Phuket Upbeat Over Songkran Tourism

[george]

Phuket upbeat over Songkran tourism

BANGKOK: -- The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will hold a grandly-scaled Songkran celebration at Phuket's popular Patong beach from April 10-13, according to TAT southern office region 4 Suwalai Pinpradub.

Entitled 'The Water Festival on the Beach & Phuket Bike Week 2008', the festival is aimed at boosting tourism in Phuket and its Andaman coastal neighbours. As many as 50,000 tourists are expected to flock to Phuket, generating more than Bt500 million (US$16million) in spending, Mrs Suwalai said.

To make the fun-filled cultural celebration more easily accessible than in the past, Phuket Municipality has joined with the private sector in launching several Songkran-related festivities – the most prominent of which is the 'Songkran Night' at Soi Bang-la. The event hopes to entice tourists to come under the spell of the water festival for three consecutive nights, from April 10-13, in a new nocturnal tourism setting.

Also, bike club called 'Bike Week' promised to bring 5,000 large motorcycles to be showcased in this year's Phuket water festival.

--TNA 2008-04-07

[naka]

Songkran and Bike Week at the same time

Naka.

[slackula]

Ridiculously expensive and underpowered Harley tractors + plus their weekend rider owners + drunk backpackers + buckets of iced water ≠ happy times.

/hopes Patong hospital has the staff on overtime this year, they're going to need it.

[Zpete]

Ridiculously expensive and underpowered Harley tractors + plus their weekend rider owners + drunk backpackers + buckets of iced water ≠ happy times.

/hopes Patong hospital has the staff on overtime this year, they're going to need it.

Wotta blotty killjoy.

Maybe you would like something such as "Running with the Elephants", instead of bulls.

[geriatrickid]

Ridiculously expensive and underpowered Harley tractors + plus their weekend rider owners + drunk backpackers + buckets of iced water ≠ happy times.

/hopes Patong hospital has the staff on overtime this year, they're going to need it.

so right. At least the announcement gave me I a heads up to avoid bunghole lane. Not going to ruin a cellphone this year. I would expect alot of farang tourists, particularly the older constipated crowd are going to have strokes and heart attacks when they get splashed and cannot control their anger. One of the soi 5 year olds was out today with his new weapon of incontinence. Backpack tank with pressured uzi type gun. One can only hope the item comes from China so it will break after a few mnutes of use.

[slackula]

Ridiculously expensive and underpowered Harley tractors + plus their weekend rider owners + drunk backpackers + buckets of iced water ≠ happy times.

/hopes Patong hospital has the staff on overtime this year, they're going to need it.

Wotta blotty killjoy.

Maybe you would like something such as "Running with the Elephants", instead of bulls.

Which part of my post do you disagree with? I made four points, laid out below for the developmentally challenged:

1) Harleys are over-priced and underpowered considering the size of the engines. ~60HP from a 1,200 cc motor? It's a joke.

2) I don't know if you have been here for Bike Week before but a lot of hobbyists (ie weekend riders) bring their chromed treasures up from Malaysia and Singapore for PBW.

3) High season is dropping off, room prices are dropping and historically that means a different bracket of tourist will be arriving.

4) Drive down Patong beach road on the night of the 13th and tell me it's not happening.

Also I don't know <deleted> elephants have to do with anything.

[terryp]

"grandly-scaled Songkran celebration at Phuket's popular Patong beach from April 10-13"

Smart move Songkran before Songkran?????????????????? oh but then it can last from 10-16th :rolleyes:LOL

[LivinLOS]

I never understood why they would put Bike week and song gran so close together.. Every year theres pissed off bikers getting wetted.. 'banditos' in leather trousers getting arsey with anyone with a water gun..

Thing is I see both sides.. If I was a biker up with a shiny polished nice bike I wouldnt want someone tossing a bucket of white menthol water on it either, or being drenched in riding gear.. But its song gran, its basically a love it or leave it experience. Yet the timing of these two events is thrown together and they couldnt be more incompatible.

[huggybear]

Ridiculously expensive and underpowered Harley tractors + plus their weekend rider owners + drunk backpackers + buckets of iced water ≠ happy times.

/hopes Patong hospital has the staff on overtime this year, they're going to need it.

Wotta blotty killjoy.

Maybe you would like something such as "Running with the Elephants", instead of bulls.

Also I don't know <deleted> elephants have to do with anything.

That's a little known (here on the forum anyway) commodity known as humour.

The analogy has to do with the running of the bulls in Spain. Never read Hemingway, eh?

It's funny because you are mentioning the hospital and just think how full the hospital would be if we had the "running of the elephants" instead of biker Songkran.

Jokes are never funny when you have to explain them......

Edited April 8, 2008 by huggybear

[slackula]

Jokes are never funny when you have to explain them......

That was actually my point. The 'whooshing' sound you missed was it rushing over your head, but thanks for playing.