By Barry Kenyon

[Gaybutton]

Thais are the largest group of tourists entering Cambodia right now

By Barry Kenyon

June 18, 2023

Figures produced by the Cambodian tourist authority reveal that Thais remain the biggest tourist market in the Khmer kingdom. In the first quarter, 570,000 Thais were stamped in by land and air, 285,000 Vietnamese and then 184,000 Chinese nationals. The total admitted from all countries to Cambodia was 1.72 million, a 600 percent improvement on the same period in 2022.

Although there are regular flights from China, the huge Chinese market of the pre-covid era has yet to flower. Cambodian tourist minister Thong Khon said that more flights from China were expected and that his aim was to see at least 4 million global arrivals in the whole of 2023. Observers say that there are several reasons for the slowness of the Chinese revival including a downtown in the Chinese economy, a rise in the prices of inclusive foreign holidays, particularly airfares, and delays in the issuing of new five-year passports many of which expired during the covid era.

Cambodian authorities are banking on the popularity of the kingdom zooming upwards once the two new airports open – one 50 kms from Siem Reap scheduled to receive traffic from October 2023 and one 20 km from Phnom Penh which will be completed before the end of 2024. These expanded airports will be able to handle wide-body jets from worldwide destinations. The historical need for long-distance air passengers to transit, usually in Bangkok, has traditionally been a limiting factor for Cambodian international tourism.

Thai citizens are also currently the largest tourist segment in both Laos and Myanmar. Indeed, 70 percent of all arrivals in Myanmar are Thai nationals, reflecting the wordwide unpopularity of the Burmese junta which took control in a coup in February 2021. But Thais are not discouraged by Bangkok authorities from visiting Myanmar and there have been regular advertisements promoting the wonders of Myanmar on some Thai TV channels.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... now-433922

[Gaybutton]

I wouldn't be surprised if by the time they actually get anything done, monorails, motorbikes, cars, and maybe even money will have become obsolete and faded into forgotten history. Or maybe I'm being too optimistic about how long it will take . . .

Those of us who live in Pattaya remember what we endured during the construction of the Sukhumvit tunnel at Pattaya Klang. It was going to relieve traffic problems. As far as I can tell, it has relieved nothing, should have been a bridge, and was built at the wrong location in the first place. The only thing that has significantly reduced traffic problems is the absence of all those Chinese tour buses. If they ever return in droves, heaven help us. I hope the powers-that-be won't allow that to happen again. They have to commute on the same roads the rest of us do, don't they?
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Pattaya monorail project still faces hurdles

By Barry Kenyon

June 23, 2023

Rather like the ghosts in A Christmas Carol, the much anticipated Pattaya monorail project continues to haunt the city’s transport plans. A meeting on June 21, chaired by Pattaya deputy mayor Manote Nongyai, announced yet again a detailed plan to link Pattaya rail station to Bali Hai pier to facilitate the transfer of train tourists once the new hi-speed train from Bangkok to U-Tapao airport is completed. Whenever that proves to be.

Over the past 10 years there have been aspirations to improve the city’s transportation system as the main roads have become increasingly clogged, especially at weekends. Two years ago there was a surge of interest in a cable car project along beach road, submitted by an enterprising Swiss company, but it failed to gain traction with PPP funders (Public and Private Partnership). A public meeting doubted passengers would be happy being chauffeured aloft in small boxes.

Alternative suggestions have promoted trams and railways, both requiring tracks, which would create innumerable problems in an overcrowded city. Not to mention legal disputes as wide stretches of land would be demolished under wildly unpopular compulsory purchase orders. A monorail solution, requiring minimal space vertically and horizontally, would largely bypass such problems (although land appropriation would still be necessary at station locations) even though initial erection costs would be high. The City Hall assessment is 26 billion baht, likely an undershoot.

There is a mountain of detail still to clear. The new Thai Cabinet, once installed, would need to sign off on the proposal and an environmental impact assessment has to be cleared. A major share of the funding would have to come from the international macro-funders of the Eastern Economic Corridor who have already paid for multiple local projects including motorways, beach replenishments and pier reconstruction. Technologically, no decisions have yet been taken about whether the monorail would be propulsion or magnetic based.

