Thailand Considers Double Visa, 24-Hr Nong Khai Checkpoint

Thailand Considers Double Visa, 24-Hr Nong Khai Checkpoint



According to reports in the Thai media, the Kingdom of Thailand is set to introduce a double visa, allowing visitors to exit the country and re-enter, and may open the Nong Khai checkpoint 24-hours.

The news comes after Thailand began enforcing strict new visa policies in 2016, allowing foreigners of many nations only two entries by land per year.

The 2016 policy change deeply affected expatriates living in Laos, many of whom had previously traveled to Thailand for leisure or for medical reasons on a weekly or daily basis.

A report in The Thaiger today quotes Deputy Secretary-General to the Thai PM, Kobsak Pootrakul, as saying a double-entry tourism visa will be introduced. The new visa will allow visitors to enter, leave, and then re-enter Thailand during their stay in the Kingdom.

According to other reports, Mr. Kobsak has even said that a multiple entry visa may be considered in the future.

Thailand hopes to bring 42 million visitors to Thailand in 2020, after various factors, including an ultra-strong baht, have slowed tourism in the land of smiles.

The new double visa could help the country see more visits from expatriates in neighboring countries, including Laos, and entice tourists to re-enter Thailand after visiting other countries.

24-Hour Visa Checkpoint at Nong Khai

Reports from Thai media are also stating that the border checkpoint at Nong Khai could be set to open 24-hours.

The new hours would be trialed for three months, and if successful would continue. So far, no official statement has been made by Lao authorities in regard to 24-hour operations at the border.

~Laotian Times~

Southern train services end at Hua Hin station

Southern train services end at Hua Hin station

State Railway of Thailand (SRT) announced Tuesday that its southern train services can go as far as Prachaub Khiri Khan Station only, due to the on-going flooding.

The SRT said it received a report last night at 9.55 pm that many areas were affected by severe flood and the floods damaged the rail track between Bang Saphan Yai station and Chamuang station.

The services that are still available are Diesel express 43 for the Bangkok-Surat Thani route, but it will stop at Hua Hin Station.

Free train 261 for the Bangkok-Hua Hin route operates as normal.

Diesel express 39 (Bangkok-Surat Thani) is available, but it will end at Hua Hin station.

Train 255 (Thonburi-Langsuan) is able to operate service to Prachuab Khiri Khan.

The remaining train services are suspended until the flood situation will be eased.

All passengers who booked the tickets for the affected southern train services in advance can ask for full refund. Should those need more queries can contact the Hotline 1690 for 24 hours.

~News courtesy of The Nation~

Pattaya high-speed link on track for 2018

Pattaya high-speed link on track for 2018



The government is aiming to complete the country's first high-speed train between Bangkok and Pattaya by 2018.

Three other lines linking the capital with Phitsanulok, Nakhon Ratchasima and Hua Hin are also scheduled to be completed the following year.

The planned four high-speed rail routes are part of infrastructure projects under the 2-trillion-baht borrowing plan to be tabled before the cabinet for its approval next Tuesday.

Barring any problems, the bill will be forwarded to parliament by the end of this month for final approval, with a target to complete all projects in seven years.

Other key projects to be financed with borrowing under the bill include 10 mass transit projects, dual track railways and road projects which have undergone environmental impact analyses.

Of the total borrowing, 1.65 trillion baht will be spent on railway development, 30.7 billion baht on water transport system development, 243 billion baht on road development, and 12.19 billion baht on road checkpoint development.

Chula Sookmanob, director of the Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning Office, said the government expected to invite bids for the four high-speed trains in September. Bidders will be required to specify their technology for the train in the bidding contest to enable the government to project the construction cost. Interest is expected from Japan, China, South Korea, France, Germany and Spain.

Mr Chula said the government will establish a new organisation before September to manage the high-speed links.

He said the government hopes to be able to reduce the country's logistics costs by at least 2 per cent after all projects featured in the bill are completed.

The country's logistics costs stood at 1.75 billion baht in 2012 against its gross domestic product of 11.5 trillion baht in the same year.

The projects could also reduce fuel costs by at least 100 billion baht a year and cut travelling time between Bangkok and the provinces within a 300km radius to 90 minutes from three hours.

PM's Office Minister Varathep Ratanakorn said the government would meet state agencies on Friday to make sure it can clearly answer questions about the projects that may be raised in parliament.

