Tourists Enjoy Chilly Northern, Northeastern Thailand

CHIANG MAI, Oct 25 (TNA) - A large number of tourists are visiting several northern and northeastern provinces of Thailand to spend their three-day long holidays and to admire the natural beauty of the scenery while temperatures in the regions have dropped considerably, officials said Sunday. Tourists before dawn Sunday travelled atop Doi Inthanon National Park in the northern capital province of Chiang Mai as the temperature dropped to about 10 Celsius and viewed the sea of fog and the sun rises. They also had an opportunity to see beautiful flowers which usually bloom in winter. Officials at Doi Inthanon National Park said that more than 20,000 tourists are expected to visit the mountain which has its peak highest in Thailand. About 90 per cent of the visitors are local people. The meteorological office in the North has announced that upper northern Thailand would experience cool weather from China along with thick fog in several areas during this week. A large number of tourists also visited tourist attractions in lower northern provinces of Phitsanulok and Phetchabun as the temperature in the early morning dropped to between 18 – 20 Celsius. Officials said that hotel rooms and bungalows are fully booked until the end of December but tents are available and could accommodate a maximum of 500 persons. Thai and foreign tourists are also seen in the northeastern province of Buri Ram and visited Phanom Rung historical park and Prasat Muang Tam which were built during the Khmer Empire. About 5,000 tourists are estimated to visit the two major attractions a day during the three-day holidays, an increase of about double from weekdays. Officials said that they believe a large number of tourists would continue to visit Buri Ram until the New Year’s festival because of the cool weather. More than 500,000 tourists visited Phanom Rung historical park in 2014, they said.(TNA)