Bangsaen Thailand Open powered by PTT
Date: October 23-28, 2012
Venue: Bangsaen Beach, Chonburi
Swatch FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour: Beach Volleyball Olympic stars head to Bangsaen.
Thailand will host the last stop on 2012 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour. The tournament is called the Bangsaen Thailand Open powered by PTT and will be held at Laemtean, Bangsaen from 23 – 28 October. Thai fans will be able see over 60 teams in action including the cream of the women’s beach volleyball teams who competed in the Olympic Games in London. Admission is free and for the first time on the World Tour in Thailand, feature matches will be played in the evening under lights.
Highlight: This year’s season finale has drawn the best women’s beach volleyball teams from around the world to Bangsaen; including current World Champions and Olympic bronze medalists, Julian and Larissa from Brazil. They will be battling it out for the year-end No 1 ranking with China’s Xue and Zhang Xi, who finished fourth in the Olympics and are the reigning champions of the Thailand leg of the World Tour. Olympic silver medalists Kessy and Ross from the USA who are currently occupying the No 5 spot in the world rankings have also entered along with Olympic quarter-finalists; Cicolari and Menegatti from Italy, the Schwaiger sisters from Austria, Holtwick and Semmler from Germany and Kolocova and Slukova from the Czech Republic.
The Bangsaen Thailand Open powered by PTT is played over 6 days of competition from 23-28 October 2012. Matches start from 09.00 daily, with evening feature matches being played from 24–26 October.
Chonburi Buffalo Festival
Date: October 26 – November 1, 2012 (Buffalo races on Oct. 29)
The races draw large crowd of locals and tourists to fields in front of Chonburi District Office and City Hall as the Governor rings the gong opening the ever-popular event and leads a parade through the Chonburi Market area, a tradition for much of the past century.
The week feature more than cattle with slingshot shooting, kite competitions, post-climbing, cock fighting and Muay Thai boxing filling the playbill. The highlight – the buffalo racing features beasts competing in large, medium and small sizes. There are also beauty pageants, both for intricately dressed-up women and buffalos.
End of the Buddhist Lent Festival
Date: October 30, 2012
Pattaya-area Buddhists mark the end of Buddhist Lent by going to local temples for merit-making and commemorating Buddha’s descent from heaven via a staircase of crystal, silver and gold.
Auk Pansaa, which this year falls on October 30, ends the three-month “rains retreat” monks make inside their temple so as not to trample rice crops during the rainy season.
It traditionally is followed the next day by ‘Tak Baht Devo’, the Buddhist merit-making ritual that is performed on the final day of the festival, which signals the end of the Buddhist Lent.
Pattaya residents celebrate the holy day by giving alms to monks and releasing birds for good luck at all area temples. Together they pray and pay respect to images of their lord.
Loi Krathong Festival
Date: November 28, 2012
The full moon of the 12th month let’s join Loi Krathong Festival in Pattaya. Pattaya City promotes the support of arts and valuable traditions of Thailand to remind the public and next generation the importance of the tradition. Its objective is also to publicize and promote the tradition and the tourism in Pattaya. There are many activities in the event such as the concert from famous artists, folk music performance, Krathong Contest, Beauty Contest, Thai cultural performance, Students’ stage performance and the souvenir shops along Pattaya Beach and Lanpho Naklua Public Park.
H.M. the King’s Birthday Celebration
Date: December 5, 2012
Several festivities get underway early morning nationwide as well as at the Banglamung District Office where the District Chief lead a grand merit-making ceremony, offering rice and dried goods to 85 monks from area temples.
Pattaya’s main celebration starts in the afternoon as thousands of Thais and foreigners adorned in pink shirts joined a festive parade from Royal Garden Plaza to Bali Hai Pier whereby Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome, leads thousands of well-wishers in a candle-lighting ceremony before singing songs for His Majesty “Sansern Phra Baramee” and “Sadudee Maharaja.”
Constitution Day
Date: December 10, 2012
Monday, December 10 marks Constitution Day in Thailand. The holiday is celebrated annually to commemorate the advent of the Constitutional Monarchy in Thailand. All government offices, banks and many businesses close. Shopping centres and bank currency exchange booths, however, are open. Places of entertainment are allowed to remain open without restriction.
Pattaya Countdown
Date: December 25-31, 2012
Pattaya city creates the joy and happiness to bid farewell to the old and welcome the New Year with Pattaya Countdown with ongoing 7 days 7 nights celebration, featuring the over 20,000 shots of fireworks along Pattaya Beach starting from Dolphin Roundabout to the Pattaya Pier (Bali Hai). It is the longest and biggest Countdown festival in Thailand. Celebrate the joy of the New Year since Christmas with the performance from top well-known artists, Thai and international, enjoy the several souvenir and food stalls and appreciated the cultural arts to promote the good image of Pattaya and create the memorable history of Pattaya toward the visitors.
