Krabi Traditional Boat Race

Traditional Boat of Reu Hua Tong

The crews of 12 paddlers in long boats competed along the river passing the Khanaab Nam pier in Krabi town. They entered the annual Krabi Traditional Boat Races competition racing for a trophy donated by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. It was such a spectacular scene amidst natural beauty, as it has a beautiful mountain as back drop. The Khanaab Nam Mountain is Krabi’s tourism logo. Keeratisak Phukawluan, Krabi Mayor, said: “The traditional boat of Reu Hua Tong became part of Krabi tourism. Today the logo of the boat is all over local tourist sites. The boat race event brings out local wisdom under the cooperation of all parties, especially local government. We proudly present the special type of boats which has long been present in these waters.” The cooperative determination of each crew is contributed in rhythms and unity moving the boats forwards, with a pointed head on the bow or front. The high front part of these type of boats is locally called Reu Hua Tong, said to be a special character as it mobilizse well amidst waves and glides the boat to its destination or in this case the finish line. The Leader of the Singsompop team said: “During the race we control the rhythm by sound. If one misses a beat or shout, it can cause disruption so either 10 or 20 of us must shout at the same time. Its like the power to control and mobilize the boat, slower or quicker.” The Hua Thong boat is originated in Krabi. Its made of wood with a main purpose for fishing.. They competed for a trophy donated by HRH Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn. People say the boat signifies local wisdom as it can be a tool for daily routine careers and become a local identity. The boats today are preserved and maintained to use in the tourism industry. The long boats can be found even though some are adapted by adding engines to replace the paddlers to serve todays transport. The Krabi Mayor added: “Locally the boat is recognized as the legend which lives along with the locality and tourism. We link the boats with local studies into classrooms to revitalize the local wisdom. This enables the younger generation to get to know and maintain the tradition for a long time to come.” The annual boat race event hence, not only promote local water sports, but it plays vital part in keeping alive the local tradition and show off local identity to visitors to Krabi as well.

TEXT SOURCE : Andaman News NBT TV
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Krabi Fauna & Flora Display @ Krabi Night Plaza

Southern Thailand Indigenous Garden Produce

On 14 and 15 July 2010, a number of local gardeners from Southern Thailand provinces have been invited and is participating in the Krabi Fauna & Flora Display. The event is on-going at Krabi Night Plaza for two days and attended by the Governor of Krabi this morning. Delegates and representatives from the various southern provinces gather and present their organic produce and seminars at Viengthong Hotel from 10am to 4pm. Dr. Supoj Wuongyai from Faculty of Oriental Medicine – Rangsit University will also do a presentation on ancient wisdom of Thai herbs. A grand opening is schedule at 5.30 pm and the invited Guest of Honour is the Minister of Health for Thailand. Read more

Tiger Airways Increases Flights To Krabi

Tiger Airways Increases Flights to Thailand

• Flights to Krabi and Hat Yai doubled to daily, from 4 and 3 per week
• New midday weekend flights to Phuket
• Growing demand driven by low, low fares; Grab them on www.tigerairways.com

Starting from 20 April 2010
Tiger Airways Singapore today announced that it will fly to Thailand more frequently to serve growing demand.  Tiger Airways will fly daily from Singapore to Krabi and Hat Yai. This is double the current frequency – four per week to Krabi and three per week to Hat Yai. Phuket, a popular weekend destination, will have new midday flights on Friday and Sunday, in addition to morning and evening flights. This brings the total weekly frequency to 14 flights starting from 20 April. Bangkok, another popular destination, will remain at 20 flights per week. Rosalynn Tay, Managing Director of Tiger Airways Singapore, said, “Within Southeast Asia, our Thailand routes have been getting so popular that we have decided to double our flights to Krabi and Hat Yai, and serve Phuket more often on weekends. We are happy that our famous low, low fares have helped people travel more often, and boost tourism in both Thailand and Singapore.”
Seats for these additional flights are now on sale. Pounce on them at www.tigerairways.com.

