16 Myanmar workers rescued from Malaysian fishing boat

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Sixteen Myanmar migrant workers, including three minors under 18 years old, who were allegedly ‘sold’ to a Malaysia fishing boat in southern Thailand were rescued by Thai officials on July 13, according to a Thai-based migrant rights groups.

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 “We were asked to rescue migrants on July 8, and we spent about four days collecting information about the victims and their location. After that we asked Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation to help rescue the victims,” said U Kyaw Thaung, director of the Myanmar Association in Thailand (MAT), on Monday.

He said that initially 13 Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand were sold by a broker to the Malaysian fishing boat that had docked with fake documents at Naya Thiwa Port, Pattani province, in Thailand.

U Kyaw Thaung said each worker had paid 17,000 baht to the broker to find jobs in Indonesia, but the broker sold them to the fishing boat instead.

“When we asked the DSI to help save our workers, it asked for a recommendation letter from the Myanmar Embassy. They rescued our migrants on July 13 when we provided the recommendation letter,” Ko Shwe Tun Aye, chair of Migrant Workers’ Network in Phuket, said Monday.

He said the workers were rescued with the help of the Thai army.

According to MAT, they also rescued other Myanmar migrants, one aged 14 and two aged 17, who had been sold by another broker to the fishing boat on the day the rescue team reached them.

According to U Kyaw Thaung, the 16 Myanmar workers were to be sent to a fishing vessel in Indonesia. Fifteen of the victims are from Rakhine State and one is from Bago Region.

All the rescued victims are being held at a detention center, and Thai officials are planning to arrest the brokers for human trafficking.

Source - mmtimes

What happened in Thailand

What happened in Thailand
Many have financial problems
The can not loan more from the banks / Than the go loan from the loan-sharks.
Than the real problems started.

After a while, the can not pay on time.
The loan shark say, no problem. we go help you, and want replace the Thai staff, for one of them. (Indians, Pakistani, ....)
Slowly the go take over their business.
And the lazy, stupid Thai stay with empty hands on the street.

You never known, how the became in such big problems.

One of the reasons is the lazy staff in the shops / restaurants / bars / hotels / ...
The like to play with their mobiles (games)
The not give any service, the say easily ''mee mie'' - means no have.

This major problem you see on every place in Thailand on the moment.
Especially in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Samui, ......

You recognize them on the pushing smooth takings.
Same, ''we have your size'' - ''we have your color'' - ''we discount you''

A example in Bangkok is MBK and PANTIP PLAZA
You get crazy about all the pushing sales tricks from these outsiders
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#Thailand - Chiang Mai voted third among the world’s top 15 cities

A popular destination with both local and foreign tourists, Chiang Mai has been recognised as among the World’s Top 15 Cities among readers of the influential travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

“Chiang Mai, with its lovely Lanna temples, charming traditions, unique food, family-friendly attractions and stunning setting is a gem in Thailand’s northern hills. There’s so much for tourists to do here, from cultural exploration to adventurous treks and food tours. I’d like to thank the readers of Travel + Leisure for rating the city so highly and naming the capital of Lanna one of Travel + Leisure’s World’s Top 15 Cities 2017,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. 

Chiang Mai took the third place on the list of Travel + Leisure World’s Top 15 Cities 2017 with a score of 91.40 out of 100.
#Bangkok came in eighth.

The score is based on a survey of over 300,000 international T+L readers who were asked to rate the “best of the best” in international travel experiences and destinations and contribute to the globally respected, Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards.

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 ''Chiang Mai is an increasingly popular as a Thai destination and attracts a range of visitors from honeymooners to foodies and even MICE events. It’s the perfect place to enjoy unique Thai local experiences; such as fire massages at the Ban Rai Khing Community, traditional dancing or a sit-down Khantoke dinner,” Yuthasak said

Read more on TheNation 

#Thailand - Green season festivities

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The Tourism Authority of Thailand has just published a list of festivals scheduled for August and September.

One of the must-sees is in Phitsanulok in the lower northern region, where the annual Long Boat Racing Tradition returns to the Nan River on September 16 and 17. A fierce competition that takes all the oarsmen’s might, the winners get to take home the royal trophy from His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The race field is categorised in five types based on size of boat. Visitors can also take part in merit-making ceremonies also held on boats. 

Those heading further north can join the unique Akha Swing Tradition, which is held to show gratitude to the goddess Um Sa Yae for ensuring abundant crops. Held in Chinag Rai’s Akha village from early August to the end of September, it offers visitors a chance to appreciate and learn about ethnic traditions and the simple way of life on the hills. 

 
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Over in the northeast region, Ubon Ratchathani is offering the Marvellous Shrimp March, during which ten of thousands of shrimps appear at night in August and September at Kaeng Lamduan in Nam Yuen District.

South of Bangkok golf fans won’t want to miss the Hua Hin Golf Festival 2017 and play nine courses in the seaside towns of Cha Um and Hua Hin for just one price. Meanwhile cyclists should prepare for the 16th International Mountain Bike Competition that will take place on August 26 and 27 at Bhumibol Dam in Tak province. 

