News

Bangkok boasts a handful of hidden spots. It’s like the world of Doctor Strange, you’ll never know where you are and what time zone you’re in. This must be the charms of Bangkok.

1900s – Thailand, Bangkok – Taste of a royal Thai meal

“Where can you find authentic Thai cuisine?”

Baan Suriyasai runs under a “Soontaree” lifestyle: slow living. Savor the cuisine created for Thai Royals over hundreds of years ago crafted by the palace’s artisan chefs. Every dish has a story. Baan Suriyasi is a white colonial architecture hidden behind a lush tropical garden.

 1910 – England Liverpool – A paradise lost in the city

A vacation in Bangkok is not complete if a visit to a coffee shop is not paid.  Minimalist coffee shops in Bangkok are decorated with lush green hangers. It is no wonder that there is a map of the city’s most ‘Instagramable’ cafes. You may feel urged amidst the constraints of the city, to relax and find yourself  a secret garden. Kinn, meaning ‘family’, is created by two young adults inspired to decorate the café like an everyday home.

1920 – New York Manhattan – Old Barber Shop and occasional drinks

During the Prohibition Era, bootleggers would customize their looks and hide in the deepest corners of the cities, forming the hidden bars of Speakeasy. Thonglor, Bangkok’s Soho, in a back alley, lies Black Amber Barber Shop.

The shop is filled with vintage suits and accessories from the 1920s. Professional barbers, talk in old American and will dance along the background Jazz as they sweep the floor with an Old Fashioned or Negroni whiskey. Don’t be surprised, before stepping out of Black Amber, you were most definitely in Manhattan.

1950 – West Coast of US – Ice-cream tones of holiday hotel

If you have watched the Grand Budapest Hotel, you will admire Wes Andersen’s take on vintage tones. The sets in his work will always be a fantasy land, but Bangkok has a hotel that will fulfill your dream.

The vintage tones act as a travel travelling tunnel to the west coast of US in the 1950s. The hotel has its surprises for guests, a tropical ice cream shop, a pink and blue swimming pool and a red theater playing old movies each night. The Josh must be Bangkok’s most Instagram-able hotel of all.

1980 – Tokyo Meguro – From the WWII bunkers to a creative base

The creative districts like the Jam Factory, renovated from warehouse is designed by Duangrit Bunnag – an enthusiast in old house redesigning. Warehouse, another along the Meklong River, is a popular spot for the trendy. In both, WWII warehouses are painted red sectioned into house shops, cafes, galleries and co-working space. It’s almost like the shopping craze you find in Tokyo’s Meguro.

2010 – Amsterdam, Holland – Europe’s glass restaurants

Bangkok is the magical mixture of street food and luxurious fusion cuisine. After savoring on traditional Thai cuisine, head to Bangkok’s trendiest restaurants.

The Never Ending Summer will bring you to the bright European summer, decorated with hanging plants and iron cast seating.  The naturally lit glasshouse Flat Marble is designed like Northern Europe’s metallic structures aside a large tree in the blue sky during the day and a starry sky during nights. The meals served here is complimented by the changing skyline and landscapes outside.  No wonder why Flat Marble is always a full house.

2050 – Back to the Future – Admiring Thai style treasures

The exotic Thai culture is not the only unique characteristic of the country. The colorful art scene of Thailand is even more attractive. The weekend market in Bangkok is a definite to go  but 10 minutes away is the MOCA museum showcasing local art pieces to global exhibitions. The MOCA is white sculpture itself, spanning more than 2 floors. A famous retake on Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation’ is shown at the staircase entrance, replace by a little mouse and a human hand.

 Source: Tencent 

The Revenue Department has insisted selecting Counter Service Co, a payment service provider wholly owned by CP All Plc, to provide value-added tax (VAT) refunds for foreign tourists outside airports was done in a transparent manner.

Three companies sought licences to run the VAT refund service outside airports, but two of them failed to meet the criteria, said Pinsai Suraswadi, director of tax policy and planning at the Revenue Department.

One of the failures was in not stating in its articles of association that it will engage in offering VAT return service, while another requested to have five VAT refund points, which was more than the department’s criteria, which limited applicants to three points, he said.

