 |
|
December 2001
Important Travel InformationDon't forget: Clients who book our cruises on the Mekong during the period from November to February should remember that temperatures on the Mekong River can then be quite low. All clients are advised to bring a light jersey or jacket, to wear while the boat is moving and during the evening at the lodge. Furthermore, as the water level on the Mekong River is falling during that period and the lodge is some distance from the boat, it may be difficult to carry heavy luggage up to the lodge. If possible prepare a small overnight bag with enough clothes and toiletries for your overnight stay at the lodge. Nov/Dec River CruiseLUANGSAY - Please note the new operation schedule for LuangSay: Until April 30, 2002: Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday up river, Monday, Thursday and Friday down river. May 2002: Saturday & Wednesday up river, Monday & Friday down river. June 2002: No operation. July-September 2002: Saturday & Wednesday up river, Monday & Friday down river. Charter is available with the exception of June. VAT PHOU operation schedule: Until March 2002: Saturday and Wednesday March 15-31 cruise departures are subject to water level in the Mekong. April - May 2002: No operation - Dry dock period. June - September 2002: Saturday and Wednesday, June 1-15: cruise departures subject to water level in the Mekong Phuket Cruise. JUNE BAHTRA - we are operating June Bahtra full day excursion out of Krabi on Fridays during the winter season. The first cruise took place on Friday 23rd of November. For details of the itinerary, please contact us. Please remember that we also offer June Bahtra to your guests in Khao Lak. Guests will be picked up from Khao Lak and taken to the pier to join the regular JUNE BAHTRA excursion. New tours, attractions and eventsBANGKOK BY BIKE Why not go for a bike tour in the outskirts of Bangkok? Our new half-day tour takes you to places tourists normally never get to see, through small communities, agricultural villages and rice fields. You will visit a local market, a rice factory and farmers house, before returning to Bangkok by longtail boat. BITEC has built a new exhibition hall adjacent to the existing facility, that adds approx. 6,000 sqm to the 20,000 sqm of hall space already available. FOOT MASSAGE: If your guests have time to spare at the airport, there is Lek's Foot Massage near departure gate 15. Prices are reasonable, considering the airport location and it might just be the right thing before a long-haul flight or between connecting flights. BALLOONS OVER BAGAN has introduced a smaller second balloon to compliment their sunrise and sunset champagne flights over the ancient ruins of Bagan. The new balloon has a capacity of four passengers, making a total of 12 seats available on these spectacular flights. MYANMAR AIRWAYS INTERNATIONAL has opened a new service office at the Traders Hotel. MYANMAR CRUISING The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company has unveiled its second cruise boat - RV PANDAW 2. Built in Myanmar and using local materials and craftsmen, the latest addition offers 24 luxury cabins on its normal Bagan - Mandalay route, as well as expedition cruises on the Chindwin and upper Ayeyarwaddy Rivers. The luxurious ROAD TO MANDALAY completed their successful maiden voyage up the Chindwin River in September, and hope to offer this on a commercial basis for September 2002. Hotels & RestaurantsThailand hotels BANYAN TREE, PHUKET is introducing 14 new Spa Pool Villas in December. Designed as a private and luxurious haven for couples, the Villas feature a floating bed pavilion, outdoor shower and sunken bathtub or jacuzzi, a landscaped garden, dining patio, glass-edge pool and an in-villa spa. It's the ultimate in romance and luxury! We are all eagerly awaiting our invitations to see for ourselves .! BAAN YIN DEE is the name of a new hotel about to open in Phuket. Bookings at the 20-room resort will be accepted as of December 21st, 2001. The spacious rooms (55 sqm plus) are located in three separate buildings surrounding an outdoor swimming pool. Throughout, the resort offers state-of-the-art amenities in teak wood, terrazzo, marble and only premium quality materials. The reception / front desk area and a delicious French/Thai cuisine restaurant use the fourth building. Baan Yin Dee is