Divers and operators can still dive at certain areas around dive sites located in the Pulau Tioman and Pulau Redang marine parks. Only some areas have been closed to protect the coral, said Reef Check Malaysia general manager Julian Hyde. Hyde said he had received many calls from divers and operators asking whether they would still be able to dive at their favorite dive sites around the islands.

Yesterday, the Malaysian newspaper "The Star" reported that several dive sites in Tioman and Redang were temporarily marked off-limits to divers until the end of October.

Marine Park Department director-general Abd Jamal Mydin said this was done to protect the coral reefs which had turned white, adding that the department would continue to monitor popular dive sites affected by coral bleaching. Hyde also said the reefs were being closely monitored by the department and the restricted areas could change subject to the health of the coral.

He said Reef Check was working with dive operators on the islands to identify sites that were more likely to withstand bleaching.

The Mekong Tourism Forum 2010, the two-day event, kicked started today at Angkor Century Resort & Spa in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The focus of the forum is on the benefits to tourism that occur from new road corridors opening up in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). The GMS countries include: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi. The theme set for the Forum is ‘New Roads, New Opportunities’ to identify the challenges and opportunities faced by tourism in the region. Leading tour operators, hotel companies, airlines and development organizations are participating at the Forum along with tourism officials.

Apart from the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism and Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), financial support for the Forum is being provided by the USAID-funded ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement (ACE) project. The two-day Forum will include panel discussions on Pioneering Mekong Tourism Products, The Path to Community-based Tourism, How Sustainable Tourism Can Drive Profit, and The Road Ahead.

Malaysia doesn’t look kindly on couples who are unmarried and are seen getting up, close and personal. More than 50 unmarried couples were arrested in Malaysia when various raids were conducted on hotels. According to Malaysian laws, these acts are punishable and looked down upon, very severely.

If the sexual misconducts are proved, then the couples in question might have to face jail-time of up to two years too. Apart from this, they might have to pay some fines too. The reports state that the couples were arrested from the budget hotels located in central Selangor on the night of December 31.

Our visit to Laos this time we planned the route from the capital Vientiane traveling northeast to Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos that was registered as world heritage in December 1995. It was praised as the best conserved world heritage place in the northeastern hemisphere of South East Asia. It is renowned for its numerous century old temples and for its location that situates where the river Khong and Kan converge amidst beautiful scenery. Besides the Luang Prabang town people are naturally friendly a great quality asset of the cultural heritage town.

Vientiane

We started our trip in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Many features in Vientiane are similar to Nongkhai town on the Thai side. The Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge over the Khong River links and brings the two cities closer via this more convenient way to cross over to one another. Vientiane has several places of interest that we went around for the first half morning.

That Luang is the most important stupa where a Buddha bone relic is in place for worship. This could be called the sacred center of worship by all Lao people. That Luang was build in 16th century the same period as the establishment of Vientiane.

Chittagong is the initial port of call for my first trip to Bangladesh. Thanks to the tales I had heard from my acquaintances, I was well prepared for the adventure. Chittagong is Bangladesh's second largest city after Dhaka, the country's capital. The name Chittagong refers to a small town 264 kilometers southeast of Dhaka, which serves as the country's most important industrial port and home to Bangladesh's only refinery. The country is flanked by the Karnaphuli River and the Bay of Bengal and borders with India to the north and west and Myanmar to the east.

One is greeted with curious stares from the big crowds that always take a special interest in foreigners. The streets are crammed with pedestrians and vehicles such as tricycles, baby-taxis (similar to our tuk-tuk's), buses, trucks, and other vehicles I not even start to describe what it would be... The deafening noise of car horns fills the air wherever you are. Reckless driving seems to be the norm for this city.

A week in Thailand, reading the news in Thailand, I see headlines like Thailand wants to attract tourists back to the Kingdom. Reading the news about Thailand, I read Thailand want no tourists to visit Thailand anymore.

