Showing posts with label Entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Entertainment. Show all posts

Wednesday 3 March 2021

A passport to go to the bar? Intriguing possibility of "vaccine passport" to visit entertainment venues in Thailand


A passport to go to the bar? Intriguing possibility of "vaccine passport" to visit entertainment venues in Thailand

It may not be only international travel that is affected by plans being mulled and put into place in several countries for "vaccine passports".

They may have an impact on what people can do with ease domestically.

Thai news site The Standard rounded-up the latest situation regarding vaccine passports.
In their preamble they said that once you needed a visa to visit a country. But the pandemic changed much of that.

After Covid-19 took the world by surprise you needed a "Covid-19 free certificate" to travel.
Now it is increasingly looking like you might need proof of having been vaccinated before you can go abroad.

But as they pointed out the so-called vaccine passport is not just for international movement.
Such a document could be mandated to enter places where large numbers of people congregate in close proximity.
That would mean "the entertainment industry and sporting events" as The Standard pointed out.
So it might be necessary to hold a document to go to a pub, beer bar or disco in the future.
That would mean an even greater urgency to get vaccinated for people who enjoy a beverage or a night out.

The article did not say that this was yet being mulled in Thailand but it appears that all suggestions are currently on the table.

The Ministry of Public Health have already published infographics of the step by step process of how vaccination will work.

This includes online notifications of jabs and other protocols about receiving vaccinations. A step-by-step way forward has been announced.

The Standard noted that Israel has already issued a "Green Pass" that is a kind of vaccine passport (VP) that appears to be for internal use.

Source - ThaiVisa

Wednesday 1 July 2020

Govt offers July 27 as first compensation for Songkran


This year’s Songkran holidays will be tied in with the king’s birthday, government spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat announced on Monday (June 29).

The holidays will run from July 25 to July 28 (the King’s birthday), with Monday, July 27 marked as the first compensatory holiday for Songkran, which had been cancelled earlier this year due to the pandemic.

Decision on compensation for the other two days of the three-day festival is still pending.

The Cabinet has been postponing making a decision on new dates for Songkran holidays in line with measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. 

Source - Pattaya One News

Monday 1 June 2020

#Thailand - Officials in Pattaya launch campaign to mark city’s phased re-opening

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Pattaya launches the “Pattaya is brighter together” campaign, meant to signify the ongoing and gradual re-opening of the city
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The mayor of Pattaya has led officials in launching a campaign to mark the phased re-opening of the famous tourist hotspot. Well more of a celebration! Normally hosting millions of tourists every year, Pattaya has been through a tough time during the last few months, with businesses, beaches and all nightlife and hospitality venues shut down due to the impacts of the Covid-19 virus.

Now, through the “Pattaya is brighter together” campaign, Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem and other city officials are hoping to bring hope to residents and encourage visitors to return as Pattaya gradually re-opens and the journey back to some sort of normality gets underway.
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The event kicked off last night when city officials and members of various tourism bodies, as well as local media, attended an opening ceremony on Pattaya Beach. At the event, officials took part in coconut painting, using coconuts bought from local farmers. Even Mayor Khunpluem painted a coconut, with all artwork then exhibited at Pattaya and Jomtien beaches to signify that brighter times are to come.

 To date, Pattaya has gone around six weeks without a case of community transmission of the Covid-19 virus. The latest re-opening comes as the country enters Phase 3 of a nationwide easing of restrictions in light of a nominal number of new virus cases nationally, most of which are being detected in repatriated Thai citizens in state quarantine.

Source - Pataya One News
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Lockdown Collapsed #Thailand’s lucrative sex-industry


The black leather party masks that performers May and Som wear for their fetish shows in Bangkok are definitely not the sort to stop the corona-virus.

Behind closed doors, they practise for the day when health restrictions are lifted and tourists return, but they have no idea when and worry that the city’s infamous Patpong red-light district could be very different by then.

“This kind of place will be the last to reopen,” said May 31. Like Som, she goes only by her Thai nickname.

“Even when it does reopen, customers will be worried about their safety,” she said at the BarBar club on Patpong’s Soi 2 street. BarBar and other clubs such as “Bada Bing” and “Fresh Boys” are shuttered and the nights are largely silent.

