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Ao Railay - two bays & over 600 trails
towards a cliff hanger’s haven
The glamour of climbing at Railay Bay are the
surroundings decorated by limestone cliffs, emerald sea water, beaches
reaching out to the corners of the sky, and cliffs that are ideal for real
cliff hangers.
Railay Bay is separated into 2 sides: Eastern Railay Bay
and Western Railay Bay. Tourists who claim to be true cliffhangers and crave
excitement will need to get on a boat at the western bay because the
limestone cliff on that side has the most suitable height for climbing.
There are over 600 rock-climbing routes; this presents numerous challenges
for individuals of various levels of skill and experience. The towering
cliffs of Railay Beach and Ton Sai Beach attract rock climbers from all over
the world and have steadily gained fame as one of the premier rock-climbing
destinations.
Tourists that would love to see Phra Nang Cave would need
to hire a boat to the western side of the bay. The shore on this side of the
bay has beautiful sand and clear water. Inside the cave is the Phra Nang
Shrine where mariners perform their religious practices. In the past,
fishermen would pray for safety as they left the shores and ask that no
obstacles or dangers emerge. Furthermore, the beach in front of the bay is
also a destination for people who love to play in water or sunbathe.
Festivals: Krabi tourist authorities hold an annual
climbing event divided into 3 categories: Climbing Marathon, Speed Climbing
and Deep Water Soloing. During the night, there would be a Fire Contest to
spice up the event.
Tips: When you reach Phra Nang Bay, do not forget to
trek into the woods and up the mountains to get a breathtaking view of both
sides of Railay Bay.
Travel Info: There are many local buses leaving from
Krabi town to Hat Ao Nang or Chao Fa Pier, and then take a long-tail boat
about 20 minutes to Ao Railay.
Google Geocode: 8.011828, 98.837467
Contact: Railay Rock Climbing Club, +668 9294 0686,
+668 1797 2517
TAT Krabi Office: +66 7562 2163, +66 7561 2811-2
Facilities & Services: Rock climbing instructor &
equipment, food, long-tail boats and restrooms. (TAT)
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THAI Smile receives delivery of first Airbus A320
Teerapol Chotichanapibal (4th from right), Executive Vice
President for Product and Customer Services, Thai Airways International
Public Company Limited, and Woranate Laprabang (4th from left), Managing
Director, THAI Smile, received delivery of THAI Smile’s first Airbus A320
from Thomas Friedberger (2nd from left), Senior Vice President for Sales in
Asia, Airbus SAS, alongside Brian Harvey (3rd from right), Chief Marketing
Officer, SMBC Aviation Capital, Jean-Jacques Boissin (3rd from left), Sales
Director and Customer Affairs for Southeast Asia, Airbus SAS, and Adrian
Dharsan (2nd from right), Vice President for Marketing, Aviation Capital,
during an aircraft delivery ceremony that was held at Airbus’ facility in
Hamburg, Germany.
THAI Smile began operating flights with the Airbus A320
on its first flight from Bangkok to Macau at 2 flights per day, beginning on
7 July 2012.
Susan Field named
“Business Leader of the Year”
Susan Field (center) is named
Skål Hong Kong’s “Business Leader of the Year”.
Susan Field, CEO of Cohn & Wolfe-impactasia was named
“Business Leader of the Year” at Skๅl International Hong Kong’s annual
“Celebrating Women in Business” awards earlier this month.
The awards, now in their fourth year, are the highlight
of the club’s annual Skๅl Ladies Day which takes place each year at the
Peninsula Hotel. The sole objective of the awards is to showcase and reward
the industry’s female talent and leadership. Three categories include
“Unsung Hero”, “Rising Star”, and the ultimate accolade of “Business
Leader”.
Voted for by the most pre-eminent and senior executives
in the travel and hospitality industry in Hong Kong, the accolade recognizes
Susan’s commitment to mentoring and coaching young professionals, as well as
her entrepreneurial skills in founding, building, and finally selling her
public relations agency, impactasia.
Skๅl, the world’s leading professional travel
organization for senior industry executives, is dedicated to promoting the
global tourism industry. The Hong Kong chapter, one of the world’s largest,
has around 200 active members and hosts monthly events to connect, educate
and progress thinking in the industry.
