Dancing with sea creatures

The show, 'Colour of the Ocean', will be the highlight aiming to attract more visitors to the zoo during the high season, according to Thanapat Pongpamorn, the zoo's director. The underwater performance has been organised for the fourth year with a specific theme for each year, including Underwater Dancing in 2009, Phra Suthon-Nang Manohra in 2010 and Under Waterland in 2011. The performers for this year's show are Veranika Tsishchanka, who is a synchronised swimming champion from the Republic of Belarus, and Nadya Zarubina who is also a synchronised swimming medallist. They will wear mermaid outfits and perform the underwater dance among colourful fish in the aquarium's large tank. The show, which lasts about 15 minutes, is hosted twice a day, at 10.45am and 2.45pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays and will run until April next year. There is no additional charge to see the show. Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium expects the show could help double the number of visitors during the upcoming cold season to 2,000 a day. The aquarium recently added new types of freshwater fish including the African knifefish (Gymnarchus niloticus), which can grow up to 1.5 metres long, the smallmouth electric catfish (Malapterurus microstoma) and an electric eel from the Amazon. Water buffalo race Chon Buri Municipality plans to make its annual water buffalo race more amusing this year by inviting renown comedians Teng and Nong to run a 100-metre race with buffaloes. The competition will be be held at 1pm on Oct 28 at a field in front of Chon Buri City Hall and will be followed by a tug-of-war between a buffalo and national weightlifters. A concert will be hold in the evening featuring well-known artists including Carabao, Surachai Chantimathon, or Nga Carawan and Sudarat Butprom, better known as Tukky. There will also be a buffalo race to win a trophy from HRH Princes Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and beauty and elderly contests to add colour to the annual event. The 141st buffalo race festival will run from Oct 26-Nov 1. Hotels update - Dusit Thani Hua Hin recently joined hands with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to host a mass wedding ceremony for 90 couples from China. The brides and grooms were married in a traditional Thai wedding ceremony. The hotel also hosted Thai cultural performances to add to the special mood. The wedding ceremony reflects the increasing significance of China as a major source of visitors and an emerging market for weddings and honeymoons, said Dusit International assistant vice-president James Ramage. The event could help promote destinations such as Hua Hin and Cha-am which are still relatively unknown in the Chinese market, said TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni, adding that well-to-do couples tend to look for exotic destinations such as Thailand for their weddings and honeymoons. - Centara Hotels & Resorts announced a new management contract for a hotel in Vietnam to be operated under the Centara brand. The property will undergo a one-year renovation and will be renamed Centara Sandy Beach Resort Da Nang. "This is our second resort property in Vietnam and represents a strategic step in our expansion plans," said Thirayuth Chirathivat, Centara Hotels & Resorts CEO. The beach-front hotel is located on a 17-hectare plot and has 118 rooms. It will be upgraded to offer 198 rooms. Facilities include two swimming pools, two tennis courts, a fitness centre, billiards and table tennis areas and a children's playground and meeting facilities to accommodate 1,000 guests. Sandy Beach is Centara's second property in Vietnam, Chen Sea Resort & Spa Phu Quoc, Centara Boutique Collection, having opened on the island of Phu Quoc in 2011.