Money Exchange, Credit & Debit Cards and ATMs

Exchanging Money and Restrictions

CIMB Bank In Krabi Town

There is no black market exchange rate, so you should only exchange money at a bank or similar foreign exchange facility, which give the best rates. (Of course, hotels give bad rates.) The international airport in Bangkok has currency exchange facilities. Traveller’s cheques are widely accepted in many major Bangkok establishments, though you should convert them into the local Thai baht at a bank or similar foreign exchange facility. There is not a large difference in value between traveller’s cheques and regular money, and you can get a slightly higher rate for traveller’s cheques. Large denominations of money (e.g., $100) get you a better exchange rate than small denominations (e.g., $20). Most of the major European and Asian currencies are accepted, though some are not. For example, it seems nobody will exchange Chinese Yuan/RMB or Indian rupees. If you’re not sure, then bring U.S. dollars. There’s no limit to the amount of money you can bring into Thailand. However, you can’t leave with more than 50,000 baht per person unless you have special authorization (this exact amount seems to change from time to time). You can carry out any amount of foreign currency, but there are restrictions at banks on how much Thai baht you can convert into foreign currency at one time, and for large amounts you will need to show your airplane ticket and passport, and maybe provide an explanation for very large amounts. (These restrictions are mainly the result of currency speculation surrounding the 1997 currency crisis, and again in 2007 due to “capital controls” which were discontinued in 2008.

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Thailand Currency

Thailand’s currency is the Baht. Bills come in denominations of 1000, 500, 100, 50 and 20 Baht. Thai Coinage are 10, 5, 2, 1-Baht. 50 and 25-Satang pieces. Satangs are very small brass-colored coins with a value equivalent of 100-Satang = 1 Baht.

1000 Baht Denomination

Front: Portrait of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the reigning monarch, in the uniform of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Back: Portrait of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej while performing royal activities & the drawing depicting the Pa Sak Jolasid Dam.
Security Thread: Metallic color security thread.
Watermark: Portrait of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej & the classical Thai design “Phum Khow Bin.”
Ink Color: Dark brown printed on a orange & violet-pink background and on multicolour elaborate design.
Size: width 7.2 cm x length 16.2 cm
Special Features
1, Silver hologram foil stripe with the Royal Garuda Emblem and the numbers “1000” in Thai and Arabic, which will be seen in different reflecting colors and in various dimensions when viewed at different angles as the note is flipped back and forth.
2, Intaglio latent image “1000”, hidden inside the Thai art design which becomes visible when the note is viewed from the lower left corner toward the middle part of the note.
3, The Arabic denomination numerals “1000”, printed with optically variable intaglio ink (OVI), change from greenish gold and green into green when the lower edge of the note is flipped.
4, The “Lotus” floral design which is printed on both sides, becomes completely formed when viewing the note against a light source.

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Krabi Tesco Lotus

On 31 August 2007, Tesco Lotus opened its door in Krabi with jam packed traffic stretching down to Talaat Kao way past Tiger Cave junction. At that time, the local people has not experienced local shopping sensation  like this before. Established in 1998, Tesco Lotus is a hypermarket chain in Thailand. Tesco Lotus stores stock groceries (western and local products) as well as a selection of stationery, school supplies, clothing, shoes, electrical equipment and many other non-food products at very competitive prices that the small 7-Eleven, family-based and similar small traditional provision shop cannot match. They also contain a bakery as well as a chemist or druggist section. Temperatures are kept at a relatively cool 27C. The stores are often set in Malls and have food courts and many other shops such as AllZ, Body Glove, Top Charoen, Black Canyon Coffee, MK, KFC, Dairy Queen , electronic, jewellery vendors  and several local banks as well as a large car park buit in. For leisure time, there is also a Major Multiplex cinema showing Thai movies and often with English subtitles. Read more

Krabi Hotels: Traveler’s Paradise

Looking for a traveler-friendly city in the world, then Krabi has to be one of them. It is a town on the western coast of south Thailand at the mouth of the River Krabi into the Andaman Sea. Karbi is a small provincial city that has originated a lot in the recent years in terms of tourism sector. This small and picturesque town of Thailand is gifted with some of the best accommodations that assure you to spend a remarkable vacation. The numerous hotels of Krabi are the best place to spend your vacations if you are looking for a calm and peaceful area. They offer an excellent and marvelous view of its surrounding area. The resorts or the hotels can be categorized into luxury and budget hotels. All these Krabi hotels are opulent and comfortable as well. You will find these hotels assure each of its guest complete privacy. The Krabi Hotels also can be said as the apt place for a honeymoon vacation. Getting to Krabi is not at all difficult as you can comfortably fly down to the Krabi International airport that is located at a distance of 15 kilometers from the city center.  By road, you have to take the Phuket- Koh Phi Phi – Krabi route or access via Surat Thani from the eastern coast of the peninsula. Speaking of the luxury hotels in Krabi, you will find that they are simply outstanding. The 4 star and 5 star hotels of Krabi are something more than luxurious. Since some international standard hotel chains have established their hotels in Krabi, you will find a wide array of deluxe and luxury hotels in this beautiful town. Starting from the room facilities to dining and other associated facilities offered by the deluxe hotels in Krabi, are apt for lavish living. These luxury hotels have the basic room amenities like the writing tables, satellite television, well stocked mini bars, international direct dial telephone, coffee and tea makers and others. The hotel amenities and facilities include well equipped excellent dining facility, baby-sitting facility, elevator, currency exchange, tour desk, recreational facilities and others. You can also find a number of cheap or low cost hotels in Krabi.  Reasonably priced hotels in Krabi offers a hassle free stay to the guests. These low priced hotels are decked up beautifully and well-furnished also.  Some of these Krabi hotels have guestrooms which are more or less spacious and airy. This helps each of the travelers to move around freely. The roominess of the guestrooms are highly beneficial for the disabled travelers. The various amenities available in the low cost or budget hotels include complimentary newspaper, parking facility, concierge services, laundry services when required, room service and others.

