Songkran 2022: Bangkok allows “traditional water sprinkling”

Songkran 2022: Bangkok allows “traditional water sprinkling”
No foam parties or powder smearing will be allowed in Bangkok during Songkran next month, but when it comes to water splashing on the Thai New Year, known for massive water gun fights, the rules are a bit vague. “Traditional water sprinkling” is allowed, but officials did not go into detail about what exactly that means.

The Bangkok Communicable Disease Committee decided to allow “water sprinkling” in specific areas that have sought permission, and organisers must abide by “Covid Free Setting” measures set by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Participants must stay at a Covid-safe distance of four metres and wear face masks. No alcohol is allowed.

The committee met yesterday to discuss petitions from local businesses to allow Songkran parties to beheld in popular tourist areas like Khao San Road. At the meeting, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority decided to permit “traditional water sprinkling” activities within a “Covid Free Setting.” Water splashing in public areas and roads is prohibited.

If a Songkran event is expected to exceed a thousand people, the event organiser must obtain permission from the BMA’s Health Department, while local district authorities will grant permission for events with less than a thousand participants.

So far, the administration has received no more than eight requests from private firms and temples seeking permission to hold Songkran activities on their private grounds. Meanwhile, 46 out of Bangkok’s 50 district offices had declared they wouldn’t hold Songkran celebrations, and the other four district offices have not yet announced their decision, the Bangkok Post reported.

Earlier, the CCSA had agreed that water splashing and traditional water pouring as a blessing would be allowed at organised events — as long as there is no alcohol and events are under “Covid Free Setting” measures. Water splashing is not allowed on public areas, like roads. The government is focusing on allowing water splashing and pouring as a blessing at traditional Songkran events rather than the massive water fights the Thai holiday is internationally known for.

On Thursday, business owners in Bangkok’s popular walking street, Khao San Road, teamed up with tourism professionals from Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai to draft and submit a joint petition urging the CCSA to repent of its party foul, fearing a loss of income.

The group has proposed a list of measures for screening and limiting Songkran party participants, according to the president of the association of business operators on Khao San Road, Sa-nga Ruangwatthanakul.

“We will put in place measures to handle party-goers on the 400-metre stretch of Khao San Road. We want to explain to the government that the country is trying to welcome tourists back, particularly in the summer when the Songkran festival will be held.”

“But the famous water splashing is banned. With such a ban, how can we attract them to the country? We ask the government to allow the activity on April 12 to 15 to promote the festival.”

Bangkok’s communicable disease committee met on Monday to consider their request and announced their decision on yesterday. Clerk Khachit Chatchawanit said the committee would “consider what is best for Bangkok residents.”

According to the law, provincial communicable disease authorities may ask the CCSA’s operations centre to remove the unpopular Songkran restrictions, which will then pass them on to the CCSA, according to the director-general of the Department of Disease Control, Opas Karnkawinpong.

The current Songkran precautions outlined by the Public Health Ministry say that festivities can still be held, albeit without the classic chaos of water fights and powder smearing in public, as well as no alcohol sales, according to a spokesperson for the CCSA, Apisamai Srirangson.

“Songkran events can still be held as long as the right precautions are taken, and people can travel to other provinces to visit their relatives and take part in traditional activities there.”

The CCSA’s current restrictions also encourage festival observers to practice traditional activities without water, such as bowing to elders at a distance of at least a metre, instead of pouring water on their hands as a sign of respect and blessing.

The restrictions, though well-meaning, fail to take into account the elderly’s desire to be blessed and honoured by their younger relatives, while also reflecting logical fallacies about the spread of Covid-19 among family members.

Notably, the water blessing ceremony usually takes place outside, where there is plenty of wind and UV light. Also, the ceremony only lasts for a moment, and everyone involved can wear masks, as is already normal practice in Thai society.