Thailand shut bars and clubs in mid-March as corona-virus cases surged. It halted international passenger flights, stopping the tourism that had made Bangkok the world’s most visited city for four years.

Patpong went dark.

But residents say the decline had already begun for a red-light district that flourished in the 1970s as a rest stop for U.S. forces in Indochina.

“This COVID-19 is an accelerant of change,” said Michael Ernst, an Austrian 25-year veteran of the district and former bar owner who opened the Patpong Museum weeks before the new corona-virus reached Thailand.

“The go-go bar and its very one-dimensional concept of a stage and ladies dancing on it with a number. I think that’s already over, they just don’t know that yet.”

SHIFT

The number of go-go bars in Patpong district has waned in recent years as business has moved to other parts of Bangkok or online and as sex tourism has become a smaller part of the overall tourism industry for Thailand.

For decades, tourism figures were skewed towards men. But the growing importance of Chinese visitors in particular changed that. In 2018, more than 53 percent of tourists were women.

Nonetheless, Patpong’s nightlife district employed thousands of people, mostly young women. Most are now among the 2 million Thais the state planning agency believes may be made unemployed this year because of the impact of the virus.

BarBar is still paying some workers. But the manager of at least one go-go bar on Soi 2 just abandoned the lease.

Patpong had never known it as bad, said 70-year-old Pratoomporn Somritsuk, who for 35 years has run the Old Other Office drinking den.

“A lot of ladies here working in nightlife are mostly from a poor family or upcountry,” she said. “They have no chance to go work in a company.”

The lockdown has meant the whole sex industry has collapsed. Online escort service Smooci said activity in Bangkok fell to 10 percent in April.

Thailand has now begun to lift some movement restrictions with infections at over 3,000 and deaths nearly 60, but neither rising rapidly. There is talk of tourism resuming.

But a health ministry spokesman said that nightlife venues would be among the last to reopen.

“In the new normal, Patpong will have to adapt a lot. It may end up looking different, but this change will be for the better,”
Rungruang Kitpati said.

Social distancing and the sex industry are hard to make compatible, however.

“I can provide alcohol gel or temperature checks,”
said 38-year-old Jittra Nawamawat, one of BarBar’s founders. “But staying one metre apart is impossible.” – Reuters

Source - Bangkok Jack

Tuesday 5 May 2020

Domestic Tourism Campaign “We Love Thailand” to be Launched


Thailand’s Tourism Council is preparing to start its “We Love Thailand” campaign to stimulate domestic tourism after thing normalize. Council president Chairat Trirattanajarasporn said they were in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

“This campaign will promote new local products and attractions, especially those involving tourism communities,” he told the Nation. Chairat also said domestic tourism needs to be promoted for one to two years.  Above all while the market waits for foreign tourists to regain confidence.

In the initial phase, it is expected that people from China, South Korea or Asean would return to Thailand, he said.

“Thailand needs Chinese tourists as we recover,” Chairat added. “When the situation becomes safe again, Chinese will return to Thailand as our country is near. Moreover, the Chinese market has the capacity to expand.”
Mass Unemployment in Thailand’s Tourism Sector

Up to six million people are expected to lose their jobs in the tourism sector due to Covid-19 a report says.

Reports from the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said that unemployment will affect millions of people in Thailand’s tourism sector. A critical industry that accounted for 21 percent of the country’s GDP.

“Thailand’s tourism sector has overcome many past shocks. Including natural disasters and political instability,” the UN report said. “However, there may be new emerging sources of risks that may need to be considered.”

It added, “The magnitude of the current socio-economic shocks that come from the health and economic effects tied to the current COVID-19 pandemic are, however, unprecedented in recent history.”

The industry’s woes were rooted in the total collapse of inbound tourism. International tourist arrivals in January and February dropped to 5.9 million. Compared with 7.3 million in the same months last year.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, income in this time dropped from 381 million baht to 293 million baht, or a decrease of more than 23 percent.

From January to March alone, 139,000 people in the tourism sector already lost their jobs, mostly those working in accommodation.

The number of unemployed people could even rise to 10 million if the pandemic does not subside by the end of June, the report by Thai University of Commerce warned.

