BIGBANG & BOLLYWOOD IN BANGKOK!
Today 1st May is a public holiday in Thailand. It’s generally referred to as ‘Labour Day’ or ‘May Day’ & yesterday it was ’Pay Day’. Everyone in Thailand will be having a great party. The Thai people love to party. Any excuse for a party!
We have now got through the blistering heat of April which reached 41c+ on some days. Now it’s pleasantly cooler here in ’Peaceful Phayao’ which is great for me & I can get a good night’s sleep without my fan switched on. I can save on my electricity use. This is my personal contribution to helping us all save our beautiful planet ‘Grandmother Earth’:
http://www.tourismthailand.org/destination-guide/phayao-56-1-1.html
‘Walking For Thailand’ from 11th February to 15th December 1998.
Escati is celebrating with us the 10th Anniversary of our Walk For Thailand in 1998. We started ‘Walking For Thailand’ on Wednesday 11th February at the Thai Immigration checkpoint at Padang Besar, at the border with Malaysia, at 11.00 hrs. During the next 9 months we were travelling for 225 days and we walked 3,063 kms through 32 provinces in 98 walking days. We finished our walk in Phitsanulok on 15th December at 18.00 hrs. We had a cash budget, exclusively sponsored by Escati, of Baht 350,000 & we arrived in Phitsanulok with Baht 2,000 left. We walked an average of 31.25 kms per day in one of Thailand’s driest & hottest summers. We never got very wet, but nearly got drenched in a flash thunderstorm when we were approaching Ratchaburi and a Thai truck driver kindly came to our rescue and we joined him in his driving cab whilst he had a break on the hard shoulder of the highway. It rained ‘cats & dogs’ for 1 hour. Then we continued walking to Ratchaburi.
I walked 375 kms from Padang Besar to Krabi Town on my own and arrived on 28th March at 19.00 hrs. While I was resting for 6 days at the ‘Thai Hotel’ (Baht240), I met Boonchai Jinapirom (William) at the coffee shop at ‘Happy Tour’ on the riverfront. William had seen me ‘Walking For Thailand’ on TV. We became great friends & he told me that he had been a Thai Buddhist Monk for 12 years & had recently left the Monkhood to return to civilian life. He had walked the forests in the north of Thailand, Teaching the forest people about The Lord Buddha and living with them in the forest. He told me that I needed a Companion, a Protector and an Interpreter, as my Thai was no good. He totally supported my beliefs for the future prosperity of the Kingdom of Thailand and for the continuing success of the Thai People. He told me he wanted to join me ‘Walking For Thailand’. I was absolutely delighted to have him join me. We were now a Team and we left Krabi Town on 6th March at 06.00 hrs ‘Walking For Thailand’ together, on our way to Phuket Town. We arrived at the ‘Thavorn Hotel’ (Baht330) in Phuket Town on 15th March at 21.00 hrs. We were very tired after walking 230 kms from Krabi for William and 605 kms from Padang Besar for me. We were now on our way ‘Walking For Thailand’ and we were both totally committed to making a great success of our walk as we headed towards our next goal to arrive at Don Muang Village adjacent to the International Airport in Bangkok before the end of May.
