TRAVEL TITBITS
Ranking Asia’s best
The Trang islands rank among the top 10 Best in Asia to visit in 2017, according to
Lonely Planet magazine.
Top of the list is Hokkaido in Japan, where visitors can travel all year round to wild, mountainous areas and enjoy fresh seafood. Second is Shanghai, where old and modern China coexisted. The city also houses the first Disney resort in the country and Shanghai Tower, the world’s second-tallest building.
Third is Jeonju, one of Korea’s top destinations, also known for its best-preserved traditional village, where Unesco crowned it a City of Gastronomy in 2012. Fourth is the Con Dao Islands in Vietnam, known for the country’s best diving spots, wildlife-rich tropical forests and white sandy beaches.
Hong Kong is in fifth position thanks to its Unesco-designated geopark’s Sai Kung town and its ancient rock formations, which cover a 50km² region to the northeast. Sixth is Ipoh, a lesser-known food capital of Malaysia. The city is also known for outdoor activities like birdwatching, whitewater rafting and visiting clifftop temples as well as fragrant Gaharu
Tea Valley.
Seventh is Pemuteran, one of the best dive sites in Indonesia, followed by the Trang islands, at eighth. The laidback isles in the Andaman Sea are not crowded, and are beautiful spots for snorkelling. Those snorkelling sites include Koh Kradan, Koh Ngai and Koh Sukorn. Visitors can also visit Koh Muk’s Emerald Cave or look for endangered dugong off Koh Libong.
Ninth is Meghalaya, the lofty limestone plateau in Bangladesh, where visitors can enjoy adventure activities such as hiking, climbing, caving and rafting.
Last on the list is Taitung in Taiwan. The town is packed with outdoor activities like surfing, whale watching, stargazing, cycling and orange lily fields in full bloom in September.
Visit www.lonelyplanet.com/ best-in-asia.
Making the most of your holidays
Most holidaymakers spend their time working instead of relaxing with families, according to the “Do More Of What You Love” survey by Holiday Inn.
The survey was conducted between April and July 2016 via SoGoSurvey. com and released last week. It had 521 respondents from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
The survey found that only one in 10 people was able to completely “turn off” from work during a break.
About 56% said they’ve either occasionally or frequently had to work while on holidays, and more than 55% of this group have had to cancel or postpone holidays because of urgent or last-minute work commitments.
While on vacation, 30% of the participants check work emails and messages once their children are in bed.
Younger travellers said they saw their parents working on their precious breaks instead of spending quality time with them. In fact, one in 10 said their parents always work on holidays. Almost a quarter (23%) of all kids surveyed said they feel sad when their parents work on holiday, saying they simply want to spend time or play together with their parents.
Express to the north
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will officially launch new trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and to Ubon Ratchathani on Nov 11.
According to SRT governor Wutthichart Kalayanamitr, the new Bangkok-Chiang Mai train will be named Utarawithi and the train to Ubon Ratchathani will be named Isan Watthana.
SRT invested 4.7 billion baht to purchase 115 carriages from China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, one of the world’s largest suppliers of rail-transit equipment. The order included nine firstclass carriages, 88 second-class carriages, nine carriages with facilities to support the disabled and nine dining carriages.
The train for Chiang Mai will leave Hua Lamphong terminal at 6.10pm and will arrive in Chiang Mai at 7.15am. A one-way ticket for upper berths in the air-conditioned second-class carriage is 791 baht, 881 baht for lower berths, while the fares for a private first-class carriage is 1,253 for upper berths and 1,453 for lower berths.
The train for Ubon Ratchathani will leave Bangkok at 8.30pm and will arrive in Udon Thani at 6.35am. Tickets are 731 baht for upper berths, 821 baht for lower berths in the second-class carriage, and 1,120 baht and 1,320 baht for the upper and lower berths in the first-class carriage, respectively.
On Dec 2, SRT will launch two more routes with the new carriages. They are Bangkok-Nong Khai route. The train will be named Isan Makkha. The Bangkok-Hat Yai train will be named Thanksinarat.
One-way tickets for Bangkok-Nongkhai are 748 to 1,357 baht and the Bangkok-Hat Yai fares will be in the range of 855 to 1,594 baht.
Each route will have a carriage with facilities for people with disabilities, he said.
Visit www.railway.co.th.
Airline updates
Malaysia Airlines has signed a contract with Liverpool Football Club to be the Official Global Airline Partner.
The airline will advertise its brand at Anfield, on the Liverpool FC website, publications and Facebook, and produce co-branding merchandised products and campaigns. The players can be featured in all related communication materials of the airline.
Hotels update
Five hotels in Thailand made Top 50 Best Resorts in the world by Condé Nast Traveler magazine in the United States.
The hotels are the Sarojin in Khao Lak, with its stretch of sand and turquoise waters, and the 1,011 rai Four Seasons Tented Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai along the Thai-Burmese border. Both hotels share the 26th position.
Others are Iniala Beach House on Na Tai Beach in Phuket (33rd), offering six villas and dining by three-starred Michelin chef Eneko Axta; the 77-room Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort in Chiang Rai (36th), providing a Mekong view, first-rate spa and two excellent restaurants; and the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui (43rd) on the northwestern tip of Laem Yai Bay, offering 60 hillside villas with expansive Gulf of Thailand views, as well as decks with big plunge pools and a stocked wine fridge.
Visit www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-resorts-in-the-world.