#Thailand - Princess Ubolratana Mahidol runs as Prime Ministerial candidate in election

In a stunning political move, Princess Ubolratana Mahidol,  the eldest child of the late King Bhumibol, Rama 9, has been nominated by the Thai Raksa Chart party.

 

Her nomination as a Prime Ministerial candidate immediately places the plans of current PM and the Junta-leaning Palang Pracharat party into disarray.

 

 To paint this as an ‘upset’ move in the last day of nominations is an understatement. Not only now running as an opponent to the NCPO Chief, who is running as a PM candidate for Palang Pracharat, but also running with a party historically aligned with a fugitive former prime minister.

 

This is the first time a close member of the royal family has sought political office in Thialand’s 86 years as a constitutional monarchy. Today is the final day political parties can nominate candidates for next month’s election.

 

The Princess’s entry into politics has completely reshaped what was already looking like a major battle for votes from multiple fronts – new parties and the largest field of candidates ever standing for a national election.

 

The announcement today is seen as a profoundly political maneuver from the country’s highest institution and shades the military, and Prayut, as it prepares to cede power.

The Thai national election is being held on March 24.

Thai Raksa Chart party make the announcement this morning.

 

Source - TheThaiger

#Thailand's most important airports are going smoke-free

Goodbye smoking lounges

Smoking is no longer allowed inside the passenger buildings at six of Thailand's main airports.

As of Sun, Feb 3, Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hat Yai and Mae Fah Luang airports, all operated by Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), have been declared no-smoking zones with fines of up to B5,000 (around US$160) for any violators.

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The move is in accordance with the 2017 Tobacco Control Act and a 2018 Public Health Ministry announcement requiring all offices of government agencies and state enterprises, which includes airports, to assign no-smoking areas.

According to Bangkok Post, the AoT has instructed staff at the six airports to arrange smoking areas outside the passenger buildings
 

Passenger traffic at Bangkok’s two airports, Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi, both affected by the change, exceeded 100 million in 2018. 

Source - Thaiger

#Cambodia - Gov’t warns tourists over use of fake visa websites

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Wednesday urged tourists to avoid websites offering e-visas for Cambodia after receiving fresh reports of tourists being ripped off and losing their money.

The ministry warned prospective visitors to only use its official website as there is no legal framework in place to get back any money that is lost.

The call comes after the ministry found bogus websites – including cambodiaimmigration.org, which charged one unsuspecting tourist $300 – falsely claiming to be able to obtain e-visas for visitors to the Kingdom.

One British national complained to the Cambodian Embassy in London about the excessive cost of an e-visa after they were charged $90 by one such website, which is far in excess of the ministry’s own pricing.According to the ministry’s official website, an application for an e-visa for tourists should be made at evisa.gov.kh. An e-visa is valid for three months and costs $36.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson on Wednesday told The Post that the ministry does not have the framework in place to take legal action against fraudulent websites offering e-visas for foreign tourists over the internet and called on tourists to only use official channels.

Ket Sophann said on Wednesday that e-visas ease the application process while also reducing fees for tourists. He warned that using other websites to apply for one would lead to the applicant being defrauded.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls for those wishing to visit Cambodia to only use the ministry’s website for an e-visa, or to go to their nearest embassy to avoid being deceived. We only issue visas this way,” he said.

The ministry released a letter in 2017 saying it had found 17 websites that fraudulently sell e-visas to tourists at a price far in excess of the true cost on the ministry’s website.

Sophann said he did not know an exact figure on the number of tourists who have been cheated by fraudulent websites.

Phat Sophanit, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, and Kirth Chantharith, the director-general of the ministry’s General Immigration Department, could not be reached for comment.

Tho Samnang, an official at the Legal and Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told local media that those behind the fraudulent websites used a sophisticated system to defraud users.

When applicants typed in the words “Cambodia” and “e-visa”, the browser shows fake websites that have paid to be shown first in the results, he said. With the applicant unaware the sites are bogus, they register, complete the form and then send payment.

“After getting the money for the application, those running the fake websites send the forms to the ministry to issue the e-visa, but we always catch their IP address and do not issue one because the ministry does not permit brokers to act in this way,” he said.

A member of staff at a Phnom Penh tourism company said she was unaware of websites offering e-visas, saying only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its official website could do so.

Source - PhnomPenhPost

#Bangkok leads ranking of top travel destinations during Lunar New Year

Bangkok has emerged the most popular destination for travelers in Asia-Pacific during the Lunar New Year period, the world's largest annual human migration, which is currently underway. 

The Thai capital reclaimed the top spot this year as the most popular travel destination in online booking platform Agoda's list of top spring festival destinations 2019, knocking last year's winner Tokyo to second spot, followed by Taipei. 

The results are based on hotel booking data on Lunar New Year dates for 2019. 

This year, it's estimated that Chinese travelers will undertake nearly three billion trips by car, train and plane in the 40-day period between January 21 and March 1, an increase of 0.6 percent from 2018. 

On February 5, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Mongolia, Indonesia and Malaysia will celebrate the lunar new year and usher in the year of the pig, the 12th and last position on the Chinese zodiac. 

In general, Pigs are born in the years 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007 and 2019. 

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 Here are the top 10 most popular travel destinations according to Agoda: 

1. Bangkok, Thailand
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. Taipei, Taiwan
4. Hong Kong
5. Kaohsiung, Taiwan
6. Osaka, Japan
7. Taichung, Taiwan
8; Sapporo, Japan
9. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
10. Singapore

Source - TheJakartaPost

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#Indonesia sixth in top-20 ranking of ‘most beautiful countries’

British guidebook publisher Rough Guides has included Indonesia in its list of the world’s most beautiful countries – and quite high up, too.

