Season for fruit connoisseurs
- Published: 6/05/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Horizons
The fruit buffet season is here!
A chance to select and savour durians straight from the trees comes very rarely, so rush.
It is the time of the year when farmers in Rayong, Chanthaburi and Nakhon Nayok open up their orchards inviting the public to come and sample their produce - rambutan, mangosteen, durian, santol, longkong, rakam (salacca) and mafai (Burmese grape) - fresh, straight from the trees.
For a nominal fees you can roam the orchards and pluck fruit fresh from the trees and eat to your heart's content and, if that's not enough, you can even buy them home.
The fruit season usually coincides with the summer break at schools, but this year it's been a tad late due to drought. In fact, it only got going last week.
Chanthaburi is famous for durian. According to Narong Teerachantarangkul who is assistant to the Chanthaburi governor, the province produces 200,000 tonnes of durian this year.
Every year the province holds a durian festival - this year May 1-9 - at the King Taksin (Thung Na Choey) public park downtown attracting connoisseurs of the fruit from all over the country.
Meanwhile, Governor Sayumporn Limthai of Rayong disclosed a bumper crop this year, putting the province's durian output alone at 99,168 tonnes, 5.6 tons more than last year; mangosteen 15,013 tonnes up by 2,993 tonnes; rambutan 15,000 tonnes up by 686 tonnes; and longon at 4,176 tonnes.
The high fruit season runs until end of June.
Dubious distinction
A study by GTZ, the German Technical Cooperation agency, has found carbon emission in the tourist islands off Trat to be higher than the country average for Thailand.
The study, Canbon Footprint Baseline Study of Households and Tourism Establishment in Koh Chang and the Sea of Trat Designated Area, found that the largest energy consumers were households and tourism operators such as hotels, resorts and restaurants. Other reasons it attributed were the use of diesel for generating electricity, more private transport on Koh Chang, and the rise of solid wastes.
According to GTZ, the carbon footprint per person on Koh Chang was 19.74kg of carbon dioxide per day, well above the national average of 15kg per person per day.
Jaruwan Jintakanon, president of the Trat Tourism Association, has called on its members and local administration offices to join forces to help reduce the carbon footprint.
Among the measures being mooted are: urging tourists to refrain from bringing along their own vehicles to Koh Chang, promoting the use of solar cell for generating electricity on Koh Krut instead of burning diesel, and reducing the amount of waste generated per day, now a high 25 tonnes.
Romance and travel
100 Thee Bok Rak Gub 20 Thee Khor Tang Ngan is a new Thai-language guide whose title roughly translates as "100 places where to say 'I love you' and 20 destinations fit for proposing marriage."
The 160-page book put together by the Tourism Authority of Thailand carries a distinct romantic overtone, with destinations categorised by region, such as the sea of mist in Mae Hong Son (north), Suan Rot Fai public park in Bangkok (central), and Similan Island in Phangnga (south).
The book contains pictures and brief information about the places, how to get there and romance tips including quotes for your loved ones.
TAT is holding a photo contest in which it is giving away 1,000 of these books as well as hotel packages as rewards. The contest ends May 15. Visit http://www.romanticproposalinthailand.com for details.
New walking street
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is planning a walking street around Khlong Lod canal by Atsadang Road behind the Supreme Court building.
According to Thirachon Mano- maipiboon, a deputy city governor, it is designed to help about 1,000 retail shops around Ratchaprasong intersection adversely affected by the sit-in by the red shirts since the beginning of April.
The walking street will be equipped with relevant facilities such as lighting, giant umbrellas and closed-circuit cameras to ensure the security of shoppers as well as the sellers.
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About the author
- Writer: Karnjana Karnjanatawe
- Position: Reporter
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