Tourists flock to Tham Luang cave on opening day

[rooster59]

Tourists flock to Tham Luang cave on opening day

 

Image: Manager

 

Hundreds of tourists went to Tham Luang cave on its first day of renewed opening yesterday. 

 

The cave in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand was the center of world attention for weeks when 12 Wild Boar footballers were trapped prompting an international rescue effort. 

 

Everyone was saved and a Netflix movie soon followed. 

 

Now parts of the cave have reopened to the public. The entrance and first chamber and an area where there is a spirit house can be accessed by the public who are being let in a few dozen at a time. 

 

 

The cave is open from 8.30 am to 4.30pm. 

 

More than a million and a half people have visited the cave since the drama in July of last year but they have not been allowed inside until now. 

 

Rites to celebrate the occasion were held by local officials.

 

Source: Manager

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-11-02

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[keith101]

Local Thai tourist and possibly a few Chinese but I doubt any from Western countries .

[villagefarang]

Asians are tourists, too.????

[poohy]

Never seen the interest in caves myself,although i tried potholing in my teens scared me witless

However it Didnt take em long to make a bob or two out of the cave and rescue!

[elcaro]

4 hours ago, keith101 said:

Local Thai tourist and possibly a few Chinese but I doubt any from Western countries .

Your doubts are wrong. Was there last week with my western mates

[Borzandy]

It's very funny to make selfies where some children almost died

[justin case]

they should show "47 meters down uncaged" in that cave

 

lol

[rovinman]

I hope that there's a plaque, to the Thai Marine who died, trying to save those boys  !

[KC 71]

7 minutes ago, rovinman said:

I hope that there's a plaque, to the Thai Marine who died, trying to save those boys  !

Yes

i think there is a statue

my wife said he wanted to save them because he never had the chance to have kids himself

[brakar]

I want to visit the place next time, hopefully Jan-Feb next year

[JAG]

1 hour ago, rovinman said:

I hope that there's a plaque, to the Thai Marine who died, trying to save those boys  !

There is a larger than life size bronze statue of him outside the gallery which houses the large painting. It shows him in his diving gear, with twelve wild boar piglets gathered at his feet. I thought it was quite moving.

Edited November 2, 2019 by JAG

[bkk6060]

2 hours ago, Borzandy said:

It's very funny to make selfies where some children almost died

Maybe your selfies always need to be funny?

Most people are probably posting it with respect as a place where children were all saved.

 

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, poohy said:

Never seen the interest in caves myself,although i tried potholing in my teens scared me witless

However it Didnt take em long to make a bob or two out of the cave and rescue!

We all knew that was coming.

[Burma Bill]

7 hours ago, keith101 said:

Local Thai tourist and possibly a few Chinese but I doubt any from Western countries .

I have made 3 visits to the Tham Luang National Park since the rescue and on all three occasions I saw plenty of Western tourists among the multi-national hordes that now visit this commercialized attraction.

[TigerandDog]

8 hours ago, keith101 said:

Local Thai tourist and possibly a few Chinese but I doubt any from Western countries .

You'd be surprised how many western tourists I've seen there. I was there a few months ago, and even though you could not enter the cave I saw at least 100 or so farang tourists. So your assumption is off the mark.

[TigerandDog]

2 hours ago, rovinman said:

I hope that there's a plaque, to the Thai Marine who died, trying to save those boys  !

No plaque but a HUGE STATUE honoring him.

 

[EricTh]

Maybe I should go there and be trapped inside the cave and will get Thai citizenship as a result.....

 

Just joking.

Edited November 2, 2019 by EricTh

[Burma Bill]

2 hours ago, rovinman said:

I hope that there's a plaque, to the Thai Marine who died, trying to save those boys  !

Yes there is a bronze statue in his memory:-

 

 

[elgenon]

Was Musk there? : )  Should take his unused invention back.

[rooster59]

Thailand reopens cave where boys' soccer team was trapped for weeks

 

FILE PHOTO: The cave entrance is seen during a ceremony for members of the Wild Boars soccer team, during their return to the Tham Luang caves where they were trapped in a year ago, in Chiang Rai, Thailand, June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

CHAING RAI, Thailand (Reuters) - Thailand has opened the famous Tham Laung cave to the public, after the removal of equipment that was used in last year's dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped underground for weeks.

 

Hundreds of people flocked on Saturday to see the cave where the of Wild Boar Academy soccer team was rescued from in July 2018. The visitors created so much traffic that authorities had to allow up to around 30 people to enter at a time.