Source: Bangkok Post / The Thaiger

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#Bangkok - Killing the Khaosan goose

Tourists will desert the area, or even Bangkok, if daytime stalls are not restored, say visitors and street vendors

Khaosan Road – the backpackers’ mecca – has it all, from cheap T-shirts to elephant-print baggy pants, from tattoos to henna painting, from budget guesthouses to massage parlours and even tour packages to southern islands.

The world-famous Bangkok destination attracts hordes of international youth with offers of street food, beer and a chaotic, lively nightlife. Just about everything and anything is available at all times of the day. 

However, the municipal authority wants to bring order to the late-night carnivalesque atmosphere.

Since August 1, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has strictly enforced the rarely-used Public Cleanliness and Orderliness Act 1992, which forbids daytime street vending. Under the recent sweep, the street stalls have been banned from doing business in front of guesthouses, cars, cafes and shops during the day. 

City Hall’s plan only allows the previous daytime vendors to hawk their goods and services on the road from 6pm until midnight. The BMA is expected to allow vendors to hawk their wares from 4pm next month onwards. 

 The plan, however, isn’t popular with tourists and shoppers. The authorities are now working to solve this roblem with a public hearing to allow street vendors and store owners to air their views.

From around 9pm to 3am, backpackers use Khaosan as “party central”, rather than a shopping fair, vendors told The Nation on a recent night-time visit. Electronic dance beats can be heard blaring from clubs and bars. 

Along both sides of the road, carts and stalls are lined up, offering late eaters pad Thai and mango sticky rice. Several smiling hawkers offer “laughing gas” or a crispy fried scorpion. Local and foreign partygoers flock the street daily. 

“It’s my first time here in Khaosan. I’d heard that it’s brilliant and fantastic,” said Matthew Bechus, as he and a friend tuck into Thai delicacies at a stall nearby. “Now that the footpaths have been cleared, it’s sad. It’s a big tourist attraction and brings income for people and jobs and everything. I hope it comes back.” 

Russel Green, a tourist from South Africa said the new Khaosan was nothing special.

“If they clear out all the stalls, there will no longer be a reason to come to Khaosan,” he said. 

Green and his friend were “disappointed” while strolling through the area in the afternoon. “I would say tourists under the age of 30 visiting Thailand only come to Bangkok to visit Khaosan Road. Without Khaosan, they will have no reason to visit Bangkok. They will go straight to Phuket,” he predicted.

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Under the new restrictions, Khaosan Road now looks like any other place in Thailand. While most of the 30-million annual visitors are foreign, not all choose to stay in the area’s hostels, guesthouses and hotels. 

Rujira Raokhekit, a Thai who came with her boyfriend, said: “I have been here many times at night for parties. I don’t usually come to Khaosan during the day, but I think today it is quieter than before.” 

The peak selling hours for vendors and stall owners used to be from 2pm to 5.30pm, vendors said. After 8pm, people usually come for food, music and beer. 

When daytime trading was banned, Bangkok officials allowed them to set up stalls from 6pm, which vendors say will only give them three hours to sell their goods. 

“After that, the music is too loud and the crowd is not in the mood for shopping,” said Sukwasa Kurattana-sinchai, who has been selling T-shirts on Khaosan since the Tom Yum Kung crisis hit Thailand in 1997. 

“Most of our customers are backpackers who came to stay in budget guesthouses. They often travel light and come here specifically to buy comfy cotton pants and sleeveless T-shirts to wear for their whole trip,” Sukwasa said, as she waved at a group of backpackers. 

She said that from about 8am until late afternoon, Chinese tourists would normally drop by Khaosan after visiting the Grand Palace and enjoy an hour-long shopping spree. Most foreign tourists visit Khaosan in the morning for souvenirs before their flights home in the afternoon. 

Most vendors believe that clearing out the stalls is a bad move. 

“The prices in shops are usually high, which is probably why the stalls are banned in the afternoon,” said another vendor as he waited to set up his bag stall at 6pm. “Now you see most tourists walking without any shopping bags.” 

