Tourist visa fee waiver for Chinese and Chinese Taipei visitors

Effective 9 August, 2014, holders of Chinese and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) passports will be exempt from paying visa fees when visiting Thailand purely for the purpose of tourism between 9 August – 8 November 2014.

The short-term waiver has been passed by the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) as part of a package of measures to rapidly revive Thai tourism in the second half of 2014. The move has now passed all the stages of regulatory approval through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior and been published in Royal Gazette.

The exemption will apply only to visitors coming to Thailand for tourism, and submitting their tourist visa applications at Thai diplomatic missions or via the visa-on-arrival desks at the international checkpoints. Only a Tourist Visa is applicable to this measure; visitors who apply for other categories of visa; such as, Transit Visa or Non-Immigrant Visa still have to pay for the visa fee as normal.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Thawatchai Arunyik said, “Thailand and China have very close relations and have much in common in terms of food, cultural and ethnic relationships with many Thai prominent businessmen and political families having roots in China.  Chinese visitors were selected for the exemption as part of the commemorative activities marking the 40th  Anniversary of Thailand – China Diplomatic Relations. Moreover, this measure is also to help the Thai private sector and the many small and medium sized enterprises to recover.”

From both mainland China and Chinese Taipei, Thailand is considered a short-haul and value-for-money destination with good airline connections and an excellent range of accommodation and tour products for people of all age groups. The kingdom is well-known for its long-standing tradition of friendliness and hospitality.  Bangkok also has a very large and bustling Chinatown area where Chinese visitors can regularly be seen shopping for herbal medicines, jewellery and gold. Many of them also go to make offerings at the numerous Chinese temples.

cr: Tourism Authority of Thailand

cr pictures: ibtimes, echinacities, lohwendy blogspot

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Bangkok, Why not?

Saint Patrick's Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick") is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland.

The day generally involves public parades and festivals, céilithe, and wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians also attend church services and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day.

Where Can I Celebrate Saint Patrick's Day in Bangkok?

If you are in Bangkok on Saint Patrick's Day, even if you are not an Irish - the most popular way to celebrate is to head to one of the Irish pubs and just enjoy the feast together with the Irish, Thais, expats and travelers from around the world!

There is a good number of Irish pubs in Bangkok, and we've put together a list of what we consider to be the most famous Irish pubs in Bangkok. 

O’Reillys Irish Pub (Silom Road)

O'Reilly's is one of the first Irish pubs in Bangkok and is located on Silom road right at the foot of the steps leading up to Saladaeng BTS skytrain station so getting there is really simple.

O'Reilly's is one of those pubs that has a constant atmosphere as it is in a good location for tourists and business people alike and you will find a mix of westerners and Thais.

O’Reillys Irish Pub

62/1-4 Silom Road Bangrak, Bangkok

Tel. 02-632-7515 to19

http://www.oreillyspubbangkok.com/

Molly Malone's Irish Pub (Soi Convent)

Molly Malone's Irish pub in Bangkok used to be known as The Irish Exchange but underwent a make over and a change of ownership and re-emerged as Molley Malone's.

There is seating upstairs and downstairs and there is the usual Guinness and Kilkenny on draught as well as a number of other draught and bottled beers.

Getting to Molly Malone's should be easy enough as it is very close to Saladaeng BTS skytrain station and not a far walk from Silom's MRT subway station.

Molly Malone's Irish Pub

1/5-6 Soi Convent Silom,

Bangrak Bangkok 10500

Tel. 02 266 7160-1

http://www.mollymalonesbangkok.com

The Dubliner Irish Pub (Sukhumvit Road)

The Dubliner Irish Pub in Bangkok is located on Sukhumvit road, around soi 22 close to Washington Square. The nearest Skytrain or Underground station is Asoke / Sukhumvit

The decor of The Dubliner is similar to all the other Irish themed bars in Bangkok - mainly wooden - but we like the layout of The Dubliner because it's more pub like and less clinical than some of the others.

If your other half likes shopping, send them to The Emporium just down the road and you can sit back with a drink and wait for them to come back.

