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https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40010517

A survey conducted by the Pollution Control Department has pinpointed the best destinations in Thailand this year based on their beauty and state of the environment.

“The project aims to serve as a database for related agencies and help them in policy planning,” the department’s director-general Atthaphol Charoenchansa said on Tuesday.

The assessment is divided into four categories: Best beaches, best freshwater resources, the best quality of air and best waste-management practices.

The top two “best” beaches this year were Ban Krut and Manao in Prachuap Khiri Khan, followed by Lamai, Chaweng and Mae Nam on Koh Samui.

The top five best freshwater resources in Thailand are Tapi River in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phetchaburi River in Phetchaburi, Nong Han Lake in Sakon Nakhon, Kwae Noi River in Kanchanaburi and Li River in Lamphun.

The top five provinces with the best quality of air this year are Yala, Satun, Narathiwat, Nakhon Si Thammarat, with Songkhla and Phuket tying at the fifth position.

Provinces with the most efficient waste-management practices are Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Lamphun, Phuket and Yasothon.

To mark these achievements, the Pollution Control Department along with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and private partners are offering digital New Year greeting cards featuring photographs provided by Tripgether.com, John Wick Camping, and Aerial Filming & Photography.

The cards can be downloaded from the department’s facebook page.

Published : December 28, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40010467

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s Phuket chapter held a press conference on Sunday to announce the province’s biggest event of the year – “Amazing Thailand Countdown 2022”. The event will be held on New Year’s Eve at Saphan Hin Park in Muang district.

“Organized under the concept of ‘Amazing New Chapter @Phuket’, the countdown will feature Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and many top Thai artists,” said Thapanee Kiatphaiboon, TAT’s deputy director for the domestic market. “There will also be the magnificent ‘Pearl of Andaman’ light show featuring more than 20,000 fireworks that will be set off at midnight to welcome the New Year.”

Thapanee added that TAT plans to use the event to enhance Phuket’s position as the No 1 travel destination in Thailand and demonstrate the province’s readiness in welcoming tourists under effective Covid-19 management and a state-of-the-art healthcare system.

“We also expect the countdown event to help generate income for businesses in Phuket and nearby provinces from tourists entering under the Phuket Sandbox programme,” she added.

Although the government has suspended Thailand Pass applications under the Test & Go system since December 22 in a bid to curb the spread of Omicron, foreigners can still enter Thailand under the Phuket Sandbox scheme or opt for the alternative quarantine at certified hotels.

Under the Phuket Sandbox, visitors who tested negative upon arrival are required to stay in Phuket for seven days after which they can travel to other provinces provided they test negative using the RT-PCR method.

The government is scheduled to re-evaluate the situation and issue new regulations on the Test & Go scheme on January 4.

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Published : December 27, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40010417

Bangkok has lit up this month for the holidays and here’s where you can go to enjoy the lights and sights:

• CentralWorld
Like every December, the CentralWorld plaza in the middle of Bangkok has again been dressed up with bright lights and a huge Christmas tree. The theme this year is “Shine Together” and there are seven spots for selfies. The lights last until January 6.
Chitlom BTS Station    

• Samyan Mitrtown
The front of the mall sports a magnificent Christmas tree and colourful lights along the “Feel Good” theme. However, the highlight of the event is the colourfully lit 200-metre-long “Mitr Vibes” tunnel. The event lasts until January 10.
Sam Yan MRT Station

• B-Story Garden Cafe & Restaurants
Restaurants under the B-Story banner bring a snowy Christmas to Bangkok, except they are closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.
Ratchathewi BTS Station for the Ratchathewi branch and by private transport to the Lat Phrao branch.

• Siam Centre
Designers of the “Magic from the Universe” theme offer visitors spellbinding lights and sounds using augmented reality (AR) technology.
Siam BTS Station

• Terminal 21
The mall brings you “Magic Christmas 2022” with several spots for that perfect snapshot available until January 3.
Asok BTS Station

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Santa comes a-knockin’ at Chonburi’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo

Iconic Star Festival lights up Sakon Nakhon subdistrict

Shopping malls in Bangkok spruced up for Christmas shopping season

• Emporium and Emquartier
The organisers have built a “Journey of Joy” between the two malls as well as a unique Christmas tree. The event runs until January 2.
Phrom Phong BTS Station

• Mega Bangna
Shoppers can pose for shots with the 12-metre tall Christmas tree and decorations created along the theme of “Magical Cirque of Christmas”.
Private transport or bus
 

Published : December 25, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40010404

Christmas Day was special for animals at Chonburi’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo because Santa showed loaded with special treats.

Santa, using a golf cart instead of a sleigh, drove to all seven zones in the 7-kilometre site to hand out some 100 boxes filled with delights.
 

Some 40 penguins walked out of their enclosure to receive their presents, while the capybara and hippopotamus families appeared pleased with their socks filled with food and a fake tree stump.

Santa also presented bags of beans, raisins and fruit to the 23 ring-tailed lemurs, fresh grass to the white rhinoceros and fresh meat to the tigers and hyenas.

Director Tewin Rattanawongsawat said the zoo has launched “Khao Kheow Night Zoo” so people can enjoy watching wildlife in their natural habitat at night, especially the deer population, which includes chital, sambar and hog species.

The night safari is offered every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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Published : December 25, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40010328

The Thai-Catholic communities in Sakhon Nakhon’s Tha Rae subdistrict on Wednesday launched their iconic “Star Festival” to celebrate Christmas until December 26.

The festival commenced at 7pm, with an 800-metre-long procession of “star rafts” from the Tha Rae Irrigation Office to the Municipal Public Park in Muang district adjacent to Nong Han Lake.

The rafts, which were elaborately decorated with giant five-point stars and lighting, will be floated on the lake along with a number of small boats, which have also been equipped with illuminated stars.

