The Bang Kham Floating Market has been officially opened in Lop Buri's Ban Mi district last week. Located on the bank of the Bang Kham River at Wat Khung Tha Lao, the market was founded around the end of last year with the cooperation between the temple and the local community of Ban Bang Kham.
The aim is to be a marketplace for farmers to sell their produce and for those who have handicraft or cooking skills to sell their products and food for extra income. The market is also supported by Lop Buri province as well as the Tourism Authority of Thailand, whose aim is to promote the market as a new tourist attraction for the district.
In addition to the floating market, a long-tail boat service with 15 seats, is also available for cruising visitors along the Bang Kham River.
The Bang Kham Floating Market is open every weekend and on holidays from 8am-5pm.
Visit the Bang Kham Floating Market Facebook page or call TAT's Lop Buri Office at 036-770-096--7.
Blogger contest
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched the TAT Newsroom Blogger Thailand project.
The aim is to promote unexpected experiences in the country. Participants must have at least one main social-media account -- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram -- with a substantial number of active followers.
Running for the fifth year, the programme in 2020 will differ from the past. Instead of opening for a contest, the TAT Newsroom team will select five local and six international influencers to explore and share their experiences with their followers.
The influencers residing outside Thailand will be offered a round-trip point-to-point air ticket and a six-day trip to explore Bangkok, Satun and Songkhla. For local influencers, TAT will provide a round-trip domestic ticket to travel to Phrae and Nan. The tentative dates for both trips will soon be announced. Those interested in the project can also submit their profile to mailtous@tatnews.org until the end of January.
Visit tatnews.org/bloggerthailand.
AIRLINES UPDATE
Thai Smile has launched direct flights between Chiang Mai and Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.
The service is available every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from now until March 28.
The flight departs from the Chiang Mai airport at 12.40pm and will arrive in Kaohsiung airport at 5.30pm. The return flight will depart from Kaohsiung at 6.30pm and land in Chiang Mai at 9.30pm. Travel time is about four hours.
Visit thaismileair.com.
Garuda Indonesia grabs the top spot globally and regionally with the best on-time performance (OTP), according to the Punctuality League report of the United Kingdom-based Official Aviation Guide (OAG).
OAG's definition of OTP is flights that arrive or depart within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival/departure times. Cancellations are included within OTP calculations and are counted as late flights.
Garuda Indonesia leads the list with an average OTP for the year of over 95%, meaning 19 of every 20 flights operated to within 15 minutes of the schedule. Ranked second is Copa Airlines (92%), followed by Skymark Airlines (90.1%), Hawaiian Airlines (87.4%), Latam Airlines (86.4%), Aeroflot (86.3%), All Nippon Airways (85.9%), Jetstar Asia (85.4%), Singapore Airlines (85.3%) and Thai AirAsia (84.4%).
Visit oag.com.
HOTEL DEALS & UPDATE
Anantara Riverside Bangkok has launched Loy Pela Voyages, a private river-cruise service.
The cruise is a four-day journey starting from Bangkok to the historical park in Ayutthaya. The journey will stop at popular attractions in the capital such as Wat Arun and also some places in the old city like Wat Phananchoeng and Bang Pa-in Palace.
The journey includes a butler, hot meals prepared by a private chef, cocktails, a tour guide, a yoga class, muay Thai demonstrations and traditional dance performances. Guests can choose to board a two- or a four-room boat. The hotel has redesigned 100-year-old rice barges for the service.
For more details, call 090-880-8390 or email reservations@loypelavoyages.com.
Carlton Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit will start to welcome guests on Feb 24.
Located on Sukhumvit between Sois 27 and 29, the 34-storey building features 338 rooms and suites, restaurants, swimming pool and pool bar, fitness centre, spa, meeting and function rooms -- including the Grand Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 600 guests.
The property offers a "Special Opening" promotion with 15% off the best available rate. The package also includes a daily buffet breakfast, late checkout at 2pm (subject to availability), and 20% discount on food & beverages in some outlets.
The promotion prices for a night's stay start at 4,503 baht for a Deluxe room. Bookings are available until March 31 for stays from Feb 24 until the end of March.
Visit carltonhotel.co.th.
Email karnjanak@bangkokpost.co.th if you have any comments to share.
