Monday 15 October 2018

#Thailand - Tour operators boycott visits to Similan and Surin islands to protest new restrictions


The tour operators have had enough of the winding back of tour boat operations and are now resorting to boycotting and ‘disrupting’ the tours in order to get their protests heard.

About 50 tour operators in Phuket and Phang nga say they’re suspending boat trips to Similan-Surin islands in the Andaman sea (off the coast of Phang-Nga) today and tomorrow to protest against the decision of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation to limit the number of visitors to the islands to 3,850 a day. The number also includes 525 scuba divers.

Thai PBS reports that the limitation of visitors comes into force today after the two main islands re-opened to tourists after several months of closure during the monsoon season.
Besides the limitation of visitors, overnight stay-overs are not permitted.

Tour operators met yesterday in Ban Tap Lamu in Thai Muang district of Phang nga to discuss the new restrictions which they say they oppose.
.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.
They say their objections are because the restrictions would affect their business and that they’ve already accepted advance bookings to tour the islands before the department issued its new restrictions.

They say they will take their tourists to other tourist attractions Monday and Tuesday this week while awaiting response from the department.

Tour operators have been notified of the reopening of the two islands for visitors and the restrictions and to get themselves prepared with their vessels being properly checked to ensure their sea worthiness and equipped with enough life vests for their passengers.

The PM’s Office Minister Kobsak Putrakul, who was in Phang nga over the weekend, received the tour operators’ complaint and promised to bring it to the attention of the department chief.

Source - Thai BPS

https://12go.asia/?z=581915
 

Saturday 6 October 2018

#Philippines to rein in visitors to Boracay island, strained by tourism


The Philippines will limit the number of visitors setting foot on its most treasured island resort each day when it reopens to tourists on October 26 after a six-month rehabilitation effort, an environment official said on Wednesday.


Boracay, located off the northern tip of the central island of Panay, is famed for its sugary white sands, turquoise waters, lively nightlife and abundant water sports, which attracted nearly 2 million domestic and foreign visitors last year.


But in April, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the closure of the island, calling it a "cesspool", because of sewage dumped into the sea and buildings constructed too close to the shore.


About a third of the 600 to 700 resorts on Boracay, about 308 km (192 miles) from Manila, the capital, were operating without permits, authorities found.


Just 19,000 tourists will be allowed on the island on any given day, with the number of workers capped at 15,000 daily, the environment official, Sherwin Rigor, said in a television interview.
.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.
 Only half of the island's 12,000 existing hotel rooms will be allowed to open each day, he added, to ensure the number of guests on the tiny 10-sq-km (4-sq-mile) island is below its "carrying capacity" of 55,000.


Rigor, who is an undersecretary at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, added that authorities would ban beachfront parties, and activities such as eating, smoking and drinking there.


The closure of Boracay, which earns the Philippines more than a billion dollars in tourism revenue every year, weighed on gross domestic product in the second quarter. Growth slowed to a near three-year low of 6 percent in April-June.

Source - TheJakartaPost

https://12go.asia/?z=581915

Thursday 27 September 2018

#Cambodia - Bayon Restoration to resume


The Japanese and Cambodian governments have allocated $1,5 million to fund phase five of the Bayon temple restoration project, a Unesco official said on Tuesday.

Unesco Culture Programme Specialist Philippe Delanghe told The Post yesterday that the project which is slated to begin this year will be completed in 2020. This is according to a mutual agreement signed by the UN agency and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

The project is backed by the Japanese and Cambodian governments, with each contributed $1 million and $500,000 respectively, he said.

Delanghe said: “The financial contribution is necessary to continue restoration of the Bayon Temple.”
The fifth phase of the project focuses on studying and restoring the central structure of the temple, as well as preserving its sculptures which reflect the people’s daily lives during the great era reigned by Jayavarman VII around the late 12th century.

Through Waseda University, Japan plays a crucial role in researching, protecting and preserving the Kingdom’s World Heritage site.
 .

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.
 It has been financing restoration projects via the Japan Trust Fund for the Conservation of Culture World Heritage.

During the implementation of phase three (2005-2011) under the joint framework called Japan-Apsara Safeguarding Angkor (JASA), Japan provided financial support amounting to $3,268,286 in addition to the $500,000 contribution given by the Apsara Authority.

