BANGKOK, 11 November 2011 – Solar Air, a domestic airline that was based at Don Mueang Airport, until it closed due to floods, transferred its base to U-Tapao Airport Thursday.

Three airlines vacated the flooded domestic airport in late October. They were: Nok Air, Orient Thai Airlines and Solar Air. Both Nok Air and Orient Thai moved to the main aviation gateway, Suvarnabhumi Airport, while Solar Air decided to resume services yesterday from the Navy controlled airport 30 km south of Pattaya.

Yesterday, it kicked off a daily service to Hua Hin the first air link to the famous resort on the western side of the Gulf of Thailand 220 km south of Bangkok.  Nok Mini (then called SGA Airlines) halted services to the resort in March 2009.

The Solar Air flight departs U-Tapao at 1300 arriving in Hua Hin at 1340. The return flight departs at 1400 and arrives in U-Tapao at 1440. The fare is Bt2,590 per sector, all inclusive.

Solar Air hopes to finalise a timetable for flights to other destinations such as Chumporn, Phrae, Nan, Leoi and Mae Sot from its temporary base.

Initially, passengers have to arrange their own transport to and from U-Tapao; but the airline says it will set up a shuttle services between Bangkok and U-Tapao shortly.

Solar Air said it was not prepared to operate out of Suvarnabhumi Airport due to  flight congestion.

Passengers can book through travel agents or an online channel. Call 081 8109556, 082 1035656 or 089 8969556.

Originally published by www.ttrweekly.com

On 19th November 2011 Starch Band will give a free concert at Cicada Market, Hua Hin. The concert will kick off at 8 pm. Direct from Switzerland, Starch is a young bold and outrageous with fat funk blending with hip-hop rhymes and burning rock riffs.

The seven young and inventive musicians have played over 200 Swiss shows(Montreux Jazz Festival, openair at St Gallen) and tour through Germany, Austria, Spain, Hungary and Croatia.

Their most recent natural album entitled 'music' is a natural footprint of their vivid travels and vast cultural musical experiences together as a band uniting indie funk, crazy cosmopolitan rap and wild ska punk together, creating colorful yet powerful homogenous sound you've ever heard before.

For more information, please call 081- 880 4004 or visit www.cicadamarket.com

Originally published by www.thailand-huahin.com

Loi Krathong festival is a Thai tradition which has been conducted for a long time ago. Loi Krathong has been held since the middle of the eleventh to the middle of the twelfth lunar month, which is a great flood season- especially on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month. When the moon shines at night, it makes rivers clear. It is very beautiful scenery which is suitable for floating krathong.

The villagers in northern and north-eastern parts of Thailand often float lanterns. They are made of color paper. If they float in the afternoon, they will use smoke for floating lanterns while they use torch to set smoke in lanterns to float them in wind chill at night. We can see the light from lantern in the sky with moonshine and stars glitter at night, which is very beautiful.

Bangkok is served by two airports. Suvarnabhumi Airport, the main gateway to Thailand with 120 international and domestic airlines, remains open. It is operating normally and handling around 76 flights per hour including all scheduled international arrivals and departures.

Suvarnabhumi Airport is also the main connector for international visitor arrivals to transfer to and from domestic flights serving tourist destinations throughout Thailand such as Phuket, Chiang Mai and Surat Thani. All domestic flights are also operating as per usual.

Don Mueang Airport, the old international airport located about 30 km northeast of Suvarnabhumi Airport, is closed until November 1st due to flooding. The two domestic airlines operating from Don Mueang, which are Nok Air and Orient Thai Airlines, have temporarily switched their operations to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Orignally published by www.tatnews.org

While it has a distinctly retro feel, Hua Hin Sam Phan Nam Floating Market in Prachuap Khiri Khan province is actually a new market, which opened earlier this year. Inspired by the designs of many outstanding landmarks located around Hua Hin, the market’s setting provides a glimpse into the past, while offering tourists the chance to browse among an array of stalls, selling souvenirs and local specialties. Covering an area of over 100 rai (16 hectares), about six kilometers away from the center of Hua Hin, the market was designed by a company that established the renowned Ayothaya, the largest retro market in Ayutthaya province. The market, which is managed by the same company (Ayothaya Floating Market), is named after Sam Phan Nam (‘3,000 names’), an extremely long creek nearby that runs through numerous local villages. 

The market’s architectural features take their inspiration from several historical sites in Hua Hin that were either built or renovated during the reign of King Rama VI (1910-1925), including the Mrigadayavan Palace and Hua Hin Railway Station. The large red and white sign in front of the market, for example, is based on the same color scheme as the railway station and road signs around the city. 

Appetizing Options
The market features a large pond, where up to 40 boats are moored. The vessels are used as stalls by local vendors, who sell a range of mouthwatering local foods and snacks. These scenes will take many visitors back to the not too distant past, when travel by boat was the principal form of transportation in the kingdom. Surrounding the man-made pond are about 200 stores, offering a wide variety of goods, such as local snacks and food, including fruits, as well as items of clothing, home decorative products and souvenirs. To provide visitors with lots of photo opportunities, the market includes lots of vintage-style attractions, including phone booths, post boxes and a small post office, which is operational, allowing shoppers to post a card or letter to a friend or family member from the market. 

There’s also a miniature train that operates a circuit around the market, as well as a boat offering a short trip around the pond, providing passengers with some different perspectives of the market. Passengers pay just 20 baht (US$0.64) per ride, per attraction. An unusual form of stage lies just below the surface of the water towards the center of the pond, providing members of the audience with an interesting view. The position of the stage means that it can be seen from just about anywhere, while the performers can often seem to be walking or gliding upon the water, providing members of the audience with some incredible sights. Among the performances taking place on a daily basis are Thai traditional dance, traditional drumming and fire dances.
The market opens daily from 10 am to 11 pm.

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