Where the superstars are Adult Dvd Site

Search Thai-Anxiety

 

2008:

Pattaya International Music Festival. Postponed from March, rescheduled for June but now cancelled

Asanha Bucha Day 17th July. Buddhist special day. Bars closed

Buddhist Lent Day 18th July. Buddhist special day. Bars usually closed but good chance of relaxed enforcement

Queen's Birthday (Mother's Day): 12th August. Bars open 2006, 2007

Chonburi Buffalo Races October Chonburi City Hall

End of Buddhist Lent (Auk Pansar) 14th Oct. Bars open

Chulalongkorn Day: 23rd Oct. Bars open

Loy Krathong: 12th Nov. Girls dress up in national dress and float boats out to water spirits. Bars open

King's Birthday (Fathers Day): 5th Dec, Bars open 2006 but closed 2007

Constitution Day: 10th Dec. Bars open

Christmas Day. 25th Dec. Not a Thai holiday but it is surely a special day in Pattaya

New Years Eve. 31st Dec. Bars open

2009:

New Years Day 1st Jan. Bars open

Chinese New Year:

Makha Bucha Day Buddhist special day. Bars closed

Chakri Day: 6th April. Bars open

Songkran: 13-16th April + Naklua/Pattaya local days 18/19th. Bars open and very wet

Labour Day: 1st May. Bars open

Coronation Day: 5th May. Bars open

Visakha Bucha Day. Buddhist special day. Bars closed

 
Chonburi Buffalo Races

No mention of useful things like betting facilities and the availability of form guides though.

From www.thailand.com

This year on 23rd-25th October 2007 at Chonburi City Hall

Around the time of the full moon in the 11th lunar month, usually the first weekend in October, farmers from all over the province bring their buffalo to Chonburi City for a festival that dates back centuries. Costumed dancers move to the music of traditional Thai songs amid flags and banners. General merriment prevails as local beauties vie for the title of "Miss Farm Maiden". Judges also award prizes to the best decorated buffalo.

The races themselves are preceded by a parade of colorful buffalo-drawn carts through the central part of the provincial capital. Then the contestants are led to the stadium while farmhands run along side and throw buckets of water on them to keep them cool. The buffalo are fed a mixture of beer and eggs to enhance their performance, and the riders probably consume one of the ingredients to gather their courage for the bareback ride of the rampaging beasts. Crowds whoop and roar and dive for cover as the numerous rounds narrow down the field to four finalists. Finally in the late afternoon the winning buffalo is festooned with garlands and prizes are awarded to the rider

 
From TAT. Loi Krathong Day is on November 5th 2006

As the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (usually in mid-November) lights up the night sky, throughout the Thai kingdom, hundreds of thousands of ornately-decorated krathong or traditional banana leaf floats are set adrift in rivers and waterways in a spell-binding ritual called Loi Krathong - the 'festival of lights". This is one of the Kingdom's oldest and best-preserved traditions.

The Loi Krathong tradition we know of today has evolved from the royal rituals of the early Rattanakosin period in which several types of lanterns were set afloat in the Chao Phraya River and its waterways. The practice was subsequently adopted and adapted by common folk.

Krathong floats are made from basic materials easily found around the village and reflect the simplicity of life beyond the palace walls. They typically take the shape of lotus in full bloom, swans, chedis (stupas), and Mount Meru from Buddhist mythology. However krathong floats in the shape of lotus blossoms are most popular.

There are various accounts about the origins of Loi Krathong. It is not known as to when the tradition first began but authorities speculate that it is of Indian origin and based on the "Deepavalee" ritual which is also accompanied by floating lights in an act of worship of the Brahmin gods. According to another school of thought, the ritual is said to be based on ancient Buddhist tales and is undertaken to pay respect to the sacred footprint of the Lord Buddha on the bank of the mythical Nammadhammahantee river.

However, given the river-based culture that formed the foundation of the traditional Thai way of life, Loi Krathong evolved into a ritual in which offerings are made to Mae Khongkha – Mother of Waters, the Thai equivalent of the Hindu goddess of water, in an expression of gratitude for providing life-sustaining water throughout the year. It is also believed that the offering are made in an act of appeasement to beg her forgiveness for Man's carelessness in polluting the pristine water that nourishes all life. Over time the tradition spread throughout the country.

Some believe that by setting the krathong adrift, one symbolically casts away one's grief, misery and ill-fortunes to the extent that there are bizarre tales of the superstitious placing tufts of hair or clipped finger-nail into the krathong in the hope of ridding themselves of a spell of bad luck or misfortune. Coins are also placed in the krathong as offerings.

For the romantic at heart and young couples, Loi Krathong is the time to make wishes for happiness together and success in love.

At dusk, as the full moon begins to rise, the krathong is decorated with fresh flowers and the candles and incense sticks are placed in the krathong. The float is then taken to a waterway where the candle and incense sticks are lit and the krathong set adrift. The floats are carried downstream by the gentle current, candlelight flickering in the wind.

The lighting of fireworks is undertaken in the same spirit as when lighting candles in an act of worship so fireworks displays are very much an integral element of the secular and religious rituals performed.

Soon after, attention turns to celebration. The evening's festivities consist of impressive firework displays, folk entertainment, stage dramas, song and dance.

Loi Krathong customs and traditions reflect local beliefs and cultural evolution. Interesting regional variations can be seen. In Tak province, the banana-leaf floats are replaced by coconut shells which are threaded together and launched simultaneously so they appear as long chains of hundreds of glittering lights on the Ping River, hence the origin of its name, Loi Krathong Sai.