Commenting on the award, current Skๅl Hong Kong
president, Matthew Arnold, who led the judging panel said, “Susan was a
clear winner for this accolade. She has spent the past 22 years building a
successful and high profile business with a footprint across Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Beijing. Despite her commitment to her business, she has also
dedicated much personal time to coaching and mentoring many young people
seeking careers in tourism and PR. It is a combination of these two factors
that led us to select her as “Business Leader of the Year.”
Susan, who is immediate past president of Skๅl Hong Kong,
was also made a “Life Member” this year for her contribution to the
organization. She commented, “It’s an honor to have been chosen by my peers
for this award and it is an achievement I am incredibly proud of. I hope it
inspires other young women, in whatever industry they choose, to reach for
the stars. All it takes, from my own experience, is a huge amount of
determination, passion and very hard work to be successful in business.”
Also honored in the awards were Tina Chow, manager,
Environmental Affairs, HK Disneyland, who was named “Unsung Hero” and Connie
Chan, manager-Chin Chin Bar, Hyatt Regency HK who picked up the award for
“Rising Star”.
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Thai travel business operators worried over threats from CLMV formation
Thai travel business operators have expressed worries
over increasing competition from the setting up of a tourism promotion
project by 4 ASEAN countries.
Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) President Suthipong
Pheunphiphop said on Thursday that all related parties, including the TTAA,
the Association of Thai Traven Agents (ATTA) and the Association of Domestic
Travel (ADT), are keeping a close eye on the direction of the country’s
tourism industry after the realization of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in
2015.
Suthipong said that a more liberalized region will be a
challenge for Thailand, especially in terms of its ranking within ASEAN.
He also noted that the biggest worry for the Thai tourism
industry is the formation of CLMV countries, comprising of Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam, which signed a cooperation document to allow travelers
to obtain only one single visa for all 4 nations. The initiative is set to
be officially launched in August at the International Expo in Ho Chi Minh
City, said Suthipong.
The TTAA president added that Thailand is at a
disadvantage in the area of language, when compared with its neighbors, and
that the issue is increasingly becoming more pressurized, as English will be
the language used by all 10 ASEAN member nations after the realization of
AEC.
In addition to calls for the speedy development of a
basic infrastructure and transportation network, Suthipong suggested that
state officials from related agencies, such as the Ministry of Tourism and
Sports, should acquire more education on marketing while the government is
to solve the problems of corruption and overlapping responsibilities among
state and private agencies. (NNT)
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Turkish Airlines named
Skytrax “Best Airline Europe”
Turkish Airlines’ general
manager Temel Kotil Ph.D. (left) receives the award from Skytrax CEO Edward
Plaisted (right).
Turkish Airlines scored a resounding success at the 2012
Skytrax World Airline Awards, with air travelers voting the airline as the
Best Airline in Europe for the second year running.
Turkish Airlines also has been named as the winner of
“Best Airline in Southern Europe” and “Best Premium Economy Class Airline
Seat” for its Comfort Class seats by Skytrax.
Skytrax is a world recognized brand associated with air
travel excellence in the 21st century, providing unique expertise to the
world airline and airport industry through the most professional audit and
service benchmarking programs of product and service quality.
The survey polled over 18 million business and leisure
air travelers from 100 countries, with the winners of these passenger’s
choice awards announced at the Farnborough Airshow, UK on July 12, 2012. The
awards were handed over to Turkish Airlines’ general manager, Temel Kotil
Ph.D. by the CEO of Skytrax, Edward Plaisted.
“Turkish Airlines continues to consolidate its position
as one of the world’s leading airlines and the awards they have received
today for Best Airline in Europe and the Best Airline in Southern Europe
demonstrate their continued popularity amongst passengers. Turkish Airlines
Premium Economy cabin product has proved increasingly popular and the award
Turkish Airlines collected for the Best Premium Economy Class Airline Seat
is a clear reflection of the success of this high quality product,” said
Edward Plaisted of Skytrax.
Turkish Airlines won the Skytrax award for the “Best
Airline in Southern Europe” both last year and in 2010, as the airline
achieved the same great success by winning the “Skytrax World Aviation Award
2009,” known as the Oscar of Aviation industry.
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