TRAVEL & TOURISM
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Amari Watergate presents donation to Baan Gerda

Freeloading railway bedbugs to be ‘outta Dodge’ before Songkran


Amari Watergate presents donation to Baan Gerda

Karl Morsbach (standing 5th from left) receives the donation from Pierre Andre Pelletier (standing4th left) and Michael Kordys, President BMW Group Thailand (standing center) surrounded by other Amari staff members and children from Baan Gerda.

Mr. Karl Morsbach, Chairman and founder of the Baan Gerda Project recently received a donation cheque for 1.5 million baht from Mr. Pierre Andre Pelletier, General Manager of the Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok.
The funds were part of the 3.35 million baht raised from the “10th Amari Watergate & BMW Group Thailand Midnight Run” and the “11th Aerobic Marathon on Aids” to support the HIV orphanage in Lopburi Province. The other 1.85 million baht has been donated through HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to support the Chalerm Prakiat School in Lumpoon Provice.


Freeloading railway bedbugs to be ‘outta Dodge’ before Songkran

Thailand’s rail services are busily issuing free one-way tickets to undersized non-fare-paying passengers whose nocturnal eating habits were becoming increasingly irritating to many larger passengers.
According to Thailand’s Minister of Transport Santi Prompat, the blood-sucking bedbugs are being shown the door to bedbug heaven, so that the kingdom’s railways will be bedbug-free before this month’s Songkran Festival. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is cleaning carriages that were infested by the pest.
The SRT authorities recently suspended 10 express train services running between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Yala and Surat Thani provinces to intensify a two- week campaign designed to eliminate the pesky passengers.
The non-fare-paying hitchhikers ‘bugged’ numbers of passengers who complained about the nocturnal insects - members of the family Cimicidae that live by hematophagy, that is by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts.
Thailand’s understandably indignant fare-paying passengers demanded that state transport authorities clean up the bug-infested carriages.
Mr. Santi said all the carriages on 10 complete passenger trains were in the process of being cleaned with chemicals and high-powered hot water spray to kill the bedbugs.
Two complete railway routes had already finished changing all seats from velvet coverings to leatherette and had resumed services from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani and Chiang Mai.
The rest would be ready to run again after complete the cleaning process, he said, adding that he was confident that the trains could resume full service before Songkran Festival holiday which starts this weekend.
The minister also attempted to convince passengers who planned to use rail services to travel home during the Songkran holiday that all trains would be bedbug-free and that they could travel with comfort during the coming hot season water festival. (TNA)