Hotel Booking in Thailand

Every vacation beginns with the thoughts about how to reach and where to sleep. I told about How To Find Good Flight And Hotel Solutions in different posts in my new travel blog The Marvelous World Of Travel where I described my odeal because I was very worried this booking willnot be valid when we arrive or the hotel will be so bad that it will be not possible to stay there.

The hotel was excellent at the end, nobody drove us out, everything was in the best conditions. The full reports in the mentioned blog.

Now I read an other intersting opinion of a family that dreamed to pass the vacation in Thailand. To book their hotel they decided to contact the hotel directly. Because they do not understand English (and the other side was not better probably) they decided first to call the hotel but it was unpossible. Than, they wrote e-mail and received very fast answer. As a result, they had a special price (12 nights for 9), than 10% discount because the hotel decided they bargain the price. There are some countries, where persons that bargain the price are more respected, you know. Maybe it's valid for Thailand too?

At the end, when this family came in the hotel they received a room of the higher category than they paid.

This story learns -and I just understood it before-, it's necessary to try all the possible ways when you plan your vacation. To see what they offer to you. There are sites that offer very good prices -as it happend to us in Milan, sometimes you have to write to the owners -as in this last case, sometimes it's useful to speak in the hotel -it works here, in our zone, for example. I went personally to speak with the owners of the hotel for my friends and they offered me a special prise.

So, be patient when you want to book your hotel -and you will have what is good for YOU.

A Whistle as Security Weapon

I wanted to finish this internet-day this evening, but suddenly found an incredibly article in Mail.ru. It's a little but very significant notice. I laugh else after I read it. So, decided to share it -to know if it's true too, because I have some friends-bloggers from Thailand.

Yes, it's about Thailand.

They say, the very popular beaches and places of interest in Thailand are dangerous for tourists, specially if they, tourists, are women, and more if they are women that travel alown. Not only because criminal situation in these places is not good, but all types of criminal organizations and their bosses like to relax there too. Mail.ru writes about too many tragic incidents with tourists in the last period (about a year).

After the next case on the island Phuket (Map from Wikipedia) when a Swede woman was killed, authorities decided to adopt resolute solution. Now every tourist-women visiting the Island Phuket will receive a whistle. The notice has to come from Thailand Tourist Ministry. I don't know to say you precisely when begins this security action. You have to inform before you leave.

Read what say about it
PK from Thailand: Phuket Advice in the comment to this post and here:

Hello! Not sure if the site could deliver message in russian. It's true about Sweden woman killed on beach recently. Anyway Phuket is one of the safest places on Earth because it's about 1 from a million chance to die there for tourist (4 deaths in this season: this poor woman + 3 men).

Thank you, Pavel for your collaboration!

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New penality for smokers in Thailand

This map you can find here
I wrote about Thailand some days ago and here is
an other interesting notice from this country.

Specially interesting for smokers.
Don't smoke in bars, open markets and nights from 17 of February! It will cost you 68 dollars of penality. It will be valid for all closed places too.
This is the difference: befor smoking was forbidden in closed places where persons eat only. The health minister of Thailand said: it will be very healthy for all visitors of all these places and for those who works there.

This country is a very interesting for tourists from all the world in the last period but sometimes happen bad surprises to unprepared persons. There are notices that some tourists finished in a prison in Thailand. So be carful to respect new laws too.

The King of Thailand

I could never imagin the citizens of Thailand love their king sooo much.
These are notices about the events of december, when the king has his birthday.

First of all who is he?
King Bhumibol (Phumiphon) Adulyadej, Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America on 5 december 1927, is on the thron from 1946 and with 60 years of this work (in 2006) is the longest serving monarch in the world. In this period there were 21 prime-ministers and 15 constitutions in Thailand.
This year was his 80 birthday.
He has no constitutional power but is the most powerful person in the country.
His "names" are The Father of the Nation, The National Godhead, The Lord of the Lands, The Soul of the Nation, The Possessor of the Four and Twenty Golden Umbrellas.

In october the king was ill and passed 3 weeks in a hospital. When he went out he weared rose clothes because astrologists said to him this colour is the best for his health in this period. From that day there is a stock-jobbing in the country. Everybody wants to wear rose shirt.

From 2006s many persons wear yellow clothes mondays because the king's birthday was monday and yellow was his colour of that year.

The birthday of the king (December 5th) is national feast. On this days all shops, bars, places for entertainment and massage are clothed. Sex and alcohol are forbidden. There were many interesting manifestations like Festival of sand sculpturs and Pattaya International Balloon Fiesta 2007 where one of the presents for king was a fantastic Cake Balloon, Elephant balloon ecc.

Sources:
BBC News (photo)
http://www.soravij.com/rama9.html
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Pattaya International Balloon Fiesta 2007 (photo)