Archive for August 20th, 2006
Visitors to Lao PDR can now get a visa on arrival for 30 days, up from 15 days previously, the Laotian Foreign Ministry has announced. They can also get an extension of stay of this visa.
The updated regulation will play a major role in helping boost visitor arrivals to Lao PDR, already one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in ASEAN.
Lao PDR reported 1.09 million arrivals in 2005, up 22% over 2004. Of those, 60% were Thais, comprising the largest market share of arrivals.
The vast majority of international visitors to Lao PDR come via Thailand, either over the Thai Lao Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai or by air via Bangkok to the international airports at Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
The extended Visa regulations will be of considerable benefit for business travellers as well as special interest visitors on study tours.
They also harmonise the length of stay eligibility period for 30 days which is granted if the visas are applied for in advance at any of the Lao PDR diplomatic missions abroad.
The visa fee remains unchanged at US$30, except for Vietnamese and Chinese nationals who pay US$20.
Lao PDR has 12 international checkpoints, including three airports and nine overland crossings, of which four are with Thailand.
Overland travel from Thailand to Lao PDR will get another boost in December 2006 with the projected opening of the second bridge between the two countries. Construction of the bridge, linking Mukdaharn province in northeastern Thailand to Lao PDR’s southern province of Suvannakhet, began in December, 2003. The US$69 million bridge was partly financed by the Japanese government.
Source: Tourism Authority of Thailand
August 20th, 2006
 2006 KING’S CUP ELEPHANT POLO TOURNAMENT
September 4 - 10, 2006 will be held at Chiang Saen Secondary School, Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai, Thailand. Spectator entrance is free of charge.
Thailand’s highly popular King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament heads for the hills in 2006. Event organiser Anantara Resorts has recently announced that the 2006 tournament would take place from 4-10 September in the northern-most region of the country popularly known as the Golden Triangle.This annual event, ranked as the sixth largest event on the Thai tourism calendar has, for the past five years, taken place in the royal seaside town of Hua Hin, situated 220km south of the Thai capital Bangkok. The tournament was introduced to Thailand in 2001 by Anantara Vice-President, Christopher Stafford and is a charitable event that raises money for the country’s National Elephant Institute in Lampang, northern Thailand.
In just five years the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament has gone from a small 2-day event with 6 teams into a week-long extravaganza, which in 2005 featured 16 teams from 3 continents encompassing 55 players from 15 countries. The event now attracts corporate sponsors, which include such global brands as American Express, British Airways, Chivas Regal, Mercedes Benz and PricewaterhouseCoopers. In addition to the world’s top horse polo players, the 2005 tournament saw the return of Bernie Fraser, New Zealand’s former world-ranking All Blacks rugby player plus newcomers, Nick Farr Jones and Peter Fitzsimmons from Australia’s Wallabies team.
“The growing interest each year is enormous,� Stafford commented. “When we started it was more of a weekend knock-round than a tournament. Last year we had a waiting list of teams wanting to take part!�
Explaining the decision for the change in venue, Stafford said: “The tournament generates an enormous amount of international media exposure and over the years has contributed towards raising awareness of Hua Hin as a tourism destination.�
“So by leveraging the popularity of the tournament, we aim to now turn the international media spotlight onto a very unique and special part of Thailand, showcasing the beauty of the natural landscape of the Golden Triangle region,� he said.
Through its own Elephant Camp located within the grounds of the Anantara Resort Golden Triangle, the property’s focus on the future of Thailand’s pachyderm population forms an integral part of the resort’s operations,� Stafford added. “On an on-going basis, resident nature ranger John Roberts works closely with the Thai government’s Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang to develop Anantara’s camp as an elephant sanctuary.�
The Tourism Authority of Thailand supports the King’s Cup Elephant Polo tournament and spectator entrance is free of charge. The 2006 event will take place within the grounds of the Chiang Saen Secondary School, located some 60 km from Chiang Rai International Airport and 12 kms from the Anantara Resort Golden Triangle.
Past tournament winners whose names are now engraved on the King’s Cup trophy are Chivas Regal (2001), Mercedez Benz Germany (2002 and 2003), Mobile Easy Thailand (2004) and Chivas Regal (2005).
To date the tournament has raised over US$140,000 for the National Elephant Institute, which provides medical care, sustenance, employment, welfare and mahout training to Thailand’s elephant population. It is estimated that Thailand has around 2500 domesticated elephants and 1500 wild elephants. This is down from an elephant population of around 50,000 in 1950 and 100,000 in 1900.
