Gear up for the upcoming festivals and events around Thailand

This annual event, Butterfly Watching will take place at Impact Exhibition and Convention Center, Muang Thong Thani from June 3 to 7 which will bring together wealth of sales and marketing. The showcase is divided into different zones, among them are Gourmet Tourism, Rustic Thailand, Health & Spa, Adventure and Eco Tourism.

The annual “Amari Watergate Hotel & BMW Thailand Charity Midnight Run” will kick off at midnight at Amari Watergate Hotel on Phetchaburi Road and continue through the city’s streets. Southeast Asia’s unofficial nightlife capital, will host the Charity Midnight Run on October 10, and the good news is that you don’t have to be the fastest to have fun.

The rainy season is here, and it’s about time to swap your summer sandals for hiking shoes. The butterfly watching season in Sa Kaew coincides with the fruit picking season in the eastern provinces, so don’t forget to stop off on your way back and stock up with your favorites. Pangsida National Park in Sa Kaew, beckons the butterfly-watchers to pitch up their tents in the park, more than 400 butterfly species can easily be captured for posterity even with the camera.

Celebrating the Vesak day festival in Thailand

The Day of Vesak, or Visakha Puja, is the celebration, the birth enlightenment and passing away of the Lord Buddha. It falls on the full moon day of the sixth lunar month of Vesak, which falls in May 8 this year. About 2,000 Buddhist leaders from all over the world have joined an International Buddhist Conference on the United Nations Day of Vesak in Thailand. The Day of Vesak was first celebrated during the Sukhothai period. An extraordinary aspect of the occasion is that the three incidents took place on the same day but different years.

The General Assembly of the United Nations took into consideration the fact that Buddhism is one of the world’s oldest religions. The Buddha taught mutual loving-kindness and forbearance for the sake of peace and happiness in society. Buddha attained enlightenment at the age of 35 and passed away at the age of 80. He spent 45 years propagating his principle of freedom from suffering. This still continues to make, a significant contribution to human spirituality, and therefore as a consequence, sixteen Buddhist countries jointly agreed to organize activities on the Day of Vesak at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, U.S.A. from 2000 onwards. In this way Buddhism began to make its way into Thailand. Buddhism gained wide acceptance because of its emphasis on tolerance and individual initiative, which complemented the Thais’ cherished sense of inner freedom.

At present, Thailand is the location of the headquarters of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, an international Buddhist organization which promotes coordination and cooperation to enhance Buddhism throughout the world. There are currently around 32,700 Buddhist monasteries and more than 350,000 monks across the country.

Are the Cartoons really biased?

In a press conference held recently, rayong democrat MP Satit Pitutacha attacked Thai Rath cartoonist “Sia” Sakda Iew, saying he was bent on destroying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Democrat Party. He added that Sia did not offer a professional, honest criticism or offer his opinions in a creative manner and also did not follow media ethics and professionalism in his work, and did not use his intellect either at a time when the country is facing problems.

Satit asked Sia to be fair, unbiased, professional, ethical and work within media standards, and if he does not do so, he would put forward a compilation of pieces done by Sia when he filed complaint with the National Press Council of Thailand. But none of these threatening stopped Sia from expressing his opinion. He showed PM sitting in his chair with the messages “it is time a standard label was attached to the chair” and “muzzling the media means muzzling the people” in the background. And as usual, there is a cobra wound around Abhisit’s neck. However some Thai Rath fans say the newspaper’s cartoons are neutral and balanced by the work of another cartoonist Somchai Katanyutanan or “Chai Ratchawat”. Once he was criticized by some as supporting the Democrat Party, something he denied for. So he challenged to find a cartoon done by him that cheered the Democrats where he could easily find one which criticizes them.

According to Arun Watcharasawat, another cartoonist, MPs should not try to read too much into caricatures or they will always find them biased. Readers need to use a certain level of intellect and thought to interpret a cartoon, like when a viewer considers a koan – a Buddhist riddle that never has a clear answer.

