Pattaya Mail — News

Loy Krathong - Festival of Lights

On Friday 14 November, Pattaya joins the nation in celebrating Loy Krathong. A listing of local hotels and their Loy Krathong celebrations appears on page 10.

The Loy Krathong festival originated more than 700 years ago in the Sukhothai Kingdom, the capital of the young Thai nation. Every year, on the full-moon day of the twelfth lunar month, the Northern Thai Kingdoms celebrated.

As Siam grew in size and more territories became Thai in culture, the festival spread to all parts of modern day Thailand. Loy Krathong, is an animistic and mystic festival dedicated to thanking bodies of fresh water for their bounty. This did not preclude celebrations in coastal areas. Long ago, the festival’s tone was quiet, subdued and meditative, a time for reflection on the events of the past year.

Due to the pressures of modern life, it became necessary to fix the day of the festival. The wayward phases of the moon yielded to a technological society. In Pattaya, Loy Krathong is celebrated on November 14th of each year.

The festival is said to have been originated by Lady Nopphamas, a noblewoman of the Sukhothai Kingdom. At that time, His Majesty King Ramkamhaeng welcomed Brahmins from India into the court of Sukhothai. The Royal Brahmins were the King’s advisors, scholars who taught precepts of Hinduism to the court. The Brahmins also cast horoscopes for the King and Kingdom. Every facet of life and all rites of passage in Thailand had a Hindu influence, much of which has remained to the present day.

The yearly Ploughing Festival and the spirit houses seen in Thailand are of Brahmin origin.

Lady Nopphamas, learning of the respect with which the holy river Kongka (Ganges) was held in India, felt that the life-giving waters of Sukhothai should receive the same reverence. She made the first Krathong, a small round boat of Banana leaves and flowers.

A candle, a stick of incense and a small coin was put in the boats, which were set afloat on the waters, under the light of the full moon. As Krathongs floated down the rivers people prayed for their sins of the past year to depart with the Krathong.

The festival developed and new traditions and beliefs were added. People made many charitable offerings, preventing future bad luck. Krathongs told young lovers of their
future. Launching their Krathongs together, lovers watched the boat’s progress down the river. If the Krathongs floated side by side, true and lasting love was assured. Drifting apart meant possible estrangement in the future. The worst omen was a Krathong capsizing in mid-stream.

On full moon night, the water in rivers is Nam Phen or ‘full-moon water’. The influence of the moon’s gravity would raise the level of the rivers and the water was still. Parents bathed their children in the Nam Phen, cleansing and calming their spirits.

Today, Loy Krathong and other festivals have become rather ‘generic’ and celebrations are noisy and include strong drink.

Lady Nopphamas is remembered in the festival. Each province has a ‘Lady Nopphamas’ who presides. A tall and elegant woman with an aristocratically beautiful face, the beauties chosen to represent her, are not ‘sexy’, rather more classically beautiful. Anyone wishing to gaze upon prototypes of Thai femininity needs look no further.

The tradition of Loy Krathong is best seen at its home, Sukhothai.

Loy Krathong is one Thai festival known in other countries. Although not a household word in the West, there are a number of people who have heard of it.

The main ambassador of this festival is probably the song, Loy Krathong. It is one of many world folk songs which combine the right elements to make it ‘listener friendly’ to all nationalities.

Suek San Wan Loy Krathong...

LTU inaugural flight to U-tapao

Passengers aboard the inaugural LTU flight from Germany to U-tapao were greeted by a host of top officials, Thai dancers, flower garlands and welcome drinks on Saturday, November 8. LTU is breaking new ground in launching this special service to the Eastern Seaboard.

The flight, expected to be landing at 7:15 p.m., arrived 20 minutes earlier, demonstrating typical German punctuality. The 47 passengers who chose Pattaya for their vacation were pleasantly surprised with a performance of various Thai dances by Nong Nooch Village dancers as they disembarked from the plane.

Photo: Elisabeth Hartmann, Assistan Resident Manager LTU Thailand Touristic Service, greets one of the first ever passengers arriving in U-tapao with LTU.

After collecting their suitcases, the group was greeted by TAT emissaries in Thai national costumes and presented with flowers. Hans Spoerri, General Manager of Siam Bayshore Hotel, sponsored welcome drinks offered to all the passengers by two beautiful girls dressed in national attire.

The passengers told Pattaya Mail that they were pleasantly surprised how fast and professional the customs officials at U-tapao Airport handled their duty.

LTU flights will now be arriving at U-tapao Airport every Saturday from 4 destinations in Germany, via Abu Dhabi and Chiang Mai, and a few hours later departing on the same route back.

On hand to greet the passengers were: Raimund Horning, shareholder and head of LTU International Airways for South East Asia; Hans P. Tuggener, managing director of LTU Asia Tours; Günther Beckermann, director contracting & marketing LTU Asia; Koray Cavdir, assistant general manager of operations for LTU Asia; Günter Opielka, resident manager LTU Thailand Touristic Service; Elisabeth Hartmann, assistant resident manager LTU Thailand Touristic Service; Pimchai Tailungka, branch office manager LTU Asia Tours Pattaya; Ekkachai Sukhagganot, tour-leader; and Christian Holzammer, tour-leader.

Local school calls for help

The Nong Yai Temple School (Pattaya School No. 4) has put out a request for assistance in replenishing school supplies lost in recent flooding. The school is located several metres below the level of the road and much school equipment was destroyed in the swirling waters of the yearly flood run off.

The school does receive money from the city budget for repair of the buildings but the amount is not enough to replace equipment. With only chalk and blackboard, the school is now not able to give the children quality education. While waiting for new government allocation, the children’s education is suffering.

