Ok, this contest has just passed its 1st month run. Here’s the update on 1st June.

From Bangkokpost.com:

At this stage, Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Krabi top the list of provinces with the highest number of nominated destinations.

Among Chiang Mai’s candidates are its old city, Doi Luang Chiang Dao (a mountain in a wildlife sanctuary named after it), Wat Chan village, the Doi Angkhang Royal Project, the Bo Sang Umbrella Centre and four national parks - Doi Inthanon, Doi Suthep, Mae Fang and Huai Nam Dang.

The nominated sites in Bangkok include the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Benchamabophit, Wat Pho, the Erawan Shrine, Lumphini Park and the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum.

In Krabi province, the Phi Phi islands, Tha Pom, Railay beach and Tap Khaek beach are among the places on the list.

High number of destinations does give the tourist more choices. Which is your favourite?

Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s birthday,” Visakha Bucha Day actually commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha. This day is considered to be the most important day in the Buddhist calendar, celebrated on the full moon of the sixth lunar month, which normally falls in May.

In Chiang Mai, it is celebrated with faithful Buddhists making a pilgrimage up to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep for the purpose of praying to the sacred Buddhist relics housed there and for the purpose of Merit-Making. ‘Merit-Making’ is an important aspect of Theravada Buddhism.

Beginning at sunset on the eve, the procession to Doi Suthep starts from Chiang Mai city and after a 9 km walk up the mountain, the participants arrive at the temple at about 3 a.m. At daybreak, the merit-making starts: food is offered to the monks and homage is paid to the Buddha images in the temple.

As this is an important Buddhist holiday, sale of alcohol is banned throughout Thailand. And most bars and other nightspots are closed.

TripAdvisor(R), the world’s largest travel community, recently announced the winners of its inaugural Travelers’ Choice(R) Destinations Awards. These are all voted by the people who know them best - real travelers.

These awards represent the opinions of millions of travelers. The winners were determined by a combination of TripAdvisor’s travelers’ favorite places and overall popularity on TripAdvisor. You can download a free copy of the awards from their website.

I love these awards! It’s always interesting to compare your own favorite destinations with others. Where did Chiang Mai come in? #9 among Asia’s Tops. I have to admit I don’t agree with some of the rankings. For example Guilin, China is at #19. A much better travel destination would be the charmng Yangshuo, just down the river. Anyway, here are the top 10 of the world:

2008 Travelers’ Choice World Destinations
1. Milford Sound, New Zealand
2. Queenstown, New Zealand
3. Philipsburg, St. Maarten
4. Cayo Largo, Cuba
5. Rhodes, Greece
6. Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
7. Cruz Bay, St. John
8. Bridgetown, Barbados
9. Banff, Canada
10. Lake Tahoe, California

This is a massive online tourism campaign run by Bangkok Post. Vote for your favourite places and win a prize!

You can also check out the entries from other people. Like Danai Udormchoke, one of Thailand’s top tennis players. His choice is Chiang Mai! The words in the pic may be too small, so here’s what he said:

“Most of my vacations are spent in Chiang Mai. An exuberant town with a little bit of everything for everyone, it has the perfect ingredients to make a vacation truly memorable.”

I couldn’t have put it better! Do check out this contest. It runs for 9 months. You can also download some useful roadmaps all over Thailand too! Here’s the link.