Category Archives: Thailand News

THAI adds extra flights for Songkran

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PHUKET: Thai Airways has scheduled eight extra round-trip flights between Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and Phuket International Airport to cope with the additional numbers of passengers expected to travel over the busy Songkran period.

The airline has scheduled a total of 29 additional round-trip flights between Bangkok and the provinces, according to a press release. Other round-trip flights have been added on routes from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi and Khon Kaen. All the additional flights have been scheduled during the periods April 10-11 and April 14-16.

On April 10 there will be two extra round-trip flights between Bangkok and Phuket, with one more the following day.
On April 14 there will be one extra round-trip flight, with two more on both April 15 and 16. 0p-0\ationwide over the Songkran period, there will be 12,404 seats on the new flights, in addition to those already scheduled.

Thai Airways will also use larger aircraft on some busy routes, including Bangkok-Phuket, in order to accommodate the extra passengers.  The changes will bring the total number of additional seats available over the period to 22,674, an increase of 17.1% over the usual number. The only other carrier to increase passenger load over the period is Bangkok Airways, which will add one extra daily flight on April 13, 14 and 15.

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Phuket’s pearls put the sparkle into fashion

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by Pathumporn Junibool

PHUKET is known as the ‘The Pearl of the Andaman’ because of its natural beauty, but what many people don’t realise is that Phuket is also home to one of Thailand’s most important pearl farms.  The Phuket Pearl Farm, about a mile offshore from Sapham Bay on the island’s east coast, cultivates between 5000 and 10,000 pearls a month for both the domestic and international markets.

Their pearls even adorn the necks of Thailand’s Royal Family. Princess Mahajakri Sirinthorn was given a pearl necklace made of pearls cultivated at the farm, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Bajrakittiyabha probably picked up a pearl or two when she visited the farm in 2007. “Mankind has always admired the pearl’s natural beauty, but to our ancient ancestors, the process that created pearls were largely a mystery,” said Phuket Pearl Farm owner, Amorn Inthararoen.

“Some of our ancestors believed pearls were dropped by God from the heavens, and others thought they were the teardrops of mermaids. “But over time, more scientific explanations emerged, based on observations that the pearls shared the colour and texture of the oyster shells in which they formed.

“In the thirteenth century, the Chinese began cultivating pearls by putting foreign objects inside the oysters to encourage nacre growth,” he said. “Production techniques have developed over the centuries and pearl farming has now developed into a major industry.” Continue reading →

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Year of the Ox will begin with a bang

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by Fraser Morton
NOISY fireworks, dragons, colourful processions and a host of entertainment will herald the start of the Chinese New Year on Monday. The Year of the Ox will begin with a bang in Phuket’s old quarter, which is home to many of Phuket’s Chinese residents. This year, the New Year festivities will coincide with the 10th annual Old Phuket Town Festival which promises to be an electric three days of performances, parades and culinary treats.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Phuket City Municipality will host three days of cultural performances between January 31 and February 2.  Traditional Thai and Chinese activities, including Chinese opera, traditional Thai dancing, Kung Fu demonstrations and Chinese folk dancing, will be staged every night between 7pm and 11pm in Queen Sirikit Public Park, Thalang Rd, Krabi, Road and Soi Rommanee, and streets in the old quarter will be closed to traffic to add to the street carnival atmosphere.

Phuket City Mayor, Somjai Suwansupana, said this year’s Old Phuket Festival would be much better than previous years.  The festivities will begin with a street parade, starting at 5pm on Saturday. The parade, which will feature both young and old people wearing traditional Thai and Chinese costumes, will start at Sapan Hin park and finish at Queen Sirikit park. At 7pm, the Minister for Sport and Tourism Phuket, Chompol Sillapaarcha, will officially open the festival. Continue reading →

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