- By: KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
- Published: 9/04/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Horizons
Chanthaburi is building a pier at Paknam Laem in Laem Sing district capable of handling cruise ships in the hope of attracting tourists from Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries.
According to the province's deputy governor Pongsathorn Satjachonlapan, the pier, complete with immigration and customs facilities, would need an investment of 20 million baht in the first phase and is expected to become operational around March next year.
Already, he said, Chanthaburi is a proven attraction for businessmen from Vietnam and Cambodia and he is hoping that its appeal would spill over to tourists in those countries, as well as tourists from other parts of the world cruising the Gulf of Thailand in luxury ships.
The second phase, a much bigger undertaking, will require an investment of 700 million baht, for which bids will be called in due course.
Laem Sing is around 30 minutes' drive from Chanthaburi town and 266 kilometres east of Bangkok.
Fly direct to Shenzhen
Guangdong-based Shenzhen Airlines made its first international foray this month with three weekly flights to Bangkok and, next month, add Phuket to its expanding network overseas.
The flights are direct, departing Shenzhen every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 11:30pm, while the return flights leave Bangkok at 2:30pm on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The airline has plans to increase the frequency to daily flights by the third quarter this year, hoping to annually serve 30,000 passengers on the route, including Phuket that it will be connecting once a week.
Established in 1992, the airline connects almost 70 cities in China. On May 20 it will sign a code-sharing agreement with ANA for the Osaka-Fuzhou-Shenzhen route, and also plans flights to Singapore and Hanoi starting next year.
Meanwhile Jin Air, the low-cost sister airline of Korean Air, will connect Bangkok and Macau starting October, choosing the Boeing 737-800 for its maiden venture overseas. It plans to serve 16 short-haul routes in Southeast Asia, China and Japan by 2011.
On the domestic front, Air Asia will suspend flights between Bangkok and Ranong starting April 19, citing losses on the route it has operated since November 2007.
Handy handouts
Bangkok Airways has responded to the government's 2,000-baht cheque handouts by offering round-trip airfares of the same value on domestic routes such as Samui, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Sukhothai and Trat.
But passengers still need to pay fuel surcharge, travel insurance and airport taxes. The promotion , valid until June 30, allows cheque holders to buy a round-trip economy class ticket for 2,000 baht.
Plant nursery
The latest attraction at Bueng Chawak Chalermprakiart, a public park in Suphan Buri's Doembang Nangbuat district, is a tunnel built at a cost of five million baht showcasing plants and farm technology.
Forty metres long, the tunnel measures four metres in width and three metres in height. As part of Bueng Chawak's Local Vegetables Park, it houses an exhibition area complete with multimedia presentation to educate visitors about plants and agricultural technology.
The Local Vegetables Park features 500 or so types of plants. The park also has a library, plant nurseries and a market where farmers bring their produce for sale to visitors.
Facilitating revellers
The Transport Company, operator of inter-provincial buses, and the State Railway of Thailand have been asked to increase the frequency of bus/train service and raise passenger capacity by 50 per cent during April 10-16 to facilitate revellers embarking on long Songkran holiday.
As a result, more compartments have been added to trains plying the northern and northeastern routes, taking daily passenger capacity to 10,000 on both routes.
And the Bangkok Metropolitan Transit Authority, that operates buses in the city, is offering shuttle service between the Skytrain's Morchit station and the Northern Bus Terminal (Morchit 2) during April 10-11 and April 15-16.
The Skytrain, on the other hand, is offering free ride to people aged 60 or more, and children not more than 140 centimetres tall during April 13-15.
Phuket triathlon
Interested parties can register online for the 16th Laguna Phuket Triathlon scheduled December 6. The event is expected to attract some 900 athletes who will compete in three disciplines: 1.8km of swimming, 55km of cycling and 12km of running.
The race begins with a swim from the Laguna Beach Resort at 7am and ends in a lagoon. The 55km biking stretch starts from Laguna Phuket with bikers heading north, while the 12km run will take place in the Laguna Phuket area.
Participants can register as individuals or teams. And for those wary of going the distance, there is a six-kilometre Fun Run.
For online registration, visit http://www.lagunaphukettriathlon.com.
Staying connected
Qatar Airways will offer mobile phone and Internet service onboard its fleet of Airbus aircraft allowing passengers to stay connected mid-air via cell phones or BlackBerry-type devices.
The airline recently signed an agreement with OnAir, a developer and operator of inflight passenger communications services, to install inflight Mobile OnAir systems on all its 22 single-aisle Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.
Erratum
The April 2 story headlined "Taming of Tarutao" incorrectly mentioned that among the well-known prisoners banished to Tarutao was "Prince Bovoradej, cousin of King Rama IV". Prince Bovoradej, the grandson of King Rama IV, was never sent to Tarutao, but several of his followers ended up there as political prisoners.
If you have any comments or news to share, mail them to karnjanak @bangkokpost.co.th.
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