The government has extended an exhibition on the projects by another four days to Saturday to make sure the public are informed about them, he said.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva reiterated Monday he disagreed with the borrowing plan.

Mr Abhisit visited the exhibition with deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij and party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut Monday at the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Road.

They were accompanied by Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong and Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt.

Mr Abhisit said the projects could be implemented through the original 300-billion-baht plan using the annual budget since some of them are already included in ongoing development plans. He cited dual-track railways as an example.

He also said the planned high-speed railways should be extended to Nong Khai and Malaysia instead of ending at Nakhon Ratchasima and Hua Hin.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~

Train project right on track

Train project right on track

A high-speed train project linking southern China, Laos and Thailand could start in 2015 in time for the launch of the Asean Economic Community.

Chamaiporn Chuecharoen, the commercial counsellor for Thailand in Kunming, China, said the project envisions a train capable of speeds of 200 kilometres per hour running from Yunnan province to Laos and Nong Khai in northeastern Thailand.

Passengers and cargo from Nong Khai could then travel to Bangkok and Rayong as well as south to Malaysia and Singapore.

Other high-speed rail links are planned from China to Myanmar and Cambodia.

Work on the US$7-billion China-Laos route is expected to begin shortly.

The project will be financed by the Export-Import Bank of China under a 30-year loan, with China responsible for construction.

The plan estimates revenue in the first year of operations starting at $95 million, eventually reaching as much as $16.3 billion a year in 50 years.

Plans to build a train link from Kunming to Singapore were initiated by Chinese and Asean leaders at the seventh Asean summit in 2001. Construction on the project, ultimately covering 3,900 km, began last year with the China-Vientiane link, with the entire line expected to be fully complete in 2020.

Work on the Kunming-Yangon line and a larger project connecting Kunming with Vientiane, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is expected to start later this year.

Chinese authorities also are considering a separate high-speed route that would join Kunming and Bangkok with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh.

Ms Chamaiporn said the link between China, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar would have tremendous economic benefits for Southeast Asia and the Greater Mekong region.

Planning for high-speed rail lines in Thailand is already under way, with funding to come from a proposed 2-trillion-baht investment programme dedicated to new infrastructure projects over the next seven years.

Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said the government is planning four high-speed rail lines to support trade and tourism within the country.

The investment programme, now being drafted for parliamentary review, would focus on transport infrastructure including new railways, roads, airports and port improvements, he said.

The four high-speed rail lines are Bangkok-Nong Khai-Vientiane; Bangkok-Ayutthaya-Chiang Mai; Bangkok to Hua Hin; and an expansion of the Airport Rail Link in Bangkok to Chon Buri, Pattaya and Rayong.

Mr Kittiratt said the Bangkok-Chiang Mai link should begin with the Bangkok-Ayutthaya leg due to Ayutthaya's importance as a tourism destination and a government proposal to push the former capital as a host of the World Expo.

The line from Bangkok to the Eastern Seaboard would include a standard-gauge rail link from Suvarnabhumi airport to Don Mueang airport, he said.

Existing rail networks in the South will be expanded to link Hat Yai and Yala with Malaysia.

Mr Kittiratt said the infrastructure bill would see investment averaging 300 billion baht a year over the next seven years, while each project must be justifiable in terms of its economic benefits to the country.

"Even after parliament approves the 2-trillion-baht bill, it doesn't mean there will be a blank cheque. Each project must pass scrutiny by the National Economic and Social Development Board," he said.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~

Landslide blocks railway in North

Landslide blocks railway in North

Train service between Lampang and Chiang Mai was temporarily suspended on Saturday morning after a landslide triggered by heavy rain blocked the tracks near the Khun Tan station, reports said.

Officials of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) were working hard to clear the soil covering the tracks, the reports said.

Passengers had to board buses provided by the SRT to continue their journeys to Lamphun and Chiang Mai.

