand should also take advantage of the stronger baht to import capital goods for domestic investments, he said, referring to the relatively weak investment as the major cause of the current account surplus.

Thailand had a relatively high current account surplus of US$37 billion last year, due to surpluses in goods exports and income from tourism.

According to the central bank, the baht has risen 3.93 per cent against the US dollar, hovering above Bt31 since the beginning of the year.

“The rise of the baht is in the middle of the group among currencies of emerging economies. For example, the Russian rouble and the Indonesian rupiah have risen much more rapidly,” Veerathai said,

Source - TheNation

 

#Cambodia - Koh Paen residents aim to keep bamboo bridge tradition alive

Each year, Koh Paen residents built a seasonal, kilometre-long bamboo bridge for cars and pedestrians to cross the Mekong when the water levels were too low for a ferry.

Connecting the island of Koh Paen to Kampong Cham city in Kampong Cham province is a giant 779m concrete bridge, opened in March last year, able to carry loads of 20 to 30 tonnes across the Mekong river.

Is it functional? Perhaps. Does it have any charm? Absolutely not.

But 2km south down the Mekong used to sit another bridge fulfilling a similar function, less robust and practical, but exuding an antiquated charm by anyone’s estimation.

Each year, for decades, the island residents of Koh Paen built a seasonal, kilometre-long (1,000m) bamboo bridge for cars and pedestrians to cross the Mekong when the water levels were too low for a ferry. And each year, when the rains swelled the river, the elements would tear it down again.

For local residents, the bridge was a backdrop to daily life since they can remember – only disrupted between 1973 and 1986 with the civil war and emergence of the Khmer Rouge – though the specific history of the bridge remains hard to pinpoint.

Prior to 1973, the bridge was owned collectively by a company established by 14 villagers from the island, according to 74-year-old Nai Seang, speaking to The Post back in 2017. She joined the company in 1964, purchasing two shares for 7,000 riel (approximately $1,500 after adjusting for inflation).

Back then, the bridge was only a foot and bicycle bridge built from locally sourced bamboo, with a 1 riel toll for pedestrians, or 2 riel for a bike (equivalent to $0.19 and $0.37 today, respectively). As the youngest in the company when she joined at the age of 22, she was the sole surviving member.

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The bamboo bridge also serves as a major tourist attraction for both local and international visitors.

 “The knowledge would be passed down from one generation of builders to the next,” she said. While Seang says she never asked the older members of the company about the bridge’s history, she remembers it when she was an infant, which indicates that it dates back to at least the 1940s.

That the bridge has become a tourist attraction was a strange curiosity for Seang. “I did not know the bridge has become such a tourist attraction. I was very young when I bought my shares, and to me it was just a thing that helps people cross the river, and a business,” she says.

But back in March last year, as the concrete monolith neared completion, for the first time in decades the residents of Koh Paen decided against building their bridge as a river crossing for vehicles.

Yung Oun, the owner of the old bamboo bridge, told The Post that it served as a major tourist attraction in the province, for both local and international visitors, so the loss of the bamboo bridge signalled a loss of money for the area too.

To avoid this, last year enterprising locals decided to keep the tradition alive on a smaller scale by building a tourist friendly, pedestrian only bridge as a replacement.

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 “Last year, our new bridge was only 700 metres. This year, we will construct it up to 800 metres,” said 60-year-old Bun Dara, a former Institute of Technology of Cambodia engineer and owner of the new bamboo bridge.

The bridge, built using more than 20,000 bamboo sticks, was officially opened on December 1. It is open from dawn to dusk, including weekends and holidays.

“On a normal day, I see about 30 to 50 people walking across the bridge,” said Dara.

To cross the bridge, pedestrians cost 2,000 riel, a motorbike costs 5,000 riel, a vehicle or tuk-tuk costs 10,000 riel and a larger vehicle costs 20,000 riel.

Source - PhnomPenhPost

#Indonesia - Government to boost sustainable tourism in small villages

Tangkahan village near Mount Leuser in North Sumatra and Pemuteran village in Bali are two of many villages in Indonesia that offer unique ecotourism attractions. 

They can set an example for other villages across the country to develop sustainable tourism as envisaged by the government during a United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) meeting recently.

Tourists could enjoy ecotourism activities in Tangkahan such as jungle trekking and elephant riding, said Valerina Daniel, the head of the Tourism Ministry’s sustainable tourism acceleration team. 

“In this village, people who used to be illegal loggers are now part of developing the tourism village by offering packages to tourists, which helps to preserve the forests,” she said in Jakarta recently.

Tourists visiting Pemuteran, which is known as a fishing village where residents are active in marine conservation, can go diving and snorkeling while participating in activities like coral conservation and feeding turtles. 

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said after the UNWTO meeting that the ministry wanted to create 2,000 tourism villages by the end of this year, an increase from the 1,734 created last year.