 Shoppers can take advantage of special discounts on airfares at the 21st Travel Around Thailand and Around the World fair running from August 10 to 13 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

Find out more by calling 1672 or check out www.TourismThailand.org/thaifest.

Source - TheNation

On the bucket list, seeing #Thailand’s biggest tree

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Tourists continue to flock to the latest attraction in Phang Nga – a tree believed to be the country’s largest.

The 500-year-old tree, known as sapung in Thai (Tetrameles nudiflora), is more than 30 metres in circumference and above 50 metres in height.

It’s on Koh Yao Noi in the southern province’s Koh Yao district. 

The locale on the shore of Ao Khien Bay has several other large sapung trees, but none this big. 

 Ao Phang Nga National Park administrators have only recently begun promoting the site as a tourist attraction, seeking to get visitors involved in conserving the trees, which are accessible only by boat or after a trek through the woods.

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 Tetrameles nudiflora – whose soft timber has been used to make matchsticks, canoes and ceiling boards – often grows to immense heights and widths. 

Famous specimens wrap around the Ta Prohm temple ruins at Angkor in Cambodia and are admired in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park. 

The last time a Thai sapung tree made headlines was last August, when a 40-metre-tall specimen was noticted in a cemetery in Tambon Chaiyapruk in Loei’s Mueang district.

Source - TheNation

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Myanmar - Cambodia, Angkor Wat, Bagan to be tourist sister cities

 

 As part of the ‘two countries, one destination’ campaign, the Myanmar and Cambodia tourism ministers will ink a Memorandum of Agreement to tie Angkor Wat and the Bagan Cultural City, said U Kyaw Swa Min, a member of Working Group Committee for Angkor-Bagan tourism cooperation.

He told The Myanmar Times the agreement will be signed at the ASEAN Tourism Forum in 2018.

“We will negotiate a bilateral agreement for an Angkor-Bagan tourism integration plan between us before the MoA is signed by the two ministers,” he said.

U Kyaw Swa Min said the working group committee, led by the deputy directors general of the tourism ministries of both sides, are working out details on how to integrate a tourism package for Angkor and Bagan.

“Angkor Wat and Bagan are similar in natural features and were founded in the same century. They are also quite unique, and that is why we grouped them for development as one destination,” U Kyaw Swa Min said.

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Currently Nyaung-U airport cannot receive foreign flights because it is a domestic airport. Tourists have to take a flight via Yangon or Mandalay international airports to get to Bagan.

Tourists cannot fly directly to and from Angkor Wat and on to Bagan from Nyaung-U airport now because it does not have enough staff.

“Even regular flights from regional countries cannot be accommodated unless they upgrade the facilities at Nyaung-U airport,” U Kyaw Swa Min said.

Nyaung-U airport is being including as part of the ancient archaeology zone that needs to pass a heritage impact assessment before being allowed to be upgraded, according to the Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library in Bagan.

U Aung Aung Kyaw, director of the department said, ”We have to do a heritage impact assessment but it will be done by aviation experts. We need to do this because there will be many types of aircraft landing and taking off.

“We also do not know what ancient structures are present underground.”

The Department of Civil Aviation, (DCA) can allow international flights with aircraft capacity limitations but this needs to be approved by the Immigration Department for visa regulation purposes, U Ye Htut Aung, deputy director general of DCA, said in a previous interview with The Myanmar Times.

Almost 300,000 tourists visit Bagan yearly.

There are three ways to reach the destination -- by car, plane and water (river cruise). And all foreigners have to pay a K25,000 fee to enter the ancient archaeology zone.

Daw Khin Moh Moh Aung, a local resident, said, ”We welcome whatever they decide that it is good and beneficial for our regional development.

“But one thing to consider before they do anything is security, which is very important, not only for local people but also for tourists, because we want to be happy no matter who comes to visit our land.

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#Indonesia - Sidoarjo turns mud waste area into tourist destination.

Lusi Island is set to become the latest tourist attraction in Sidoarjo regency, East Java.

The reclaimed island, which is a result of mud dredging from Porong river estuary, will be part of Mangrove Restoration and Learning Center's area managed by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry alongside local administration and the public.

Since 2015, the ministry has built many facilities in the area, which include pedestrian track, observatory tower, a management office, toilet and water management installation.

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 “[The island] is good for mangrove tourism. It will also have karamba [floating fish enclosure] next year,” said the ministry’s directorate general for Territorial Sea Management Brahmantya Satyamurti to tempo.co.

Set on a 94-hectare of land, the island also hosts Tambak (fish farm) Wanamina. However, a large part of the island has not yet been developed. 

Brahmantya said the island was initially created to become a mud waste area for Porong River and not designed for tourism. Therefore, to turn it into an ecotourism spot, it will need sufficient sanitation, as well as clean water facilities and food and beverage stalls.

 

Source - TheJakartaPost 

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