Source - Chiang Rai Times 
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Monday 11 June 2018

Tokyo looks to entice foreign tourists to spend, enjoy nightlife


Businesses in Tokyo are looking to get foreign visitors spending their time and cash on the city's wide-ranging nightlife options.

Travel agencies are arranging special events for foreign tourists such as Japanese taiko drum performances, while hotels are extending their business hours to allow guests to socialize into the early hours.

But while efforts are being made to boost the after-dark economy, the lack of late-night public transport remains a major obstacle to tourists getting a taste of what Tokyo has to offer -- especially when the only option after 1 a.m. is waiting for the first train four hours later, or taking an expensive taxi to their hotel.

Since last year, travel agency JTB Corp. has joined with "Drum Tao," a world-famous Japanese taiko percussion and dance troupe, to entertain foreign visitors.

Performances of the traditional Japanese drumming were held in September and October 2017. Due to their popularity, the shows are being held from May through November this year, a fourfold increase in the number of performances from the year before.
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 According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, foreign tourists visiting Japan last year spent about 150,000 yen ($1,370) per person. This is well below the 200,000 yen amount required to hit the 8 trillion yen the government wants to be injected into the economy by tourists.

Designating tourism as a key growth area, the Japanese government aims to attract 40 million overseas visitors annually to the country by 2020, and 60 million by 2030.

In January, the Tokyo metropolitan government said it planned to survey foreign tourists on what they enjoy about the city's nightlife, including restaurants, theaters and sporting events, to better cater to their interests while encouraging them to part with their cash.

The central government is joining Tokyo's efforts to increase spending by tourists at night. Despite the rapid increase in tourism, the average amount spent per traveler has declined in recent years.

Saturday 19 May 2018

'Party city' Amsterdam to crack down on tourists


Amsterdam is seeking to contain the flood of tourists swamping the city, with the incoming council proposing a series of tough measures and plans to hike tourism taxes.

Some 18 million tourists visit Amsterdam every year -- more than the entire population of the Netherlands --  and local residents have become increasingly fed-up at the deluge.

The city's picturesque narrow streets and canals now sag year round under the weight of all the visitors, including increasing numbers of raucous and unruly stag and hen parties.

Under a plan "to seek a new balance" put forward by the four parties forming the city's next coalition council, popular activities like beer-bikes and boozy boat trips will be sharply curtailed.
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 "Tourism is part of the international culture of Amsterdam, which we should continue to cherish," the plan says, a copy of which was obtained Thursday by AFP.

But due to "nuisance, crowds and rubbish, some neighborhoods are under extreme pressure."
Amsterdam is first and foremost "a city to live in and to do business," the plan says, adding "it is only secondly a tourist destination."

From 2019 tourist taxes will be hiked to 7.0 percent, while the city will also look at ways to cut back on the number of hotel rooms.

In some swamped neighborhoods a total ban on holiday rentals may be introduced, and plans for a new passenger terminal for large cruise ships will be scrapped.

"We are looking for an alternative location outside of Amsterdam," the plan says.

The city already announced in January that it would impose a new 30-day curb on the renting of private homes via websites like online booking giant Airbnb from next year. And this will be strictly enforced, the parties pledged.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Wednesday 12 July 2017

Three Thai water parks have been listed among the Top 10 in Asia in travel website TripAdvisor’s 2017 Travellers’ Choice awards.

Ramayana Water Park in Pattaya took third spot among the 10 and Black Mountain Water Park in Hua Hin sixth spot. Also in Pattaya, Cartoon Network Amazone is making a splash and was named the seventh-most popular water park in Asia.

“I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to these three parks in Thailand for winning positive reviews from travellers from around the world,” says Tourism Authority Governor Yuthasak Supasorn. “These awards certainly help to further strengthen the image of Thailand as a family-friendly destination.”

The award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of user reviews and ratings posted around the world in the past 12 months.
TripAdvisor users praised Ramayana Water Park for its “beautifully clean water” and “excellent rides” and called Black Mountain “safe”, “family-friendly” and “a great day out”. 

Cartoon Network Amazone was hailed as “state-of-the-art” with both “simple and daredevil” slides.


