Surin residents and tourists are preserving beautiful Thai culture by wearing Thai garments while offering food to monks on elephant back, and helping the elephants affected by COVID-19 constraints.
Surin Governor Suwaphong Kitiphatphiboon, heads of government agencies, students, citizens and tourists in local silk and Thai costumes, attended the “Wearing Thai Cloth to Offer Food to Monks on the Back of an Elephant Every Saturday activity” at Phraya Surin Phakdi Sri Narong Changwang Monument, which has been held since December 2020 to promote and preserve the art and culture of wearing Thai silk and Thai clothing which is the identity of the province. The move is also aimed at helping elephants and mahouts who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 situation.
The tourists enjoy participating in activities with elephants and interacting closely with the intelligent elephants. Aside from giving alms while on the back of an elephant, the tourists are allowed to feed the elephants and even walk under an elephant for good luck. There is also an elephant taxi service which offers an elephant ride around the city to shop for silk at the silk flea market in front of the City Hall or shop for organic food, vegetables and fruit at the green market which opens every Saturday. (NNT)
