Ploughing Ceremony
A Thai traditional ceremony that is popular with tourists and
attended by the King is the annual Ploughing Ceremony, which draws
many of the country’s farmers to Bangkok to usher in the
start of the new rice-growing season. The ceremony is held in the
heart of the city and dates back more than 2,500 years. The chief
event is a procession in which a red and gold sacred plough is
drawn by flower-bedecked bulls, followed by drummers in green
costumes, and others blowing conch shells or carrying baskets
filled with rice-seed. After the ploughing and ritual feeding of
the bulls, rice seed is scattered and the watching crowds rush onto
the field to gather some grains for good luck, and a good
harvest.
Venue: Phramane Ground, near the Grand Palace;
Date: 7 May 2004
Songkran Festival
The traditional rites of Songkran involve dousing everyone
around you in water as a symbol of cleansing and purification at
the start of the Thai New Year. Songkran is celebrated nation-wide
around Thailand with great gusto, and equally enthusiastically in
the capital city, Bangkok. The fun-filled festival is held for
about three days, centred on wats and temples where images of
Buddha are bathed and the elderly in the community are symbolically
washed by the youngsters. After the ceremonials, most people take
to the baking hot streets for a merry, wet free-for-all. In Bangkok
the best places to experience the festivities are on the square in
front of the Grand Palace where the Phra Buddha Sihing is bathed;
the Wisutkasat, where a Miss Songkran Beauty pageant is held; and
Khao San Road in Banglampoo where jovial water-throwing reaches new
heights in battles between locals and tourists.
Venue: Citywide in the streets, temples and wats;
Date: 12-15 April 2008;
Website: www.songkran.net
International Swan Boat Races, Bangkok
Thailand International Swan Boat Races
Racing the graceful oriental Swan Boats has become an
international sport with more than 20 teams, including England,
Australia and the United States, participating in the annual world
championships held in November in Bangkok, on the river near the
ancient capital of Siam, Ayutthaya. The elegant swan boats are
long, narrow round-bottomed boats with upturned bows intricately
carved that resemble swan heads, while the stern represents a
flowing tail.
Venue: The Bangsai Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Centre on the Chao Phraya River;
Date: September/October 2008, TBC;
Website: www.swanboat.org