 

Duangporn Sookawong, 75, who came all the way from the southern Songkhla province, said she believed that the rescue was a miracle and the boys were lucky that they were able to survive despite being stuck in the dark, complex network of caves for almost three weeks.

 

Wild Boars Academy’s coach Ekapol Chanthawong and 12 boys had gone to explore the Tham Luang caves in Chiang Rai province on June 23, 2018, when a rainy-season downpour flooded the cave system and trapped them underground.

 

They survived for nine days on water dripping from rocks before they were discovered. An international effort to rescue them ended on July 10 when they all were brought out safely, to the relief of millions of people in Thailand and abroad who had been gripped by their fate.

 

(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Frances Kerry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-03

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[Derek B]

16 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

Yes there is a bronze statue in his memory:-

 

 

Thanks for sharing your photo and attach a cropped image.

[KC 71]

7 hours ago, elgenon said:

Was Musk there? : )  Should take his unused invention back.

He took it back after being told it wouldn't work and

then threw his toys out of the pram

[EricTh]

20 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

Yes there is a bronze statue in his memory:-

 

 

Wow!

 

There's a beautiful statue and I bet a lot of tourists are going to take their photographs with the hero.

 

[Destiny1990]

23 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

Yes there is a bronze statue in his memory:-

 

 

Yes that place its full with Farangs !

[Orton Rd]

I'm amazed any normal people would want to go and gawp at this place just because of what went on there, what's the attraction exactly?

[toofarnorth]

21 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

I'm amazed any normal people would want to go and gawp at this place just because of what went on there, what's the attraction exactly?

I know what you are saying but look at the Burma/death railway , thousands ride that.

[webfact]

Tham Luang Cave reopens to tourists

By THE NATION

 

 

Jongklai Worapongsathorn, deputy director-general of The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) presided over the opening ceremony of Tham Luang Cave on Friday (November 1).

 

The cave had been closed for inspection and improvement since July 2018 following the headline-making incident which saw the 11 members of the Wild Boars youth football team and their coach trapped for nearly three weeks in a flooded cave and their eventual rescued by an international team. One volunteer, Navy Seal Saman “Sam” Gunan, tragically died during the effort.

 

 

Tham Luang Cave is located in the Tham Luang–Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Pong Pha sub district, Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai province.

 

 

Jongklai said that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa had assigned the DNP to decorate the cave entrance to tell the story of the rescue, as well as improve safety by building a safety rail for disabled persons along the tourist paths throughout the cave. “The DNP has also repaired and improved the areas around the cave that were damaged or altered due to the rescue attempts,” he said. “Moreover, we have explored new nature trails and improved existing ones in the Forest Park, such as Tham Phra Cave, Phaya Naga Cave and Liang Pha Cave, as well as built a monument to Sgt. Sa and more restrooms for tourists.”

 

Jongklai also added that the DNP will be working with related agencies including the Department of Mineral Resources and Department of Groundwater Resources to explore deeper parts of Tham Luang Cave which remain off limits to tourists, as well as the adjacent Sai Thong Cave to study the possibility of developing them into tourist attractions.

 

The DNP announced that the Tham Luang Cave will only be able to accommodate 2,000 tourists per day to prevent crowding and accidents. Tourists will be divided into groups of 25 to 30 persons and each group will be accompanied by guides. The Cave will be open daily from 8.30 to 4.30.

 

Related Story: Miracle of 'Wild Boars' rescue transforms Thai cave into tourist draw

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-11-04

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[andre47]

big business

I will never understand why people are going there. It is just a cave like 5000 others.

herd instinct

[Burma Bill]

17 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

I'm amazed any normal people would want to go and gawp at this place just because of what went on there, what's the attraction exactly?

Tham Luang is one of several cave complexes within the National Park and, from personal experience, there are many walks amidst outstanding forest and mountain scenery albeit much more recent development for tourists. Please remember, this area was under the spotlight of most of the World's TV media companies during the rescue of the football boys and their coach. This is why international tourists visit the complex with its new museum. For me, far more interesting than being just a "bar stool pundit".

[andre47]

19 hours ago, toofarnorth said:

I know what you are saying but look at the Burma/death railway , thousands ride that.

You cannot compare these two places. During the building of the railway thousands of men died.

 

The cave is just a tourist spot for sensation-seekers. Really annoying...