Short Cuts

ON ANGEL'S WINGS: Angel Airlines, which in October became Thailand's second international carrier, is expanding its network of routes. In addition to its current daily flights from Bangkok to Udon Thani, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Singapore, the airline plans to launch service in early 1999 from Chiang Rai to Mandalay, Kunming, Jinghong, Chengdu, Luang Prabang and Siem Reap.

TRUNK SALE: When logging was banned in Thailand in 1989, hundreds of elephants lost their jobs. Some are now finding second careers through the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project, which recently held an exhibition at the Bangkok Hilton of elephant artworks. The creations by the pachyderm painters sold for an average of $250 apiece, with proceeds earmarked for elephant conservation efforts in Thailand promoted by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Organizers say Starbucks and Walt Disney are considering promoting the elephantine images, described by one viewer as resembling the abstract "action painting" style of American artist Jackson Pollock.

R E L A T E D  L I N K S :

• Friends of the Asian Elephant • Thai Elephants' Homepage • Thailand's Elephant Nature Park

MORE TRAVEL WATCH FEATURES ON THAILAND