The Dubliner Irish Pub

21 Sukhumvit Soi 33/1, Bangkok, Thailand 10110

Tel. 02-204-1841

http://www.thedublinerbangkok.com/

Flann O'Brien's Irish Pub (Asiatique The Riverfront)

Flann O'Brien's is quite new compare to other Irish pubs in Bangkok, but as it is located in the newest landmark of Bangkok, Asiatique The Riverfront – there are a lot of things to do in the area.

The theme of the Flann O'Brien's Irish Pub and the Asiatique is retro style, you will feel like going back in time and sitting in the old harbor of Bangkok.

Flann O'Brien's Irish Pub

Asiatique The Riverfront

Tel. 02 108 4005

www.facebook.com/FlannobriensIrishPub

Robin Hood Bar (Sukhumvit Road)

Robin Hood Irish Pub in Bangkok is opposite The Emporium Department store. To get to Robin Hood, just get off at Phrom Phong BTS Syktrain station and exit gate 5 and Robin Hood will be right there.

Robin Hood Bar

597-597/1-3 P.B Building, Sukhumvit 33/1, Sukhumvit Road

Klongtan Nua, Wattana Bangkok 10110

Tel: +66 2 662 3390

http://www.robinhoodbangkok.com/

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

cr: Wikipedia, thebangkokshoppingguide.com

Irrepressible Bangkok

Why 'Bangkok' is such a great city...

Bangkok  is full of surprises. With the recent political confrontations prompting vigorous debate about Thailand’s reputation as the ‘Land of Smiles,’ that sounds like an understatement. But one of its greatest attractions is a non-stop capacity to amaze. The pulsating urban energy comes from Thai culture’s ability to absorb dramatic change and outside influence while keeping its vital essence.

Throughout a roller-coaster history, Bangkok has survived many harrowing turns — not least the Asian economic crash of 1997 — and rebounded not just fast, but with flair. This time, as soon as the Red Shirt rally ended in late May, the city sprang back up on its feet, dusted itself down and applied its irrepressibly positive, practical spirit. Within days, Bangkok began to recoup the zesty character that has made it one of the most visited, awarded and fondly regarded world cities.

To the millions who have visited or lived here, Bangkok appeared unfamiliar as the protests escalated. That’s true of any city during a spasm of political unrest. Yet most of Bangkok stayed untouched throughout. In the aftermath, most of the Ratchaprasong and Siam Square shopping districts remain intact and operating as before. Returning visitors will recognise the city they remember.

Shopping mall operators and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have provided space for displaced shop-owners to maintain their businesses. Residents have already splurged on the discounted wares. Now tourists can expect a lot more sales, promotions and festive markets, reinforcing Bangkok’s reputation for value.

Street Life Much of Bangkok’s appeal derives from the vibrant street life. Entrepreneurs turn any occasion into a market infused with sanuk — the easy-going Thai sense of fun. Roving vendors bring food, goods and local colour to daily life. Now this culture of flexible improvisation ensures continuity through the city’s recovery.

Bangkok’s most authentic retail experience remains the market, whether for shopping, looking for souvenirs or simply browsing. Dozens of bazaars span the capital, from herb-scented wet markets and the textiles hub of Pratunam to the specialist lanes of Chinatown and the old wooden markets revived at the city’s edge. None integrates more with metropolitan life than the vast Chatuchak Weekend Market. Every segment of society heads there to seek serendipity, inspiration, regional foods and a laid-back social scene.

More Malls Than Before

Thais also take their market culture indoors. Bangkok boasts several of Asia’s biggest malls, brimming with international brands and emergent Thai labels. On the mile-long ‘Ratchaprasong Shopping Street’ between Central Chidlom and Siam Square, all the malls bar two now trade as normal. CentralWorld will reopen in stages and the BMA has pledged to upgrade the area’s public spaces.