City Hall also announced three other monorail projects to connect the central areas with outlying districts, mostly scheduled for completion in the 2030s. The need for solutions to ease Pattaya’s traffic congestion is obvious. The Pattaya railway station – Bali Hai monorail will only help once the Bangkok to U-tapao hi speed railway is up and running. Getting the two projects to go hand in hand is a difficult feat. And one far from resolved.

https://www.pattayamail.com/news/pattay ... les-434362

[Jun]

Over the past 10 years there have been aspirations to improve the city’s transportation system as the main roads have become increasingly clogged, especially at weekends.

They could try some really simple proven stuff. e.g Replace the baht buses with a proper bus network and have some bus lanes.
Buses work in most cities of thee world, but somehow in Thailand, Bangkok is the only city with a proper bus network
Better still, close some roads to cars. Nothing fixes congestion better than banning traffic.

Alternative suggestions have promoted trams and railways, both requiring tracks, which would create innumerable problems in an overcrowded city. Not to mention legal disputes as wide stretches of land would be demolished under wildly unpopular compulsory purchase orders. A monorail solution, requiring minimal space vertically and horizontally, would largely bypass such problems (although land appropriation would still be necessary at station locations) even though initial erection costs would be high. The City Hall assessment is 26 billion baht, likely an undershoot.

This is bullshit. They could build tram lines on the existing roads. Close parts of it off from traffic and put trams in instead.
That's a solution proven in other countries.
Whist they're waiting for the high speed rail project, put in a park & ride car park near the end of the line. Also make sure a line runs right next to the northern and Jomtien bus stations.
Then take some steps to discourage traffic. e.g Enforce parking charges or even charging for road use. Charging for road use was already implemented in one current ASEAN country back when I was in school, so it's nothing new.

The only area where routing a tram might be challenging is between Pattaya south road and the start of the hill up to Jomtien. They could simply close the road to traffic or make it one way.

Or make some compulsory purchases. Land purchase never seems to be a problem for road construction.

The need for solutions to ease Pattaya’s traffic congestion is obvious.

The need is obvious, but they still can't bring themselves to implement policies which are proven to work elsewhere.

The Pattaya railway station – Bali Hai monorail will only help once the Bangkok to U-tapao hi speed railway is up and running. Getting the two projects to go hand in hand is a difficult feat.

I bet they even fail to put the monorail or tram line right next to the high speed rail station.
The target should be to step off the train, go down one set of escalators, through a ticket barrier and walk straight onto the tram platform.
If we look at the way it's going elsewhere in Thailand, the train station will be about half a mile long so someone gets a big construction contract. Then they will apply zero common sense to design, so the passengers will be walking about half a mile to make the connection. Which increases overall journey times and discourages people from using public transport.

NBT has artists impressions of a monorail. This is far further off the ground than necessary or optimum.

To fix the transport problems, there is no need to be clever or innovative. Just copy the best of what works elsewhere.

[thewayhelooks]

"They could build tram lines on the existing roads." Oh really? Except that they are always being dug up, year after year after year. That will never stop in our lifetimes. Monorails? Sooner or later you have to come down out of the sky and trudge through the floodwaters.

[Jun]

NBT reports that 80% of residents prefer the monorail solution.

However, as Thailand has no trams, only people who have been abroad will have experienced a modern tram system. So don't expect good decision making.

Thais also seem to like these ridiculously oversized construction projects, but perhaps they should take into account that the excess size increases the cost of the service and also slows down the travel, due to all the unnecessary walking.

The trams have the advantage of being very convenient, with no need to waste time climbing steps to board the tram.
Secondly, they should be far cheaper and faster to install, therefore allowing for competitive fares.

There is a disadvantage of occasionally having to cross the traffic, but if they always give trams priority and take significant measures to discourage car use, this should be a very minor issue. In the last 10 days, I visited 3 different European cities, all with tram networks that worked perfectly well. The trams were so good that there was far less traffic on the road than is normal in Thailand.
One smaller city had a population of 500,000 and a 113 km tram network. I'm not sure what the population of Pattaya is, but by the time you add in all the tourists, it has to be in the same ballpark.