The department’s criteria focused on applicants’ qualifications and their appropriateness in providing the service, such as the density of foreign tourists in the proposed refund points, security, fees and technological readiness, said Mr Pinsai.

The six-month trial run spans Oct 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019.

Foreign travellers can claim a VAT refund at three branches of Counter Service at 7-Eleven convenience stores: Phadung Dao Road in Yaowarat, near Lido Cinema in Siam Square and in Bangkok Night Bazaar on Rama IX Road.

The Thai Retailers Association scheduled a press conference today to take a stance on the decision to award Counter Service the contract.

Mr Pinsai said Counter Service charges a 10% fee for VAT refund service and the same criteria for VAT refunds at airports are applied.

Each foreign tourist can receive a VAT refund of no more than 12,000 baht per trip, and a minimum of 2,000 baht in purchases per day per merchant can be claimed for the refund. To receive 12,000 baht as a VAT refund, a tourist must spend almost 200,000 baht on goods and services in Bangkok and vicinity.

However, high-value products including ornamental gold, jewellery, watches, pens, eyeglasses, smartphones, portable computers and items valued at 10,000 baht and higher must claim a VAT refund from revenue officials.

This year 2.5 million foreign tourists claimed 2.5 billion baht in VAT refunds, up 54% from all of last year.

source: Bangkok Post

Thailand’s Kanchanaburi Province, remains to be an off-the-beat travel destination. This Golden City, is one of the three largest provinces in Thailand, located in the high valleys of the country, covered by lush tropical forests and famous for its River Kwai and River Khwae Yai, which both adjoins to the Meklong River.

Kanchanburi is known for its abundance of gold, sapphires, precious minerals and gems.  In the upper region are a countless number of provincial parks, in the central region is the province’s largest dam and the lower region remains to be an important hub for both domestic and international trades and transports. The most iconic landmark of the region, must be the ‘Bridge Over River Kwai’, which connects to Burma by a train route, a popular tourist attraction. The natural landscape has attracted visitors from all over the world to its scenery and its unique resorts.

The Float House River Kwai Resort, voted as Asia’s best floating hotel, is built from traditional wooden structures, with 26 villas linked together,  built on the River Kwai and only reachable by a boat from the river’s main pier. Its location is mysteriously nested among the river’s inner forests.

The surrounding is a rich mixture of natural landscapes and wildlife, with bamboos, teak trees standing high along the swamps of the river providing home to local bat species, wild deers and such.

Here, guests can breathe in the fresh and natural air surrounded by a calm river, blue waterfalls, unique rock formations and winding forests. King Rama IV, even bathed in the ponds and stated that the area is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the country.

The floating resort is simple, yet provides a relaxed atmosphere with locally-sourced wooden furniture decorated with color throws and pillows. The Thai style design and decors is a well mix and integration into nature.Next to the villas, is the resort’s private dining space. Sofas line the tables, creating a perfect and relaxed night of dining and tasting of the region’s local cuisine. After a night of rest, the morning mist gleams over the river seen through the villas’ large panel windows. The serene atmosphere, such as this found at the Float House on River Kwai, is what attracts millions of tourists to this region every year.

PM PLEASED AS KINGDOM JUMPS 14 PLACES IN RANKINGS; ACTIVISTS CALL FOR FUNDING BOOST

THE PRIME MINISTER praised the country for “leapfrogging” the global healthcare efficiency rankings, but health activists called for higher funding to ensure sustainability.

“Our healthcare system will be even more efficient if the government ensures enough funding. The government should not view the healthcare system and people’s health as a burden,” Nimit Tien-udom, director of the Aids Access Foundation, said.

His remarks came as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha voiced his satisfaction about the country’s rise in the latest Bloomberg Healthcare Efficiency Index, which saw Thailand jump 14 spots from last year, Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.

Sustarum Thammaboosadee, a lecturer at Thammasat University’s Interdisciplinary Studies College, yesterday also called for the government to be sincere in allocating funds for the universal healthcare system.

He also pointed out that getting poor patients to be partly responsible for healthcare cost was not fair. Of the 56 countries surveyed, Thailand rose to 27, up from 41 last year – the biggest annual improvement by any country.