The ranking was updated on Jan. 4 based on Rough Guides’ readers voting on social media channels.

This was not lost on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who hailed the achievement with a video shared on his Instagram account.

“Renowned UK publisher Rough Guides recently conducted a global survey on the world’s most beautiful countries. The result [shows] that Indonesia was ranked sixth in the world, but [was named] the most beautiful country in Asia,” Jokowi wrote in the same post.

The video shows some of the most popular tourist attractions, from temples to surfing spots in Bali, beautiful beaches in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and orangutans in Kalimantan.

“Rough Guides’ polling strengthens Indonesia’s position as a world-class tourist destination,”  

said Jokowi.

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 Source - TheJakartaPost

Here’s the full of the world’s 20 most beautiful countries, according to Rough Guides readers.

1. Scotland
2. Canada
3. New Zealand
4. Italy
5. South Africa
6. Indonesia
7. England
8. Iceland
9. United States 
10. Wales
11. Slovenia
12. Mexico
13. India
14. Finland
15. Switzerland
16. Peru
17. Norway
18. Ireland
19. Croatia
20. Vietnam

#Thailand - A third of expats may have to leave – Survey on new ‘retirement’ visa extension

Thailand’s farang forum, Thaivisa, has conducted two unofficial polls that indicate that many expats will be calling it quits and leaving the Kingdom. The polls are a response from the affected ThaiVisa audience, not indicative of the total expat population living in Thailand.

The polls have been undertaken in the wake of new regulations issued by Thai immigration requiring retirees to lodge money for several months in a Thai bank account.

The unofficial polls report that, while nearly half of those on the Facebook poll say they would be leaving, nearly 70% on the website pages say they expected to “ride out the storm”.

On the ThaiVisa website the question was asked… “Will the new financial requirements force you to leave?”

• 7.9% said Yes

• 22.72% said it would seriously jeopardise their stay

• 69.38% said they would not have to leave

On their Facebook page, a similar question was more clear cut. Asked if the tough new financial requirements for retirement extensions (visas) would force people to leave:

• 49% said Yes

• 51% said No

On the website forum 461 people responded to the survey. On their Facebook page, 968 people responded.

Some opined (grammar and spelling corrected)…

“It does appear that this administration, and especially the biggest joke, are trying to do everything in their power to discourage expats from staying here.”

“To call them ignorant, fearful, xenophobic, non-visionary, and misguided would be a vast understatement. Biggest Joke said he would make things easier and simpler. He is doing just the opposite, and barely even disguising his contempt for foreigners.”

“He is the single biggest threat to the expat community right now.”

“One can only hope that, come election time, all of this nonsense will be over, and both Prayuth and especially the biggest joke, will be sent out to pasture for the rest of their lives.”

“These new rules will hurt the Thai economy if almost half leave unless they change to a spousal visa if they are married of course.”

“The Thai Baht is another major factor in how people can survive here and only the Government can step in and bring it back out of its inflated state which will also improve exports as we all know the weaker the baht the more other countries can import just common sense instead of greed .”

“I will take a wait and see approach before cashing in my chips here in Chiang Mai.”

“One week it’s a new set of financial criteria, the next week it’s something different. I tend to agree that Thai Government Officials simply don’t want us here on a long term basis so they go about putting these ridiculous impediments in our way.”

SOURCE: ThaiVisa

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#Bangkok - A huge international Muay Thai and mixed martial arts event is coming to Bangkok

ONE Championship, the biggest martial arts show in Asia, is coming to the Impact Arena on Saturday, Feb 16 for its next event, ONE: CLASH OF LEGENDS.

While previously known solely for their mixed martial arts competitions (a sport which allows athletes to use all forms of martial arts in a single bout), ONE has recently expanded to add boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai bouts to their shows. Those matches take place under the ONE Super Series banner, and have become a regular part of ONE shows.  

The last time ONE came to Bangkok was back in October, and it was a real bash, so if you are a fight fan it's highly recommended to go. 

For ONE: CLASH OF LEGENDS, there is an emphasis on Thai athletes, with some of the nation’s elite martial artists facing off against the world’s best.

In the main event, four-time Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao—a professional Thai boxer who has competed in more than a whopping 300 bouts—will face Chinese superstar Han Zi Hao. 

The winner will score the first-ever ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion.

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You can also catch Lumpinee and Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Champion Chamuaktong Fightermuaythai against England’s Charlie “Boy” Peters in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.

Additionally, rising Thai star Rika “Tiny Doll” Ishige returns against Kun Khmer World Champion Nou Srey Pov in a mixed martial arts bout.

Ishige began her martial arts training at nine years old, learning more traditional disciplines like aikido and taekwondo. Since turning pro in 2017, she has earned all of her wins via TKO or submission. The last time ONE came to Bangkok, she scored an impressive first-round TKO win.

Another highlight includes three-time Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion Kongsak P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym facing Russia’s Alaverdi “Dagger” Ramazanov in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai bantamweight contest.

In addition to that, two-time Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 will make his debut against Cambodian superstar Lao Chetra.

There are a total of 12 bouts on the card, and ONE is consistently one of the best shows in Asia — so if you are in to fights do check it out. 

READ CONTINUE - (with more pictures)

 

 Grab a ticket for ONE: CLASH OF LEGENDS before they’re gone at www.onefc.com and www.thaiticketmajor.com