TEXT SOURCE : http://travel.businessvn.net

Recalling Days Of Ore.

A Phuket museum will celebrate the island’s rich tin mining history

Phuket was once famous as one of the country’s major tin producers and the memories of days gone by when a thriving tin mining industry brought economic prosperity to the southern province remain vivid.  A local tin mining museum in Kathu district recently had its soft opening. It will relive the success story of the island province’s industrial past and promote local history. Scenes of vibrant tin mines are now a thing of the past, but every old tin mine has its own story to tell and is worth preserving for educational purposes and posterity. According to old records, tin mining in Phuket began around 1526 during the reign of King Eka Tossarot who ruled the Ayutthaya kingdom. Tin trading in Phuket began to thrive around 1686 during the reign of King Narai the Great of the Ayutthaya kingdom. French merchants then arrived in the province and set up companies with a monopoly in the tin trade. The tin mining industry in Phuket created economic prosperity for local communities for a long time before natural supplies of ore ran out. In the past, tin mining was very labour-intensive before it evolved into a large-scale industry using heavy machinery. Edward Thomas Miles, an Australian, brought the first tin dredge to Phuket in 1909. He was granted the Tongkah Harbour Concession Agreement to mine tin deposits on Phuket Island. Tin helped boost the local economy in Phuket.
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The Banana And Its Many Uses

Over the years Thais have developed many other useful purposes for different parts of the banana tree.

One choice gift that Mother Nature has created for us is the banana. What the true value of this gift has for us depends, however, on the ways we can find the most uses for it. There are many kinds of bananas in Thailand, with various types flourishing in different environmental conditions. There are wild bananas that prefer narrow valleys in the mountains. These are not widely eaten because the fruit is full of hard seeds, but the leaves are useful. The kluay lep mue nang are a kind of wild banana that grows in rocky crevices where the soil covering is not thick. The fruit are small but compensate for it with their fine fragrance and sweetness, plus they don’t have seeds. The province where they are most common is in Chumphon. Kluay khai, or “egg bananas”, grow best where the temperature is somewhat hot, like in Kamphaeng Phet, for example. They are small and short with a flavour all in their own. Kluay hom grow best in the Central region.

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Krabi Celebrates Its Soaring Limestone Cliffs With A Rock Climbing Festival.

HEAVEN BOUND

In the heat of the midday sun, Anna Slukushicina, 30, a rock climber from St Petersburg, attempts an overhang 10 metres above Krabi’s Tonsai Bay. The prominent feature of an overhang, or layback, as climbers call it, is to oppose hand-holds with foot-holds and it’s a strenuous technique used by climbers to overcome some of the toughest spots. The crowd on the ground collectively holds their breath, clapping loudly when she finally completes the tough route. Slukushicina is one of 150 climbers participating in Krabi’s annual Rock and Fire Festival and she and her team partner take top prize, beating competitors from 14 countries in the Lead Marathon climbing contest by completing 47 out of a total 50 routes all over the Railay peninsula. Slukushicina, a rock climbing coach back home with 10 years experience to her credit, has travelled to many famous sites around the world, scaling rock faces in Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, Italy and of course, in Russia. She’s spent the last four months in Krabi and says she really appreciates the towering limestone cliffs. “This is one of the best destinations for rock climbing. Nowhere else in the world can climbers stay by the sea close to these beautiful cliffs and climb anytime they feel it,” she says.

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