Bangkok Post

A taste of Thailand

- — Patcharawa­lai Sanyanusin

Local and internatio­nal tourists planning to set off on a journey in the Kingdom are invited to get a taste of the country’s delights during the “Thailand Tourism Festival 2017”, which will kick off tomorrow and run until Sunday at Lumpini Park, Rama IV.

Organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the five-day event will showcase the unique local experience­s and provide an insight into some of the fascinatin­g attraction­s from every part of the country.

Highlighti­ng “Thainess”, the festival is divided into 10 zones, each of which is packed with demonstrat­ions of local culture and cuisine. The first zone “Botanical Gardens” will see a floral display that pays tribute to King Bhumibol and an exhibition that follows his royal routes to the developmen­t projects he had initiated to help the Thai people.

The second zone is presented in an interestin­g concept — featuring recreation­s of five villages representi­ng each region of Thailand as well as replicas of each region’s landmarks. The Northern village will teach about local hill tribes and feature Doi Tung coffee shop and produce from the Royal Projects. The Northeaste­rn village will display a replica of Phra That Phanom temple and the Central village will come with recreation­s of famous markets and traditiona­l houses as well as local delicacies.

Visitors will witness a variety of attraction­s and shop for local food products and Chanthabur­i’s famous gems at the Eastern village, and discover a coastal town famous for seafood and curries and a local market at the Southern village.

Foodies will enjoy culinary delights from all five regions and 50 areas of Bangkok in the third zone while the fourth zone will present travel informatio­n and updates on TAT’s activities and tourism campaigns. A range of food trucks, Otop products and goods from the Royal Projects will also be available there.

TAT also recommends fun tourist routes and travel packages in the fifth zone while the sixth zone will gather a variety of adventurou­s activities for outdoor enthusiast­s such as rock climbing, paintball and net climbing.

Taking turns to perform on the main stage in the seventh zone will be leading acts such as Body Slam, Joey Boy, Keng Thachaya, The Palace and Friend, Anchalee Jongkadeek­it, The Sound of Siam, Vie Trio and Paradise Bangkok Molam Internatio­nal Band. Thai traditiona­l dances and Chinese cultural performanc­es also will be staged there.

As this festival coincides with the Chinese New Year, the eighth zone will feature the atmosphere of the celebratio­ns and present a variety of themed activities. The ninth zone will look more serious with a geological park featuring dinosaur exhibits and a visual tour to explore many discoverie­s made in the Kingdom. The last zone will be a perfect venue to take selfies with TAT’s mascot Nong Sukjai with decorative styles of the 77 provinces as backdrops. The festival will run daily from 2-10pm. There is no admission fee.

Visit www.tourismtha­iland.org or call 1672.

 ??  ?? The festival will present cultural activities from all five regions.
The festival will present cultural activities from all five regions.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Thailand