Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata is kick-starting a week-long Thai Festival from June 2, where there will be many promotional events to engage the Kolkatans. The highlights would include a Thai Festival Live Exhibition at Quest Mall, on June 2, a Thai Food Week and Thai Food Demonstration at Kolkata’s leading star hotels including JW Marriott, The Park, ITC Sonar and The Lalit Great Eastern, from June 1-7 and a Thai Fruit Carving Workshop, on June 4 and 5, at the Consulate premises.
Before the festival begins from June 2, the acting Consul General, of Thailand, Venus Asawapoom, has an exclusive chat with Indulge on the common cultural ties between Bengal and Thailand. Some excerpts.
The Thai Festival is getting bigger and better. What is the plan this time?
Thai festivals had been organised before, too, but at a smaller scale. We regularly participate in Bengal’s Travel and Tourism Fair. But this time, thanks to the cooperation and interest from the private sector, we are organising the festival for a week on a larger scale. But it’s not only about promoting Thai food or tourism. Essentially we want to promote the exchange of culture and idea between Bengal and Thailand. And having a culinary festival is a good platform, since food transcends the language barrier and is a good way to connect. Like the Bengalis here, Thai people, too, love eating their food with rice. But besides food, we have a deeper connection with India, especially Bengal, which goes many centuries back and that’s Buddhism. When Thai people visit Bodh Gaya, their first stop is Kolkata. I was amazed and felt very spiritual when I saw a Buddha relic at the Indian Museum.
Do you feel Thailand as a tourist spot has reached a saturation point?
I don’t think Thailand has reached a saturation point when it comes to tourism. In fact, Thai tourism has increased by 28 per cent last year, with most of the travellers coming back for the second or third time. Thailand is a small country but has such a vast variety to offer when it comes to travel and tourism. You can do eco tourism, luxury travel, shopping tours and many beaches and hills to explore. We are also very popular for destination weddings. Also, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is developing secondary tourism destinations. There are many exotic and unexplored places in Thailand apart from Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket, Ko Samui or Phi Phi. There are exotic beaches in Trang and Ranong and one may even go for a day trip to an island in Myanmar from Ranong. So, travel is not restricted to Thailand alone and we facilitate and encourage global tourism, so that our neighbours, too, get a fair share of footfalls.
You have been here for six months now, how are you liking the city?
Oh, I just love this city, its food, culture and clothes. I have visited all the major attractions in Kolkata and I absolutely love the Indian Museum and have been there twice. It’s a repository of so many important relics and I was especially touched that there is a Buddha relic there. And I love shopping here, especially Indian clothes and jewellery.
I have been in Rabat in Morocco for four years and another four years in Canberra, Australia and each country is different. I am more of a cosmopolitan person having studied in the US for many years and then travelling to different countries and I have learnt so many new things because of that. I studied Arabic and learnt cooking Moroccan food while in Morocco and here in Kolkata, I love how you use mustard oil in cooking and I love Prawn Malai Curry and have it with rice often.
Apart from Songkran, what are the other festivities during which one may plan a trip to Thailand?
Loy Krathon, which is a festival dating back to ancient times has similar cultural ritualistic practice like in India. Thai people float candles and small lamps on river and the skies are filled with magic lanterns. It takes place in November, which is a good time to visit Thailand. In Chiang Mai and Sukhothai (Dawn of happiness) provinces there are light and sound shows and the entire country wears a festive look. It's a must see.