 Ramayana opened in May last year and covers 100 rai (160,000 square metres), making it one of the largest water parks in Southeast Asia. It boasts 21 rides and more than 50 other attractions, including two children’s zones, a “lazy river” and a floating market.

It’s 20 kilometres south of Pattaya, close to Khao Chi Chan, known for its giant Buddha etched into the side of a mountain, and next to Silverlake Vineyard.

Black Mountain, which opened in 2011, covers 40,000 square metres. It’s got a 17-metre-high tower from which nine different water slides radiate, plus a spectacular wave pool, a lazy river, a beach-infinity pool and children’s pool.

It’s about 15 minutes from Hua Hin town centre.

Cartoon Network Amazone is the world’s first Cartoon Network-theme water park. Opened in 2014, it features 10 entertainment zones and more than 150 water attractions. It’s in Bang Saray, about 20 minutes’ drive south of Pattaya.

Source - TheNation

Thursday 6 July 2017

#Thailand leads the pack for Asia's abused tourist elephants

Twice as many elephants work in Thailand's tourism industry as the rest of Asia combined, with the vast majority kept in "severely inadequate conditions", a new report revealed Thursday.

The world's largest land mammal is a huge draw for tourists across two continents. But while Africa's elephants are more likely to be spotted roaming vast nature reserves, their Asian cousins are less fortunate.

A multi-million dollar industry has flourished in recent decades with tourists taking rides on the giant beasts or watching them perform in circus shows.

Researchers from World Animal Protection spent two years visiting 220 venues using elephants across Asia, in what they describe as the most comprehensive survey to date of a rapidly growing, lucrative, but poorly regulated industry.

Their data showed pachyderm welfare routinely came in second place to turning a fast profit, with three-quarters of Asia's captive elephants kept in conditions that were rated poor or unacceptable.
 
 
 Thailand stood out as the global epicentre. Of the 2,923 elephants WAP documented working within Asia's tourism trade, 2,198 were found in Thailand alone. 
 
The next largest industry was India, with an estimated 617 elephants, followed by Sri Lanka on 166, Nepal on 147, Laos on 59 and Cambodia with just 36.

All the venues visited, which researchers said represented 90 percent of the industry, were rated on a scale of 1-10 in terms of conditions with 77 percent scoring between just one to five -- what researchers classified as "poor or unacceptable".

"When not giving rides or performing, the elephants were typically chained day and night, most of the time to chains less than three metres long. They were also fed poor diets, given limited appropriate veterinary care and were frequently kept on concrete floors in stressful locations," the report said.

'Tourists can push change' 


India fared the worst on living conditions with an average score of 4.4, followed by Thailand on 4.6, Nepal on 4.8, Sri Lanka on 4.9 and on Laos 5.0.

Cambodia averaged 6.5 but researchers noted there were just 36 elephant in four venues, two of which got good marks.

Highest rated venues rarely or never chained their elephants, limited or banned close interactions with tourists and allowed the animals to socialise in herds.

In Thailand only eight venues were rated as good, compared to 114 rated poor.

Jan Schmidt-Burbach, a Thailand-based expert with WAP, said tourists had the power to improve captive elephant lives by choosing venues that promote observing animals over interacting with them.

"As a general rule, if you can ride, hug or have a selfie with a wild animal it's cruel and you just shouldn't do it," he told AFP.

Researchers added that the 30 percent increase in Thailand's tourist elephant population since 2010 was based mostly in poorly rated venues.

Thailand's elephant entertainment industry took hold in the 1990s after authorities banned the use of elephants in commercial logging and owners said they had to find new revenue.

Most of that generation of elephants have now died out, yet the number of elephants involved in the trade keeps increasing. The country has more elephants in captivity than living in the wild.

WAP said they were particularly concerned by Thailand's animal circuses, where elephants can often be seen riding tricycles, walking on tightropes and even playing basketball.

"The training required to make elephants perform such tricks is particularly cruel and stressful," researchers said.

Source - TheNation

Monday 8 May 2017

Exotic pet cafes in #Thailand cause delight and concern.

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Visitors enjoy experience; critics fear trend will feed illegal wildlife trade

It is a Sunday afternoon and a sunlit cafe on Bangkok's outskirts is buzzing with patrons. The air smells of french fries and disinfectant. Kittens and corgis are darting around between the legs of customers, who are trying to poke at two parakeets shuffling warily along the edge of a wooden shelf.

