Surat Thani gears up for lent extravaganza

Surat Thani is preparing for the big celebration of the end of Buddhist Lent next month with three festivals combined into one merit-making ceremony in town. The budget for the nine-day event will be 25 million baht, according to Theerakit Wangmuthitakul, the newly-elected mayor \"We want the event to be grand because we want people to remember us and think of Surat Thani when it is the final day of the Buddhist Lent, the same way people relate Ubon Ratchathani and its candle festival with the first day of the Buddhist Lent,\" he said. This year the last day of Buddhist Lent falls on Oct 30. The mayor plans to bring back a traditional ceremony called phum phansa in which Buddhists will decorate a tree in front of their houses with items they want to offer to monks such as a saffron robe, dried food and things used in daily life. \"We will build a 10 metre artificial bodi tree in front of the City Pillar Shrine for people to hang things they want to offer to monks. There will also be 1,000 artificial trees along the street that leads to the shrine to mark the ceremony,\" Theerakit said. In addition, there will be chak phra procession, with Buddha images carried on elaborately decorated vehicles and floats pulled by the locals on land and water as a blessing. \"We expect to have more than 100 temples joining the procession, which will allow people to make merit to 100 temples within a day,\" he said. Last is a longboat race on the Tapi River. The mayor expects to attract more than 100,000 visitors during the ceremony, which will be held on Oct 27-Nov 4. Hotels update - Centara Hotels & Resorts will open its first four-star hotel in Mauritius. Called Centara Poste Lafayette Resort & Spa Mauritius, the hotel is located at Poste Lafayette on the northeast coast of the Indian Ocean island, about an hour\'s drive from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. Scheduled to open this December, it will offer 100 rooms, a restaurants, bar, spa, swimming pool, fitness centre and children\'s club. - Tune Hotel Asoke has opened on Sukhumvit Soi 14. Owned and operated under a franchise agreement by Red Planet Hotels, the hotel features 130 rooms including two for the disabled. The starting rate is less than 1,000 baht, excluding VAT and extra charges. Guests can chose to use and pay for options which range from 12 or 24 hour air-conditioning and television to towels, toiletries, breakfast and in-room wi-fi. The Tune Hotel Asoke is the third of its kind in Thailand after Hat Yai and Pattaya. The fourth will be open in Phuket in December. Airlines update nBangkok Airways is offering 5% discount on airfares to Thai senior citizens and the disabled. According to the airline\'s vice president Ariya Prasarttong-Osoth, the aim is to encourage senior citizens and the disabled to travel. The special offer only applies to domestic routes and is valid for travelling until April 30, 2013. Meanwhile, Bangkok Airways recently teamed up with Major Cineplex Group to launch three cinemas at Siam Paragon. Called \'Bangkok Airways Blue Ribbon Screen\', the cinemas accommodate 32, 38 and 72 seats accordingly, with a lounge facility replicating its Blue Ribbon Club Lounge at the airport. To promote the new movie facility, Bangkok Airways will hold a monthly luck draw for those who purchase a ticket from now until the end of December to be able to win two return tickets between Bangkok-Maldives, Bangkok-Siem Reap, Bangkok-Luang Prabang and Bangkok-Vientiane. - Thai AirAsia has introduced cruise tickets to connect its passengers to popular islands in the South. Airline CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said the idea of the \'Thailand Island Transfer\' service was to offer a one-stop service for travellers looking for a simple, economical and convenient way to the southern islands. Tickets are available on board flights to Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Hat Yai or via www.airasia.com for booking a cruise ticket to Samui, Phangan, Phi Phi, Lanta and Lipe islands. The airline will also join hands with local partners to start transfers to Samui, Phangan and Phi Phi islands on Oct 15 and to Lanta and Lipe islands on Nov 1. From bangkokpost