TaT launches "Joyful Chantaburi" tourism route

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TaT launches "Joyful Chantaburi" tourism route

Post by Gaybutton »

Chantaburi province is about a 2½ hour drive to the southeast of Pattaya.

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See: https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Cha ... 02.1037806


The Tourism Authority of Thailand Launches Joyful Chanthaburi Route to Showcase the Local Thainess

October 1, 2018

CHANTHABURI, Thailand: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently launched a new tourism route in Chanthaburi province under the concept "Joyful Chanthaburi".

This new route will provide the tourists with an unforgettable experience of local Thainess.

Chanthaburi is a province in the Eastern of Thailand, which is well known for the unseen destinations and full of natural resources. It has tourist attractions comprising crystal clear sea and beautiful beaches, waterfalls and mountain forests that are unspoiled, as well as abundant fruit orchards and plantations. Thus, the Thai government have bestowed Chanthaburi to be the Eastern Fruit Corridor of Thailand.

The not-to-be-missed route for tourists who want to taste exotic Thai fruit is the Patthawi community and Rak Khao Bai Sri community because they have fruit buffets that you can enjoy eating unlimited fresh fruit off the trees. Tourists can also learn about the growing of organic fruit. And if that's not enough, Chanthaburi has many kinds of seafood menu like crab with claws the size of a fist and fresh oysters. TAT then invites all seafood lovers to the Bang Sa Kao community and Uncle Thom's Oyster Farm where guests can enjoy fresh oysters with local sauce and experience the fishing community's way of life and marine creatures preservation.

For those who are interested in and addicted to the local way of life, then Samet Ngam community could offer the charm of reed farming. For tourists who love local handicrafts, you can have a hands-on experience in making various designs. Guests will learn all the steps of making a Chanthaboon mat from planting reed, cutting, sorting and dyeing to the final process of weaving by using a "Fuem", a traditional loom. This mat, a renowned GI product of Chanthaburi province, is known for its strength, durability and heat resistance.

For more information, please click http://www.creativedistrictthailand.com

https://www.newkerala.com/news/read/525 ... iness.html
fountainhall

Re: TaT launches "Joyful Chantaburi" tourism route

Post by fountainhall »

Does anyone really pay any attention to what the TAT promotes? Several times I have tried to find information on the TAT website - about the Dansai Ghost Festival some years ago, for example - and found nothing. Pen pushers trying to justify their existence!
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Re: TaT launches "Joyful Chantaburi" tourism route

Post by Gaybutton »

Why not look up the individual places TaT mentions and see if anything concurs with what they're saying?

I've been to Chantaburi before and I enjoyed the trip along with some other spots along the way.

One thing the article does not mention is there are sapphire mines in the Chantaburi area, one of which I visited. I spoke to one of the miners and asked him to show me what he had collected so far that day. He brought out a little pouch filled with sapphires he had found. I told him I would like to buy, but I don't know how much. He said 150 baht. That sounded reasonable to me for one unpolished, probably valueless, sapphire. I gave him 150 baht. He gave me the whole pouch! All of them.

Some of them did turn out to have some value - not very much, though. I separated them out and gave them, plus the rest of the pouch to my mother, who was delighted. I have no idea what she ended up doing with them.

There are also a number of wholesale jewelry shops in Chantaburi and gem dealers come from all over the world to buy from them. Several of those are worth a visit. They're nothing at all like those rip-off gem shops that tour buses force on their customers. They are the real thing and they're happy to show how it's all done, even if they know you're not going to buy anything. They don't use high pressure sales tactics like the tourist gem shops do.

I enjoy making these off-the-beaten-path little trips every so often, even if TaT or some other web site misleads and grossly exaggerates. It still gives some ideas of what to do and see and so far I've never regretted any of these trips. Given that, if it really is someone at TaT trying to justify his job, then as far as I'm concerned he justified it.
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Re: TaT launches "Joyful Chantaburi" tourism route

Post by Captain Swing »

It does sound like it would be a very enjoyable trip. My first few trips to Thailand I did interesting touristy things like that, but not in a long time. On an early trip I went to the Surin Elephant Festival--I haven't heard that mentioned in years. It was a big deal then; I wonder if animal-rights groups have killed it. I went on a package from TAT, and I have to say their organization of everything was outstanding. Everyone involved in that earned their money and delivered as promised.
fountainhall

Re: TaT launches "Joyful Chantaburi" tourism route

Post by fountainhall »

My beef with the TAT is that information is often not included on the site, it is added very late or is found in an obscure part of the site. The obvious place to list items like the Surin Elephant Festival (if it still exists), the Dansai Ghost Festival and the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival is on a calendar. Usually they are never there! You have to search elsewhere. I realise that the last two are dependent on the Buddhist calendar and local input. So dates may not be available until six months ahead. But even then getting info from the TAT can be extremely difficult. And this is stupid because many summer visitors plan their trips many months in advance.

Take a look at the site. On the home page there are several boxes, including one that could be of interest to many travellers. It is headed "Our Recommendations". One of the 5 boxes is headed "Top 10 Attractions". Great idea! So you click that box. You then get a new page with exactly the same boxes and information as on the previous page but with the addition below of 5 "Events & Festivals" taking place in September and October. Again, no problem. despite there being 5 and not 10. Click underneath on "More Events" and just two more are added. Still not 10. So you click on "View All Events and Festivals". Now you have 17 Events through to 12-15 April and the Sukhothai Songkran Festival. Oddly one is the concert by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on 9 November where top price tickets will set you back Bt. 25,000! It would actually be cheaper for anyone wanting to hear that orchestra to fly to Taipei and hear them there a few days earlier where the top price is under US$250!

Yet if you avoid "Top 10 Attractions" and just head for "Events and Festivals", suddenly it's not 17. You discover there are really 25 Events and Festivals.

My point, though, is the listing goes through to April 15. Great! But no mention of one of Thailand's most famous Festival's Loy Krathong! Why not? And absolutely no mention of Songkran being a nationwide holiday event. Why list only Sukhothai?

Perhaps the info is included in the maps under "Destinations". Sure enough, there is a marker on Loei. Click on it. Nothing about the Ghost Festival. Same with Ubon. Click on it. The Candle Festival does not exist!

Surely the "Attractions" heading must list the local Festivals? Well, you first have to tell them what your dates are and the period of your travel. In total you have to complete 5 boxes, each of which gives you a selection to choose from. So you try Festivals or Local Festivals. Oops, sorry travellers. We don't have such a listing. So you don't fill in any box other than Destination. I tried Loei Province where the Dansai Ghost Festival takes place and added a keyword "ghost". The response? "NO RESULTS FOUND!" I did the same with Ubon and "Candle". Same response! I find this utterly incredible!

I was a consultant for a national tourist organisation for 18 months. Its website at that time was not much better - but that was 20 years ago. It quickly got up to speed and now it is relatively easy to find the information they want you to have and, as importantly, what you may want to know.

Incidentally, I tried and tried, but could find no information on its site about the new "Joyful Chantaburi" route!! Why keep everything so secret??

https://www.tourismthailand.org/home
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Re: TaT launches "Joyful Chantaburi" tourism route

Post by Gaybutton »

TaT is not exactly the world's greatest. I definitely agree with you on that.

For those interested in places to go in Thailand, especially off the beaten path places, the place to look is ChristianPFC's blog.

See: https://christianpfc.blogspot.com

Trongpai also often submits detailed posts about places to go in Thailand.

I need to get around to doing more traveling around in Thailand too. I'm getting that travel itch. Once dry season really kicks in, I'll probably hit the road - and maybe meet a boy or two along the way . . .
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