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Dancing Drummers roar to life on Walking Street

Koh Samui gets China charters

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Dancing Drummers roar to life on Walking Street

The Dancing Drummers from Southwest India’s Karnataka State perform the colorful Dollu Kunitha drum dance on Walking Street Sept. 19-20 as part of a 19-country tour.

Sue K

Indian honey collectors who beat drums to keep tigers at bay staged their own roaring performance on Walking Street as part of a 19-country tour.

The Dancing Drummers came to Pattaya’s nightlife district Sept. 19-20, delighting passers-by with the colorful Dollu Kunitha drum dance of Southwest India’s Karnataka state. It is a dance that features both spectacular variety and a complexity of skills in the process that both entertains and satisfies spiritually.

The troupe consists of about a dozen artists who actually earn their living harvesting honey from the forests of India where tigers make their homes. They use drumming and dancing to keep the tigers away, rather than kill them.

Later on they started to use these skills to perform at festivals and cultural events.

The Indian government sponsored their trip to Thailand. The troupe has performed in 19 countries to date and after Thailand these drummers will take on the mighty Brazilians on their own turf at drumming when they get there next month.

Koh Samui gets China charters

Sirima Eamtako,
TTG Asia

Koh Samui will welcome three direct charter flights from Kunming and Chengdu in the first week of October, during China’s Golden Week holiday.

Vorasit Pongkumpunt, adviser to the president of Koh Samui Tourism Business Association said, “This marks the first time we - the island’s travel trade, Bangkok Airways and Chinese tour operators - are working hand in hand to promote Koh Samui.”

The flights will be operated by Bangkok Airways, using its 144-seat Airbus A319, and 80 percent of the seats have already been booked. Vorasit expects the flights to be full once operations begin.

Chinese tourists to Koh Samui are a high-end, not zero-dollar, market, he said. Shops on the island do not offer commissions to guides.

“They book accommodation from 3,000 baht a night in a deluxe hotel room to more than 10,000 baht in a luxury pool villa.”

Koh Samui’s travel trade is planning to stage road shows in Chongqing, Kunming and Chengdu later this year to create awareness. They are also hoping to encourage Chinese tour operators to introduce charter flights into Koh Samui during the Chinese New Year season in February.