If the ban continues, tourists will not bother to visit Khaosan, he said. “They won’t even stay close to Khaosan. Why should they? There is nothing to buy during the day. They could book a hotel in Pratunam or Bo Bae [two famous shopping districts a half-hour ride from Khaosan] and take a tuk-tuk to Khaosan for the nightlife,” he said.

Bangkok deputy governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul said after a meeting with related agencies on Friday that to help solve the problem, the BMA will draft a regulation allowing Khaosan vendors to trade from 4pm until midnight.

The regulation will includes pavement trading in nearby streets of Banglamphu such as Rambutri, Chakrabongse, Krai Sri, Sip Sam Hang and Tani.

Over the next 10 days, Phra Nakhon district will collect opinions from street vendors and building owners. “All vendors must register with Commerce Ministry. We will make it legal and transparent,” he said.

“We are trying to find the middle ground for everyone. The street vendors can’t have everything. They can’t expect to use the footpaths all day.” 

He added that the vendors must not block the footpaths and stalls can be no bigger than 1.5 square metres. 

“We will also ensure that there is one stall per vendor,” Sakoltee said in response to claims by Bangkok officials that some vendors owned as many as seven stalls.

 Yada Pornoetrumpa, president of Khaosan Road Street Vendors Association, said: “The officials don’t understand the situation of Khaosan. Many vendors trade in the daytime.

 “Ideally, I want Khaosan Road to open 24 hours. They think vendors are greedy. But actually, stalls could help look after the street’s hygiene.” 

Source - TheNation 

Ps, It go look like ''The hate foreigner tourists'' 

#Thailand - Nakhon Phanom Illuminated Boat Procession 2017

A raft of events marks the end of the rains in the border province of Nakhon Phanom

The Lai Reua Fai, Nakhon Phanom’s famous and mythological annual illuminated boat festival, is considered one of the Kingdom’s most spectacular cultural festivals to mark the end of Buddhist Lent, or Ok Phansa.

The Illuminated Boat Procession is held annually during the eleventh lunar month when Thai Buddhists in this northeastern province launch the Lai Reua Fai to float them down the Mekong River. Residents pay respect to the Lord Buddha and make offerings to mythical serpents (‘Naga’ in Thai) which supposedly reside in the mighty river and its many tributaries.

It is also believed that this ceremony washes sadness and life’s troubles down the river while also bringing good fortune to participants and believers.

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 The local people of Nakhon Phanom gather together with Buddhist monks from each village temple to spectacularly decorate the boats and rafts weeks before the festival takes place. They then load them with food, flowers, incense sticks, candles and handmade lanterns. Once lit, these illuminated boats are then launched creating a spectacular visual spectacle as they float down the legendary Mekong River.

Highlights at this year’s Nakhon Phanom Illuminated Boat Procession Festival include:

-​ Daily Lai Reua Fai illuminated boat processions on the Mekong River. Visitors can view illuminated boats from around Nakhon Phanom, cultural performances, music and entertainment plus a walking street featuring local food and handicrafts over nine days.

-​ Historic Lai Reua Fai daily display at Wat Pho Sri temple

-​ Cultural performance paying respect to Phra That Phanom at Wat Phra That Phanom (5 October)

- ​Illuminated boat street procession at Nakhon Phanom Municipality (5 October)

- ​Lan Tawan Boek Fa music and cultural festival (5 October)

-​ Long boat racing at Wat Phra In Plaeng from 2 to 4 October

- ​Lan Phanom Naga local food fair from 30 September to 2 October

- ​Tak Bat Devo Festival at Lan Phanom Naga (6 October)

Source - TheNation

#Bali boasts creativity, culture as economy backbone

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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said during a limited evaluation meeting on national strategic projects (PSN) and priority programs in Bali on Wednesday that he wanted to maintain the growth of foreign tourists coming to the famous resort island.

Jokowi described Bali as unique in that its economy is not based on natural resources, but rather the tourism sector and creative industry, which rely on creativity and culture.