In the Northern Thai provinces that were once part of the ancient Lanna Thai kingdom, the Yi-peng Northern Lantern Festival is still being celebrated. Tubular lanterns, resembling hot air balloons, are lit and released into the night sky as an offering the Lord Buddha. As hundreds of illuminated lanterns drift into infinity, this conjures the same sense of wistful closure as the krathong float downstream.

by jj, Loy Kratong Day is on November 5th

We are fast approaching another Loy Kratong. Loying (floating) your Kratong (basket) is an ancient and beautiful Thai tradition of ridding yourself of all your cares and woes. You are supposed to place all your worldly concerns and those few sins you have committed in the past year in the basket and let them float peacefully away. Who can forget the sight of thousands of candled kratongs floating down the Chao Phya at the King’s 60th celebration? It is a true family day. Why is it then that the modern Thais have to amplify the tradition?

Last year, I took the entire family over to the Pattaya’s Map-pra-tan reservoir to rid ourselves of worldly concerns. At just about dusk, we loyed our kratongs -- no mean feat when there is no current – and then retired across the road to have dinner in one of those many "lake-view" restaurants. No sooner had the sun set and the food arrived than they plugged in a set of speakers the size of small houses. We were 100 meters away but the music helped us chew our food. Even at that distance it was tooth-rattling!

Why is it that "modern" Thais have to push all the ancient traditions to the brink? Song Kran was once a time to pay homage to the elders and to wash away the cares of the hot season in preparation for the new planting season as the rains arrived. Now it is little more than a battle of the pick-ups laden with talc powder and icy water. New Year’s Day was once a time of gift-giving and family reunions. Now it is just an excuse to get drunk and kill-off young people on motorcycles. Loy Kratong, too, is now just another over-amplified excuse to party. Thailand is less for the conversion.
I think this year we’ll loy in the swimming pool.
 

by David, October 2006

I have visited Thailand for over 20 years and lived here for 12.

This previously peaceful and reverent city is now totally out of control as far as holidaymakers are concerned.

Traditional holy days. such as Loy Kratong have degenerated into chaos, violence and mayhem.

Tourists - please ! stay clear of Pattaya. You will get ripped off, mugged or worse. The Thai people here are no longer interested in showing you Thailand's character but only in profiteering, scams, robbery with violence and so on.

The criminality here is beyond belief. Do not trust ANYBODY.

 
Dry election days in Thailand's bars

August 2007

There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether or not the 19 August election day will be a dry day. As always, the Thai government seems to be unable to make up its might until the last minute on such matters. But such actions lend themselves to analysis anyway.

Human beings turn to a variety of outlets for solace, among these are sex and drugs. The nanny-state Thai government seems to feel that it has to control access to these outlets – alcohol in particular -- on a periodic basis. Many Thai holidays are declared dry days. When such holidays are based on the tenets of Buddhism, this makes some sense. But other times the need to control access to alcohol (and sex) is less well-defined. Election days are in that category. The Thai government has a tendency to arbitrarily declare dry days for a variety of reason or perhaps no reason at all. They also tend to wait until the last minute before making such pronouncements. For example, there does not seem to be a published calendar of dry days for the year that bar owners, staff and patrons can use as a planning guide. When the final "dry or not dry" decision is made hours before the deadline, word inevitably fails to reach the intended audience accurately.

The up-coming referendum on the Thai Constitution is a perfect example. Many sources have assumed that as with previous elections, it will be a dry day but that may or may not be true. It all depends…on what the nanny state can’t seem to decide.

Let’s drop back and examine the basic motivations for such a dry day declaration on election days. Is the nanny state afraid that voters will show up at the polls in an alcoholic stupor? Are they afraid that there will be drunken brawls over who voted which way? How exactly does closing bars preclude any of these? Can’t those most susceptible to alcoholic stupor simply lay in a supply of alcohol prior to the dry day? Seemingly the ban is on the sale of alcohol not its consumption!

All eligible Thais are supposed to vote in all elections or suffer certain losses of political rights. Few Thais could tell you precisely what rights they lose by not voting – but that is a question to be asked of the Education Minister -- yet the Thai law does not allow absentee voting by mail. Because of the system by which voters are assigned to a voting point, hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of Thais are effectively disenfranchised but virtue of the fact that they live and work far from their assigned voting point. One stated reason for holidays surrounding election days is to permit voters to travel across country to vote and then return to their place of employment. However well-intended, the government fails to consider that many employers are not so in tune with this nanny state concept. A young female staffer of a Pattaya bar who chooses to travel back to Buriram to vote is likely to find her pay docked or lose her job all together for her failure to be present when the dry day is over and her place of employment reopens.

This leads naturally to another key point. Within Thailand there are two primary consumer groups for alcohol: Thais and all others. The bars in which these two groups engage in alcohol consumption tend to be completely different. What good does it do the nanny state to declare that all foreigners must be deprived of access to alcohol and sex by declaring that all bars they frequent must close during the elections? By definition, foreigners are not participants in Thai elections. If the nanny state feels it imperative to control access to alcohol among its voters, a simple ban on the sale of alcohol to Thais could be imposed, not involving non-Thais in any way. Such a clear declaration would simplify life for bar owners and staff. If your clientele is primarily Thai, you might find it convenient to close on dry days. If your clientele is exclusively farang, no need to close. The sole exception would be religious-based holidays. It would seem reasonable to close all bars and ban the sale of sex and alcohol on such days, but even this could be subject to another debate.