Excited murmurs ripple through the crowd as a waitress announces that the playpen is ready for the next round of customers. One by one, the patrons squirt disinfectant on their palms and enter a glass-walled room to cuddle a squad of meerkats.

Asia may have seen its share of pet cafes, but none quite with the menagerie offered in Thailand. Aided by relaxed laws and a thriving wildlife market, at least four exotic pet cafes have sprung up recently around the capital.


Animal activists, however, fear this trend will feed demand for smuggling and breeding of exotic wildlife purely for entertainment.
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Little Zoo Cafe, with one branch in Bangkok and another on its outskirts, touts raccoons, fennec foxes and silver foxes. The Animal Cafe, tucked in a quiet neighbourhood in Yannawa district, boasts a white-faced owl as well as caracals and a serval - both African wildcats. Zoota Bistro, housed in a shopping mall in northern Bangkok, advertises close encounters with a South American squirrel monkey, wallaby and furless sphynx cat.

Together with the existing mix of cafes nationwide featuring cats, dogs, bunnies, Siberian huskies, parrots and sheep, they are drawing steady interest from both Thais and tourists looking to touch creatures they can usually see only from afar.

"Kawaii (cute)! Kawaii!" Ms Kiyoko Nagashima, a 44-year-old sales executive from Japan, squealed upon entering the Animal Cafe last week, as she spied the exotic cats prancing around two soft-lit glass enclosures.

"I came here because I saw on Facebook that you could hug a raccoon," she told The Sunday Times. "In Japan, you can see them only in the zoo. You can't hug them."

Typically, customers must buy at least one food item and drink before they can interact with the animals. The prices are marked up - one meatball pasta dish at the Animal Cafe, for example, costs 320 baht (S$13).

Customers are made to clean their hands and take off footwear before entering the playpens. "Play" is supervised by staff, who sometimes scoop up the critters and place them on customers' laps.

Some of the more knowledgeable employees explain the animals' behaviour. At the Little Zoo cafe, for example, as meerkats clambered onto their human visitors and tried to search the contents of their pockets, one employee explained that this is how the creatures forage for food in the desert sand.

A Wildlife activist and founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation, is critical of the trend, saying the artificial environments of these mini petting zoos could stress the animals. Owls, for example, are nocturnal by nature, but "if you keep them awake the whole day, they will be so tired they will sleep at night".

According to a 2013 report on the illegal wildlife trade by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Thailand is "mainly a consumer and trans-shipper of pets and high- value luxury items", with the rising sales of illegal wildlife on the Internet posing a challenge to law enforcement. Raids and Customs seizures in the past have turned up everything from pangolins to otters.

While the pet cafes typically do not use endangered animals, activists warn that Thai law provides little protection for non-native species. Also, some wild-caught animals have been known to be passed off as captive-bred.

"It is a bit difficult to differentiate between which is traded legally and illegally," says Ms Nancy Gibson, founder of Thailand-based Love Wildlife Foundation.

Animal Cafe co-owner Athit Samatiyadekul, 36, says his operations are all above board, and he has the paperwork to prove it. One raccoon, he said, was bought from a fur factory in Europe for 35,000 baht.

"We give them food. We give them a job. And we give them love," he told The Sunday Times. He started his cafe last year to showcase some of his personal collection of wildlife, which includes about 300 iguanas, some 80 giant tortoises, arowanas and Alaskan malamutes. He breeds caracals and servals, which he sells for 250,000 baht each.

He said the cafe is not profitable but he keeps it afloat by infusing money that he earns from his job as the marketing director of Sirivatana Interprint, one of the region's largest printing companies. The same applies to his partner, a friend who runs a Thai boxing gym, apparel store and restaurant.

"In other restaurants, people will eat many things," he said. "Here, they come to play with the animals and to take selfies, so they buy the cheapest food."

Yet they keep it running because "we like people to come here to be happy". Unconvinced members of the public have complained about the cafe to the wildlife authorities, he reveals.

On the day he was interviewed by The Sunday Times, officials turned up to check his paperwork - the second time in a year.

