The collapse of a crane in Bangkok on Monday stopped traffic and trains on routes northwards. The incident took place near Don Muang Station a little after 08:30 and saw the crane’s jib overbalance as one of its support stanchions sank into soft ground.
The Thai government has set a timetable for a programme to increase the capacity of Pattaya’s U-Tapao International Airport to five million passengers per year. Transport-minister Prajin Juntong stated late last week that the government intended to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Royal Thai Navy this month that will give the expansion the green light.
Leading global hotelier chain Meliá has released a statement saying it will open a new hotel in Yangon later this year. The Spain-headquartered group says its first hotel in Myanmar will open during the last quarter of the year and feature 429 guest rooms and suites.
Municipal authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have released news of an ambitious project to build a huge subterranean shopping centre. Media sources in the South Vietnamese metropolis say the mall will be a part of a new underground rail system slated to run its first passenger services in 2023.
The director of Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport has announced that the facility will hold classical music performances twice a week. Talking to local reporters, Vu The Phiet said the concert series is scheduled to begin 20 May and the lobby area of the brand-new Terminal 2 is likely to be the venue.
A global hotel comparison website says nightly room rates across Southeast Asia are increasing by significant percentages. Trivago operates as an aggregator and compares prices for hotels displayed on reservations websites such as Agoda, Booking.com and Expedia.
Thai AirAsia is in the process of adding Thailand’s famous Elephant City to its domestic timetable. A spokesperson for the Thai budget carrier says it will offer a combined flight-bus service from Bangkok to the city of Surin with the first flight scheduled for 14 May 2015.
Quantas Airways is all set to restart a route linking Perth and Singapore in six weeks time. The Australian flag-carrier will offer five round-trip services per week between its west-coast hub and the Southeast Asian city-state with effect from 26 June 2015.
The developers in charge of the construction of Thailand’s newest skyscraper say they are just finishing off the project. The 77-storey MahaNakhon Tower is a contemporary architectural delight and soars above downtown Bangkok’s Narathiwat-Ratchanakarin Road.
The Singaporean government has announced it is introducing two cost reduction measures for users at Changi Airport. The moves to entice passengers and airlines into using the airport will see the tax for transiting passengers slashed and a big discount on ground-handling fees for airlines.
Thai carrier Bangkok Airways has entered into a codeshare agreement with Jet Airways which is effective from tomorrow. The arrangement will see the two airlines offer joint marketing on their flights between Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport near Mumbai.
Today sees the official opening of Singapore’s brand new natural history museum and a trio of ancient dinosaurs are eagerly awaiting the first visitors. Lee Kong Chian Museum is located on the campus of the city-state’s national museum and is a seven-storey structure packed with thousands of flora and fauna exhibits.
A thunderstorm struck the Thai capital of Bangkok yesterday bringing down power lines and trees. Gale-force winds and driving rain triggered mayhem in some parts of the city at 15:00 and brought traffic to a halt and forced the operator of the Skytrain service to suspend trains on a section of the network.
The political leaders of Indonesia and Cambodia have jointly declared that establishing a direct flight route between the two nations is a priority. Cambodian TV reported Indonesian’s Joko Widodo and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, discussed the issue after the former broached the subject.
Thai carrier Nok Air has announced it will increase its popular Fly ‘n’ Ride services by adding an Isaan destination noted for its adventure activities. The budget airline will add Sawang Daen Din to its combined flight-bus routes from 6 May 2015.
Malaysia’s parliament has given the green light for hotels and restaurants to add service charges to bills. The agreement is the outcome of a meeting on Monday chaired by government representatives. Associations representing hotels and eateries plus the national Trades Union Congress attended.
The government body in charge of Cambodia’s historic Angkor Wat temple ruins is considering raising the cost of entry tickets. Long Kosal is a deputy-director of Apsara and he says current ticket fees are cheap in comparison with similar global attractions.
Hua Hin’s heritage fair is all set to begin tomorrow evening and will run through until 3 May. The venue for Hua Hin of Yesterday 2015 is Queen’s Park and it is being staged to commemorate the 65th wedding anniversary of Thailand’s king and queen.
The recent release of TripAdvisor’s annual awards elevated Koh Tao to the top island in Asia spot. For Traveller’s Choice 2015, the Thai island snapped up the top award for Asia and also the number five spot in the global table of best islands.
Thailand’s Harbour Department says it is about to revise laws so that boat passengers will have to wear life-jackets at all times when they are aboard. The department’s deputy-director, Nat Jabjai, said three laws are set to be amended and these will make the the wearing of life-jackets compulsory for passengers on both seagoing and river vessels.