located uphill, surrounded by lush vegetation, and offers an outstanding sea view of Patong Bay. DUSIT THANI HOTEL Bangkok has opened Devarana Spa, one of the most luxurious spas in Bangkok. A full range of body & facial treatments as well as massages are offered in 14 treatment rooms. Well worth a visit, also for its stunning interior design. The Empress Bangkok hotel changed name to The EASTIN BANGKOK HOTEL under the management of The Eastin Hotels Group, effective since November 01, 2001. The EVASON PHUKET and EVASON HUA HIN are both expected to open on Dec. 1, but Hua hin will still take another 10 days to complete the kids club and spa. GREEN VIEW INTERNATIONAL SPA & GOLF RESORT, Chiang Mai, located 15 minutes away from Chiang Mai International Airport and city centre offers 20 deluxe accommodations, which include 2 or 3 bedroom private villas. In December, it will open The Angsana Spa Chiang Mai, is a newly launched sister brand of the award-winning Banyan Tree Spa is a contemporary holistic, non-clinical tropical garden spa. The spa menu features a unique blend of spa rituals that make use that make use of natural ingredients like native flowers, exotic scents, herbs, spices and plants. HYATT REGENCY HUA HIN will soft open on 17 DEC 2001 and start receiving overseas client's from 1 January. Situated on a stretch of 200 meter-long beachfront, the resort's cluster-style, low rise accommodation is surrounded by landscaped gardens and pools. It offers 204 guest rooms, freeform swimming pools with water slide, tennis courts, water sports, electronic games room, children's activities, gym with steam and massage rooms, 4 restaurants and bars as well as meeting rooms and a grand ballroom. JW MARRIOTT PHUKET is due to soft open on December 15th and the Grand Opening is expected in March 2002. Located right on Mai Khao beach in the quite north of Phuket, it is only a 15 km drive from the airport. The hotel has 265 guest rooms, 7 restaurants/bars, 3 swimming pools, 2 lighted tennis courts, extensive health and fitness centre, children's activity centre and a Tropical Spa offering traditional Thai herbal treatments, massage and international treatments. KLONG PHRAO RESORT is going to finish the construction of 24 Junior Suites, a swimming pool & fitness centre as well as a scuba diving school in December. At the same time, the renovation of the living rooms in type D,F and DL will be completed. The IMPERIAL MAE PING is upgrading the property to first class by redesigning and expanded its lobby, the business deluxe style rooms on the 11th -13th floors and offering exclusive private service of the 30 suites of the Royal Service Floor on 14th -15th floors. IMPIANA HOTEL & RESORT SAMUI (former Victorian Resort) plans to finish it's renovation before the high season in December. The swimming pool remains closed during renovation. NAI HARN RESORT has opened at Nai Harn Beach, Phuket. The resort boasts 152 guest rooms (132 superior, 17 deluxe and 23 suites) with full amenities and private terraces. The hotel also offers a swimming pool, fitness centre, supervised children playground, and water based activities. In August, we first wrote about PIMALAI RESORT AND SPA . The hotel is now open, the first deluxe resort on the island of Lanta Yai. Located amidst lush tropical forest with direct access to a 900 meter long beach, the resort comprises of 75 lavishly appointed rooms and suites in contemporary Thai design. A highlight of the resort will be the spa with private treatment villas. A range of activities offered includes scuba diving, mountain biking and trekking. The resorts offers transfer to the island by private speedboat, which takes only 35 minutes from mainland Krabi. POPPIES SAMUI is being renovated and will open again on Dec. 1st. RAYAVADEE PREMIERE RESORT in Krabi has finished renovation: the lobby, lounge and restaurants have been renovated and redecorated. The pavilions in the Phranang zone have been totally renovated to the new standard of Rayavadee accommodation. All pavilions in Nam-Mao and Railay zones have been retouched inside and out and shall be fully renovated next year. ROYAL CLIFF BEACH RESORT has finished all renovation works. The renovation included an atrium roof for the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel as well as a new lobby interior design, a renovated and refurbished Coffee