Coronation Day – a special event in Thailand

In Bangkok, the Coronation day is celebrated every year for his Majesty king Bhumibol Adulyadej. He was crowned as Rama, the ninth King of Chakri dynasty on 5th may 1950. This event includes commemorative sport, dance, gun salutes and other cultural events across Bangkok. On this event, there are religious rites that last for three days.

On the very first day (3 may) there is a Buddhist ceremony at Amarindra Vinichai Hall, in which scriptures are chanted and a sermon is delivered by a high monk. On the second day, the ceremony includes two pars-  a Brahmanic one and a Buddhist one.

The last third day is Coronation day, in which the king is dressed in full regalia, and a feast is given to Buddhist monks. They hear their Royal Thai Army and Navy each fire a salute of 21 guns. This day is very special and is enjoyed by the Civilians.

Thailand’s world comedy film festival

Thailand will host the World Comedy Film Festival,which will be sponsored by The Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT) under the helm of the Federation of National Film Association of Thailand which will feature more than 50 comedy films, will run from 23 – 29 April, 2009, at Siam Paragon Cineplex and SF World Cinema at Central World. The first in Asia this April, will follow the success of the Bangkok International Film Festival, in an effort to position Thailand as the film industry hub of Asia and also to help boost the country’s tourism industry.

Thailand has long been known as the Land of Smiles. Laughter’s Beyond Frontier is the theme of this maiden comedy film festival in Bangkok, with an international array of films from such countries as the USA, UK, Italy, France, Germany, South Africa, Poland and Asian movies from Iran, Kazakhstan, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, China, Taiwan, as well as the host country Thailand. The film fest will feature 20 films from the World Cinema category, 20 movies from Asian Cinema, and 10 Thai comedies plus 5 classics.

This is the first time that the Comedian Association, the Federation of National Film Associations, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand are working together in close cooperation to showcase the local prowess of comedy acts in films and other kinds of media.

NOE takes another step with big tourism events this year

Thailand Travel & Dive Expo 2009’ is in line with the government’s policy to promote Thai tourism industry. The company is quite confident about the great potential of the fair, which is expected to attract a huge number of local tourists as Thai people still need traveling despite the economic difficulty. It is well-recognized that Thailand has been in downturn economy this year and local tourism industry has got a serious impact from the situation. N.C.C. on behalf of the organizer for tourism events has still raised its confidence to a rebound of local tourism sector, which will be gradually improved. The government itself has launched various campaigns to stimulate Thai people to travel and spend more locally as well as to invite foreign tourists to visit Thailand. The company has also received great supports from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Photo Business Association, Wahoo Diving Center, and NAUI Asia Pacific. The event has always received great feedback from business entrepreneurs as well as visitors. For this year, TDEX will be held between May 14 and 17 at Plenary 1-3, Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. The event will be organized under the theme ‘Enjoy Exploring’ designed to encourage Thai people to enjoy traveling, diving and exciting the beautiful sight of under water natural world. They can explore themselves to new experiences and views.

TDEX is the ASEAN’s biggest diving fair and attracting the largest number of visitors both Thais and foreigners. This year N.C.C. will also organize “Wonderful Thailand 2009” at the same time, which will utilize the full exhibition space at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. This one-stop-shopping event will serve travel-lovers at all requirements, whether they love diving, trekking, climbing, rowing, golfing, or having leisure. Various tourism-related products and services will be on offer at the fair, including diving instruments, diving trips, diving courses, boat charter rental & leasing services, trekking and climbing equipments, photo accessories, resorts and accommodations, traveling and diving destinations, etc. The fair will not just encourage domestic tourism, but also promote Thailand as the tourism diving centre in Asia.