Unesco was responsible for the administrative arrangements for this project.

Phase four of the project, which started in 2011 and finished in 2015, was implemented with a $2.5 million contribution from the Japanese government and $500,000 from the Cambodian one.

Greater understanding

A spate of restoration activity by various stakeholders throughout the years led to the uncovering of many buried artefacts and greater understanding of the Khmer empire.
Apsara Authority director-general Sum Mab said the fund will make the process of protecting and conserving the temple easier.

“The contribution indicated a huge participation by the Japanese government in protecting and conserving [Bayon temple] which is part of the Angkor Archaeological Park – a world heritage site.”

He said restoration within the archaeological park is very important, noting that the effort would allow future generations to learn and research the traditions and culture of the ancient empire reflected through the historical structures.

Other than Japan, other countries have also participated in many of the Kingdom’s temple restoration projects.

Last year, a report saw China rolling out funds to restore the royal palace complex within the Angkor Thom archaeological site in Siem Reap.

In 2014, Korea, via The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), contributed $4 million towards a three-year restoration project of the 12th century Preah Pithu Temple located within the Angkor Wat World Heritage site.

Source - TheNation

https://12go.asia/?z=581915
 

Sunday 23 September 2018

It won't burn down: Architect defends vision for #Bangkok airport


Bangkok’s main airport is planning to add a $1.3 billion terminal with extensive wooden cladding and a forested landscape, spurring concern about fire risk. Its designer says there’s no need to worry.

Tropical forests inspired the blueprint for the building and the aim is to give travelers a feeling of Thailand’s uniqueness, 52-year-old architect Duangrit Bunnag said in an interview. He rejected concerns from the Engineering Institute of Thailand that the structure could be a fire hazard.

“Airports tend to have similar features -- they’re white, cold and metallic,” Duangrit said. “I wanted a design that immediately gives travelers the feeling they’ve arrived in Thailand. It will be a metal structure covered with wood. Different treatments can be applied to the timber to ensure fire resistance.”

Airports of Thailand Pcl, the biggest Asian airport operator by market capitalization, announced last month that it was awarding the design contract to a joint bid by Duangrit Bunnag Architect Ltd. and Japan’s Nikken Sekkei Ltd.
.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.
 The state-controlled firm expects to boost annual passenger capacity by 30 million by building a second terminal at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport. Construction is due to start next year and finish by 2021.

A tourism boom is straining the country’s infrastructure, putting pressure on officials to tackle bottlenecks. Foreign arrivals could hit 40 million next year -- equivalent to more than half the population.

Duangrit’s design features sweeping arches and giant columns clad in wood. He also proposed an enclosed tropical-forest landscape spanning about 16,000 square meters between two buildings of the terminal. Passengers would be able to see but not to enter the landscape, a symbol for ecological protection.

“The difficulty in designing the terminal is how to make it memorable to travelers from around the world,” Duangrit said. “How do I make it look different to all the other airports?”

Source - TheJakartaPost 

https://12go.asia/?z=581915

Saturday 22 September 2018

#Vietnam - Da Nang gains stature as a must-go destination


Da Nang should be high on the list of places to visit in Southeast Asia, says Channel News Asia.

The Singaporean pay TV channel has included the Vietnamese city in a list of five under the radar destinations in south and southeast Asian regions.

It says that in Vietnam, the spotlight is mostly trained on the country’s two biggest metropolises - Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but Da Nang, home to Asia’s most beautiful My Khe Beach and neighbor to Hoi An, the ancient town, has plenty to offer.

Intrepid travelers can climb up the famous Marble Mountains, a group of five marble and limestone mountains, to discover “hidden caves, tunnels and Buddhist shrines galore,” it recommends.

The central Vietnamese city has gained greater prominence since its Golden Bridge opened in June this year.
.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.
 The visually stunning bridge has been featured in CNN’s best travel photographs of the year, the news channel notes.

Once a sleepy fishing town, Da Nang is now a formidable tourism destination, gaining renown for its long beaches and upscale resorts.

The city received more than five million visitors in the first seven months of this year, up 30 percent over the same period last year, according to the Da Nang tourism department.

Travel magazine Live and Invest Overseas, “the world's savviest source for top opportunities to live better, retire in style, invest for profit, do business,” voted Da Nang among world’s most livable cities earlier this year.