Shop, new Lobby Bar, the conversion of Superior Rooms to Mini-Suites with intricate Thai-style interior decor and new landscaping and water features at the entrance of the hotel. The Royal Wing and Spa now has redecorated suites with new colour scheme and furnishings, new bathrooms featuring a circular jacuzzi bath, enlarged balconies with fully-reclining sunloungers, refurbished the lobby and reception areas, re-landscaped the Royal Wing & Spa pool and gardens, and a new Health Spa facility. A new hotel is opening up in Ko Lanta on December 1st: ROYAL LANTA RESORT. Located on Klong Dao Beach, the resort features 36 traditional Thai style villas with full amenities and private balcony surrounded by tropical gardens. Furthermore, it offers a swimming pool with children's pool, jacuzzi, playground, health spa, sauna, gym, water sports, a selection of good restaurants and shops, 2 function rooms and a business centre SHANGRI-LA HOTEL Bangkok's renovation schedule - please contact us for details. Myanmar hotels, miscellaneous Pool mania seems to be sweeping Bagan: The BAGAN HOTEL and the THIRIPYITSAYA SAKURA HOTEL have all completed new swimming pools, as well as offering massage and spa facilities, in order to rejuvenate guests after a hard day temple watching. The INLE PRINCESS RESORT, on the banks of Inle Lake, has announced that the hotel will close for a small renovation from 19 May to 30 May 2002. NGAPALI BEACH is booming. Although still the perfect hideaway on the nicest beach of South-east Asia, travellers have a hard time finding accommodation as popularity is on the rise! Also for next season, make sure bookings are done early to avoid waitlisted reservations. TravelBANGKOK AIRWAYS started its long announced service Bangkok-Hua Hin and Samui. The flight is scheduled 4 times per week (Mo, We, Fr, Su) and departs from BKK at 08:40, arriving in Hua Hin at 09:15 and in Samui at 10:40. The return flight leaves from Samui at 17:50, from Hua Hin at 19:20 and arrives in Bangkok at 20:00. A promotional fare is offered until December 16th. Since the end of October BANGKOK AIRWAYS is offering 4 weekly flights (MO, WE, FR, SU) from Bangkok to Luang Prabang via Sukhothai, departing from Bangkok at 11:30, arriving at Luang Prabang at 14:20 and returning from Luang Prabang at 15:00 to arrive in Bangkok at 17:50. This is the fastest access to Luang Prabang and offers new possibilities of packaging and including LuangSay cruise. Visa on arrival is available at LPQ airport. THAI AIRWAYS INTERNATIONAL has increased all domestic fares as of November 15th. Segments up to 200 km increase by 765 THB and segments above 200 km by an average 20%. The THB 800 upgrade charge between economy and business per way remains unchanged. The new fares do not include airport taxes and insurance surcharges. There will be no more M class for domestic segments, only Y and C class. YANGON AIRWAYS and AIR MANDALAY have introduced an insurance surcharge of US$ 3.00 per person, per sector with immediate effect. The charge was implemented following increased insurance premiums for airlines. SocialMekong ClubAddress: P O
BOX 820, HP9 2JG, England The Mekong Club is an informal, non-political, non-commercial association, primarily concerned with promotion of the cultures of the "Mekong Region" (i.e. Viet Nam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and adjacent regions) in the UK. The Club will act as a forum for exchange of information and experience by:
Membership is open to all, but it is envisaged that the club will be of particular interest to:
The Club will be organised by a chairperson, secretariat and webmaster, with a single, annual business meeting combined with a social event. The secretariat will be responsible for financial stewardship, with a "minimal" fund consisting of contributions for individual events and newsletters. An annual membership fee of £5 is envisaged per adult. For further details, please write or telephone the above number.
Mekong Club Application:I/We .. would like to join the Mekong Club My/Our address is: ....................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................... Please find enclosed the payment for membership of £5 and my/our voluntary contribution of £ Total: £ . (Cash or cheque payable to Mekong Club) Posting Address: P.O. BOX 820, HP9 2JG.
©Mekong Travel, 2000 - 2007 |