The school is therefore asking for assistance from the private sector in replacing equipment. Needed materials are:

1. 40 school desks
2. 4 metal file cabinets
3. Shelves for the school’s library
4. 1 100 Watt Public Address system
5. 1 overheard projector
6. 1 photocopying machine
7. 1 video projector
8. 1 video cassette recorder
9. 1 33 inch television
10. 15 Personal Computers

The school also lacks the budget to buy building materials to repair the cafeteria. Needed materials:

1. 40 bags of cement
2. 15 cubic metres of gravel
3. 20 cubic metres of sand
4. 16 six metre, 5 inch cement posts.
Those who find it in their hearts to give the school the necessary aid may contact Mr. Pirayos Jaemkrajang, Tel. (038) 429-266 or newspapers which are members of the Pattaya Media Association.

Britons rally to Lena's cause

Britons, both in Thailand and abroad, have rallied to the plight of young Lena, the three-year-old daughter of deceased British bit part actor Stanley Young.

After her story ran in the Pattaya Mail and subsequently in British newspapers, Pattaya Mail offices have received several heart-felt letters from Great Britain offering everything from financial support to marriage for Lena’s mother Anongnart.

The British Foreign Office in Bangkok also offered assistance, saying that Lena and her mother are entitled to come to Britain and that both are entitled to receive social security.

"We reject the charge that we had declined to help," a Foreign Office spokesman said, stating further that the British Embassy only became aware of Lena’s plight from newspaper reports.

The official, who said Lena was also a Thai national, said, "We have also contacted the Thai authorities who are willing to assist Lena."

The spokesman insisted that 35-year-old Anongnart Young, Lena’s mother, had been made fully aware how she and her daughter could claim from the Department of Social Security.

Both were given documents to take to a lawyer when they notified officials of the death of Lena’s father, British bit-part actor Stanley Young.

The situation had been complicated by the fact that Stanley Young’s relatives, when contacted by the Foreign Office, said that they could not help and forbade the Foreign Office to pass on their details to Lena and her mother. Lena’s father died of a heart attack in a Bangkok hotel in February 1994, two weeks after Lena’s birth, after saying that he was returning to England for a short stay.

Mr. Young had told his Thai wife that he had more than £92,000 in his bank account and would take his new family back to Britain where his daughter would receive a good education.

Relatives in Britain, however, described Stanley Young as a man who had been penniless most of his life.

He has two children in Britain, who are now adults, with whom he had no contact for 15 years. His ex-wife, Julie, who lives in Coventry, said that she had her hands full looking after a 16-year-old who had cerebral palsy.

Pattaya Mail has also received offers from a German businessman and from a British ex-patriote group in Bangkok. "Lena should not have to suffer because of the problems of her parents and because of red tape," Peter Malhotra, Publisher of Pattaya Mail said.

Thai women nationals who take the citizenship of another country by marriage to a foreigner or otherwise lose all their property rights in Thailand.

Social Security does not exist in any recognizable European form in Thailand.

Typhoon Linda does local damage

Pattaya and her surrounding area was not spared the wrath of super-typhoon Linda, which took many lives and caused much property damage in southern and central Thailand. The storm’s 120 kilometre per hour winds slammed into Thailand’s east coast, levelling houses and crushing boats.

The typhoon did most damage in Prachuab Khirikhan Province, but the east coast strongly felt the lash of the storm’s tail.

Linda demolished 18 houses, as well as private and fishing boats on Ko Larn Island. In Sattahip, over 100 houses were destroyed, but no casualties were reported.

The Governor of Chonburi ordered an assistance centre set-up to help victims.

Linda caused most damage on Kud and Wai Islands in Trat province. 39 fishing boats were destroyed and over 200 crew members drowned.

The Royal Thai Navy sent the aircraft carrier Chakri Nareubet to look for survivors and recover bodies from the sea.

The damage to property totalled hundreds of millions of baht.

Passport to Pattaya proposed

Ms. Phanga Vathanakul, Chairperson of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee for Pattaya, presided over a meeting of her committee to introduce Mr. Peter Budd (sic), an expert in public relations planning, and two of his staff.

Mr. Budd was present to give the committee advice on its new ‘Passport to Pattaya’ program, which is being designed to encourage more tourists to spend their vacations in Pattaya. The ‘Passport to Pattaya’ would be in the form of a single ‘credit card’ with which tourists could enjoy every part of Pattaya specified in the application form.

This would eliminate the use of cash, credit cards or vouchers. The card would be similar to an American Express card but could only be used in Pattaya.

The committee discussed the realization that this project is a large undertaking, as the costs would be high and the ‘passport’ would have to be linked to Pattaya’s banking system. There were also other problems, the main being the state of the economy. The 10 City Council members could not implement the project alone.

Mr. Budd told the committee that the ‘Passport’ could be a way to promote Pattaya, but a very detailed schedule of events calendar would have to be made. All cultural, sports events, musical performances, food festivals and natural destinations need be specified.

Ms. Yiarayong told the meeting that she would draw up such a calendar to present to the committee and the consultant company for feasibility consideration.

Attending the meeting were Sutham Phantusak, Ms. Sophin Thepjug and Phisai Phanomwan Na Ayuthaya, members of the Pattaya City Council. Also present were Suwat Phaephiromrat, President of the Pattaya Hotel Association, Ms. Khajeeka Bunnag, Director of Radio Thailand for Pattaya, Ms. Yiarayong Chaiyarat, Pro-Temp Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand for Pattaya and reporters from the Pattaya Mail, acting as public relations staff for the committee.

Copyright © 1997 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
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Created by Andy Gombaez