Pattaya's Songkran decisions

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Dodger
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Dodger »

Canceling Songkran, not only in Pattaya, but in other major cities as well, will save many lives. How many? Nobody knows. But one things's for sure, fewer people will die in road accidents, fewer people will die due to violent crimes which always escalate during Songkran, and fewer people will die from the coronavirus.

There are many people who should be extremely grateful for this cancellation, but they just don't know who they are.
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Gaybutton »

Dodger wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 9:08 am Canceling Songkran, not only in Pattaya, but in other major cities as well
In Pattaya they have not canceled the water splashing. Under the circumstances I think this year only the most moronic idiots will be out there splashing water. However, Pattaya has no shortage of moronic idiots . . .
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Gaybutton »

Thai Tourism Authority heavily considering officially moving Songkran to July 4-7 this year

By Adam Judd

March 12, 2020

As province after province continue to cancel official Songkran events and airline flights around the world are cancelled due to concerns of the Covid19 Coronavirus the Thai Government and Thai Tourism Authority is heavily considering officially moving Songkran to July.

This would allow the world famous waterfights that draw millions of tourists to continue and help bring tourists back to Thailand, assuming of course that the virus situation has subsided by that time. It is also expected that the drought situation will be improved by then.

The TAT’s first request for the private sector is a plan to postpone Songkran from April to July 4-7.

The idea got the nod from Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn but still needs approval from the Culture Ministry.

Mr. Yuthasak said the “green” season in July is a more appropriate time for celebrations because the drought will be less severe by then.

“We don’t want to lose the opportunity created by a big festival, as most events have already been cancelled,” he said. “But we have to introduce this idea to event organisers and the private sector in every province first.”

Mr Yuthasak said the TAT should encourage flexibility among stakeholders during the outbreak.

“Even the tomb-sweeping day or Qingming festival in China, during which families pay respect to ancestors, had to be postponed in some areas to allow for virus containment,” he said. “Postponing a festival should be on the table in Thailand too.”

https://thepattayanews.com/2020/03/12/t ... this-year/
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Undaunted »

Speaking with a Thai friend who owns a phone shop in Tuk Com said his friend owns a girlie bar in Pattaya and all the bars have been given written notice that water cannot be thrown from a bar or face a 3 month shutdown.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 1:30 pm water cannot be thrown from a bar or face a 3 month shutdown.
I'm glad for that. but it's a bit on the vague side. Hopefully it also means they can't throw water while standing outside the bar. My guess is it does mean that.

You want to throw water at each other? Take a shower together. At least for this year, leave everybody else alone.
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Dodger »

Gaybutton wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 12:02 pm Thai Tourism Authority heavily considering officially moving Songkran to July 4-7 this year
Moving Songkran would be like moving Christmas.

TAT is getting exactly what it deserves. First, they rolled out the red carpet for the Chinese, with absolutely no concern whatsoever about the problems this was causing with air pollution, tour buses causing major traffic jams, strains on internal resources, etc., and now they want to throw sugar at the potential farang tourists by telling them they can come and officially splash water in July. Fat chance of that ever paying dividends. What goes around comes around.
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Gaybutton »

Dodger wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 2:53 pm they rolled out the red carpet for the Chinese, with absolutely no concern whatsoever about the problems this was causing.
Don't forget the behavior of those tourists - to the point that Thailand actually had to give them pamphlets explaining how to and how not to behave. I guess without those pamphlets it never would have occurred to them that washing their socks and sandals in public toilet sinks is a no-no.
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by gerefan »

If it was up to me I would move Songkran to the height of the low season, not July which is full of Europeans.

So the ideal time is September, which is also the wettest month! Ideal for water throwing!
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Gaybutton »

gerefan wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:40 pm If it was up to me I would move Songkran to the height of the low season
That is an excellent point. I hadn't thought of that, but it certainly makes very good sense. And to do that would only require an additional two months wait beyond the July suggestion.

The idea of changing the Songkran celebration dates is only in the "talking about it" stage at the present time. Nothing official yet. They can't change the actual religious holiday, but it does make sense to me to find a way to postpone, rather than completely cancel, all the events and activities associated with Songkran.

It would also make sense to me to permit the water splashing only when the drought ends. Right now, because of the seriousness of this drought along with the virus scare, wasting all that water is not my idea of a smart move. As much as the Thais love the Songkran holiday, the Thai government is going to have to find ways to convince the people to accept reality under the present circumstances. Most Thais I've talked with fully understand this already and are not objecting to foregoing the water splashing this year.

If they do change the celebration dates, I hope they'll make it contingent upon whether the virus problem has run its course by then. If the problem is still going on, they would need to postpone further, which is what I would imagine they would do - if they do this at all.

Since the virus has now been declared a global pandemic, there's quite a bit of waiting and seeing to do. I don't see, at this point, how anybody could intelligently predict how far this will go or when it is likely to end - unless, of course, your name happens to be Donald Trump . . .
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Re: Pattaya's Songkran decisions

Post by Gaybutton »

Since Songkran has now been postponed, I've moved this topic off of "Announcements"
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