New Seat for the Golden Buddha
Wat Traimitr Wittayaram hopes to complete construction of the new Phra Maha Mondop which will house the world's largest Buddha statue cast from pure gold in March.
Construction began two years ago after the temple found that the room where the statute, weighing 5.5 tons and 3.04 metres tall, was kept had become too small to accommodate visitors, numbering some 2,000 daily, arriving to pay homage to the popular Sukhothai-style image.
Funded through public donation with the government forking out 250 million baht, the new all-marble home of the golden Buddha, 60 metres tall and 30 metres wide, will have a seven-tiered tiled roof. Apart from the statue, it will boast an exhibition area chronicling the history of Chinese people living in the Yaowarat area since the Rattanakosin period until present day, backed by multimedia presentation.
Samet water project
Rayong will spend 335 million baht to improve public's access to water for consumption on the tourist island of Ko Samet, 40 minutes' ride by boat from the pier at Ban Phe.
According to chairman of the provincial administration Jaruwat Suntarawejpong, water has been a recurring problem for local residents as well as tourists visiting Ko Samet, as the existing reservoir is in a state of disrepair, and can't be replaced because it sits on land that is part of a national park. All water for consumption, therefore, has to ferried from the mainland leading to higher costs.
The plan calls for laying an undersea water pipe from Ban Phe to Ko Samet. Construction is expected to take three years to complete.
Bus travel first class
Nakhonchai Air, an operator of inter-provincial bus service, has introduced a fleet of first class coaches equipped with enhanced luxury and GPS navigation to improve passenger convenience and safety, starting with the Bangkok-Chiang Mai route.
First class luxury for passengers travelling between Bangkok and Chiang Mai by road.
The seats have more leg room with electronic control and adjustable back rest, each with a seatbelt, a small LCD screen and a game console for entertainment - as on commercial aircraft - a reading light, a socket for earphone, a neck pillow and an overhead compartment for luggage. The aisle is carpeted. Inside the cabin are closed-circuit cameras that keep an eye on passenger activity, while charming attendants dressed in the company's uniform, with women wearing high-heeled shoes, serve passengers meals, drinks and snacks on board.
The toilet has double doors to ensure smelly odour is locked out of the passenger cabin, while GPS navigation helps monitor the position of buses and their speed.
One-way ticket on the route costs 806 baht. For more information, call Nakhonchai Air at 02-936-0009 or visit http://www.nca.co.th.
Air Asia discount
AirAsia is offering a special air fare to celebrate the launch of daily flights between Bangkok and Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia.
One-way ticket is priced at 999 baht, excluding surcharges. Bookings must be made by February 1 and the travel window opens February 9 to April 30.
The flights depart Bangkok at 6:15am, arriving in Denpasar at 11:25am, while they leave Denpasar at 11:55am and arrive in Bangkok at 3:20pm.
Codeshare accord
Etihad and Bangkok Airways have signed a codeshare agreement that should facilitate passengers travelling from Abu Dhabi to Phuket and Ko Samui.
"Asia is an important market for Etihad and there is huge demand amongst our customers to travel beyond Bangkok," said the airline's CEO James Hogan, adding that the agreement will encourage leisure travellers to enjoy beach breaks on two of Asia's most beautiful islands.
Under the codeshare passengers arriving in Bangkok from Abu Dhabi can fly on to Ko Samui which Bangkok Airways connects twice a day, and to Phuket once daily.