TRAVEL TITBITS
KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
While locals may be decrying the soaring cost of petrol, food and other necessities, Bangkok and Chiang Mai are still relatively cheap places in which to hang out, at least according to the expatriates polled for the latest Cost of Living Ranking conducted by ECA International.
The firm carries out the survey twice a year, in March and September, comparing the cost of living by looking at the prices of 128 consumer goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates in 370 urban centres.
The world's most expensive city is Luanda, capital of Angola. Oslo is Europe's most expensive city for expats and visitors and was ranked second globally. The Norwegian capital was followed by Stavanger, Copenhagen, Moscow, Geneva, Libreville (Gabon), Zurich, Basel and Bern; this comprises the top 10 globally. Bangkok came in at 181st on the world list, with Chiang Mai in 190th position.
According to the survey, inflation has been seen in most locations worldwide over the past six months, with food and petrol prices, particularly, increasing quite considerably.
Tokyo (13th position on the global list) was rated the most expensive city in Asia, overtaking Seoul (18) since the last survey due, largely, to the appreciation of the yen against the US dollar between September, 2007 and March, 2008. The 10 most expensive urban centres in Asia are now Tokyo, Yokohama, Seoul, Nagoya, Kobe, Busan and Ulsan (both in South Korea), Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russia), Hong Kong and Beijing. Farther down the list for Asia come Shanghai (12), Singapore (13), Jakarta (22), Bangkok (28), Manila (31), Chiang Mai (32), Kuala Lumpur (35), Hanoi (36), Vientiane (38) and Ho Chi Minh City (42). Ulan Baatar (231) remains the cheapest location in Asia.
Warmer welcome from SA
Singapore Airlines has invested 28 million baht to open its very own SilverKris Lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport to cater to the needs of first- and business-class passengers.
Located on Level 3 in Concourse A, the 350m2 lounge has 102 seats, 42-inch plasma televisions, a wireless Internet service plus a choice of food (including assorted dim sum, sandwiches, Haagen Dazs ice cream, fruit) and beverages (wine, beer and liquor).
Big boost for Centara spas
Centara Hotels and Resorts has set aside a budget of 100 million baht to renovate its existing spas and to launch a brand-new facility in Bangkok. It has spent 45 million baht on the new Spa Cenvaree at Centara Grand at CentralWorld which boasts 14 treatment rooms equipped with hydro facilities plus an infrared sauna and slimming technologies.
The rest of the budget will be used to upgrade facilities in Samui, Phuket and Krabi to world-class standard. Thirayuth Chirathivat, senior vice-president for project management, said the firm is currently mulling plans to open spas in China, Vietnam and the UAE.
Sun-bathing marathon
Anywhere Magazine and Central World will co-host a CentralWorld Sun-bathing Marathon this Saturday as part of a fair called "Anywhere Travel by CentralWorld". The contest is open to anyone aged 18 to 40 and around 100 participants are expected. The person who can tolerate the heat from noon to 7pm that day will receive a four-day travel package for two to Club Med Cani in the Maldives, worth 150,000 baht.
During the four-day fair, which opens today, several hotels, resorts, spas, travel agencies and airliners will be offering special deals.
For more information, visit http://www.centralworld.co.th/eventanywheretravel.htm.
If you have any comments or news to share, email karnjanak@bangkokpost.co.th
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