ASEAN summit venue changed once more, now to Pattaya

The summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders plus China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India was originally due to take place in Bangkok in December, but was postponed after anti-Government protesters besieged the capital’s airports. Next the southern tourist isle of Phuket was named to host the conference on April 10-12. Now, Thailand has again switched the venue of the long-delayed meeting saying it would now be held in the beach resort of Pattaya.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat told that it would likely be held at the town’s plush Royal Cliff Beach Hotel.

“The problem in Phuket was that many hotels were booked by tourists and therefore the available rooms were scattered around. We are trying to use only one hotel, for security reasons,” he said.

Pattaya, less than 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Bangkok, is one of Thailand’s most popular seaside resorts but has only just begun to cultivate a more family-friendly image after years as a magnet for sex tourists.

Lorena Ochoa wins the Honda LPGA for her 25th career title

Women’s World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa fired a six-under 66 and won the Honda LPGA Thailand on Sunday for her 25th career title, easily pulling away for a three-stroke victory in her first event of the season. She finished the event at 14-under-par 274.

Last year, Ochoa had opened with a victory in Singapore in the HSBC Women’s Champions and went on to win five of her first six events.

The top-ranked Mexican star, three strokes behind playing partner Paula Creamer at the start of the round, shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 14-under 274 on the Siam Country Club’s Plantation Course. South Korea’s Hee Young Park shot a 65 and moved into the second place at minus-11. The third-ranked Creamer had a 73, leaving her four strokes back at 10 under.

The shirts war on Valentine’s Day

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in yellow shirts plans to hold its “PAD Caravan for New Politics” concert at a public park in the Northeastern province on Saturday, the Valentine’s Day. In the meantime, the red shirts plan to gather at a temple in Bangkok’s Don Muang district on Saturday. The red shirts belong to Udon Thani – people who support ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s bid to make a political comeback.

The Udon Thani governor chaired a meeting of senior officials from state agencies Thursday (12 Feb) in a bid to prevent serious incidents during the concert by ‘yellow shirts’. The PAD concert’s venue, a park, was the site of a violent clash last year when hundreds of red shirts stormed a political rally organised by the PAD.

Amnat Phakarat, governor of Udon Thani, said that strict safety measures would be taken to prevent any undesirable happening during the concert. The concert area will be sealed off Friday, one day before the event, for bomb searches. More than 1,400 police officers, including a crowd-control unit, will be involved in keeping law and order. Military staff will also be available to help police. Health personnel and ambulances will be on standby in case of emergency. He said officials were ordered not to use force with protesters but that “necessary measures” would be taken if the protest turned violent or protesters attempted to break into government offices.

Also, local leaders of the red shirts and yellow shirts assured him that no violent incident would take place.

Angelina Jolie visited refugee camp in Thailand

This Wednesday, renowned Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited Ban Mai Nai Soi camp in northern Thailand housing more than 18-thousand ethnic Karenni refugees.

The actress was moved when she met a 21-year-old refugee who was born in the camp, has never left, and is raising her own child in the camp. Jolie says there must be a way to help the refugees “work and become self-reliant.” Jolie also said that she hoped the Thai government will be just as generous to the Rohingya migrants as it is to other ethnic Burmese refugees.

Thailand gets the ‘Best Tourist Destination’ award at Norway

Thailand was voted as the “Best Tourist Destination” and Thai Airways International the “Best International Airline” at the Norwegian Grand Travel Awards 2009 ceremony held in Norway’s capital city, Oslo.

Thailand has won the ‘best destination’ category for the sixth consecutive year at this award. Nine other countries were nominated by a jury of travel trade representatives, and a random selection taken from more than 400 travel agents located across Norway voted.

The award was received by the Thai ambassador to Norway, Jullapong Nonsrichai, and Manit Boonchim, the director for Scandinavia at the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Nonsrichai said that it was a vote of continued confidence by Norwegians in Thailand as a travel destination, in spite of the country’s recent political instability that led to the closure of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports late last year. He told the attendees the situation has improved significantly since that time and that the government is working toward restoring the confidence of foreign visitors.

