Celebrating the Thai Queen’s 84th birthday

To celebrate Her Majesty, the Queen of Thailand’s birthday, Thailand Tourism organized a group of 84 journalists, photographers and bloggers to visit their country and understand its different facets under the label of “A Woman’s Journey.” Needless to say, women dominated the groups, as the purpose was to spread the message of Thailand offering many possibilities of holidays for women.

The journalists were divided into four different groups and taken around the various parts of Thailand. The thrust of these visits were the many enterprises undertaken by the Queen and His Majesty the King. A lot of them were linked with the rehabilitation of tribal arts and crafts as well as to do with the use of natural resources and environmental protection.

On Day 1 all the four groups were banded together and taken to the Grand Palace, where there was a sighting of the Emerald Buddha inside the precincts of one of the main temples. After this everyone was given rides in Bangkok’s preferred mode of transportation, the Tuk-tuk. This was followed with a visit to the newly-opened Queen’s Gallery, where everyone had the opportunity to not only get a glimpse of Thailand’s exquisite arts but also to see the craftspeople at work. It was a heartwarming experience as were many others throughout these five days. Thai Tourism had planned several activities to involve the travellers and for many it was a revisiting of their school-day activities..

The same evening, there was a gala sit-down dinner with the who’s who of Bangkok in attendance.

“The next day, each of the four groups were taken across the four directions of Thailand along with with tour guides, officials and photographers The charted routes were excellent and those who participated came back completely impressed with the humanitarian concerns of Thailand’s Queen.”

The final day, Friday the 5th of August, ended with a gala sit-down dinner, which was among the best experiences that any one could hope for, with live music and excellent food and drink.

One representative from each of the groups was asked to convey their impressions of the trip. This was preceded by an audio-visual shoot of the group’s activities. Everyone agreed to being touched by the Thai people’s hospitality and care as well as the Queen’s laudable involvement with the less privileged of her country. A small prayer was said for her good health.

Thai Tourism has to be commended for planning this mega event and taking care of the creature comforts of all the invitees.
As they say in Thai, “Khapunka” or thank you.