Tues, 5th May 1998 we were resting at the ‘Suk Sant Hotel’ (Baht270) overlooking the beach road and the bay at Prachuap Khiri Khan, which is 855 kms from Krabi Town and 1,230 kms from Pedang Besar. We had arrived at the hotel at 21.00 hrs the previous evening, having walked 44 kms from Thap Sakae in 15 hours. We had literally crawled into Prachuap Khiri Khan very tired and we really welcomed the hotel bed. These long daily distances are a real challenge. See ‘Our 1998 Walk Experiences & Publicity’ at the top of the page on our Escati website below for my ‘personal insights’ of our Walk For Thailand and the wonderful welcome and hospitality we received from all the Thai People:
http://www.walking-in-thailand.com
Wed & Thurs, 6th/7th May 1998 we walked early to the Bata shoe shop and bought 2 new pairs of ‘power shoes’ for Baht 499 each. My first pair of Bata ‘power shoes’ lasted from Padang Besar to Phuket Town (605 kms) and my second pair from Phuket Town to Prachuap Khiri Khan (625 kms) plus all the walking we did exploring each place we stayed at during our Walk For Thailand. Then we rented a motorcyle for 30 hours (Baht 200) & explored the whole area. We walked up the steps, past the monkeys, to the Temple on top of the hill with it’s magnificent views of the narrow section of Thailand in the southern distance. William said to me “We walked from beyond the horizon in the south to here.” I replied, “We still have several horizons to walk until we reach the ‘Top of Thailand’ at Mae Sai. We both laughed as we were really looking forward to this wonderful adventure ahead of us ’Walking For Thailand’. Prachuap Khiri Khan is the perfect Thai beach resort for your next memorable & relaxing holiday. I plan to rent an apartment close to the beach & the town centre in November 2008 to Escape from the four cold winter months from mid November in Phayao:
http://www.tourismthailand.org/destination-guide/prachuapkhirikhan-77-1-1.html
Fri, 8th May 1998 we left the ‘Suk Sant Hotel’ at dawn and walked to the Petchasem Road and highway 4 going north to Hua Hin. It was a lovely clear day and the Thai countryside was spectacular with all the trees in blossom especially the flame trees. We always walk on the right hand side (RHS) of the road facing the oncoming traffic and it was 32 kms ‘Walking For Thailand’ to Kui Buri. We arrived at 17.30 hrs after a lovely walk and meeting many Thai people. We stayed the night at the ‘Kui Buri Inn’ (Baht180) & met lots more people in the evening. Tomorrow we only have 28 kms to walk, so it will be a stroll! We are really looking forward to arriving at Hua Hin on Sun, 10th May 1998…
http://www.escati.com/walking_for_thailand.htm
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To celebrate this 10th Anniversary of ’Walking For Thailand’ our 1998 Walk Sponsors Escati, are now supporting and promoting on their Escati website these two major International Events in Bangkok from 6th to 8th June, 2008:
Bigbang’s ‘Global Warning Tour Live in Bangkok’ is on 7th June at the Indoor Stadium at Hua Mark:
http://www.bigbangthailand.com
Thailand is set to be dazzled by a glittering array of Indian Stars in June as the country plays host to the ‘International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards’. The 9th IIFA Awards begin on 6th June with the Thai fans of Indian movies & Indians living here, witnessing the first ‘Bollywood Premiere in Thailand’, when ‘Sakar Raj’, featuring the entire Bachchan family, opens at the Siam Niramit Theatre at Siam Paragon. It will be a Thai ‘Green Carpet Welcome’:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/070508_Outlook/07May2008_out001.php
The IIFA’s Weekend Bangkok, with the theme “Amazing IIFA, Amazing Thailand” is scheduled to run from 6th June to 8th June, with the Final Awards being given out on the night of 8th June. This ‘Bollywood Event’ will create more positive & successful business links through the ‘India Chamber of Commerce’ in Calcutta:
The two way Tourism links will also be greatly expanded and this will be the beginning of a much stronger international trading relationship between Thailand and India:
http://www.incredibleindia.org
Join us and ‘Escape to Thailand’ & get yourself to Bangkok by 5th June. You can book your hotel or guest house in Thailand with Wotif.com who sell the best accommodation online in more than 40 countries:
When all the accomodation in Bangkok is full, then you will be invited to join the Thai people & party with them in this wonderful ‘Land of Happy Smiles’.
Escati has great pleasure in promoting ’Jet Airways’ on this, our exclusive ’Thailand & India Promotion’, as our way of saying a special thank you to all our friends & business associates in India for your respect & friendship & we look forward to visiting you all in India often:
Yours truly
The Walking Man