14th ASEAN summit to be held at Hua Hin beach resort

Though our film stars are fitness freaks and especially our Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, they have their own shares of binging at casual dates once in a while. So, it was that after a recent trip to Salman’s Panvel farmhouse, the couple were returning to Mumbai when they felt the need to stop for some fast food as they both were hungry. They stopped at Mac Donald’s for a burger date. The moment their fans saw the land cruiser waiting outside MacDonald’s they rushed to them for photographs and autographs.

The couple were ate their sporting best and willingly entertained their fans and their quick stop at the fast food joint resulted in a long wait.

Thailand celebrates 3 different New Years each year!

Thailand is unique in many ways. One of the specila facts about this special country is that it is the only country in the world that actively celebrates 3 different New Years each year! Besides the conventional New Year on 31st of December, it has the Chinese Lunar New Year that takes normally place in February and there is the Thai New Year itself which is in April each year. Songkran Day or Thailand New Year is one of the biggest events in Thailand each year. Songkran is a Thai word which means “move” or “change place” as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac.

Thailand New Year is all fun and frolic with parades, shows, music, lots of people having fun and the biggest water fight in the world! There are 2 main parts of the Thailand New Year water plays: Water of course and white powder that people will put in your face. When you are going out during the festival then wear the worst clothes or buy a cheapest one because you are going to be wet for sure. People usually don’t bring their mobile phone and camera when the celebration is on the peak then its very difficult to safe all these things.

On the streets, there are stalls selling water guns of all sizes for 100-about 800 Baht for the biggest ones. Songkran is a traditional festival and before it comes people concern upon environment with cooperation such as to clean houses, public places, temples and official buildings.

Songkran is a nice time to be in Bangkok but since it is also the time when workers in Bangkok from outside of town, head back home in droves, you need to get your reservations done well ahead because all forms of transport are booked months in advance.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand organizes the walking streets in front of Central World Plaza, one of the big Thailand property, all the way through Silom Road and up to Siam Square where another event will be held the platform at Sanam Luang near the Grand Palace.

Cambodia to attend ASEAN summit in Thailand

There may be tension and armed clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in the border area but Cambodia has shown maturity in making a decision to attend the attend the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Thailand, Chinese-language newspaper the Jian Hua Daily on Wednesday quoted an official as saying.

“We will not boycott the summit in December, even as we have border dispute,” Phay Siphan, secretary of state of the Cambodian Council of Ministers told a seminar here on Tuesday. “We want to keep the friendship and cooperative ties with our neighbor countries,” he added.

The clash in October killed two Cambodian soldiers and wounded two others, after Thai troops entered the disputed area over sovereignty claim. Talking about the border dispute, Phay Siphan said that both Cambodia and Thailand currently need to realize their border demarcation in accordance with the conventionally recognized maps 100 years ago by the French colonialist which was made with the agreement of the Thai authority then.

There are now 73 demarcation posts along the 805-km border between Cambodia and Thailand, 50 percent of which are recognized by the Thai side. Cambodia still plans to plant hundreds more posts there in order to specify the border line.

Chinese navy ship, Zhenghe, enters Bangkok port

Chinese navy ship (CNS) Zhenghe entered the Bangkok Port on November 10, Monday morning, starting its four-day official visit to the capital of Thailand. CNS Zhenghe was put into service in 1987 and had visited the United States, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Russia.

On the reception ceremony, Thai officials welcomed all the crew on Zhenghe. A Chinese naval band performed on Chinese navy ship and Fan Kuiju, captain of Chinese navy ship shook hands with local Chinese at the Bangkok Port.

While docking here, this ocean-going training vessel with 411 crew members will be open for the public on Nov. 11 and 12. Its staff will hold volleyball and push-and-pull matches with the Thai navy troops based at Bangkok, said Captain of the ship Fan Kuiju.

The Thai officials have expressed their hopes that the visit will definitely deepening the understanding between the people of China and Thailand.