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Kawaii (cute)! Kawaii! I came here because I saw on Facebook that you could hug a raccoon. In Japan, you can see them only in the zoo. You can't hug them. - MS KIYOKO NAGASHIMA, a 44-year-old sales executive from Japan, on the exotic cats at Animal Cafe.

CAN'T TELL THEM APART

It is a bit difficult to differentiate between which is traded legally and illegally. - MS NANCY GIBSON, founder of Thailand-based Love Wildlife Foundation, on wild-caught animals being passed off as captive-bred.

BENEFITS FOR ANIMALS

We give them food. We give them a job. And we give them love. - MR ATHIT SAMATIYADEKUL, Animal Cafe's co-owner, on the animals at his eatery.
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Source - TheNation
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Tuesday 7 March 2017

A night at the Thai Oscars

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"Dao Khanong" and "Khun Phan" sweep the Subhanahongsa awards

 In a first for the Thai film industry, an independent movie directed by a female filmmaker swept three of the national film awards including the coveted best film and best director prizes on Sunday night, proving that small films are able of outdoing big-budget mainstream productions.
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“Dao Khanong” (“By The Time It Gets Dark”) by Anocha Suvichakorn- pong also took home the best-editing prize at the 26th Subhanahongsa awards held at Bangkok’s KBank Siam Pic-Ganesha theatre. The film triumphed against nominees who included the commercial hit “Fanday … Fan Kun Khae Wan Diaw” (“One Day”) and another indie by a female director, “Mahasamut Lae Susan” (“The Island Funeral”).
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After giving her acceptance speech, Anocha told the press she hoped her win would inspire young female filmmakers.
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“We should cross the boundaries of gender. Men, women and the third gender all have a chance to win the award. Don’t let your gender be an obstacle to reaching your dreams,” said the director, who spent seven years working on the project.
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Speaking with XP at the film’s premiere at the Locarno Film Festival last year, Anocha described the film as being about politics, memories and cinema. The narrative starts with a female film director, 
who wants to learn more about the Thai student movement in 1976 so she interviews a well-known female writer who was part of the movement. The film then goes back in time before bringing the audience back to present to meet the other characters and witness their struggles in modern society.
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The director also thanked her family for giving her the freedom to do what she loves. “I want to dedicate this win to those who fight for the liberty of thought and expression,” Anocha said.
Action drama film “Khun Phan” swept the most awards, picking up best supporting actor for Krisada Sukosol Clapp, best visual effects, best costume design and best makeup effects.
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READ CONTINUE;

Friday 14 October 2016

All entertainment in Thailand suspended for 30-days

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Thailand shuts down
It has been announced there will be a public display of respect and mourning in Thailand for thirty-days.
There will be no entertainment programs on radio or television. No music, no comedy and no soap series. Every Thai channel will broadcast royal daily news continuously.
All entertainment events have been cancelled for thirty-days. There will be no concerts, live music, stage shows or competitions.
Many nightclubs and go go bars have already closed down and will remain closed as a mark of respect.
Some bars have been told to close for three-days, others have been shut down for seven days.
More information will be shared as it becomes available.
Report shared by BangkokJack News Team
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Tuesday 2 February 2016

Bangkok gets set for Chinese New Year


Dig out your red clothes, hang up paper lanterns and pick up some firecrackers — Chinese New Year is returning to Bangkok.

The biggest celebrations will take place on Yaowarat Road in the heart of Chinatown, with cultural displays, dance and musical performances to usher in the Year of the Monkey.

Kicking off on Feb. 7, the Chinatown festivities will also feature lantern decorations, dragon parades and lion dances, street stalls selling Chinese cuisine and souvenirs, and entertainment from famous artists, including troupes and performers from China.


 Visanu Jaroensilp, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) deputy governor for Tourism Products and Business said: “Thailand’s celebrations to mark the 2016 Chinese New Year will be even more special, as this is a significant year for the country. 

“This year marks the 41st year of Sino-Thai diplomatic relations, and the 12th anniversary of cooperation between TAT and the Chinese Ministry of Culture in co-hosting the Chinese New Year celebrations in Thailand.”


TAT estimates a boost in tourism revenue from the celebrations,  with about 1.01 million international tourists are expected to visit from Feb. 6-14. 