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“With culture and creativity, Bali province has presented a positive image for Indonesia to the entire world, which is why foreign tourists know more about Bali than Indonesia,” Jokowi said.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya called Bali the tourism icon of Indonesia, just like Thailand is the tourism icon of Southeast Asia.

“It’s true what President Jokowi said, Bali is not affected by natural resource commodities such as oil and gas, coal and CPO [Crude Palm Oil]; Bali’s economy is purely driven by tourism and the creative economy,” Arief said.

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

Read also: Environmental concerns take center stage at Bali Arts Festival

#Thailand - A land that time forgot

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Surin province in Thailand's lower northeast delights with its high mountains and Khmer ruins

“RICH in castles, aromatic rice and extremely beautiful culture” reads the blurb on the promotional literature describing the province of Surin, encouraging visitors to explore its seven wondrous attractions. 

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Located in the southern Isaan region, the area that now makes up Surin has a history of human settlement that stretches back more than 2,000 years. Straddling Cambodia’s Oddar Meancheay province to its south, it was once part of the Khmer Empire and has largely retained the Khmer culture. 

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It is also famous for its elephants and its people are recognised for their skills in capturing and taming the beasts. The provincial capital underscores that fame with the annual Elephant Round Up and both the festival and Ban Ta Klang Elephant Village draw in tens of thousands of tourists every year. 
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I start my trip by shopping in the Green Market where villagers, local farmers and artisans decorate their stalls with green fabric to show that their products are organic and contain no toxins. 

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Organised in the heart of Surin town since 2008, the market is open every Saturday and offers a wide selection of organic agricultural products and top-class OTOP handicrafts, ranging from riceberry, jasmine rice and vegetables to hand-woven silk, cotton and silverware. Visitors can try some local food and sweet treats, or check out the fresh seasonal ingredients like ant eggs, fresh fish, frogs and field crab.

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Trang islands as one of ‘Best in Asia’ destinations

Trang islands are one of Lonely Planet’s top ten picks for lesser-known Asian go-to destinations for this year. The small islands off the coast of Trang province rank number eight on the list, beating out contenders from India and Taiwan.

Way to go Thailand!

The picturesque Trang islands were characterized by Lonely Planet as being on the same level as the famous Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, with way less crowds. They described the islands as a place where “blonde beaches glisten amid shards of jungle-topped karst; beachfront bungalows line crescents of squeaky sand; rainbows of fish flit through the aquamarine.”

Made up of five smaller islands: Koh Kradan, Koh Ngai, Koh Sukorn, Koh Muk, and Koh Libong with its own distinctive attraction, Trang islands have remained largely under the radar.

The list, which was announced this week, sets its sight on the hidden gems waiting to be discovered by any aspiring travelers looking for excitement.

Regionally, Japan’s Hokkaido topped the list for its wild, mountainous landscape. That Northen Japanese locale is followed by Shanghai (China), Jeonju (South Korea), and Con Dao Islands (Vietnam).

Source: Coconuts.co

Let there be light

With a little help from the creators of the world-famous Amsterdam Light Festival, downtown Bangkok serves up a buffet of illuminations

Ratchaprasong, Bangkok's famous shopping strip, is well known for its annual festive lights that usually stretch from Siam Square up towards Chidlom.

This year the area is brighter than ever thanks to "Thailand Kingdom of Light II", an extravagant showcase of millions of lights plus world-class light art from the Amsterdam Light Festival.

The dazzling festival, which has as its theme "Thai's Enlightening Moments", is divided into five zones. The sacred Brahma shrine at the Ratchaprasong intersection has become a "Lighting Pavilion" to welcome visitors who come to pay their respects to Brahma and pray at the shrine. The Ratchaprasong Skywalk has morphed into tunnels of light and dubbed "Skywalk - The Garden of Light" under the concept "Fah Ngam Thee Plai Roong" ("Beautiful Sky at the End of the Rainbow"). The area beneath the Skywalk zone is decorated with a dazzling mesh of lights with a giant digital clock on the façade of CentralWorld. Now showing Thai numerals, the timepiece will change to Roman numerals on New Year's Eve so everybody can count down together.

