Crimes of Opportunity
Although the crime threat in big city like Bangkok / Chiang Mai remains lower than that in many cities in America or Britain, crimes of opportunity such as pick-pocketing, purse-snatching, and burglary have become more common in recent years.Travelers should be especially wary when walking in crowded markets, tourist sites and bus or train stations. Many UK, States, etc. citizens have reported having passports, wallets, and other valuables stolen in Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market, usually by thieves who cut into purses or bags with a razor and remove items surreptitiously.Police at the Market usually refuse to issue police reports for foreign victims of theft, requiring them insted to travel several miles to the central Tourist Police office. Violent crimes against foreigners are relatively rare.Labels: All about Chiang Mai, Reccomend all attractive places to go and things to eat and join, Thailand, Travel Safety on Earth
Safari World
If you've always dreamed of going on an African Safari, ...
Safari World is probably nothing like that. But it does offer the opportunity to drive your own car through a large open-air enclosure teeming with exotic birds, wildebeests, zebras, deer of all kinds, and even two sleepy rhinos.
In separately enclosures, lions, tigers and, Yes!.., bears lounge in the shade or stroll casually across the road directly in front of your car.
(If you arrive by taxi, you can ride a bus through the safari park at no extra cost)
Safari World has two casual restaurants offering various inexpensive dining options (Gai yang, Sticky rice, Somtam, etc., as well as a sweeter version of western-style pasta). Two smaller restaurants offer Asian-style fast food, and multiple snack bars and ice cream stands are scattered throughout the park.
Safari World also includes an extensive collection of animals in a more traditional zoo setting, with everything from yawning crocodiles to capybaras on display. Much of this section of the park is shades, but don't forget your hat and sunscreen if you plan to spend the day.
In addition to a daily dolphin and beluga whale show, Safari World offers entertainment featuring polar bears, sea lions, birds and boxing orangutans. There are also "Western Cowboy stunt shows" and "Spy war" shows. Be forewarned -- most of these shows are very loud.
Getting there:
Safari World is about an hour's drive from Bangkok (depending on traffic conditions and where you're starting from.) Once you're in the vicinity of the park, signs help point the way. A few taxis are available at the park entrance, but if you plan to spend the day and don't have a car, you may want to hire a driver.
Ticket Prices:
Adult -- 390 baht
Child -- 290 baht
(Children three and under are free)
Price includes both Safari Park and Marine Park.
Stroll rental available for a fee, plus an additional 300 baht deposit.
Labels: Reccomend all attractive places to go and things to eat and join, Thailand
News: Plane Crashes upon Landing at Phuket
A passenger plane heading to one of Thailand's leading tourist destinations crashed Sunday as it tried to land in heavy rain, splitting in two as it was engulfed in flames, officials said. As many as 100 people were feared dead.
The wreckage of a One-Two-Go passenger plane after it crashed while attempting to land at Phuket International Airport on Sunday, 16 September 2007.
(By Shanthy Nambiar and Suttinee Yuvejwattana)
Most of the people on board an airliner that crashed after landing in heavy rain on Thailand's resort island of Phuket are dead, Deputy Governor Vorapoj Rattasrima said. They included tourists from Britain, Australia, France and the Netherlands.
The One Two Go Airline Co. flight was a McDonnell Douglas Corp. MD-82 carrying 123 passengers and five crew, Vutichai Singhamanee, director of the aviation safety office, said in an interview. One Two Go is owned by Orient Thai Airlines Co. The flight left the capital Bangkok at 3:45 p.m., Chaisak Ungsuwan, director-general of Thailand's Air Transportation Department, told TITV television.
Bangkok Phuket Hospital was treating 28 people injured in the crash, marketing director Narueporn Sinto said in an interview. They include Thais, Australians, Irish, Canadians, French, Israelis, Iranians, Germans and British, she said. Phuket International Hospital has treated 11 people, including Swedish and Dutch, said nurse Thananda Chanakul.
Phuket is Thailand's premier tourist destination and one of the most popular with international visitors to Asia. Earnings from tourism accounted for 7 percent of the Southeast Asian nation's $195 million economy last year. A tsunami in December 2004 killed about 5,400 people and left nearly 3,000 missing in southern Thailand's islands, including Phuket.
Vorapoj told The Associated Press that at least 66 bodies were laid out in the airport building, 42 people were hospitalized and the rest were missing. Reuters quoted Vorapoj as saying the death toll was 88.
McDonnell Douglas
The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas Corp. MD-82, the aviation safety office's Vutichai said. The flight left the capital Bangkok at 3:45 p.m., Chaisak Ungsuwan, director-general of Thailand's Air Transportation Department told TITV television.
"More people are dead than survived,'' Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports Suvit Yodmani said in an interview in Bangkok. "I think we will be able to confirm the number of deaths by tonight. We can't identify nationalities yet.'' The injured passengers have been taken to local hospitals, he said.
Phuket International Airport will be closed until 7 a.m. tomorrow morning, Vutichai said.
The airplane broke in two and caught on fire after skidding and hitting an embankment after landing in a heavy rainstorm, Channel 7 news reported. Television images showed the aircraft in pieces with smoke billowing from it. Many of the dead were still strapped into their seats, the television report cited eyewitnesses as saying. The injured have been taken to Phuket's Watchira Hospital, it said.
Worst Since 1998.
Today's crash may be Thailand's deadliest since a Thai Airways International Pcl Airbus A310-200 crashed while attempting to land at Surat Thani airport in southern Thailand in December 1998, killing 101 of the 146 people on board.
One Two Go Airline Chief Executive Officer Udom Tantiprasongchai said the company is investigating the event and is ready to take responsibility.
"I have contacted our insurance firm in London and we will take full responsibility on this,'' Udom said in an interview. "We will set up hotline soon and will have insurance officials contact people affect from the accident.''
Channel 9 TV station, citing Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongchaum, said 39 bodies have been found at the crash site, with 50 passengers reported injured.
Labels: Thailand, Travel Safety on Earth
