The Best Of Thailand | Travel in Thailand with Ashley

Is the Chinese New Year 2012 going to be a damp squib in Thailand ?

Conversations with a cross section of Hoteliers and tourism business operators in Bangkok and Pattaya reveal that Chinese New Year may not bring the usual busloads of Chinese tourists this year. The main reason being advocated is the floods.

Hoteliers for now are stuck in analysis paralysis and Chinese tour operators have not yet begun releasing the blocks of space that they are holding at hotels across Thailand.  The more astute hoteliers though have begun sounding Indian operators out on the fact that they have rooms towards the end of January and are ready to take in Indian business. 

The coach companies though are going to have to realise that the Chinese are not coming though for the efforts of Indian operators to be successful as coaches are sometimes as much as 9 times the normal prices during the Chinese New Year period with coach operators refusing to confirm even at the inflated prices. 

Let's watch and see what happens next. 

Phuket Flood: A Phuket view of the damage in a nutshell

Thailand Flood Update:

Here is a reproduction of a story in the Phuket Gazette

Thailand Floods: A Phuket view of the damage in a nutshell

PHUKET: Severe flooding has wreaked havoc and caused enormous damage across Thailand. Although Phuket is not among the 28 provinces currently on the radar of the national government's new flood crisis 'War Room', monsoon rains are an ongoing threat here, despite the hiatus so far today.

The damage nationally:

• 30 provinces in all regions except the South (where Phuket lies) are inundated.
• 2.34 million people in over 760,000 homes have been hit.
• 253 people have been killed in flood-related accidents and four others are missing.
• Over 8.6 million rai of farmland has been damaged, with 9.9 million cattle and economic animals affected.
• Sections of 214 roads – 60 highways in 17 provinces, and 154 rural roads in 28 provinces – are under water.
• 12 provinces in the Central plains and Eastern Seaboard face the threat of heavy rain and overflowing rivers. The critical ones are Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi, and Trat.

Emergency numbers: 

• Highways Department: 1586
• Railways: 1690
• Highway Police: 1193
• Medical help: 1669
• Disaster relief: 1784

Source: 24/7 Emergency Operations Centre for Floods, Storms and Landslides, Bangkok

Here in Phuket, mudslides have been the biggest threat, with scores of people currently evacuated along several stretches of the bypass road. 

While the government has not declared an emergency situation, the people are quite tense here. With Thailand Weather worsening, a common tourist advice from travel agencies is to vacate the hotels particularly in Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket move to some place safer until the situation comes down to normal.

Read other Thailand Breaking News here.

Thailand Travel: Phuket is not the Indian's Destination of Choice as per a report from C9 Hotelworks!

Thailand Tourism: C9 Hotelworks has released the Phuket Hotel Market Update Mid-Year Edition 2011, which highlights that Patong edged into the mainstream hitting 82% occupancy in H1.

via www.thephuketinsider.com

China and Russia have outstripped India's growth into Phuket while Travel in Thailand has increased overall significantly. Read this report at Best of Thailand. Very interesting!

For your next gala dinner in Phuket, try doing a beach party

Phuket Beach Party , originally uploaded by Ashley Monteiro.

This is a party that Pathfinders Travel executed for STAR TV. First you need a private and exclusive beach where the residents do not close you down at 10 pm for disturbing the neighbourhood. Second you need lots of imagination and creativity. At this party, if you look through the pictures on flickr , you will see that we used natural props such as sail boats and the beach itself. An available fishing boat doubled up as our bar after filling the base with ice:)

We then erected a volleyball net and did Japanese style seating on the beach using axe cushions. We even lined up some chairs for those guests who did not want to get sand into their clothes. At the far corner, a ramshackle old thatched structure served as the watchout for our DJ who belted out the latest trance, hip hop and rave.

Not to forget the BBQ corner which served hot tandoori favourites. The next time you need to plan an event out of the box, try a beach. Life can be a beach !

"After Beach Bar" off Kata Beach is one of the best viewpoints in Phuket

View from After Beach Bar, originally uploaded by Razlan.

As I was driving from Kata over to Rawai one day using the more scenic mountain road, I chanced by this bar. It is difficult, make that impossible to overstate how stunning the panorama is from this stilted, thatched patio bar that hangs off a cliff over Kata. Add 270 degree views of the sea, rocky peninsulas and layered palm-dappled hills.

Now turn on Bob Marley and the have Phuket's equivalent of the Samui's Reggae Bar. It is a good idea to drop by after 4.30 and then watch the sun fall into the Andaman Sea in a pyrotechnic display of lights to the sounds of Reggae. A great way to spend an evening.

Courtyard Marriott Patong offers a nice alternative to Holiday Inn Patong

 

Situated on the same soi (street) as the popular Holiday Inn Patong, the new Courtyard Marriott Patong with its 390 guest bedrooms now offer leisure holiday makers a greatvalue alternative to the Holiday Inn Patong. The location in South Patong puts you within striking distance of Jungceylon's shops and restaurants, Patong Beach as well as the wilder pubs and nightlife of Soi Bangla.

 

The resort is "child friendly" like all the Courtyard Marriott's in Thailand and offers even teenagers a playstation, internet access and pool tables. 

 

The resort can cater to large incentive groups because of its large inventory of 390 bedrooms and its prime location in the heart of south Patong is sure to make it one of Phuket's most sought after hotels in the near future.