As Bangkok develops, its affluent suburbs gain destination attractions. During Ratchaprasong’s temporary closure, the spotlight moved to chic new malls beyond downtown. At the end of March, the semi-outdoors K Village lifestyle mall opened where Sukhumvit Soi 26 meets Rama IV Road. Near Suvarnabhumi Airport, the former Seri Centre on Srinakharin Road emerged in April from total transformation into the luxury mall Paradise Park. The recently launched Crystal Design Centre on the Ekamai-Ramindra Road also came into its own as Asia’s biggest integrated design complex. In a measure of Thai retail verve, Bangkok ironically emerged from the protest period with even more shopping options.

Creativity Draws On Tradition

The local products now marketed in Bangkok boutiques and abroad reveal a key progression in Thai society, from rural produce to urban wares, from crafts to creativity, from artefacts to art. Aspects of high culture and folk wisdom persist in authentic settings, notably food, herbalism, textiles and artisanship. Now a new generation parlays those strengths into gourmet cuisine, spas, catwalk fashions, contemporary art and stylish products infused with indigenous materials and a sense of Thainess. Innovative institutes like Thailand Creative and Design Centre (TCDC) and Bangkok Art & Culture Centre (BACC) nurture and showcase this resourceful artistry.

Youth Culture

Much of Bangkok’s momentum derives from its expressive youth and indy subculture. The informal economy enables entrepreneurs to experiment with their ideas in thousands of tiny shoplets and stalls, before founding their own brands. Siam Square, buzzing with students, designers and indie creatives, drives the pulse of Thai pop culture and fuels new industries. A score of galleries hold publicly accessible exhibition openings for the region’s liveliest art scene, which has generated many internationally collected artists. Just as the rally ended, one of Thailand’s new wave film directors, Apichatphong Weerasetthakul, became the first Southeast Asian to win cinema’s highest honour, the Palme d’Or at Cannes. That same week, the country’s foremost dancer, Pichet Klunchun, premiered a touring production at Singapore Art Festival, translating Thai tradition to a global audience. Bangkok designers, too, continue to win plaudits abroad for their fashion and furniture. These young achievers are all the fruit of Bangkok’s fertile creative seedbed.

Party Place

For decades, Bangkok has revelled as a hub of nightlife tourism, which covers the merry spectrum from quirky to saucy to chic. Recent trends have seen contrasting booms in nightlife, such as clubs with dramatic design, raves with international DJs, Bohemian retro bars, and exuberant theme nights by outfits like Dudesweet and Trasher. Plentiful live music draws fans and aficionados, whether indy rock, boisterous pop, rap, jazz or blues. Asia’s biggest and most diverse gay scene plays magnet to affluent regulars flying in from regional capitals to party, dine and shop. New venues opened even during the protests, with the art-bar WTF Bar & Gallery immediately becoming a “refuge pub,” typifying the city’s resilient morale.

Food Capital 

Whatever kind of sanuk, Thais never socialise without a constant stream of food — very good food. Bangkok dining has entered an exciting phase. Some of this buzz comes from spectacular settings, whether chic eateries like Long Table or al fresco restaurants atop skyscrapers. Expatriate chefs contribute to one of the world’s broadest ranges of ethnic dining options, joined by visiting famous names during the many epicurean festivals. Thai food, long a global favourite, is also receiving haute cuisine attention, while retaining its integrity. Bo.lan restaurant and the upcoming Nahm, a branch of the only Thai restaurant with a Michelin star, typify a nascent Thai slow food movement. Both draw inspiration from Bangkok’s non-stop pavement buffet of street food, and from the old family restaurants in the historic parts of town.

Cultural Diversity 

For all its globalized advances, Bangkok remains rare among modern metropolises by maintaining communities in its old centre as an authentic living heritage. Markets abut museums, shophouses flank palaces, temples hold folkish festivals, and ancient neighbourhoods retain their signatures, from apothecaries and amulets to arcane crafts. Increasingly, developers restore not replace old buildings. These express architectural history despite new uses as hotels or bars, restaurants or spas. In Chinatown or riverside quarters, nostalgics can still find traces of old Asia and a precious sense of place.