The country’s per-capita spending on healthcare dropped to 40 per cent to US$219 (Bt7,086), while life expectancy rose to 75.1 years, up from 74.6 last year. Bloomberg’s health-efficiency index takes into account total expenditure on health, including preventive and curative health services, family planning, nutrition activities and emergency aid.

Out of some 200 economies across the world, the index only ranks countries with an average lifespan of at least 70 years, per capita income exceeding $5,000 (Bt162,000) a year and a minimum population of 5 million.

Sources of data include the World Bank, World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Population Division and International Monetary Fund.

Prayut noted that the WHO had recently named Thailand as a model and source of learning about universal healthcare, the government spokesman said. “WHO views our system as sustainable because public participation is strongly encouraged,” Sansern said yesterday. The Kingdom’s healthcare system has many strengths such as low cost, good service, many standard hospitals and strong government support, the spokesman added.

Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn yesterday also hailed Thailand’s jump in the global index. He noted that the country was ranked ninth among Asia-Pacific economies, after Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand and China. The Bloomberg report also stated that medical tourism is among Thailand’s fastest-growing industries, the health minister said.

However, Nimit said more has to be done in terms of public health such as fairer budget allocation for people in the bureaucratic system and ordinary patients under the universal healthcare system.

The activist said the $219 healthcare cost cited in the Bloomberg index was obviously an average of the state budget allocated to Thailand’s different healthcare systems.

He pointed out that Bt3,426 was set aside per patient in the national universal healthcare system each year, compared to about Bt14,000 per person allocated in the bureaucratic welfare system. He said the government should also help lower the cost of medicines by encouraging the use of and improving the quality of generic drugs that can be manufactured locally.

The government should also boost the potential of small, local state-run health centres, so they can help large hospitals deal with patients, he said.

Only three Asean countries appear in this year’s index – Singapore in second place, Thailand 27th and Malaysia 29th.

Thailand fared better than many developed countries in the index, with the Netherlands ranking one place below the Kingdom at 28, United Kingdom ranking 35th, Denmark 41st, Germany 45th and the US 54th.

source: THE NATION

Thailand is famous for its exotic traditions and cultures and the country hosts a range of unique festivals and events throughout the year. In the Kanchanaburi Province, west of Bangkok, the Mon Floating Boat Festival will take place at the end of September. Trang Province in Southern Thailand, will be hosting its annual Moon Festival during the last week of the month.

Thailand’s annual Mon Floating Boat Festival will take place at Wang Wiwekaram Temple in Sangkhlaburi in the Kanchanaburi Province on September 23rd to 25th. The Mon people strongly believe that offering alms onto the bamboo boat and releasing it to the river will pay respect to the ‘angels of the river,’ forests and earth.

On the first day of the festival, villagers will begin their preparation for the next 3 days to put on final touches to the handmade bamboo boats, each taking over a month to build. Decorated with paper decors, weaved flags and banners, the boats add colors to the region’s natural landscape. On the second day of the festival, the village will perform religious rituals and alms offerings to Buddhist monks in the region. The boats are then loaded with local fruits including bananas, sugar canes, desserts, fresh flowers and candles.

During the last and final day of the festival, the Mon villagers will release their boats into the Samprasob River, as a way to cleanse and rid away bad luck from the year. Villagers will wear the Mon traditional clothing: men in sarongs and red and white plaid shirts, while women in red sarongs and white shirts. The villagers’ traditional clothing adds vibrancy and liveliness to the festival.

Trang Province’s Mid-Autumn Festival has been traditionally held in the town of Thung Yao by the Chinese in the region. This year, the festival will be held from September 22nd to 24th, in memory of the war era against the Mongolians. Trang is the largest trading port in Thailand, thus attracting a number of Chinese immigrants to run trading and logistics companies locally and choosing to live in the area permanently.

The Trang Moon Festival, which lasts for 3 days, includes a miniature Chinese food festival, cultural shows, vintage collection exhibition, traditional Chinese dessert making, tea tasting and decoration competition and every year the village will create an altar to thank the moonlit season.