2,000 police deployed in Bangkok during Loy Krathong festival
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Nov 5 -- More than 2,000 police and investigative teams have been deployed to all Loy Kratong venues across Bangkok ahead of the festival to ensure safety, while the southern tourist district of Hat Yai is seeing little growth in hotel bookings this year.

Metropolitan Police Bureau Deputy Commissioner Pol Maj Gen Adul Narongsak said more than 2,000 traffic police would be assigned to all 136 Loy Kratong venues in the capital to provide service and security for festival goers.

In the meantime, investigators will inspect suspicious locations to prevent illegal gatherings for motorcycle racing and using firecrackers and floating lanterns.

Meanwhile, Songkhla Tourist Business Federation Chairman Surapol Kumpalanontwat said that the Loy Krathong festival there is not very active this year, particularly in Hat Yai, the business centre, where only 60-70 per cent of hotel rooms are booked.

The businessman attributed the cause of the dull atmosphere to the Loy Kratong festival falling on November 6, tomorrow, a Thursday this year and not the weekend.

Besides, he said November begins a new school in Malaysia, which provides most visitors to the province, which prevented most Malaysian families to make any travel plans for the time being.

Mr Surapol emphasized that all agencies have been promoting Loy Krathong as a lively festival to attract more tourists. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-11-05

...maybe that would explain the lack of traffic police........???

I think we would all feel safer if they took the Bkk BIB and deployed them to any other city.

I hear firecrackers all night long, we also put a krathong in the lake like the whole moobaan. The kids had fun with fireworks inbetween the crowd. I almost got set on fire by a very young girl with some roman candle in her hand.

The most fun was to see the security helping the visitors park their cars. Unbelievable, that should be on tv in Europe, boy would they piss themselves from laughing.

I think loy krathong is more for kiddies, don't know what tourists would think about it. It's nothing special but more for the Thai and their buddhism.