Of those vistorss, an estimated 476,000 are expected to come from countries with Chinese communities including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.
 
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Friday 15 January 2016

Bangkok - Deep in the DRAGON’S belly

Bed Supperclub rises from the ashes to become an exciting new night venue called Chi Ultralounge

THE TREND IN Bangkok might be for smaller, hidden-away venues at which to chill but the super-spacious club Chi Ultralounge, launched recently on Sukhumvit Soi 13, is certain to draw night owls with its generous space, terrific food and drinks galore.

Rising from the ashes of Bed Supperclub, which shut up shop in 2013, the Ultralounge's designers have transformed the spaceship-like white cylinder structure and given it a dark, mysterious and decadent ambience to complement what they calling "funk shui".

Professing to be the pioneer of "Asian lounge culture" in the city, the club summons up fantasies of eerily cool Yakuza haunts or beautifully lit archaic casinos in Macao. Decadent gold leaf designs and ancient Chinese antique embellishments glow under the watchful eye of the Imperial Dragon, a symbol of protection, affluence and power.

As Thailand's first world-class Diageo Club, guests can enjoy an exciting array of cocktails concocted by the talents of in-house mixologists selected by nightclub proprietor, Daryl Scott, a veteran of the clubbing circuit with dozens of venue designs and launches to his credit.
 Scott has placed huge emphasis on safety, convenience and swift service. The venue now features six fire escapes and an advanced sprinkler system that covers the walls and ceilings of every part of the lounge. There are also electronic bottle service systems that enable staff to deliver a superbly tailored guest experience along with a VIP concierge.

The finishing touch to the gallery in the club area is a stunning seven-metre painting commissioned exclusively for Chi Ultralounge by Dutch artist Peter Klashorst.

Scott's vision for Chi centres on "funk shui", the fun and feisty volley of cohesive yet eclectic elements that walk patrons through heavy swing doors, on interconnected mezzanine gantries, through private VIP bars and wow them with insane audio and a domed ceiling video display.

"Chi Ultralounge features an uber-cool Asian motif with a one-off metallic design while the Zen cultural styling of the lounge gives it an authentic feng shui vibe.

"The quirky Chinese dragon design concept, incredible 3D video projections onto the domed ceiling, gold leaf and Zen-inspired DJ booth lend to an international ambience for the iconic club design space that was once the famed Bed Supperclub," Scott says.

The Chi Ultra Dining Experience launches this month with the introduction of "Manna", a culinary mash-up designed by the renowned Blue Elephant restaurant group and fronted by New York executive chef Tony Bish.

Guests can dine in the belly of the imperial dragon, before the clubbing really begins from 10.30pm until very, very late.

Chi Ultralounge is on Sukhumvit Soi 13, close to Asoke BTS and Sukhumvit MRT. It is open daily from7pm till 2am.

Visit www.ChiUltralounge.com and www.Facebook.com /ChiUltralounge.
Source: The Nation
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Thursday 17 September 2015

Caravelle #Saigon Hotel

Stay in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City

Opened in 1959, the 5-star Caravelle Saigon features stylish French and Vietnamese architecture, an outdoor pool and non-smoking rooms with free Wi-Fi. Only 160 metres from the famous Opera House in Ho Chi Minh City, the eco-friendly hotel also has a rooftop bar with live music performances.

Elegantly decorated in soothing neutrals, the air-conditioned rooms feature full-length windows which overlook the city or Saigon River. Modern comforts like a flat-screen TV, a pillow menu and 24-hour room service are included in all rooms.

 Caravelle Saigon is within 1.1 km from the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre and Ben Thanh Market. Car rentals and parking are available at an extra charge.

 Guests may enjoy a refreshing workout at Caravelle's gym, followed by a relaxing massage at Kara Salon and Spa. Cultural tours and cooking classes can also be arranged at the hotel's tour desk, while the first floor Club Vegas game room provides late-night entertainment.

 International meals are served in a casual buffet style at Restaurant Nineteen, or in fine dining style at Reflections Restaurant. Cocktails and wine are available at Caravelle's 4 bars and lounges.


Families love this neighbourhood. District 1 is a great choice for travellers interested in Nightlife, Markets and Shopping

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Friday 13 December 2013