Ferry linking top tourist towns in Thailand to open on new year's day

The private services will take passengers between Pattaya, 150 kilometres south-east of Bangkok and Hua Hin, 200 kilometres south-west of the capital.
The ferry service will shorten the travel time of five hours on the road between Pattaya and Hua Hin, to only two hours, the marine department said.
The service is the first phase of the government's east-west project linking both sides of the Gulf of Thailand. It will take only passengers, not cars.
The ferry has the maximum capacity of 150 passengers, with a possibility of a bigger ferry carrying as many as 260 passengers expected in the future, according to the marine department.
In August, the marine department told reporters a government-run full ferry service between Pattaya and Hua Hin wouldn't be up and running until 2020, as new ports need to be constructed.
However, the department also called for private operators to bid for the service, and since the company selected for the project already had piers ready on both sides of the Gulf, operations can begin as early as January 1.