Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay and area
tourism officials put the finishing touches on plans for the April 13
parade from the wooden temple in Naklua at an April 1 meeting.
Jetsada Homklin & Warunya Thongrod
Pattaya’s devout will be given a chance to sprinkle holy water on
Buddhist relics from the Sanctuary of Truth during a Songkran parade
through the city.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay and area tourism officials put the
finishing touches on plans for the April 13 parade from the wooden
temple in Naklua at an April 1 meeting.
The Busabok Stupa, which stands in the Sanctuary of Truth’s Central
Hall, has relics of Lord Buddha stored at the top, symbolizing
enlightenment. They were presented to the temple in April 2009 by the
late Supreme Patriarch of Thailand.
Pattaya, with the Chonburi Monk’s Committee, Chonburi National Office of
Buddhism, and Buddhist Association of Chonburi, have organized the
parade to give residents and tourists an opportunity to pour holy water
on the relics on Songkran Day to wish for prosperity and increase one’s
glory leading to success according to Buddhism beliefs.
The 40-car parade will take a long route throughout the entire
Naklua-Pattaya-Jomtien area beginning at 7 a.m. at the Sanctuary of
Truth. The route heads toward the New Naklua Market then turns on
Sukhumvit Road to the Krathinglai intersection heading down North Road
to Beach Road, where it will join the larger Songkran parade with
representatives from Pattaya’s 42 neighborhoods.
The parade moves down Beach Road until Walking Street where it turns
left and stops at Chaimongkol Temple for water-pouring. The parade then
will move toward Jomtien Beach where the parade will stop again for
people to pour holy water at Krathung Thong Temple.
The parade will continue to the Pattaya Floating Market before returning
to Second Road where people can again pour water on the relics at Mike
Shopping Mall and Central Festival Pattaya Beach. The parade then
resumes, heading to Lan Po Park and back to the Sanctuary of Truth. In
all, the parade will make eight water-pouring stops.
Despite the extraordinary length of the parade route, only Beach Road
between Central and South roads will be closed to traffic during the
April 13 parade. The rest of the route will see police simply block off
intersections as the parade moves through.