~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~

Khon Kaen to Vientiane Transport

Bus from Khon Kaen to Vientiane
泰国孔敬往寮国永珍巴士（公车）
745am and 315pm daily 每天
180 THB

Nongkhai Thai Customs 廊开泰国关卡

泰寮友谊1桥 - 廊开泰国关卡
Thai Lao Friendship Bridge 1 - Nongkhai Thai Customs

Countryside 乡野风光

Udon Thani Province 乌隆府

Thai-Malaysian Checkpoint 泰马关卡

Bukit Kayu Hitam 黑木山

合艾虽好玩国人怕入境过关卡又热又危险

今日吉玻．合艾虽好玩国人怕入境过关卡又热又危险


（亚罗士打8日讯）泰南丹诺(Dannok)直通合艾(Hatyai)的关卡设备不完善，加上官员服务缓慢，导致当地出入境门槛，每逢假日都让游客困在酷热的人龙，以及大排车龙数小时。

大马游客对此设施直呼太累人，要求泰国政府有必要改善境内关卡设施和服务，否则有天大马游客群起发动杯葛在假日游玩合艾，必定会让当地旅游业受挫。

感觉像难民

一名自称来自中马的杜姓游客致电《中国报》大吐苦水说，这个劳动节，一家五口趁着公假，抱着欢喜心到合艾游玩，岂料去回卡在关口数小时，人山人海又酷热的关卡环境，有如“难民”逃难般让人很不舒服又作呕。

她在电话中投诉说，大马黑木山的关卡设施完善又在室内有冷气，即使假日也不会乱七八糟；但是，泰南丹诺的关卡却是让人不敢恭维，空间开放不仅酷热，而且轿车、罗厘、摩哆及巴士熙来攘往，严重威胁列队在旁，等候盖印通关游客的生命安全。

“大马游客每逢假日涌入合艾观光，让泰国政府外汇收益不少，照理应该为游客提供舒适又安全的出入境关卡才对。”

她指出，这次并非首次游玩合艾，原以为泰国政府会逐日改善，岂料不只原地踏步没改变，甚至还变本加厉，公然向游客讨取盖印费。

“令人气爆的是，要是大马汇率有落差，官员还不眨眼的直接退回要泰铢。”

她认为，大马游客有必要团结起来，来一次大杯葛，才能促使泰国政府着手改善关卡设施和入境服务。

“否则这样下去，我们大马人好像是把脸贴在人家的冷屁股，拿钱去观光，却还要在通关时受气。”

林明精：泰政府回应 没钱买地建新关卡

泰南导游公会公关林明精接受《中国报》电访询及时指出，该会联合泰南旅游联盟会理事陈亚历等登门拜会宋卡府移民局主任菩提蓬。

他说，菩提蓬告诉他们，泰国政府没钱买地建新关卡，所以没有独立的关卡作业，就连当前丹诺的关卡也是“寄居”借住在关税局的开放通关建筑内。

“菩提蓬曾向泰国政府反映，但是取得回复是政府没钱物色新的通关关卡。”

他指出，根据这名官员的建议，希望大马游客若是要在假日避免人龙，除了通过黑木山(Bukit Kayu Hitam)的丹诺边境，也可在吉玻两地，即玻州(Perlis)巴东勿刹(Padang Besar)、玻州旺吉銮(Wang Kelian)，或吉北巴东得腊(Padang Terap)最新建的榴莲武隆(Durian Burong)马泰关卡通关。

【中国报】
http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/214179

Road Signs 路牌

Thai flood death toll reaches 35

Thai flood death toll reaches 35

Flooding across southern Thailand has killed at least 35 people, officials said Saturday, as unseasonably wet weather deluged the homes and businesses of around two million people.

Victims were either swept into the rising waters or buried in mudslides as the heavy rains inundated homes and washed roads and bridges away in what should be one of the hottest months of the year.

Flood waters, more than two metres deep in some places, have continued to spread despite easing rainfall in recent days, while waterlogged soil has heightened the risk of landslides.

Thousands of people have been forced to move into temporary shelters as the military continued to help evacuate those most at risk on Saturday.

Authorities said the toll had reached 15 in the hardest-hit province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, eight along the coast in Surat Thani, six in Krabi, and two in each of Phatthalung, Chumphon, and Trang provinces.

Mudslides have swamped at least one whole village in Khao Phanom district, Krabi province, and officials said five people are still missing in the area.

Bad weather also caused thousands of tourists to be stranded on islands in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea earlier in the week, but ferry and air links have now resumed to most holiday areas.

Ten provinces are now affected by the flooding, after waters reached Satun and Narathiwat, near the Malaysian border, according to Thailand's department of disaster prevention and mitigation.

More than 100 districts in the ten provinces have now been declared disaster zones and nearly 6,000 people are in temporary shelters after 11 days of floods following evacuation by the government.

Rail access to the region was still halted on Saturday, while the airport at Nakhon Si Thammarat remained closed.

-News courtesy of Channel Newsasia-