Checking in at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is about to get a bit weirder, not mention more unlucky. How is this possible, you ask? Well, airport management has decided to move twelve "demon statues" from the arrivals area to the check-in area.

Officially, the airport says they are moving the statues so that passengers can "appreciate the statues' beauty". But the real reason behind the move—which will cost them around $50,000 and take three months—is that shopkeepers in the arrivals area blame the statues for the bad luck which has plagued them since the airport opened, including the protests which closed the airport for more than a week last year.

So if you end up unlucky at the check-in counter, like with no good seats left on the plane or an excess baggage charge, then at least you will know that you can blame those demon statues for it.

Related Stories:
· Bangkok Airport Moves 'Unlucky' Demon Statues [The Age]
· Thai Airport Standoff Proves World Is Indeed Flat [Jaunted]
· Bangkok Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: antwerpenR]]]> amandak 2009-11-19T10:34:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/8/125154/4822

Most travelers accept that low-level graft, bribery, and off-the-books transactions are an unavoidable part of visiting certain foreign countries. Sure, the security guard in Zambia might suggest you give him a few kwacha to "buy a beer" if you want to gain access to a government ministry, or the border agent in Latvia may hint that a ten-euro note folded into your passport might help you make your ferry in Tallinn on time, but rarely does this chicanery rise to the level encountered by a number of tourists in Thailand recently. As the AP points out, the governments of several European countries have put out warnings to their nationals to be wary of a scam in Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport in which tourists browsing in the duty-free shop are falsely accused of shoplifting, and then shaken down by seedy intermediaries for sums of up to $10,000 or more to win their freedom. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-08-08T12:51:54-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/5/8561/36675

Note to self: never fly into Thailand's Koh Samui island during heavy tropical rainstorms. Way back in 1990, bad weather caused a Bangkok Air plane to crash into a coconut grove, killing all 37 people on board. Yesterday it was again a Bangkok Air plane that crashed on Koh Samui, but this time the only fatality was the pilot.

The flight, from resort island Krabi to the Koh Samui, another resort island, landed during heavy rains and failed to brake hard enough to stop the plane from skidding into an unused airport control tower.

Onboard were many tourists, including a British couple on their honeymoon who suffered injuries, yet only 7 of the 72 people on board needed to be transported to a hospital for treatment. Although the pilot died, the co-pilot survived with only leg injuries.

Related Stories:
· Life Fears Of Plane Crash Briton [BBC]
· Four Britons Hurt In Fatal Thai Air Crash [Times UK]
· Accidents Coverage [Jaunted]

[Video: ITN]]]> JetSetCD 2009-08-05T09:12:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/21/14356/0559

Don't touch that duty-free bottle of scotch just yet; you better intend to buy it lest airport security at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport catch you browsing and nab you for shoplifting. This is what happend to two UK travelers, who, shopping at the airport before their flight back to London, were hauled in by airport police and held in the jail until they withdrew and handed over £7,500 (approx $12,250) to clear their charges of stealing a wallet.

The details of their ordeal are the stuff of travel nightmares, as the couple, speaking to the BBC, said they were kept in "a hot, humid, smelly cell with graffiti and blood on the walls" with their passports taken away from them. After they withdrew all they could on one day for "bail," handed over to sketch interpreter working with the police, the couple was allowed to sleep in a motel while the police threatened to imprison them in the "infamous Bangkok Hilton prison" should they get any ideas. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-07-21T08:59:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/9/85717/55971

The very happy nation of Thailand joined the panda-monium craze this week as the Chiang Mai Zoo in Bangkok introduced the country’s first every baby panda. After six years of feverish attempts to mate their two adult pandas, including a mock wedding and widely circulated “panda porns” of the pair attempting to reproduce, the country finally became just the fourth in the world to ever breed a panda cub in captivity.

Eager Thais finally got to see the six-week-old cub this week, and the cuddly critter has proved so popular that there were more than 500,000 entries in a contest to name it, and the zoo is building a pricey new snow house for the happy new family.

But not everyone is psyched about the panda craze. Zookeepers in the elephant kraal have grown incensed that no one is stopping by to see their pachyderms—Thailand’s national animal—and in protest this week they took to watercolors and painted the elephants in panda garb. Hilarious, until Peta hears about it. Maybe they’d have more luck if they made some elephant porn?

Related Stories:
· Will this stop the pandamonium? [Daily Mail]
· Thai zoo's 1st baby panda goes on display [AP]
· How To Cuddle a Baby Panda [Jaunted]

[Photo: Reuters] ]]> BS 2009-07-09T12:24:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/27/115124/451

Last one in's a rotten egg! We're finding the best places in the world to stick our toes in this summer (or next winter) for our World's Coolest Pools map. Know of any pools we must check out? Let us know.

Sometimes it's the accessories that make the outfit, and this Thailand resort pool wouldn't be complete without the cabanas that have doubtless been the subject of many a turf war at this new property's shore. But to dip your toes in this beauty is worth a "Home Alone"-style booby trap or two. ]]> egw 2009-05-27T14:43:31-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/4/22/74419/9365

It's not just Japan where you can get a first class bus ride complete with tacky decorations. In Thailand, there's a whole system of government-run first class buses that will get you around the country in comfort and reasonably cheaply.

First class bus tickets include a meal, pillows and blankets, plus an attendant who'll wake you up when you arrive at your stop, letting you sleep as long as possible. As you can see, you probably will want to close your eyes to avoid staring too long at the frilly blue window treatments.

Apparently travel agencies will always try to book you onto expensive tourist buses, but the state-owned first class buses are a much better deal. Assuming it's safe to travel around Thailand, you can try to get info about the buses at the Transport Co. website – the English section doesn't seem to be working just now, but the music the site plays will get you in the mood for some Thai road travel.

Related Stories:
· Thai Transport Co. [Official Site]
· Pretty Seat Doilies Decorate the Limousine Airport Buses in Japan [Jaunted]
· Bangkok Protests Continue, Thailand Warnings Start Again [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Aficionado] ]]> amandak 2009-04-22T13:16:42-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/