King Prajadhipok (King Rama VII) built the Klai Kangwon Palace at Hua Hin as a summer home for Queen Rambai Barni. The palace was designed by Prince Iddhidehsarn Kridakara, an architect and the Director of the Fine Arts Department, and officially opened in 1929.

Originally, Klai Kangwon comprised three mansions, each facing the sea. The two-storey buildings housed the royals, while smaller houses in the vicinity were for the entourage. The architecture of the palace is basically Spanish, designed to admit the cooling sea breezes.

A formal garden in front of the mansions has stone sculptures from Bali, sundials, nautical instruments, lamps and other ornaments. A section is given over to topiary-bushes sculpted and trained into interesting shapes.

Their Majesties the King and Queen still stay at Klai Kangwon Palace when on trips to Prachuab Khiri Khan and surrounding areas.

Klai Kangwon Palace is located about 3 km from Hua Hin town. It is open to the public daily from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm. For further information, call +66 32 511-115.

Originally published by http://www.thailand.com

The major tourist places to see at Sam Roi Yot are;

• Khao Daeng Canal. This Canal can be cruised from Khao Daeng Temple and offers a way to explore the mangrove forests and also watch birds.
• Kaeo Cave [ Tham Kaeo ]. This cave has numerous stalacites and stalagmites. It can be found 15 kilometers north of the Park entrance office some 24 kilometers from Pran Buri.
• Sai Cave [ Tham Sai ]. This cave is 9 kilometers north of the Park office.
• Sam Phraya Beach [ Hat Sam Phraya ] is a beatiful beach with accommodation facilities which is just 3.5 kilometers north of the Park office and is 1 kilometr long.
• Laem Sala Beach [ Hat Laem Sala ]. This beach is located 16 kilometers north of the Park office. A map of the Park is available. To reach the beach one needs to go by boat or cross from Bang Pu Village. Here also is the Cave Phraya Nakhon.
• Khao Daeng Mountain [ Khao Daeng ] which is 425 meters from the Park office. This is 157 meters above sea level and a good viewpoint.
• Ban Khao Daeng, the village and canal from where one can take boats for an hour or more to go bird watching.
• Phraya Nakhon Cave. Phraya Nakhon Cave is 430 meters from Sala Beach and contains three huge chambers, two of which have open chimneys to allow light, rain and height for vegetation to grow tall therein. Here also is the much photgraphed Royal Pavilion of King Rama V of 1890.
• Thung Sam Roi Yot. This is a vast fresh water marsh ecosystem which is home to a large number of birds. The birds are either Thailand based birds or migrating birds.

The Northeast Monsoon 

• The Northeast Monsoon comes from the Western Pacific Ocean and brings heavy rain from November to April through out. Accordingly the Gulf of Thailand then receives heavy rain and winds.
• During this period the sea in the Gulf of Thailand has strong currents and poor under water visibility. This is not a good time to go scuba diving in the Gulf of Thailand.
• However during this same period on the other side of the Peninsula on the Andaman Coast the water is clear and not turbulant. Then visibility is 30 meters and the sea calm.

Originally publish by http://www.thailandworld.com

The long-awaited opening of the airport rail-link on 23 August substantially enhances the convenience of visiting Bangkok but a number of critical missing links will impede its connectivity with the city’s mass-transit systems.

The rail-link will be a blessing for independent travellers, especially backpackers, seeking to avoid the taxis and touts at Bangkok airport. In addition to helping decentralise and decongest Bangkok towards the suburbs, it will also help the capital join the league of regional cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong which have city-airport mass transit links.

Hotels in the vicinity of the rail-link stations and terminals at Phaya Thai, Ratchaprarop and Makkasan areas will gain a significant competitive advantage, especially in the Rajdamri area as well as those along Phetchaburi, Asoke and Rajdaphisek roads.

Providing easy access right under the Suvarnabhumi airport terminal, the rail-link is smooth and efficient. The rail-cars are spacious with plenty of place for luggage. Visitors will also enjoy panoramic views of Bangkok, including greenery, housing estates, temples, mosques, malls and the office towers of the inner city.

However, at least three problems will impede what would otherwise have been a seamless flow of passengers between the rail-link, the BTS Sky Train and the MRT Metro as they commute from the airport to various tourism-related destinations, and vice versa.