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 The program, managed in conjunction with the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry, is part of the government’s commitment to accelerate sustainable tourism.  

 According to UNWTO guidelines released in 2005, sustainable tourism should take full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impact while addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, environment and host community.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Regulation No. 14/2016 stipulates that sustainable tourism should empower local communities, preserve culture and conserve the environment.

Valerina said the development of tourism villages would be focused around the 10 priority destinations, or 10 New Balis, adding that the development was a sustainable tourism model that suited Indonesia, which has 75,000 villages across the archipelago.

“There are many villages in Indonesia and a village is the smallest instrument where we can directly empower the community by developing its potential while preserving its culture and environment based on the sustainable tourism principle,” she said.

He added that the development of the homestays and villages could be funded by state-owned enterprises’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.

Another financing option would be using low-interest rate loans from banks with long-term maturity so that local players can thrive, Arief said. 

He added that the government would also establish more Sustainable Tourism Observatories (STOs) in seven locations, adding to the five existing STOs so far. The STOs monitor research and give recommendations to the local government on how to develop sustainable tourism.

The sustainable tourism program was a positive move for Indonesia, although it had yet to become the umbrella policy for general tourism development in the country, said Muhammad Baiquni, a tourism expert at Gadjah Mada University’s Center of Tourism Studies. 

“The sustainable tourism concept could be a good balancer for Indonesia’s tourism, which still tends to be quantity oriented instead of quality oriented,” added Baiquni. 

He, however, reminded the government to make sure that village tourism had a positive impact on society, culture and the environment, as well as putting local communities first so that sustainable tourism could be achieved. 

“Are the villagers benefitting and sovereign on their own land? Does tourism in the villages make their environment and socioeconomic situation better? All of these must be assessed.”

Baiquni suggested that the government should focus on creating tourism villages that were of high standards and sustainable, rather than setting a specific target for homestays and villages.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Travelling the world

Thai passport holders have visa-free access to 75 countries, ranking 68th globally in the 2019 Henley Passport Index. Japan ranks first, with visa-free access to as many as 190 countries, while Afghanistan and Iraq are at the bottom with visa-free access to just 30 nations.

Source - TheNation

Phuket - Phuket - Seaweed on Patong Beach - just a seasonal phenomenon

The seasonal mass of seaweed that was washed up onto Patong Beach over the last week is a natural phenomenon. A spokesperson for the Phuket Marine Biological Centre says that the seaweed isn’t harmful although it can smell bad as it starts to rot in the daytime sun. The seaweed first started coming ashore back on January 10.

The seaweed on Patong Beach has forced the Patong municipality into action and a big clean-up operation has been underway.

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Officials had a backhoe and industrial equipment on the beach yesterday and today removing the offending seaweed from the popular tourist beach. Municipal employees were also removing much of the material by hand. They were out in force last week as well when the first clumps landed on the shores of Patong Beach.

The Phuket Marine Biological Centre says the seaweed is a seasonal phenomenon and nothing to be worried about. They say that wave action has removed some of the seaweed from the seafloor off the Patong coastline and dumped it on the beach.

Swimmers and tourists didn’t seem to mind the seaweed and have been swimming and enjoying the beach anyway.

Source - TheTaiger 

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#Thailand invites Chinese tourists to record-breaking sticky rice mango feast

Some 10,000 Chinese tourists have been invited to a feast in Thailand that has broken the Guinness World Record for the biggest sticky rice mango banquet ever, as a way to win tourists from China back.

The dessert, featuring 6,000 mangoes and 15 tonnes of sticky rice was announced the world biggest one in an event themed "We Care About You" near Bangkok. The feast was held on Sunday by the tourism panel of the National Legislative Assembly and was coordinated by the Association of Thai Travel Agents.

Chinese tourists were invited to enjoy the most famous Thai dessert along with Thai food and fruits as well as Thai-Chinese performances.

Organizers said they want to build up a good image of Thai hospitality through this event.

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 "Considering there was a sharp drop of Chinese tourists to Thailand, we've been making an effort to improve the country's safety standards, expecting to restore the confidence of tourists from China and let them know Thailand care about them." said Pichit Kuandachakupt, chairman of the committee of religion, art, culture and tourism of the National Legislative Assembly 

 Chinese arrivals, which were booming in early 2018, were stunted by a deadly ferry sinking in July 2018 which killed 47 Chinese tourists.

Although yearly arrivals of Chinese tourists for 2018 exceeded a historic milestone of 10 million in December, monthly arrivals were lower than that during the same period last year.

Thailand have exceeded the waiver on the on-arrival-visa fee for 20 countries and regions including China, the kingdom's biggest tourism contributor that accounts more than a quarter of its international arrivals.

Source - TheJakartaPost