The site also recommends tourists to go on a safari in Colombo, Sri Lanka, swim in a volcanic lake in Indonesia’s Medan, go glamping in India’s Visakhapatnam and visit an island of silk-weavers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Source  - VN Express.net

https://12go.asia/?z=581915


 

Wednesday 12 September 2018

Chiang Mai bids to become Thailand’s sixth protected site


THE CHIANG MAI World Heritage Working Group has completed its paperwork and is ready to make its submission this month to Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) to make Chiang Mai a world heritage city, Woralun Boonyasurat, head of the Thai Art Department at Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, said yesterday.

If it is successful it would be the Kingdom’s sixth location to receive such protected status.
In her capacity as head of the Chiang Mai World Heritage Initiative Project, Woralun said the submission didn’t mean the northern city would automatically obtain the status yet and there was more work to be done. 
.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

 Chiang Mai still has some urban management issues, especially the question of how it will be developed over the next two decades. 

“Chiang Mai City has cultural sites within the old city walls and natural resources to be protected while it is developed,” said Woralun. 

“As we work on proposing it to be a world heritage site, people might wonder if this will push this city backwards into the past or not. I can say that it isn’t the case. We are doing this because we love Chiang Mai City and see the values that should be promoted and developed. 

“The world nowadays is facing a challenge in protecting and managing the cultural and natural resources and such work must be done in an integrating manner, not each group doing its own things separately. What we aim for is for people’s wellbeing and joint happiness in future.”



 Sirikitiya Jensen, an adviser of the Chiang Mai World Heritage Initiative Project, said Chiang Mai City with its ancient history, culture and natural environment – especially the Doi Suthep sacred forest – should be conserved and developed sustainably with all sides’ participation to become a world heritage site, in which cultural and sentimental values can be protected in parallel with the city’s development.
 Their comments were made during the World Heritage International Convention: “Integration of Historic Cities and Their Natural Settings for Sustainable Development”, which is being held at Chiang Mai University from yesterday until Friday.

During the event, deputy director of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)’s South Asia Region Gamini Wijesuriya, along with Thai and international experts and academics, are exchanging their knowledge and experiences of international heritage in relation to historic cities. They are also exploring ways to effect sustainable development to support the “Chiang Mai World” in its bid to attain World Heritage status.

Chiang Mai City has since 2015 been among the six Thailand sites on a tentative list for consideration for World Heritage status. According to the process, the sites must be on that list for at least one year before they can be nominated for full status.
 .
https://12go.asia/?z=581915
.
There are currently 1,092 World Heritage Sites in 167 countries and they have all had to prove they have “outstanding universal value”

Thailand’s five world heritage sites are currently: the Ban Chiang Archaeological Site in Udon Thani; the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex; the Historic City of Ayutthaya; the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns; and the Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Source - TheNation



Tuesday 11 September 2018

#Vietnam - Ha Long Bay: Nine must-visit places


The Ha Long Bay region in Vietnam comprises nearly 2,000 islands, 59 discovered caves, as well as grottoes, undisturbed beaches and old fishing villages. This UNESCO World Heritage site is a dream come true for nature lovers, photography aficionados or anyone who loves stunning scenery and crystal blue waters.

For those of you who are planning a visit, here are the nine most important landmarks that you should not miss out on seeing:

1. The Chopstick
The Chopstick will certainly be pointed out to you if you are taking a boat trip through the bay.
Possibly Ha Long Bay’s most famous landmark, the Chopstick is a karst peak that protrudes from the water at a height of around 40 meters. Its long, thin shape is what gives it its moniker.
It is worth checking out, if purely for the fact that, in recent times, coastal corrosion has caused its base to shrink dramatically, so who knows how long it will stay upright for.

2. Ti Top Island
Located in the heart of Ha Long Bay, Ti Top Island has been long regarded as one of the premier landmarks of the region. Named after Ghermann Titov, a former Soviet Union hero in the second World War, Ti Top Island boasts a white sandy crescent-shaped beach, as well as a partially paved route up to the top of the karst, where you can enjoy panoramic views of the bay.