The BTS Sky Train / Rail-link interchange at Phaya Thai: There is no escalator to go down from the BTS Phaya Thai station to the level of the connecting walkway to the rail-link station. The existing escalator is only for going up. To go down, the steps have to be used, which may be a problem for those carrying heavy luggage. There are no luggage trolleys at the station either. Moreover, a small part of the walkway from the Sky Train station to the rail-link station is still under construction, projected for completion by the Aug 23 official launch date of the rail-link.

The MRT / Rail-link connection at Makkasan: This should have been possible from the Makkasan terminal to the Phetchaburi MRT station, but does not exist. An MRT executive said a “project” to establish a walkway is awaiting approval. As and when that is forthcoming, work can be finished in three months. Hence, those getting off at the Makkasan rail-link terminal cannot access the Phetchaburi MRT station.

Lack of a single commuter ticket: The biggest obstacle will be the lack of a common ticket between the airport rail-link, the Sky Train and the MRT. Arriving visitors heading for say, the Hua Lumphong rail terminal, will have to first buy the rail-link ticket, then a Sky Train ticket and then again a Metro ticket separately at each interchange.

Mr Surapong Laoha-Unya, Director and Chief Operating Officer of the BTS Sky Train, acknowledged that this has long been an issue, for both technical and administrative reasons. Not only are the ticketing technologies entirely different, but one company is under private control while the other is a quasi-public sector organisation, which means two entirely different mindsets, procedures and systems.

Mr Surapong noted that a common ticket between the Sky Train and the MRT has been in the works for about three to four years. Now that the airport rail-link is due to open, it has taken a new sense of urgency and is expected to be in place some time next year.

After the rail-link is officially opened, tickets will cost only 15 baht per trip per person until the end of 2010. The system is expected to be a money-losing operation for years, although some of the cost may be offset by advertising in the rail-cars and the stations, especially at the airport and Makkasan terminals.

Once these issues are sorted out, however, the benefits for Bangkok’s tourism industry will be phenomenal. Mr Surapong said the BTS, which opened in 1999, is well aware of the tourism advantage and projects clear increases in passengers after the rail-link opens.

He noted that visitors have benefited from thousands of discounted BTS passes sold to the tourism sector between 2002 to July 2010, including 342,152 sold to hotels along the Sky Train routes, 568,968 to tour operators and 93,025 passes to the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau. In 2009 alone, sales to tour operator totalled 81,244 passes, hotels 45,415 passes and TAT and TCEB 18,000 passes.

Mr Surapong said that the rail-link would also help boost sales of the Sky Train’s one-day pass which costs only 120 Baht and can be used for unlimited number of trips to tourist spots along the Sky Train routes.

“Visitors with little time to spare don’t like sitting in traffic,” he said. “The rail-link will help all the mass-transit systems boost sales, especially to the growing numbers of visitors from new markets such as India.”

Originally publish by http://www.ttrweekly.com

For many years, Hua Hin has been regarded as one of the best golfing locations in Thailand. You will be spoilt for choice here as there are 8 top quality courses all within a 30 minute drive of the town centre. More are located slightly further afield, but are still reachable easily enough for a day's play. Black Mountain and Banyan are the latest courses to open in the Hua Hin area.

So, if you need a break from the hectic pace of life on the beach, then there are enough courses to keep you occupied and happy during your stay. All are in good condition and will present challenges for both the novice and experienced golfer. The courses tend to get busy at weekends and national holidays when the Bangkok crowd visit the area and during the high season (December - March), play can sometimes be slow. Even if it occasionally takes 5 hours to play a round, there's no need to get frustrated. The scenery and regular watering holes will take your mind off those small delays. At other times of year, you can often not see another soul on the course except your playing partners and caddies.

Although technically you can carry your own clubs, it is expected that you hire a caddie and you should respect this. They are not expensive and generally are good fun to have with you during your game. It is also customary to tip your caddie at the end of the round. The amount is up to you, but 300 Baht will always be received with a smile and thanks. Do bear in mind that the vast majority of caddies are women, half your size, who carry your clubs all the way round (if you're walking the course) in the blistering heat. No mean feat for anyone.

As an annual event, Hua Hin will host Golf festival 2010 during the months of August and September. Many golf courses in the area are offering a special green fees and accommodations.

Originally publish by http://www.tourismhuahin.com