Heavy rain early yesterday morning caused extensive flooding in Bangkok. The flooding rendered many roads impassable and triggered near gridlock traffic conditions as well as playing havoc with the timetables of city buses and canal ferries.
The Japanese ambassador to Malaysia says Japan will be submitting a bid to construct a high speed rail link to Singapore. HE Makio Miyagawa said Shinkansen bullet train technology would be up for grabs if the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore development team accepted the Japanese tender.
US singing star John Legend is scheduled to play a live concert in Bangkok in March. The venue for the singer’s date in the Thai capital is the International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) and the date is the 23 March.
The operators of Kuala Lumpur’s suburban rail network have introduced the first longer four-carriage trains. The prototype just introduced was created by joining two twin-car trains together and is part of a greater project which will see all of the Malaysian capital’s LRT trains converted.
Jazz maestro Brian McKnight will be the star performer at the Chiang Rai international jazz fest early next month. The début jazz festival at the Northern Thailand province’s Singha Park is scheduled to take place on the 2 and 3 February 2018.
Ho Chi Minh City will kick off the 12th edition of its renowned annual food fest later this week. The Taste of the World Festival will feature around 100 food stalls and will run from Thursday through to Sunday.
German budget airline Eurowings has confirmed the launch of direct flights between Munich and Bangkok. The twice weekly service will commence in mid-June and will be the first scheduled low-cost connection between the southern German state of Bavaria and Thailand.
Construction workers in Northern Laos are busy preparing the Vietnam War era Lima Site 85 for its public opening. The site is a former US radar station and is perched on top of a 200-metre-high cliff at the side of a sacred mountain Lao people call Phou Pha Thi.
The first of 10 tourism assistance centres opened on Phuket Island just as 2017 was drawing to a close. Phuket governor Norapat Plodthong presided over the official opening ceremonies of the centre at Patong Beach on Christmas Day.
Nostalgia looms for music fans in Bangkok later this month as legendary US doo-wop band the Drifters are scheduled to play live. The Drifters will be bringing the Stand By Me tour to the city’s SHOW DC Mall and will take the stage on Friday the 19 January.
Cambodia’s transport-minister claims a rail connection to Thailand will definitely be inaugurated before the end of 2018. Sun Chanthol said the government would be expediting contracts for the repair and relaying of rail tracks between Phnom Penh and Poipet.
Late last month, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) agreed a new deal for the supply of a fleet of gas-powered buses. Under the terms of the contract, the authority will pay almost THB4.3 billion for 489 natural gas vehicle (NGV) buses.
The officer in charge of Northern Thailand’s Ang Khang hill station says cherry trees are in full bloom. Thanawuth Nakham said the 5,000 sakura trees started flowering prior to the New Year and the blossoms would likely last through until mid-February before they started to wilt and die.
With the recent launch of its new route, Air KBZ added to the choices available for travellers wishing to fly between Yangon and Chiang Mai. The privately operated carrier has inaugurated a two-times-a-week service connecting Myanmar’s principal city, Yangon, and the biggest city in Northern Thailand.
New Year’s Eve saw the rebirth of Cambodia’s renowned bamboo train service. After shutting down to make way for real trains a few months ago, a section of tracks has been shifted to a site 20kms from the original ones in Battambang.
Vietnam’s deputy-transport-minister says Hanoi’s début elevated railway line should be up and running by year’s end. Speaking to reporters last week, Nguyen Ngoc Dong stated that issues which had been delaying progress on and completion of the system had been resolved.
The Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR) has announced the unveiling of a fleet of modern train carriages. The corporation says the fleet of 30 units will be deployed on trains linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in time for next month’s annual Tet Festival.
A senior Thai government minister says a planned high speed rail link between Bangkok and Chiang Mai will be way too expensive. Somkid Jatusripitak said a viability assessment carried out by Japanese specialists had revealed the cost of the 670km connection would be THB420 billion.
Bangkok’s Central World Plaza is again the flagship venue in Thailand at which to enjoy the countdown to the New Year. Central World along with event sponsors AIS are laying on an eclectic schedule of entertainment to welcome 2018.
According to the State Railway of Thailand, seats and sleeping berths to the south are fully booked until after the New Year holiday. There are a few seats on long distance trains from Bangkok to Suratthani but from there on down to destinations such as Hat Yai and Yala there is almost no availability.