LEISURE

Phuket offers fantastic travel options

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

Thailand is a leading tourist destination and millions of tourists visit the country annually.

Southern Thailand too is rich in tourist attractions and has many interesting places to offer.

This article is mainly focused on three most preferred destinations in South Thailand, namely Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi.

Phuket, popularly known as the Pearl of Andaman or Pearl of the South has so much to offer than sun, sea and beach. Located around 862 kilometres South of Bangkok, Phuket is the largest island of Thailand.

Its natural resources, a rocky peninsular, limestone cliffs, white powdery beaches, tranquil open bays and tropical inland forest contribute towards making it Southern Thailand's busiest and most popular island and province.

Phuket boarders with Phang Nga province to the North, is connected by the Sarasin Bridge. The remaining coastline is encircled by the Andaman Sea, an area that is home to some of the best scuba diving sites in the region.

Phuket's topography is exceptional with 70 percent of the island covered with mountains which stretch from North to South and the remaining 30 percent being plains located in the central and eastern parts of the island. The island does not have any major rivers, but there is a network of streams, brooks and creeks.

There are only two seasons in the year, the rainy season and the hot season.

The main low season of Phuket is September and October as they are the wettest months.

The best period for visit is from November through February, when it is possible to see clear blue skies, feel the fresh sea breeze and marvel at the crystal clear water while lying on powdery palm fringed beaches.

Phuket has a lot more to offer than just its pristine beaches and world class diving. Both history and culture are to be found. Sino-Portuguese architecture from the age of tin mining casts its spell delighting travellers to the old city, while Phuket style hospitality never failed to impress visitors from all walks of life.

The accommodation facilities ranging from world class resorts to tropical style bungalows warmly cater to the different needs of the travellers.

Phuket FantaSea is the ultimate theme park that presents the Fantasy of Kingdom cultural illusion show. This cultural show is their award winning Las Vegas style production, spectacle, colourfully blending the beauty of Thai culture with magical illusions, 4 D effects, aerial ballet, acrobatics, pyrotechnics, special effects, exciting stunts and elephant performances.

It features over 30 elephants and is an unforgettable theatrical experience.

Phang Nga offers many attractions where visit to South Thailand makes memorable. The Phang Nga national park is a must visit place in the province. A boat ride to Hong island and James Bond island will give the travel a pleasurable experience. The Krabi town is rich with natural sites on land and in the sea with several world-class seascapes such as Phi Phi islands and Hin Muang Hin Daeng dive site. Krabi's major attractions are located largely along its extensive coastline which contains several well-known beaches and bays and numerous offshore tropical islands.

Krabi province features an extended limestone mountain range. Ao Lux District is the site of caves such as Tham Khlang, Tham Nong Thung Na and Tham Phet.

Along the coastline of the province there are several mangrove forests such as Laem Karos, Leam Sak, Tham Lod Nuea and Tham Lod Tai with some as the important wetland areas of the world such as the mangrove areas in front of the city of Krabi and the mouth of the Krabi river.

Blessed by nature and the smiling hospitality of its people and supported by quality tourism facilities, the South Thailand will become one of the world's premier destinations in time to come.

Vendol opens Haridra Resort next month

Indunil HEWAGE

Vendol Haridra Resort Wadduwa will open in October providing an excellent business and leisure experience for holiday-makers.

The three storeyed luxury hotel is built by Godakanda Herbals and will consist of 32 modern rooms.

The investment for the hotel will be made by Godakanda Herbals with the assistance of financial institutions and has infused around Rs 500 million.

Vendol Haridra Resort Director, Lelwala G Karunanada said attracting European, Russian and Scandinavian tourists will be our main target markets and the company decided to diversify into the tourism sector to make a better contribution to the booming tourism industry.

In addition, Panchakarma Ayurvedic treatments will be introduced for tourists and the hotel has already appointed a senior doctor to handle this specialised area.

Recruiting staff to the hotel management is being conducted these days and it will provide more than 75 job opportunities for the local youth.

Leisure activities in Wellawatte canal

In a bid to introduce leisure activities to the Wellawatte canal, a series of activities which includes a canoeing race and a beauty pageant will be taking place tomorrow at the riverbank of the Open University, Nawala. The canal which saw Sri Lanka's first ever Canal Boat Service launched by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) to transport passengers from Nawala to Wellawatte which was a popular passenger service has been earmarked for future leisure activities.

Canoeing competition is sponsored and organized by Red Bull and the Environmental Canal Queen Competition is organized by Sairas Garden Hotel, Colombo 5.

The Canoeing Association of Sri Lanka will implement the rules and regulations for those who are participating at the competition, under the guidance of the Sri Lanka Navy.

"The Sri Lanka Navy is giving us tremendous encouragement in order to host this event," Director, Sairas Hotel, Colombo 5, Ranjith Balasuriya said.

Environmental Canal Queens will be sponsored by Suyamas International Pvt Ltd., a leading mattress manufacturing company in Sri Lanka.

Contestants who are participating the show will be taken in an open double decker on a street drive with a papara band music to give wide propaganda to the event.

"There will be an evening gala, BBQ and on the roof top of the Sairas Hotel.

This is organized by Ibrahim Hussain Manik, the Chairman of Sairas.

"There will also be a model show," he said.

North Korea seeks adventurous tourists for cruise

It has karaoke and fresh coffee, but the bathrooms on the lower decks are out of water and some guests sleep on the floor. Welcome aboard North Korea's first cruise ship.

Keen to boost tourism and earn much-needed cash, authorities in the impoverished nation have decided to launch a cruise tour from the rundown northeastern port city of Rajin to the scenic resort of Mount Kumgang.

In a highly unusual move, the reclusive regime invited more than 120 journalists and Chinese tour operators on board the newly-renovated, 39-year-old Man Gyong Bong ship for a trial run of the 21-hour journey.

The vessel left one of Rajin's ageing piers on Tuesday to the sound of rousing music, as hundreds of students and workers holding colourful flowers stood in line and clapped in unison.

``The boat was only renovated one week ago," said Hwang Chol Nam, vice mayor of the Rason special economic zone, as he sat on the top deck at a table filled with bottles of North Korean beer, a large plate of fruit, and egg and seafood dishes.

``But it has already made the trip to Mount Kumgang and back. I told people to test the ship to make sure it was safe," said the 48-year-old, dressed in a crisp suit adorned with a red pin sporting late leader Kim Il-Sung's portrait.

The project is the brainchild of North Korea's Taepung International Investment Group and the government of Rason, a triangular coastal area in the northeast that encompasses Rajin and Sonbong cities, and borders China and Russia. Set up as a special economic zone in 1991 to attract investment to North Korea, it never took off due to poor infrastructure, chronic power shortages and a lack of confidence in the reclusive regime. AFP