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Thailand’s New Year Countdown celebrations

Thais know how to party. Some might say at the drop of a hat. A party brings out the best in national identity – a broad genuine Thai smile. So should we be surprised that Thailand is a favoured venue to celebrate New Yearω This is the land of smiles and “sanook”.

Whether the countdown is in Bangkok, Phuket or a far northern destination, the celebrations will carry the hallmarks of fun and genuine hospitality that make the country such a rewarding destination to visit.

Of course, Bangkok has a mission to fulfill. It aspires to make its 2010 New Year Countdown a mega-celebration, on par with the biggest and brightest in Asia Pacific.
The spotlight is on the “Hands Bangkok Countdown”, where more than 200,000 New Year party goers will mingle in the downtown CentralWorld Square. Festivities begin 21 December and culminate in the countdown on New Year’s Eve extending through New Year’s Day.
Concerts and live on-stage performances, the informal atmosphere of beer gardens and light and sound shows support a theme of peace and joining hands across a multitude of cultures and races.
According to the organisers, joining hands will bring people together -- lovers, friends and families -- to celebrate the hopes and destiny of a New Year.
A gigantic screen will allow party goers to view the countdown celebrations in countries in the same time zone, while a giant 21 metre-high Greeting Ball Tower, with a three-metre diameter LCD orb-screen will create bursts of stunning display of light, colour, sound and movement at minute intervals over the party scene, until the countdown begins and the fireworks light up the sky.

There are two other official locations for New Year celebrations.
The National Stadium, just 2 km from CentralWorld Square on the city’s Skytrain route, will be packed to capacity as residents and tourists enjoy an evening of musical concerts, variety show performances organised by GMM Grammy Records and Channel 9. TV stars will turn out to entertain the crowd, while a huge screen will show nation-wide countdown celebrations as the minutes tick by.

A more traditional Thai celebration will underscore activities at the city’s Sanam Luang, with the famed temple roofs and spires in the Grand Palace courtyards providing the backdrop. Crowds will gather on the historic spacious parade ground, facing Thammasat University, to enjoy classical dance performances, folk songs from the various provinces and musical concerts for an older generation of city residents.
As the countdown celebrations get underway, firework displays along the banks of the nearby Chao Phraya River will illuminate the sky.

For More Information : Please call 1672
or Events Planning Division, TAT Tel. 66 (0) 2250 5500 ext 3465-3468

Information by Tourism Thailand Organization

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The 6th Chantaburi World Gem Show 2009

Gems on display in Chantaburi
Home of the country’s gem mining, Chantaburi provinces highlights its gems and jewellery industry in a World Gem Show, 9 to 13 December.Gem lovers recognise Chantaburi province as a key source of quality stones and also a province rich in the skills required to craft customised jewellery.

The 6th Chantaburi World Gem Show 2009 will take place in the province from 9 to 13 December at a site right next to the provincial town’s KP Grand Hotel.
Backers are: Chantaburi province; Chantaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation; Chantaburi Gem and Jewellery Trader; the Office of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Promotion and Chantaburi Tourism Association.

The objective is to promote tourism, improve knowledge of the province’s lucrative gems and jewellery business and help financial recovery in a business sector that relies heavily on tourists visiting the province.
Well over 50 local gems and jewellery wholesalers and factories will join the World Gem Show. It will be held at Chantaburi Gem and Jewellery Traders Association, next to KP Grand Hotel.
Visitors can shop for handicrafts at the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) pavilion, taste Chantaburi’s “Clean Food Good Taste” dishes, enjoy a mini concert, and join sightseeing tours to an old style community that occupies the town’s river banks. There is also a gemstone walking street and a free gem tour available at 0930 and 1300.

The province is one of the country’s main centres of gemstone mining especially for rubies and sapphires. Most of the mines are open cast where high powered water jets are used to expose and separate the precious stones from rock and clay.
In addition to its gem industry that has thrived for more than 100 years, the province is famous for its rubber plantations, fruit orchards and an array of coastal tourist resorts. It lies east of Rayong province and is easily visited from Pattaya on day trips that feature a gem mine and the opportunity to watch artisans craft gems into costume jewellery. The tours usually visit a rubber plantation and fruit orchards returning to Pattaya in the late evening.

Thai visitors recognise the province for its quality tropical fruits and certainly the king of all fruit, the durian, is considered in a class of its own with the province notching up an annual production exceeding 400,000 tons, or approximately 25% of the world’s duri
Located about 245 km from Bangkok, the southern part of the province touches the Gulf of Thailand’s with its attractive beaches and a variety of dive spots near off-shore islands. But it is also a province of natural beauty with heavily forested mountain ranges rising to almost 1,600 at the highest peak of Soi Dao Nua further inland from the coastal towns.

Contact :
Chanthaburi Gem and Jewelry Traders Association Chanthaburi
Tel : 66 (0) 3930 3118-9 Fax : 66 (0) 3930 3100
Website : www.cga.or.th
Email : info@cga.or.th

Information by Tourism Thailand Organization

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