Chinese diplomats, tourists assured Thailand is safe

KDSH — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:33:39 +0000

BEIJING : Thailand has assured China of the safety of future Asean meetings and tourists visiting the Kingdom. The safety of its ministers, leaders and tourists is a prime concern for China after the riots over the Songkran holidays in April. Beijing has advised its citizens to avoid travel to Thailand and the spread of the type-A (H1N1) flu has further dampened the country’s tourism potential. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi yesterday the meeting of Asean ministers and their dialogue partners, including China, next month and the leadership summit in October would go ahead as planned. Mr Kasit also promised there would be no political disruption to the meetings being held in Phuket.
The Asean summit with dialogue partners in Pattaya in April was cancelled at the last minute and the leaders evacuated after demonstrators loyal to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra stormed the venue. Security measures have been mapped out to prevent a recurrence of that incident, said the foreign minister before wrapping up his two-day visit to China. Mr Kasit told the Chinese leaders political stability had returned to Thailand and told the Chinese media the country was safe for visitors from China. “I can guarantee the safety of Thailand,” he said. Attempts to woo Chinese tourists, promote Thai farm products in China and encourage Chinese to invest in Thailand will be key issues when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva visits China later this month. His agenda includes talks with 500 Chinese business leaders. Thailand hopes to convince Beijing to promote Thai fruits and farm products, including rice, tapioca and para rubber, in China during the visit by the prime minister, Mr Kasit said. The foreign minister also held talks with Wang Jiarui, who is in charge of international affairs policy for the Chinese Communist Party. Last year about 800,000 Chinese tourists visited Thailand. In the wake of Thailand’s recent political instability and the onset of the global financial crisis, the number has dropped steeply. The government has tried to revitalise the tourism sector with measures such as waiving visa fees.

SOURCE : BANGKOK POST 12/06/09

Krabi Elephant Trekking

KDSH — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:04:52 +0000

MEMORABLE AFFECTIONS

Elephant is seen as a symbol of the nation and a talisman for the Thai people. With their wrinkly gray skin and swaying trunk, they are a fascinating combination of brute force, gentleness and remarkable agility that inspires both respect and affection. Elephant calves begin their training when they are about four years old. They quickly learn and obey the words of command. They get to know their driver (mahout), and get used to being mounted and dismounted.
With elephants fast disappearing from the wild in Thailand, the best place to see these fascinating animals up close is in a trekking camp. There are only a few camps in Krabi, such establishments must follow strict guidelines as set by the National Livestock Department regarding the provision of adequate food, water and shade for their animals, as well as proper health care. A trek will allow you to experience this first-hand, as well as the animals’ natural forest environment. Carrying tourists for fun means the elephants are able to earn their keep, while living as freely as is possible : as there is not enough space to release them into the wild, and they are very costly to feed (eating up to 300 kg of food per day) if not the only alternatives for these gentle giants are begging, illegal logging, or inactivity in a zoo.

Been here and what blogger discovered & experienced :-

” The finale of the day was elephant trekking which was very enlightening. The elephants are trained starting at the age of 8. It is a very controversial practice as there is much concern as to how the elephants are treated. Our elephants appeared to be treated well by their trainers and were never hit but rather expected to respond to commands. However they did have the elephants chained by the ankle to a tree in between rides (we didn’t actually witness that but you could see the tree and the chains). At night they presumably take the elephants into the hills and allow them more freedom although they are still captive but have a wider area in which to roam. The ride was slow and clunky ( I don’t know how else to describe it). Kristin and I had a novice and he was slightly misbehaved!! He veered off the path to eat and headed towards the water – we thought at that point that the three of us were going for a swim!! Fortunately he only bent down to take a drink and didn’t spray us!! He definitely made our adventure interesting! We had mixed feelings after riding the elephants as it was an experience to ride such a large animal but it left you a little disheartened that their captivity became their existence. ”

MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN KRABI

Elephant Trekking near Krabi, Thailand

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Krabi Elephant Trekking

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Feeding Elephant in Thailand

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Booking & Enquiry form

[contact-form]

KRABI DISCOVERY » tourists

Chinese diplomats, tourists assured Thailand is safe

Krabi Elephant Trekking