For this I need to explain, we can read in Thai news sources that the Thai government plans to spent billions of Baht on tourist promotion, even touching the seemingly holy high tourist visa charges, Europeans, Americans and tourists from more upscale countries like USA, Swiss...etc.. can now apply for a tourist visa for free.

Also Thailand seems to spent millions if not billions in trying to cover up the fact that they where during a uprise a month or more ago on the state of anarchy . Tourists involved receive a official apology and where offered to come back to the land of smile, with some sort of incentive.

So lets look at the past week, and lets try to see what I mean with, Thailand want not tourist to visit Thailand. Our first headline is a British Tourist (Simon Burrowes), who was allowed to travel into Thailand. Traveling with valid British, European travel documents, which are maybe not seen common, but allowed by the UN agreement on travel documents. What was wrong with Mr. Brurrowes passport, his passport was displaying a person with his shoulders naked, something not allowed for Thai travel documents.

Thailand-Vietnam-Cambodia Golf Trail is fast becoming the worlds most talked about golf tour. Announced just 6 weeks ago by Indochina’s largest specialist golf travel operator, Golfasian, the golf trail makes it now possible for golf enthusiasts from around the world to play the premier courses in three of the fastest growing Asian Tiger countries.

Mark Siegel, Managing Director of Golfasian said, “The Thailand-Vietnam-Cambodia golf trail is especially popular in these credit crunch times. Not only is it now possible to golf at the best golf courses in 3 countries, but the trail costs are much more economical than other similar quality golf tours around the world.” Siegel went on to day, “Golfers can now enjoy premium golfing at? a fraction of the costs they have been accustomed to in the past.”

Participating golf courses on the trail include Thai Country Club in Bangkok, venue for Tiger Woods’ PGA win in 1997, the Montgomerie links Vietnam, Colin Montgomerie’s only golf course in Asia, and the Angkor Golf resort, a challenging Nick Faldo layout that has already received acclaim as the best golf course in Cambodia. In additional to golfing, the Thailand-Vietnam-Cambodia Golf Trail affords visitors the opportunity to visit several world heritage sights including, Ayutthaya in Thailand, Hoi An in Vietnam, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Two Canadian tourists stranded by Bangkok's airport closures were killed and a Briton seriously injured in a car crash as they rushed to catch a flight out of southern Thailand, police said on Tuesday.

Two Canadian men aged 63 and 48 were killed early on Monday morning in southern Surat Thani province, as they headed to Phuket international airport, while a British woman was also wounded in the crash.

'The van overturned and plunged into the roadside after it tried to avoid crashing with a car in front, which suddenly slammed on the brakes,' said Captain Charkrit Nima of the local police force.

Foreign governments were yesterday racing to evacuate tens of thousands of visitors stranded in Thailand as frustrations with the Thai authorities grew.

About 30,000 travelers have missed their flights each day since demonstrations forced the closure of the Thai capital's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport last Tuesday and the domestic hub Don Muang two days later. Since Friday, the U-Tapao naval base, 140km from Bangkok, has been the only way in or out of the country for stranded tourists.

'It's complete chaos and pandemonium,' said Ms Bonnie Chan, 29, from San Diego, California. 'We've been given incorrect information from the airlines. The US Embassy says they can't help us. The airlines keep giving us the run-around.' The situation has caused international concern. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith yesterday called it 'frustrating'.

As U.S. travelers rethink plans to seek medical care in Thailand, Bumrungrad Hospital has empty beds. Like many medical centers in Asia, Bangkok's Bumrungrad Hospital had big expectations for a global trend known as medical tourism. Administrators were especially eager to attract more patients from the U.S. keen on saving money by having hip replacements, cosmetic surgery, and other operations overseas.

For years, some of Asia's premier hospitals have been popular destinations for U.S. patients who either lack health insurance or can't get coverage for certain procedures. And recently there have been signs that insurance companies might start actively encouraging this trend to save on costs.

But Bumrungrad has been hit by a double whammy this year. First came the political unrest in Thailand, with anti-government protesters taking to the streets of Bangkok and constant rumors of a military coup. The prospect of instability seems to have discouraged would-be patients from making the trip.