I still prefer to take my holidays in Thailand, but public transport is one area where Thailand lags.

[Gaybutton]

So don't expect good decision making.

Why not? There's always a first time . . .

[Gaybutton]

Myanmar foreign tourist numbers picking up again

By Barry Kenyon

June 26, 2023

After the tourist slump created by the coronavirus pandemic and the February 2021 military coup, international arrivals in Myanmar are showing big increases. In the fiscal year 2022-23 (ending in late March), 367,368 foreigners mostly with tourist visas entered the country, an increase of 187 percent over the previous year.

Junta spokesman U Hla Myint said 13.15 percent or around 48,000 of the arrivals were Chinese nationals, but an encouraging feature was the growth in numbers from India, Russia and the Middle East. Travel agents say that Europeans, Americans and Japanese have mostly kept away on the advice of their governments as parts of the country are gripped by civil war and a lack of human rights.

U Tin Zaw Thein, a director from the hotels and tourism ministry, said there was no disorder in the areas which tourists visited to enjoy cultural attractions such as visiting ancient pagodas in Bagan or enjoying leg-rowing in Inle lake. Inbound tourists must land by air in the largest city Yangon and immigration procedures have recently been simplified. For example, a separate medical insurance policy is no longer required for foreigners who are fully vaccinated.

Myanmar authorities have pushed hard to promote foreign tourism since the pandemic faded. Foreign language courses for hotel staff have been launched and the country has been represented at several travel fairs at home and abroad. TV videos promoting temples and cultural sites have been produced for countries willing to allow the junta air time.

Prior to the pandemic, Myanmar enjoyed 4 million plus tourists a year. They were mostly Australian and European culture vultures in small groups, paying for escorted holidays to exotic locations. This market has completely disappeared and is unlikely to return any time soon. The common western view is that foreigners should avoid visiting Myanmar to deprive the military junta of funds. However, the alternative opinion is that international tourism provides sorely needed jobs and income to poverty-stricken Myanmar nationals.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ain-434563

[Gaybutton]

The common western view is that foreigners should avoid visiting Myanmar to deprive the military junta of funds. However, the alternative opinion is that international tourism provides sorely needed jobs and income to poverty-stricken Myanmar nationals.

In other words, damned if you do, damned if you don't.

For me it's going to be damned if you don't. I'm truly sympathetic to the plight of the poor, but I'm not about to see a single baht of my money going into the coffers of that government.

[Jun]

For me it's going to be damned if you don't. I'm truly sympathetic to the plight of the poor, but I'm not about to see a single baht of my money going into the coffers of that government.

I quite enjoyed going to Myanmar, on my 2 previous trips. Particularly the boys in Yangon, although riding around the temples of Bagan on an electric scooter was almost as good.

However, for a third trip, before I even think of the moral and ethical issues, it's firstly necessary to consider practical issues.

Problems:
1 I think the foreign office do not recommend travel, so standard insurance policies would not be valid.
2 Personal safety in a country with unrest

Questions:
3 Are services that I need still operating at a good level ?
(i) Good quality food and good coffee shops were relatively rare. I note tourist numbers are down 90%, so what survives ?
(ii) An internet connection & access to apps was essential for dating
(iii) Where could I travel outside of Yangon ?

Only after all of that is answered do I need to spend time thinking about the ethical considerations. No trip planned any time soon.

[Gaybutton]

I think the foreign office do not recommend travel, so standard insurance policies would not be valid.

For me, it's just not worth the bother or the risk, but if I truly wanted to go I definitely would check with my medical insurance company to be sure I would be covered and if there are any restrictions or recommendations as to which hospitals to go to. I can't think of anything I particularly want to see and do in Myanmar that I can't see or do in Thailand. Maybe a few sites would be interesting, but for me not enough to want to make the trip. Maybe if they get rid of that government I would change my mind - emphasis on maybe.

Speaking only for myself, if it turns out my insurance would not cover me in Myanmar, I absolutely would not go. That would make it entirely out of the question. I still have never been to Cambodia or Vietnam. Both would be priority trips for me before even thinking about Myanmar.