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Phrae, Thailand

General Information An old and important community of Northern Thailand, Phrae was founded after Chiang Mai had been established as the capital of the Lanna Thai kingdom. With one of the largest reserves of teak forests in the country, it is located on the banks of the Yom River, 555 kilometres from Bangkok.

Covering an area about 6,538 square kilometres and surrounded on all sides by mountains with level plains in the middle, Phrae is administratively divided into the following districts: Mueang, Sung Men, Den Chai, Long, Wang Chin, Song, Rong Kwang and Nong Muang Khai.

How to get there
Car
From Bangkok, take Highway No. 1 and Highway No. 11 to Phrae via Nakhon Sawan, Phichit, Phitsanulok and Uttaradit.

Bus
Transport Co. Ltd. operates regular buses to Phrae at 10 a.m. and 10.30 p.m.. The buses leave Mochit 2 Bus Terminal everyday. For more information, call 0 2936 2852-66 or visit www.transport.co.th. Private bus companies are such as Choet Chai Tour; Tel: 0 2936 0199, Phrae Tour, Tel: 0 2936 3720, Sombat Tour, Tel: 0 2936 2496.

Air
Thai Airways flies directly from Bangkok to Phrae on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and also operates Bangkok-Phitsanulok-Phra-Nan flights on other days. Call 1566 or visit www.thaiairways.com for more information.

Festivals
Kin Salak Fair
The Kin Salak Fair is an old Buddhist merit-making event. Villagers prepare offerings and carry them in procession to present to the monks. The fair is held around September yearly.

Phra That Cho Hae Fair
The Phra That Cho Hae Fair, held in around March, involves a procession to carry robes to cover the Chedi. The procession follows the Lanna style. All participants are decked out in traditional Lanna attires.


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2 cities in Malaysia are now Unesco Heritage Sites

Malacca and Penang rejoiced as they celebrate the inscription of their state capitals as World Heritage Sites.
Malacca:
The World Heritage Site covers:
> St Paul’s Hill civic zone with St Paul’s Church, Porta de Santiago (A Famosa) fortress and Stadhuys complex,
> Residential and commercial areas of Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street), Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Walk) and adjacent streets, including Harmony Street, and
> The Malacca River.
Penang:
The site here covers:
> Waterfront district including the Esplanade and harbour area, Fort Cornwallis, Weld Quay and Beach Street,
> Historical commercial centre, including the “ethnic streets” like Bishop Street and Church Street (Eurasions), China Street (Chinese, and Market and Chulia Streets (Indians), and Little India,
> The guilds and trades precinct including Chulia, Muntri, Leith and adjacent streets,
> Mosque and wakaf enclave of Acheen Street and Kapitan Keling mosques
> Chinese clans enclave with the Khoo, Cheah, Tan, Lim, Yap and Yeoh clan or kongsi houses

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Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island Documentary


Abu Dhabi The Capital of United Arab Emirates. Occupy the largest land mass in United Arab Emirates with some islands along the Arabian Gulf sea.

Saadiyat Island is a unique island which will be developed and turn into the Art and culture Centre and main tourists attractions. Hope the documentary will enlight more details.

More from below:Documentary tells story of Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat

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Visit Korea app for Iphone and Android

Check out KNTO

I have not been checking KNTO site for a while now and was delighted to find a brilliant app from them for iphone and android smart phone users! It is basically the entire KNTO website in a mobile format. ^^

If you are an iphone user, download 'Visit Korea' from your AppStore or 'KTO' for google android user . This is how the icon looks like after the installation.


Picture courtesy of KNTO

Note: You must be connected to internet to access this app.
If you are travelling mainly around Seoul, to grab a free wi-fi signal is rather easy. There are many public places which offer FREE wi-fi.

The download was a breeze and I could find several vital and helpful points from the app, namely:
  • weather forecast - which is quite important as it's pretty unpredictable but not necessarily accurate either
  • exchange rates
  • latest events in Korea
  • helpful contacts
  • promotions and etc.
By the way, I also found Travel Tip: Great Korean Apps  by qiranger which you might want to install as well.

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