Due to its increased fame in recent times, Ti Top is often busy during peak times (summer afternoons). Arriving in the morning will give you a head start on the 400-step ascent to the top of the mountain, allowing you to enjoy the beautiful view without a thousand selfie sticks in the way.
.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.
 3. Bai Tu Long Bay
Sitting to the northeast of Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay is its lesser known but equally staggering neighbor. Bia Tu Long has all of the coveted caves, beaches and islands that Ha Long Bay is known for, but without the crowds or congestion.

Highlights of the area include the ancient Thien Canh Son Cave, the colorful houses at Vung Vieng floating village, the untouched paradise of Ban Chan Beach and the Cong Do area.

4. Lan Ha Bay
As with Bai Tu Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay could easily be described as a quieter, lesser-known version of Ha Long. Lan Ha Bay itself boasts nearly 400 limestone karsts, as well as 139 quiet beaches that pepper the landscape. Lan Ha Bay actually belongs to the larger Cat Ba archipelago, and like with everywhere in the region, is best explored via sailboat.

Cat Ba Island is just a stone’s throw away and boasts many vendors that rent out vessels.

5. Co To Island
Co To Island is truly one of Ha Long Bay’s best-kept secrets. You will have to hire your own boat to get there but it is more than worth it. Co To Island district consists of 40 islands varying in size. Three of the largest islands are Co To Island, Thanh Lan Island and Tran Island. They boast white sandy beaches, sparkling azure water and craggy cliffs, all with the peaceful seclusion of an undiscovered paradise.

Cheap, fresh and delicious seafood can be found at seafront restaurants and the district's larger islands offer beach activities, trekking and motorbike road trips.

6. Vung Vieng fishing village
What makes Ha Long Bay such a unique tourist destination are the people that live and work there. Small communities have lived by the waters of the bay for centuries, and four of these floating villages remain today, with its residents predominantly serving the community as fisherfolk. The most famous of these is Vung Vieng village, with its colorful houses that stand against blue waters and towering karst peaks.

The community is happy to open their homes to tourists and offer workshops and displays depicting traditional Ha Long culture. Visitors can try their own hand at traditional fishing techniques, net weaving and even learn a few things about pearl harvesting.

7. Tuan Chau Island
This newly developed area just outside of Ha Long City is perfect for those with children, or those looking for a break from relaxing on a boat or a beach.

At only 2.2 square kilometers, Tuan Chau is tiny, but it is packed full of exciting recreational activities for all ages. Attractions include dolphin, sea lion and seal shows, an animal circus, a golf course, a cultural sports center, a beach, a rural market and an ornamental fish lake, as well as villas and restaurants.

The Ho Chi Minh memorial is one of the island’s most important features, built in honor of the man himself who used to visit Tuan Chau on his holidays.
.
.
 8. Ban Chan Beach For those who prefer to travel off the beaten track, Ban Chan Beach rivals any beach in Southeast Asia in terms of beauty and seclusion. Peeking out behind Bi Tu Long Bay, Ban Chan is unlikely to be busy at any time of year, as it sits right off the traditional boat routes of the region.

Although it is isolated and quiet, activities such as snorkeling, kayaking and beach volleyball are still offered.
 
9. Sung Sot Cave
The Sung Sot Cave complex is home to the most coveted caves and grottoes in Ha Long Bay, and possibly the whole country. There are a total of 59 discovered caves documented on the official registrar; however, experts estimate that the number could be close to eight times that. Sung Sot Cave is the largest cave in the complex, and the most famous.

The cave itself is incredibly wide, tall and lofty, so those with claustrophobia need not worry. Stalactites and stalagmites adorn the cave’s interior, some of which have formed enormous limestone columns of different shapes over the millennia.

Take a guided tour of the cave and you will hear about the legends associated with each of its pillars, from dragons and demons to dwarves and everything in between.

Useful information

When should I go?

Ha Long Bay, much like the rest of northern Vietnam, can get surprisingly cold during winter months. Temperatures regularly drop to below 10 degrees Celsius between the months of December and February, and many homes and businesses do not have central heating.

Summer months, between June and September, can see exceptionally heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, so try to stick to the months of March and April or from late September through to early November for warm temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius and clear skies.

***
Lana is a freelance writer from the UK currently residing in Hanoi, Vietnam. She has won several awards for travel writing by National Tourism Board of Vietnam. At the moment she is the editor-in-chief for a travel website about Halong Bay: Halongbay.com 

Sourse - TheJakartaPost