Thailand - Movie “The Cave Creates Huge Crowds at Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang Cave

12 young soccer players, members of the Wild Boars (Mu Pa) football team, and their coach were trapped inside the flooded cave in July last year. Their subsequent rescue, after 17 days.

Large crowds of people are now visiting Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang cave after the movie “The Cave” screened at theaters in Thailand. The movie is about the dramatic rescue last year of 12 boys and their football coach.

The movie “The Cave” is being shown at theaters nationwide. Tham Luang cave park officials said approximately 3,000 people are visiting the cave in Chiang Rai daily.

The Thamluang Khunnam Nangnon national park also provide a trolley service to the cave entrance.

According to park officials only 50 visitors are allowed to enter the first chamber of the cave at one time. They can also take pictures and tours are for only five minutes.

Tham Luang cave officially opened in November

The Tham Luang cave complex was officially opened for tourists in early November. Two nearby caves will be opened for nature study in the future.

The dramatic rescue of a boys soccer team from Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai, has also turned the area into a sprawling tourist attraction. Drawing well over 1 million visitors since the ordeal captured headlines worldwide last year.

12 young soccer players, members of the Wild Boars (Mu Pa) football team, and their coach were trapped inside the flooded cave in July last year. Their subsequent rescue, after 17 days.

Souvenir shops have sprouted in the cave area of Chiang Rai, in Mae Sai near the border with Myanmar. Selling T-shirts depicting Tham Luang cave and the rescuers.

A statue of Sgt. Maj. Saman Gunan, the retired Thai Navy SEAL who died during the rescue mission, stands near the cave entrance.Gunman was promoted to the rank of Lt-Commander after his death.

 A nearby memorial center features a virtual cave, as well as oxygen tanks used by the rescuers. Tourists can pose for pictures by a large mural depicting the rescuers, titled “The Heroes.”

Source - Chiang Rai Times 

 Former Chiang Rai Governor Disappointed with “The Cave” Movie

 Maybe not show him enough in the movie

Thailand’s Ang Thong National Marine Park, the ‘new’ Maya Bay

With Thailand’s Maya Bay in Koh Phi Phi Ley remains closed indefinitely to allow the tourist-magnet some much-needed time to recover, it’s time to look for another natural wonder.

One of Thailand’s astonishing natural wonders, not as well known as Maya Bay, is the Ang Thong National Marine Park, located about 40 kilometers north west of the coast of Koh Samui. Some would argue it’s even more spectacular and worthy of at least a full day visit. 

There are many tours available to the National Park.

The Ang Thong National Marine Park is made up of 42 islands spread over 102 square kilometers. Travelers will find beautiful beaches, limestone cliffs, caves, rock formations and countless photo opportunities. Enjoy some views from the air…

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It will take you about an hour to travel there from either the Surat Thani mainland or from Koh Samui by speedboat. There are slower ferry-style boat trips as well but you’ll lose a lot of time travelling there (usually for day trips) and the speedboats can get into much shallower waters.

Tours usually also squeeze in a visit to Koh Phaluai, the park’s biggest island, where there’s a popular  stilted restaurant in the island’s fishing village, serving a delicious seafood lunch.

Another popular island worth visiting is Koh Wua Talap, famed for wildlife spotting and what might just be the most beautiful viewpoint in the entire park.

FUN FACT: Though the 2000 movie “The Beach,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed in Koh Phi Phi’s Maya Bay in the Andaman Sea, the book by Alex Garland upon which the film was based was actually set in Ang Thong in the Gulf of Thailand.

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Source - The Thaiger 

Thailand - Fast and Furious 9 cars arrive in Krabi

Cars to be used in the filming of Fast and Furious 9 have arrived in Krabi.

An auto parts supply firm in Krabi, with some knowledge of the production schedule for the film, posted photos of some of the vehicles likely to be used when filming starts next month.

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The producers said the production is spending Bt340 million in Krabi, Phang Ngan and Phuket, using Thai crews as support.

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Thai production manager Piya Pestonji last week met Kitibadee Prawit, the governor of Krabi, to discuss logistics with the Tourism Authority of Thailand boss in Krabi, Apichai Aranyik.

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The Krabi governor has said the film is hoped to be a “great advertisement for the nature, culture and history of the kingdom”.

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 The governor has probably not seen the other films which showcase illegal street racing, dangerous driving and criminal activity conducted by the “heroes”. 

Tony Jaa, the Thai action star, appeared in Fast and Furious 7, taking on Paul Walker.

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Source - TheNation

#Thailand - Maya Bay from 'The Beach' to be shuttered for 4 months

The once-idyllic Thai bay that became a must-see on the tourist trail after the 2000 movie "The Beach" will be closed to visitors for four months, an official said Thursday, as Thailand looks to stem the impact from crowds.

The announcement bolsters an order last month blocking boats from mooring on Maya Bay in a bid to prevent further damage to its coral reefs. 

    Up to 4,000 tourists and hundreds of boats have been flocking daily to the white-sand beach on Ko Phi Phi Ley, an island whose towering limestone cliffs and azure waters were made famous by the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

    But the bay will now be off limits to travellers for four months from June and September, which falls during Thailand's monsoon season, said National Park Office Director Songtham Suksawang. 

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 "We reached a resolution to close Maya for four months to allow the ecological system to rehabilitate," he told AFP. 

    The beach's land entrance will be shuttered while boats will be barred from dropping off passengers, he added.

    During the shutdown four universities will conduct a study on how to develop more sustainable forms of tourism, he said.

    The closure is the latest effort to mitigate the environmental damage wrought by Thailand's mammoth tourism industry, a crucial pillar of the economy that brought a record 35 million travelers to the kingdom last year. 

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 Environmental experts and officials have warned that mass tourism is causing irreversible damage to beautiful beaches, with litter and unchecked development disrupting local ecosystems.

      Smoking has already been banned on 20 of the country's most famous beaches this high season, with a fine or even jail for those who flout the new rule.

    Leonardo DiCaprio played the lead in "The Beach", a Danny Boyle-directed adaptation of Alex Garland's classic backpacker novel of the same name.
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Source - TheNation