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| Sunday, 20 July 2003 |
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Holiday mood survives SARS in sizzling Bangkok by Jayanthi Liyanage
A book I read in Thailand said that the 21st century is the century of East Asia. Looking at the agility with which domestic and foreign tourism is bouncing back to the streets, restaurants, hotels and prime tourist hangouts of Pattaya and Bangkok, one could well believe that the scare of SARS and sediments of the Iraq war have almost drained off Thailand leaving a magnificent court culture intact in spite of the permeating global designer-culture. In this gateway to the fusion of Indo-Chinese cultures, life in metro and provincial cities practically detonates at sundown, and one could instinctively feel the power of an Eastern sunset in reversal. Among holidaymakers from Hong Kong, India and the rest of the South East Asian Region attempting to trek the seen and unseen corridors of Thailand, we even met a Sri Lankan family, gulping in huge swigs the humour at the Safari World Show Park of orang utang boxers, sea lion, Beluga whale and dolphin acrobats and talking and cycling birds, a few kilometres beyond the city of Bangkok. We were among the first of 1,500 journalists and travel agents to fly on the "Mega Familiarisation Trip 2003" from June to August, organized by the Thai Airways International Public Company (THAI), Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), to re-project Thailand as a SARS free tourist destination. Among other promotional activities are the "Thailand Smiles Plus Campaign" with "Buy one, Get One Free" hotel packages, and the Thai Airways offer of 20,000 Free Return Tickets to Thailand, to all who fly in and out of Thailand from June-September, 2003, in the lucky draw "Luck is in the air".
The resurging interest in the new and revamped Siam was seen embarking at Bangkok International Airport. And in the troupe of Asian revellers buying flamboyant beachwear and young honeymooners smooching in the hotel lounge at Pattaya, Thailand's largest beach resort 150 kilimetres southeast of Bangkok. And in large crowds of domestic tourists which chequered the white coastline at Koh Lan, the Coral island-getaway 45 minutes off Pattaya shores which shares the Thai Navy town of Sattahip. Many lapped up the warm sun rays lying on the powdery sand and had a traditional Thai massage by spry feminine fingers, or a black rose or a spooky spider tatooed on their forearms. Some went scuba diving to see corals, or banana-riding or water jetting, as I did, on the water scooter, far away into the smiling, unruffled sea of Koh Lan, scooting with high leaps over the plummeting waves. Miles away from the distantly receding land, the frothing foam sang and jumped jubilantly to drench the scooter every time it leapt with gathering momentum while I tested its flying capabilities, with my Thai instructor laughingly goading me to be more daring. The more adventurous went parasailing, at the station anchored mid-sea bewteen Pattaya and Koh Lan. While we shifted our hooves, debating whether to take the skyward plunge or not, a young Lankan woman put her slim arms through the shoulder straps of her parachute, to be whisked up against the soaring wind as the boat tethered to the parachute began its sweeping rounds in the sea. "How was it?" we gaped when she returned from her Icarus feat in the sky. "Absolutely super! You just hang on and scream!," was her glowing reply. The Beach Restaurant fed us with Thai rice, boiled corn, lobster, fried fish and crab brought in diminutive wicker baskets, to be topped off with Rambutan. Thailand has an abundance of native fruit from which we share mangosteen, mango, guava, pineapple, jak and of course, durian, (detected by that unspeakable pungent smell emanating from Thai streets), and how this national wealth is used in place of the ubiquitous human-made deserts to woo the tourist is simply amazing. Many in our group returned home with kilos-ful of Thai Rambutan. Bangkok, or "Krungthep" as it is known to the Thai, meaning the City of Angels, could also be called a city of "hospitality angels". As in the rest of the country, in this life blood of the Thai economy, many Thais have engaged their enterprising abilities in travel and tourism-related jobs in spas, medical spas, shopping malls, golf, hotels, resorts, world heritage sites, Buddhist temples, night clubs, discos, karaokes, cabarets and other entertainment and hospitality activities, and it would seem that Thais are a nation geared for tourism. Sri Lanka could find many cues in the Thai strategy of encouraging mass-market domestic group tour travel and exploring all possibilities of niche marketing for the international traveller, such as city-trips, multi-city-trips, adventure, environment, man-made attractions, thematic routes, medical care, long-stay, sports, agro and educational tourism and national festivals. Resting at the lounge of the biggest hotel in Thailand, the pent house of which has hosted illustrious guests such as Kofi Anan, and listening to the plucking of traditional strings by a lobby-entertainer dressed in the elegant and elaborate Sarong-Kabaya, we are struck by one thought. In the midst of western opulence and technological advances we see around, the unmistakable Thai imprint is everywhere. Perhaps, that Thailand had never been a colony of any other nation, accounts for this indulgence in Thainess, their open involvement in what filters in from out and their devotion to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of the Thai Kingdom. |
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