International Mardi Gras 2009 at Pataya

The Pattaya International Mardi Gras took place yesterday along Beach Road in Pattaya. This was their first attempt at a "Mardi Gras" which I guess was held to help boost tourism in the region. The advertising posters billed it as "Pattaya's first electrical carnival parade". They are hoping to make this an annual event though this year it seemed to have been partly sponsored by the Central Group as it coincided with the opening of their new mall Central Festival.

The name "Mardi Gras" is probably more famously linked with the carnivals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and New Orleans, Louisiana. A Mardi Gras is usually held every year before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Thai people are mainly Buddhists but that doesn't stop them from celebrating with a Mardi Gras Carnival. In Pattaya, they focused on three themes: Thai Contemporary Arts; Modern Beach Lifestyle and Under the Sea Celebration. Well, that was the plan anyway. Everybody was all lined up and it gave us plenty of opportunities to take pictures of the participants. The parade was led with a couple of floats sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) which was the "underwater theme". Following them were the dancing girls from many of the bars in Pattaya.

There were certainly many well dressed women wearing outlandish colours that could be linked to what we envision as a Mardi Gras. At the same time there were also many traditional Thai costumes in the parade. In some ways, it was a bit like a normal parade that we often see here but with a more international theme.

The second half of the parade was mainly children from local schools. In some ways they were the highlight as they had more enthusiasm. They had a go at dressing up as dancing ladies, but also they wore more traditional clothes with themes such as Songkran. They had both marching bands and traditional Thai music. The parade seemed to be very long and also very slow at times. I watched it for most of the time from the Hard Rock Cafe. The end of the parade didn't pass us until about 6.30 p.m. The complete parade route was said to be 5 k.m. long and I would reckon that many of these children would have been very tired once they got to the end.

I think overall it was a great event. It is certainly worth repeating next year.

credit:thai-blogs

Bor Sang Umbrella and Sankampaeng Handicraft Festival 16-18 January 2009

Bor Sang, on highway 1006 heading east from Chiang Mai, appears to be a typical sleepy rural village, the kind the tour bus speeds by giving you just a fleeting glimpse of its two-storey wooden houses. But hidden in the tiny lanes, villagers have perfected a craft that creates the country’s most famous umbrellas.

For more than 100 years, the village has been associated with the production of umbrellas made from Saa paper derived from mulberry tree bark. According to local history, a monk travelled to neighbouring Myanmar, where he came across Saa paper umbrellas that offered protection against both the sun and rain.

He returned with the production technique and introduced the umbrella to the elders of Bor Sang village, who added their own artistic skills to create a distinctive colourful, but very practical, umbrella. At first it was just a profitable hobby that supplemented the villagers’ earnings from the annual rice crop. However, with time production of the Saa paper umbrellas prospered, prompting villagers to establish a handicraft cooperative in 1941 that now organises the annual festival.

Throughout the year, tourists visit the village, a short 6 km drive from Chiang Mai, to buy umbrellas and study the process and skills that go into making a handicraft entirely from natural products. But nothing quite compares with the buzz that permeates the village during this colourful three-day handicraft festival, every January. It is a scene that represents village hospitality and charm at its very best.

Credit:Tourism of Thailand