The last zone is the International Zone and showcases world-class light art from Amsterdam Light Festival as well as collaborative masterpieces created by world-renowned lighting designers and their Thai peers.

 

 "The light festival in Bangkok features works that have come about from the sharing of expertise between world-renowned lighting designer Rogier van der Heide, who's the artistic director of the Amsterdam Light Festival, and Thai lighting designers, educators, computer researchers and developers from ESIC LAB, the Edutainment & Socio-Interaction Computing Research Group," says Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau president Nopparat Maythaveekulchai.

"Together they have created masterpieces in the International Zone with the aiming of raising light festivals in Thailand to international standards."

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 The International Zone exhibits eight artworks selected by van der Heide, who is also a professor at the Technical University of Graz in Austria.

"We have installed eight artworks: three of them are from the Amsterdam Festival of Light and five have been newly made in cooperation with students here in Bangkok," van der Heide tells Explore.

"These works are very international and they promote knowledge exchange and innovation because we work with students on sophisticated technology and computer programming. I think it is a great initiative. For the visitors, the event creates a wonderful line up of artwork that is interesting to see. It demonstrates light as a universal language that can be understood all over the world.

"Ratchaprasong is a very busy area so a lot of people can come and see these works. Our aim is make people smile when they see the lights. The artists would like to show how important friendship and laughter are. Instead of doing it in their own languages, they do it with lights, which is basically understood by everybody. Light is a very great way to bring people together and unite them around something positive," he continues.

"I help to choose the artworks that are relevant to the location. The artists have to radiate the positive message to the public and they have to be imaginative. One of the criteria is their artworks should be understandable to everyone. Some works like 'Floating Light' are quite abstract but people can interact with the art and use their own imagination while they make the light tube 'dance'. I like it because it helps you make a connection with the art."

Van der Heide adds that to him, light creations are both art and science. "Lighting is very artistic and there are lots of stories about light. We have those 50 origami elephants that people like. The elephant is the symbol of Thailand; it is ancient and traditional. What the students put in there is sophisticated technology. We use laser cutting and drawing with 3D software in the computer. We bring together two worlds that are totally different and make it easy to understand.

"The heart-shaped work '195 Bottles, 1 Message' by Dutch artists Saskia Hoogendoorn and Lieuwe Martijn is made of 195 bottles with LED lights representing 195 countries in the world and the one message is that there is only one religion that is really important to this world - love," Rogier says.

The famous light designer admits with a rueful grin that in sleepless areas like Ratchaprasong, installing light art is hard but adds that LED technology makes it possible.

"It is very true that you cannot make light if there is no darkness. That is the basic concept in architecture. But LED technology gives us greater flexibility in creating light sculptures even in places that are not so dark.

"In the past, lighting technology was quite expensive and very difficult to install. You needed electricians, high voltage power, and it would be very hot. Now with LED, everyone can make a light sculpture. It is easy, flexible, affordable and it uses low power like batteries. You can use your smartphone to control it. Just download the app and you can control your LED lights.

Light is everything to van der Heide who used to look after the lighting for ballets and operas.

"The more I worked with electrical light, the more I became interested in the real light like the light from the sun. I wanted to know how it worked, how it touches us, emotionally and physically. There are so many things in our body that are regulated by light, like our biorhythms and our sleep. I feel very thankful for every morning even though I know that tomorrow the sun will always come up.

"Light has a long history in all cultures. It is something that never gets boring. I teach it at the university and there is always something new. When you teach, the students will always come up with some new questions and I think it is very interesting."

"We started working on the International Zone in September and in only two months we have these amazing artworks. It would be great to start working on the project earlier next year to engage the artists, the engineers and technicians so we can work together and exchange our knowledge and make better artworks. We would be a platform for these talents. Next year we will attract more artists and work with more universities and that will draw more partners," Rogier concludes.

Source: The Nation

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