Phuket Travel Guide
Communications
More than 6.3 million television sets and 10.5 million radios were
in use in the early 1990s in Thailand. Bangkok has 19 daily newspapers,
including 2 in English and 5 in Chinese, which have a combined circulation
of more than 2.9 million. Periodicals are published in Thai, English,
and Chinese, and several weekly papers serve the provinces. A press
censorship law was repealed in Thailand in 1991.
Transportation
The Thai railroad system, which totals about 3940 km (about 2448
mi) of track, is owned and operated by the state. Consisting of
a network of lines radiating from Bangkok, the system extends as
far north as Chiang Mai, southward to the frontier of Malaysia,
eastward to Ubon, and northeastward through Udon Thani to Nong Khai
near the Laos border. Another line extends northwestward to the
Burmese frontier. The Chao Phraya, navigable for about 80 km (about
50 mi) from its mouth, is an important inland waterway.
The highway system was improved in the 1970s and now includes 77,697
km (48,281 mi) of roads, of which 46 percent are paved. Thai Airways
operates both domestic and international services. Don Muang International
Airport in northern metropolitan Bangkok is the largest airport.
In addition, there are more than 20 smaller airports located throughout
the country. Thailand is also planning a second international airport
for the Bangkok area; it is expected to be completed around 2000.
The port of Bangkok, one of the most modern in Southeast Asia, also
serves neighbouring landlocked Laos.
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