Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony Marks Its 16th Anniversary This Year

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Special Report: Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony Marks Its 16th Anniversary This Year

TRANG: -- A unique event for Valentine’s Day was initiated 16 years ago in Trang Province in the South, with former divers tying their knots underwater, witnessed by Thai officials who issued them marriage registration certificates. Trang residents warmly congratulated them and celebrated their wedding in their traditional style.

Since then, the underwater wedding has become institutionalized as an annual festive event for the province, joined by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and various organizations and agencies both in the public and private sectors. Divers and non-divers from all over the world take part in the event each year.

This year, Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony marks the 16th anniversary of the event, with 40 couples registered to take part, and all involved prepared to make the occasion the most spectacular and impressive for all. The event has been moved up to 10 – 12 February, to avoid clashing with other Valentine’s Day celebrations in the Province and elsewhere.

President of the Chamber of Commerce of Trang Province, Salil Tohtubtiang, says that the Underwater Wedding Ceremony has become established in the tourism calendar and has brought fame as well as tourism income to the province. This year, the event emphasizes flowers and smiles , Thai culture and local lifestyle as the theme.

Wedding couples will be welcomed in the morning of 10 February at Trang International Airport. They will then be taken on a procession to join the planting of the Si Trang or Jacaranda trees, the symbol of the province, at the Garden of the Trees of Love, within the Botanical Garden of the South in Yan Ta Khao District.

In the evening, a traditional Thai wedding ceremony is performed for them at the open space in front of the Governor’s residence, with a procession taking them from the Trang Municipality along Rama VI Road to the Trang Railway Station, a distance of one kilometer, to visit the walking street there, before taking Tuk Tuk to Tubtiang Park, where the Underwater Wedding Ceremony is inaugurated, along with the reception for the wedding couples.

On 11 February in the morning, couples travel to Pak Meng Pier. Those who are not divers are taken to tour Tham Morakot and Ko Kradan, while divers take speedboats to Ko Kradan, the prime dive site in the Andaman Sea to take part in the underwater wedding at the depth of about 10 meters. A party takes place along with a spectacular firework display in the sea at the Srivijaya Ratchamongkhon University of Technology, Trang Campus.

On the next day, the wedding couples tour various tourist attractions in Trang Province before departing for their homes.

Trang , or the city of Tubtiang, was formerly a port involved in foreign trade. It was the first place where rubber was planted in Thailand. Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahison Phakdi brought rubber saplings from Malaysia and planted them here in 1899. The Trang River flows through the province from its origin in the Khao Luang mountain range, and the Palian River flows from the Banthat mountains.

With its rich natural resources and strong link to foreign trade, Trang is welcoming lovers from all over the world to its marvelous dive site in the Andaman Sea and to partake in its unique tradition and lifestyle.

-- NNT 2012-02-09