- Published: 10/06/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Horizons
Express rail service linking Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Airport, currently nonstop, will soon include stops at Hua Mark and Lat Krabang as part of the test run leading to its inauguration on August 12.
Express rail connecting Suvarnabhumi Airport and Bangkok will be inaugurated on August 12.
The test runs began on June 1 and have proved highly popular because the public is given free ride but not the option to get on/off midway. But starting June 14 the test runs will include stops at Hua Mak and Lat Krabang.
Some 4,000 people rode the train on the very first day of the test run.
The service connects Phaya Thai station downtown Bangkok with Suvarnabhumi, and during the trial period the public is welcome to enjoy free rides - available during 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm Monday to Friday. Maximum passengers it can take is about 600. All one needs to do is turn up at any of the stations and ask for a ticket. Trains leave at 20-minute intervals, the nonstop ride one-way lasting 25 minutes.
According to the Transport Minister Sophon Saram, extensive baggage handling and testing is needed at the Makkasan terminal and Suvarnabhumi before the service can become fully operational. One-way fare from Makkasan to the airport will be about 150 baht.
For details, visit http://www.railway.co.th or call its hotline at 1690.
Golfing feast
"Amazing Thailand Golf Paradise 2010" that runs June 16 to August 15 promises golfing buffs a chance to tee off at some of the most perfect and challenging courses in Pattaya and Phuket.
Some of them, according to one of the participants in the campaign, Kullatorn Mesommont, are championship courses which have played host to some of the world's top pros.
Participating courses in Pattaya include St. Andrews, Burapha, Laem Chabang Country Club, Siam Country Club, Bangpra, Pattana Golf and Sports Club, Khao Khiew Country Club and Eastern Star, while in Phuket they are Phuket Country Club and Red Mountain Golf Club.
Facilitating the campaign is Bangkok Airways with four weekly flights between Pattaya and Phuket. Other participants are the Tourism Authority of Thailand, East Coast Golf Courses Management Association, Phuket Golf Association, and the Bangkok Travel Club.
On offer are full-board golf packages with prices starting from 13,500 baht including round-trip airfares, two-night hotel accommodation with breakfast, round-trip airport transfer, and two rounds of golf.
Call 1771 or visit http://www.bangkokair.com for details.
Selective buys
The Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association (RSTA) has joined hand with 200 shops in that area to offer up to 70% discount on brand name goods.
Called "We Love Ratchaprasong Summer Sale", the campaign will run June 15 to August 31. Shoppers will have a chance to buy selected brand name products from malls operating in the area including Gayson Plaza, Amarin Plaza and Plaza Zone at the Hyatt Erawan Hotel.
Visit http://www.heartofbangkok.com for details.
Street shopping
Following the success of Silom street shopping bonanza on May 20-30, the government hosted a similar event in north and south Pattaya last weekend.
The government sees street shopping as a way to help alleviate the plight of traders adversely affected by protests and rioting by the red shirts last month. The Pattaya fair is estimated to have led to a turnover of some 100 million baht.
Next in line is Nonthaburi where a shopping fair is planned June 12-13 at the MCC Hall of The Mall department store on Ngam Wongwan Road, followed by another in Nakhon Sawan next week.
Model of the market by railway tracks in Samut Songkhram as it is bisected by a passing train.
Show on water
"The House of Dancing Water", one of the most thrilling water-based extravaganza ever staged, is scheduled to open Sept 16 at Macau's City of Dreams.
The US$250 million (8.2 billion baht) show directed by Belgian Franco Dragone is 70 minutes of engrossing action where the stage is 3.7 million gallons of water, more than five times the volume of an Olympic pool.
It is Franco Dragone Entertainment Group's first production in Asia. Inspiration for the show came from Chinese culture, particularly the "seven emotions" principle derived from classical Confucian beliefs and it promises to take its audience on an awe-inspiring journey performed by 77 international artists and 130 top production technicians from 18 countries.
Tickets go on sale mid-June. Visit http://www.cityofdreamsmacau.com for details.
Travel bargains
If you are looking for travel ideas, visit the Thailand Tourism Festival (TTF) that opened yesterday at the Challenger Hall 1-3 of Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani.
Organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the event features 598 booths in four zones dubbed: Culture and Community-based Tourism, Taste of Thailand, Ecotourism and Adventure Travel, and Health Tourism.
On offer are special tour packages, discounts on airfares and hotel accommodation.
The travel fairs runs 10am to 9pm until Sunday, June 13.
For more information, call TAT at 1672 or visit http://www.tourismthailand.org.
Miniature world
The 4th Thai Miniature World is an art and handicraft exhibition that opens tomorrow at the Jungceylon shopping complex on Patong Beach in Phuket.
The event features miniatures replicating benefits of royal projects, historical sites in Phuket such as an old mine, and travel destinations nationwide including a market along railway tracks in Mae Klong, Samut Songkhram, where vendors remove their merchandise from the tracks every time a train passes.
There will also be demonstration of how miniature items are created and sale of small souvenirs, ancient toys and traditional sweets. The exhibition runs 11am to 8pm and ends on June 20.
For details, visit http://www.jungceylon.com or call 076-600-100.
If you have any comments or news to share, send them to
About the author
- Writer: Karnjana Karnjanatawe
- Position: Reporter
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น