Thai Culture Fair at Lumpini park draws interest from local and foreign visitors

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Thai Culture Fair at Lumpini park draws interest from local and foreign visitors



BANGKOK: -- "2015 Discover Thainess" fair at Lumpini Park drew tens of thousands of Thais and foreign tourists visiting last night with curiosity to experience Thai cultures at one place in addition to shopping for food, local products and taking colourful pictures of tourism site replicas around the park.

Most of the visitors to the fair on Thursday came with their families to shop for local delicacies from each province and souvenirs.

They also had opportunities to watch cultural performances and take pictures of themselves with replicas of famous Thai tourism sites as background.

The ‘retro dance’ activity, where participants pay 5 baht per round to join in, was reported to be the most popular of all the activities on offer.

The 2015 Discover Thainess fair at Lumphini Park will be held until Sunday. Those interested may visit the fair from 4 pm to 10 pm on each day.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Thawatchai Arunyik said TAT normally holds Thai Tourism Fair (TTF) in June in conjunction with the country’s largest travel trade fair, the Thailand Travel Mart Plus.

But since 2015 is a very special year for Thailand’s tourism, so TAT had rescheduled the dates to coincide with the grand opening celebration of the “2015 Discover Thainess” campaign to showcase our unique cultural treasures and the Thai way of happiness to international visitors, as well as to encourage the Thai people to take part in the preservation of Thai traditions and culture.”

In 2015, the TTF marks its 35th anniversary and forms part of the “2015 Discover Thainess” campaign in offering a showcase of the kingdom’s glorious centuries-old culture and rich natural heritage that can be classified into five categories, or five major regions of Thailand – Central Region, North, Northeast, East and South.

Mr Thawatchai said during the five-day festival, local and international visitors will have the chance to immerse themselves in Thainess or the Thai way of life through observation and participation in various activities available at the five uniquely-designed Thailand tourism villages.

At the same time, visitors can take part in the TAT’s 55th anniversary and the Lumpini Park’s 90th anniversary celebrations, he said.

The TTF 2015 is a festival that should not be missed.” The five cultural villages will showcase the variations in the Thai way of life from the five regions of Thailand. Each is designed to evoke the distinct atmospheres of the region it represents.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thai-culture-fair-lumpini-park-draws-interest-local-foreign-visitors


-- Thai PBS 2015-01-16

[Mango Bob]

I wonder if any life guards from Phuket attended the 2015 Discover Thainess" fair

[HooHaa]

all i know is it has interrupted my daily bike rides in lumpini.

[kingalfred]

all i know is it has interrupted my daily bike rides in lumpini.

So we can walk around the park without fear of cyclists "tearing" around.

[Rumblecat]

all i know is it has interrupted my daily bike rides in lumpini.

Genuine question- are bikes allowed in Lumpini park all day and night (until close) or are there specific hours for them..? Quite fancy a cycle round there.

Back on topic- I really liked the fair, went with a few people had a good time, mainly food sampling for different provinces. I mean, it won't go down as one of the best days of my life or anything, but it was decent enough.

[berybert]

Bike lanes are from 10 till 3 pm.

I went there on Wednesday and have a good time. The main stage has a full band with several singers, singing both Thai and English language songs. I think they started at 4ish. About 30 minutes of band playing then onto the songs. Highly recommended by my good self.

It started getting really busy after sundown. Just lots of people having a good time. I shall go again before it shuts on Sunday.

[Don Aleman]

I counted 13,547 Thais and 2 foreigners who, drunkenly, stumbled into the park thinking something exciting was happening -- they fled in micro moments !

[Toany]

I did not see a sign in English when I walked around. I think the fair is really aimed at Thais. There were thousands there, Very popular

[rak sa_ngop]

I just wonder what will happen to all the temporary structures after the fair closes. Probably get dumped at the side of the road on the way to Pattaya?

[H1w4yR1da]

Thai culture fair? Take away the Indian, Burmese, Chinese and Cambodian influences and it would be a very small fair.

[ThomasAJ]

My wife and I went briefly on Sat afternoon and loved it. Especially the singing, dancing, and music.

My take on it is that it is aimed at Bankokians to get them to be tourists in Thailand. There was very little English (almost none) hence my conclusion.

(BTW shocking cynicism by some posters. Awful and useless.)

[winterbalm]

I was almost robbed at this fair today. My backpack have kind of an external pouch that is rather inviting for pickpockets to try and see what is inside. I went there around 9 PM, stood watching traditional dancers in a croud and felt like there was some movement in my backpack. Glanced behind me and saw a young guy standing right behind me. I immediately took off my backpack and the guy moved aside and stood there like nothing's happened. I left the crowd and saw that the the backpack's pouch was half opened, and foolishly I put my wallet inside it just before going to the park.

I thank God that the thief was not an experienced one and I noticed him just in time.

Quite a reminder to be on the lookout every time.

The fair itself was pretty interesting and funny though.

Edited January 18, 2015 by winterbalm

[claffey]

We had two excellent days out at this fair. However we were quite worried about the state of the park when its all finished. Almost all of the grass is gone and there is rubbish everywhere!! We found a stall selling chicken masala and chicken vindaloo kebabs. They were amazing and thats why we returned a second day..

[berybert]

We had two excellent days out at this fair. However we were quite worried about the state of the park when its all finished. Almost all of the grass is gone and there is rubbish everywhere!! We found a stall selling chicken masala and chicken vindaloo kebabs. They were amazing and thats why we returned a second day..

Claffey, don't worry yourself to much. They had protesters camped out there for months on end and the grass soon recovered. And their rubbish soon got cleared up.

[rak sa_ngop]

We had two excellent days out at this fair. However we were quite worried about the state of the park when its all finished. Almost all of the grass is gone and there is rubbish everywhere!! We found a stall selling chicken masala and chicken vindaloo kebabs. They were amazing and thats why we returned a second day..

Claffey, don't worry yourself to much. They had protesters camped out there for months on end and the grass soon recovered. And their rubbish soon got cleared up.

Although strictly speaking you are correct that the park recovered, a h*ll of a lot of work was done to replant areas destroyed. Lots of replanting by large teams of workmen (and workwomen).

[SoFarAndNear]

Have been there yesterday. Was very nice... but too crowded if you plan to come with children. We bought food and wanted to sit somewhere. Fortunatly someone sold plastic sheets which you can use as floor mat to sit on the grass like many others did. Of course we felt very welcome when we see that the same guy who sold us 2x mat's for 30 baht each to the thai folk around us for 10 baht each.... Is this the Thainess TAT is talking about?!

[HooHaa]

all i know is it has interrupted my daily bike rides in lumpini.

Genuine question- are bikes allowed in Lumpini park all day and night (until close) or are there specific hours for them..? Quite fancy a cycle round there.

Back on topic- I really liked the fair, went with a few people had a good time, mainly food sampling for different provinces. I mean, it won't go down as one of the best days of my life or anything, but it was decent enough.

between 10 and 3.

As for the comments about bicycles tearing around, as a cyclist i am always astonished that despite the fact the bike path generally occupies less than 1/3 of the pavement space,has specific hours, moves in only a single direction and is clearly marked, there is always someone wandering aimlessly around in it forcing cyclists to move onto the main pavement around them.

[BKKBobby]

Was there on saturday. Almost only thais, a lot of very old people. You could probably find every thai dessert that exist. I bought a beef kebab from the thai muslims, coconut icecream and fresh sweet tamarind, all good. Very nice atmosphere and good perfomances. I dont think it promotes thainess to tourists since I saw very few foreigners.