TRAVEL Titbits
KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
The cover of `Thang Dokmai Pak Isan'. |
Bangkok has been voted the world's top city, up from third place last year, in an online survey commissioned by Travel & Leisure magazine as part of its World's Best Awards 2008.
The City of Angels replaced Florence, which held the top spot for the past two years. In second place was Buenos Aires, followed by Cape Town, Sydney, Florence, Cuzco (Peru), Rome, New York, Istanbul and San Francisco.
It was the first time Bangkok was voted into the top position. The Galapagos Islands, off Ecuador, which ranked fourth in last year's survey, replaced Bali as the world's best island destination.
"We're delighted to welcome so many new winners this year," said Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of the magazine. "Nature and adventure were clearly a draw in the selections."
In the survey, which covered the period from January to March this year, the magazine's readers also voted for the best hotel (with The Oriental in Bangkok coming in 14th place), and the best international airline (Singapore Airlines was No. 1, followed by Emirates and Thai International Airways).
For a complete list of the awards, visit the magazine's web site at http://www.travelandleisure.com.
Making Samui 'greener'
The Grand Palace is one of the top tourist attractions in Bangkok. |
The `greening' of Samui has begun. |
The Ko Samui Tourism Promotion Association, the Thai Hotels Association (Southeastern chapter) and the Samui Spa Association have embarked on a 10-year project to preserve the natural environment of Samui, the popular tourist island in Surat Thani that is in danger of becoming overdeveloped.
Launched last month, the "Green Samui" scheme will run until 2017. It will comprise three phases: the drafting of a master plan and the launch of pilot projects; a period of monitoring results; and, lastly, a control and development phase to ensure environmental sustainability in the long run, via a series of awareness campaigns targeting operators in the travel business.
The island attracts in excess of a million visitors annually.
New Isan travel guide
Veteran trekker Komchan Tawanchai's Thai-language travel guide Thang Dokmai Pak Isan chronicles his experiences wandering through the Northeast during the rainy season when the region comes alive with some of the most colourful displays of flowers one is likely to encounter in the Kingdom.
"I've travelled extensively," he said, "so I can confidently say that the Isan region has more wild-flower belts that anywhere else in the country."
The book draws on the many self-drive, forest-trekking and camping holidays he's had in the region. He introduces 27 destinations, 16 of which can be reached by car, and supplies maps, travel tips, a list of wild flowers and where to find them, plus details on accommodation and suggestions on how to organise your trip.
The full-colour, 200-page book is priced at a very reasonable 180 baht.
Visit http://tawanyimchang.com for more information.
THAI resumes direct flights from Tokyo to Phuket
National carrier Thai International Airways (THAI) will today resume direct flights from Tokyo to Phuket. They were suspended in February, 2005 due to a sharp drop in passenger traffic in the aftermath of the killer tsunami that devastated coastal regions of southern Thailand on December 26, 2004.
THAI will operate two flights a week - on Thursdays and Saturdays. They will depart Tokyo at 10am (local time) and arrive in Phuket at 3:25pm. Return flights are not direct, however, as passengers can only connect to Tokyo via Suvarnabhumi Airport. For more information, visit http://www.thaiair.com.
New economy class
Qantas Airways has launched a new "premium economy class" for long-haul routes boasting bigger seats and more space in between than in the normal economy class.
Its manager for Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, Kevin McQuillan, said 32 premium-economy seats will be available initially on the Bangkok-London and Bangkok-Sydney routes serviced by Boeing 747-400 aircraft. The seat pitch is 38 to 40 inches (compared to 31 inches in normal economy) and the seat width is 19.5 inches (17.5 inches in normal economy), while seats recline nine inches (only six inches in normal economy). Each seat comes equipped with a 8.4-inch, in-arm, digital, touch-screen video monitor and a self-service "bar".
For more information, visit the web site http://www.qantas.com.
If you have any comments or news to share, email them to karnjanak@bangkokpost.co.th
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