Vietnam’s two biggest cities are ports-of-call on the International Fingerstyle Guitar Festival Asian Tour 2017 next week. The artistes attached to this year’s tour will be landing in Hanoi first and will play at the city’s Vietnam Youth Theatre on 18 July.
Transport authorities in Chiang Mai have added another urban bus route to the city’s public transportation options. Route B3 was officially inaugurated last week and links Chiang Mai Arcade Bus Station and Provincial Hall (Sala Klang).
The idea of introducing a tram or light rail system in Pattaya was tabled at a meeting last week. At a meeting of council officials and local business leaders, the proposal was put forward as a means of resolving the Thai seaside resort’s ever-worsening traffic issues.
Music fans will be heading up to the Northern Thailand town of Pai next week for an inaugural blues and jazz festival. The three-day event will be staged at the town’s chic pubs and cafés and will also have a central artiste’s zone.
The annual edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival is set to kick off on Friday. The premier Asian music fest will feature an eclectic line-up of artistes and will take place at Sarawak Cultural Village near the Borneo city of Kuching.
Budget airline AirAsia has confirmed the inauguration of a direct service from Kuala Lumpur to one of Vietnam’s most beloved seaside resort towns. Flights to Nha Trang will commence on 14 September and will operate once a day in each direction.
Officials at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport have confirmed that a major upgrade of the domestic passenger terminal is about to start. The improvements will begin tomorrow and are designed to alleviate congestion at a facility operating way beyond its maximum capacity.
The self-proclaimed capital of Thailand’s elephant camps marked the onset of the Buddhist Lent with a lively parade on Friday. The celebrations took place in Tambon Keud Chang Sub-district and featured a parade of elephants bearing giant candles.
Myanmar’s Culture Ministry says it is set to reintroduce a ban on tourists climbing the temples at the landmark Bagan archaeological complex. The ministry’s Archaeology Division deputy-director says the ban is necessary as the structures are up to 1,000 years old.
Good Samaritans gave a helping hand to a stricken dolphin at Phuket’s Patong Beach yesterday morning. Witnesses said the dolphin washed up onto the beach and had visible injuries on both its tail and body.
One of Thailand’s most historic temples is preparing to hold an annual festival designed to usher in the forthcoming period of Buddhist Lent. Wat Phra Phutthabat in Saraburi Province will mark the auspicious occasion with its beautiful Tak Bat Dokmai rites from tomorrow until Sunday.
The ninth edition of the annual Kathu Cultural Street Festival is scheduled to take place this weekend. The three-day celebration of the Phuket seaside town’s heritage begins tomorrow evening and features an eclectic range of attractions.
The tourism authorities of Myanmar and Cambodia are working on a plan to collaborate on the promotion of their historic temples. In Cambodia, deputy-director In Thoeun confirmed the tourist boards were working on a proposal which will see the temples of Angkor promoted alongside those of Bagan in Myanmar.
Thailand’s tourist authority has confirmed that a colourful festival to welcome this year’s Buddhist Lent will go ahead in Surin. The Esarn town’s famous elephant population will be bedecked in all their finery for parades this Friday and Saturday. There will be alms giving to the elephants for merit after the parades.
After several false alarms, Malaysia’s Movie Animation Park Studios theme park finally welcomed its first guests last week. The debut Asian animation theme park is located in the Perak State capital city of Ipoh and an exciting addition to the portfolio of regional attractions.
Thailand will celebrate two of its most important annual religious holidays this weekend. Saturday is Asarnha Bucha Day and will be followed on Sunday by Khao Phansa. The latter is the first day of the three-month-long Buddhist Lent.
The management organisation with jurisdiction over Cambodia’s Angkor temples claims UNESCO has voiced support for its move to demolish illegally built homes. Apsara Authority quoted national UNESCO representative Anne Lemaistre as stating the demolitions had the full support of the world heritage organisation.
Municipal and marine workers on Koh Samui have put up safety nets around Lamai Beach. A spokesperson for the Marine and Coastal Resources Department said the nets were designed to stop Portuguese man o’ war and jellyfish drifting in the seas and washing up on the beach.
City Hall authorities in Phnom Penh are getting ready to put 100 new buses on the city’s streets. Spokesperson Met Measpheakdey said the fleet would be used to inaugurate five new routes and the first of these would launch in early July.
The board of trustees with jurisdiction over Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda have confirmed a new date for a hike in the cost of entry. Admission fees to the national landmark of Myanmar will go up from MMK8,000 to MMK10,000 on the 1 December.