The modern game of elephant polo was founded in Nepal in 1982 by Englishman Jim Edwards, owner of Tiger Tops Lodge in Nepal and James Manclark, a former British Olympic bobsleigh competitor. The King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament is part of the World Elephant Polo Association World Series. The World Championships take place in Chitwan National Park, Nepal every December and the Ceylon Elephant Polo tournament takes place each February in Sri Lanka’s fort town of Galle.
Further information about the tournament and reservations are available on line at http://www.anantara.com/. Information about the tournament is also available at http://www.elephantpolo.com/
For all International media enquiries, please contact:
Shamini Murugan
Tel: +66 (0) 2476-0022 ext 1719
Mobile: +66 (0) 1904 7344
E-mail: smurugan@minornet.com
Source: Tourism Authority of Thailand
August 20th, 2006
How much time should we prepare to leave the hotel for departure flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport?
If you travel by private transportation for departure transfer, we will recommend you should leave the hotel at least 3 hours before scheduled departure time.
August 20th, 2006
Will it take longer to reach Suvarnabhumi Airport than Don Muang Airport from downtown of Bangkok?Technically, the Don Muang Airport is some 20 kms. north of Bangkok while they say the Suvarnabhumi Airport is 27 kms. east of Bangkok.
Technically, the Don Muang Airport is some 20 kms. north of Bangkok while they say the Suvarnabhumi Airport is 27 kms. east of Bangkok.Remarks: However, on the inspection day, we took off from Sathorn Road (which is right in the down town of Bangkok where there are many hotels in this area), it was 44 kms. going on the expressway Rama 9 to the Suvarnabhumi Airport. It will definitely take longer than Don Muang Airport but should not be more than 1 hour 15 minutes altogether (with the Don Muang Airport – we always say 45 minutes up to 1 hour depending on the traffic).
August 20th, 2006
The name and history?
The name “Suvarnabhumi Airport” (pronounced Su-Van-Na-Phoom) was chosen by His Majesty The King Bhumibol Adulyadej which means “The Golden Land”. The plot of land occupied by the airport with an approximately 8,000 acres (324 km2) was purchased in 1973. Due to political and economic instabilities, the civil construction had been begun in January 2002. The airport was due to open in late 2005, but a series of budget overuns, construction flaws, political interference and allegations of corruption continue to plague the project. After much speculation, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced that the airport would be open by September 28 2006.
Opening date:
Official opening date is scheduled to open for commercial services at 3.00 a.m. on Thursday, September 28 2006. All commercial flights (both domestic and international) will move to Suvarnabhumi Airport as of September 28 2006. Meanwhile, it has been said that Thai Airways will be operating some domestic flights (with no passenger with international connecting) as early as Friday, September 15 2006.
Where is it located?
The airport is located in Racha Thewa in Bangphli district, Samut Prakarn Province; some 30 kms. east of Bangkok.
How to get there?:
Presently, there are 5 access routes. The 2 most convenient routes are:
* Northern Route - via the northern Rama 9 Expressway leading to Bangkok Chonburi
  Motorway
 *  Southern Route – via the original Bangna Expressway leading to Bangna-Trad
  Highway
Remarks: From our previous inspection trips - by far the best routing is THE NORTHERN ROUTE i.e. via northern Rama 9 Expressway leading to Bangkok Chonburi Motorway as there is MUCH less traffic compared to the Southern Route.
The construction of the City Airport Terminal in Makkasan (near the Siam City Hotel) and a 28.6 km high-speed rail link to the new airport started in July 2005 and are planned for completion in November 2007 (it seems that this deadline is unlikely to be met). The airport express informally known as the Pink Line and operated jointly with SRT’s planned Red Line commuter service, will connect with the BTS Sukhumvit Line and MRT Blue Line at Phaya Thai and Petchaburi stations respectively, offering airport-bound passengers a fast 15-minute limited stop from the city center.
Airport facilities and capacity?
The airport will operate as many as 76 flights per hour on 2 simultaneous runways; it will have 51 aircraft stands and 69 remote parking bays for wide-bodied aircraft and handle over 3 million tons of cargo annually. Facilities to be completed in the 1st phase will include:
* A 563,000 sqm. passenger terminal
* 120 parking bays (51 with contact gates and 69 remote gates)
* 132 m. Air traffic control Tower (the tallest in Asia!)
* A 190,000 sqm. cargo terminal
* First-class hotel with 600 rooms operated by Accor Group under the Novotel
  brand
More on the FAQs shortly!
August 20th, 2006