Hybrid Heritage

An international trading gateway for centuries, Bangkok acquired its patchwork appearance by constantly adding to its architecture rather than bulldozing all the past. The same fusion is as true of traditional dance, costume, music and decorative arts as it is of prevailing pop fads. This hybrid culture reveals traits from across Asia and the West, somehow blended in a way that’s distinctively Thai. The city has always harboured communities of diverse ethnicity. Confident in its cultural core, Bangkok embraces foreign influence and modernity, which accounts for its openness to visitors and whatever is in vogue.

Expanding Transport

Access to Bangkok’s attractions has improved vastly over the past decade. Right now the mass transport network is expanding in several directions. The MRT Subway and BTS SkyTrain — recently extended across the river to Thonburi — were joined just after the protest by the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). It links the BTS with Yannawa and Khlong San using comfy high-speed buses. Set to be fully launched in August, the Airport Link brings Suvarnabhumi and several train stations within a quick, cheap glide from a downtown terminal and links to the BTS and MRT. The canal expressboat service along Klong Saen Saeb will also this year extend to Minburi in Bangkok’s semi-rural northeast, where the old wooden market is being revived.

Calm Sanctuaries 
The klong (canals) in this formerly waterborne city also provide a contrasting amenity: tranquillity. Bangkok epitomises the busy, relentless metropolis, but its pockets of quiet replenish the soul. The remaining klongfeed the Chao Phraya River, which churns with activity and every kind of boat imaginable, yet soothes as it slides relentlessly by. Parks and plantations provide recreational green space, while temples, spas and massage offer sanctuaries for mind and body. Bangkok has its share of friction, but also hands that heal.

Embracing Change 

The energy of the city buzzes around a heart of calm. Buddhism brings to Bangkok a detachment that allows dramas to unfold, contradictions to flourish, diverse cultures to coexist, and every day to bring a surprise. After all, they are mere moments amid constant change. Regardless of what happens, Thais have a remarkable capacity to greet the next moment, irrepressible, graceful, cheery. They treat life as a series of cycles. So as the wheel of karma turns, Bangkok comes back up.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Philip Cornwel-Smith is the author of Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture, and writer-editor of the Time Out Bangkok guidebook. Born in England and based in Bangkok since 1994, he was founding editor of Bangkok Metro Magazine, contributes to international publications and is currently writing Very Bangkok, a book about the city’s neighbourhoods, networks and social scenes.


Credit: http://www.tatnews.org

Don't miss the grandest sale in Thailand!! From 15 Jun - 15 Aug 2010

The Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2010 Beckons

Enjoy discounts from 5-80% and many other privileges during the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2010 at participating Department stores, Shopping malls, King Power Duty Free, Jewelry shops, Golf courses, Thai’s products, Spa & Massage, Hospitals, as well as from leading Airlines and Online travel agencies. There are also discounts to be enjoyed at participating merchants in selected tourist attractions in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Phuket, Koh Samui and Udonthani.

For more information please visit  click 

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Artur Restaurant - Elegant Gourmet Restaurant, Serving Imported Steaks, Fresh Seafood and Martinis

'Artur Restaurant' is located at the Ground Floor of Bliston Suwan Park View, Artur Restaurant reflects its owner and manager lifelong dedication to and passion for excellence.

Elegant, gourmet steakhouse cuisine emphasis on fine dining, serving prime steaks imported from USA, Australia and Japan, foie gras, fresh seafood including oysters from France and Dover sole. You can try here original Artur’s Caesar Salad recipe well known in Bangkok since 1992. The Cote de Boeuf (Prime Rib) is the must.

Spectacular Martinis, one of the most extensive wine list in town (289 references) and a friendly, attractive and well trained staff as well as very reasonable pricing complete the offer.

Open Daily for lunch & dinner. Tel: 02-658 6288.

ARTUR RMC Ltd.
No.9 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Reservation: +66(0) 2658 6288
Fax: +66(0) 2658 6286
Email: office@ArturRestaurant.com
Website: http://www.facebook.com/ARTURrestaurant

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