According to a story that has been handed down, in November 1884, 35 families – partly of Vietnamese and partly Laotian origin – arrived at the lake, led by French missionary Xavier Guego. They were looking for a place to establish a new community and, after asking for the protection of St Michael, set out in makeshift boats to “sail into the wind”, which carried them to a forested shore where Tha Rae stands today.

To celebrate the occasion, processions of vehicles decorated with stars will also take to the road in several locations in Tha Rae from December 23 to 26, including St Michael’s Cathedral and Sakon Nakhon St Joseph School.

All decorated vehicles will descend on the Municipal Public Park on December 26, giving tourists the opportunity to witness their beauty and snap pictures.

To keep Covid-19 at bay, the province has set up 15 thermal scanning checkpoints complete with hand-sanitiser dispensers at event areas, while visitors are required to wear face masks at all times.

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Sakon Nakhon Airport Re-opens Tonight

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Published : December 23, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40010225

In a facebook post on Monday, Office of National Parks of Thailand explained how to use QueQ mobile application to book a visit to 14 national parks located along the coast of Andaman Sea in six provinces, namely Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, Phang Nga, Phuket, Trang, and Satun.

From November 20 onward, all visitors to national parks must reserve a slot via online channel in advance to prevent overcrowding.

Here’s how you can reserve a slot:

1.    Open QueQ application and search for the national park’s name.
2.    Select tourist attractions that you want to visit. 
3.    Input personal information such as names, mobile phone number, number of visitors, type of vehicle
4.    Select the preferred date and time slot

For more information, visit facebook @NationalPark.Interpretation
 

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Erawan National Park to reopen on Friday

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Published : December 21, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40009968

Trang is inviting avid divers and lovers of the sea to come and admire its beautiful artificial coral reef built off the coast of Sikao and Kantang districts.

The reef, created from waste materials like concrete slabs, train carriages and broken sculptures, has been built to not just offer habitat to marine creatures but also help restore natural coral reefs.

Apart from the man-made reef, Trang is also offering special scuba diving adventures at its iconic Emerald Cave, Hin Nok Rock and its Waen and Kradan islands.

Related news:

• No sign of injury on dead dugong found near Trang’s Koh Muk
• Beautiful stingray bring a bounty to Trang local
• Climate change killed 14% of the worlds coral reefs in a decade, study finds

Published : December 14, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40009911

A little over 4,000 tourists will be allowed to enter Maya Bay in Krabi’s Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park each day from January 1 onwards.

The crescent-shaped Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Leh island, which became famous after it was featured in the 2000 Hollywood blockbuster “The Beach”, has been closed to tourists since June 2018.

Damras Phoprasit, Department of National Parks director, said reopening the beach next year will help stimulate Krabi’s economy and can be seen as a New Year’s gift to tourists.

He added that the bay will be reopened under the following conditions:

• People can only enter from 7am to 6pm.

• Boats carrying no more than 375 people will be limited to 11 trips daily.

• Only 22 shallow dives will be allowed per day.

• Tourists can snorkel for 45 minutes per time and stay in the water for an hour. Groups who arrive in the morning may spot blacktip reef sharks, while snorkellers may catch sight of painted spiny lobsters.

• Tourists can reserve their trip via the QueQ application from December 20.

Damras added that tourists will be instructed to strictly comply with the national park’s regulations to protect natural resources and refrain from leaving garbage in the area.

“If this set-up proves to be successful, then we will apply the same rules to reopening other parts of the Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park,” he added.

Related stories:

• Phi Phi’s famous Maya Bay to be open to tourists from Jan 1
• New jetty for Maya Bay 70% complete but no decision on reopening
• Govt considers reopening Maya Bay to tourists next year

Published : December 13, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40009791

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on Wednesday held a ceremony to celebrate the first non-stop international flight from Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport to Phuket International Airport.

“The first inaugural flight, TG 478 of Thai Airways International [THAI], landed in Phuket on Tuesday afternoon,” said Thanes Phetsuwan, TAT deputy governor of marketing – Asia and South Pacific.

“Travellers from Australia can conveniently fly to Phuket three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The flights depart Sydney at 9.30am and reach Phuket at 2.40pm.”

To celebrate the Sydney-Phuket non-stop flight, TAT provided an Amazing Thailand gift set and a certificate to each passenger on Tuesday. It also organised a cultural performance at the airport.

“TAT estimates the non-stop flights will bring in about 90-140 passengers per flight during the high season of December and January,” Thanes said. “Moreover, THAI recently increased its Sydney-Bangkok-Sydney flights from three to four times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It also plans to introduce Melbourne-Bangkok-Melbourne flights in January,” he added.

Australia is among 63 countries/territories from which travellers can enter Thailand without having to quarantine under the Test & Go campaign. Eligible visitors must have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 at least 14 days before arrival and stay at a SHA Plus certified hotel for one night while awaiting the result of a RT-PCR test, administered upon arrival.

From November 1 to December 6, 729 tourists from Australia landed in Phuket under the Phuket Sandbox programme, placing the country 13th among nations from which tourists had arrived as part of the scheme.

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Published : December 09, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-destination/40009705

If you have nothing planned for this weekend, then head to the Srinakarin Dam in Kanchanaburi to enjoy clear skies, cool weather and misty mornings.

Srinakarin Dam is a perfect getaway because it is not too far from Bangkok, yet offers the peace and tranquillity of untouched nature.

Rafting down the River Kwai on a misty morning will make you feel like you’re floating in the clouds. This is certainly the place to be if you want to wake up to chilly mornings and go to sleep counting stars hanging from clear skies.

Related News

Kanchanaburi police boost patrols at Myanmar border

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Published : December 07, 2021

By : THE NATION