By
Glory
Photos by Annie |
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17 Feb. 2004
Dear Kate,
I haven't heard from you for some time. How have
you been? I'm doing well here in Bangkok. How's
the weather in Florida? In Thailand, it's getting
warmer each day. You know, the Hot Season is knocking
on people's doors. |
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writing this letter because I've got an idea for
your wedding plan. I'm talking about the "8th
Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony". |
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During the underwater ceremony
(By courtesy of Siam PR Consultant)
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The
ceremony was held during 13-15 Feb. 2004 at Trang's
Muang County and Kradan Island in the Andaman
Sea off Trang. Annually, the event is held during
the same period to correspond with St. Valentine's
Day.
I bet you had a great
time on Valentine's Day with Jake. I myself, as
a writer, spent my time observing the ceremony.
I want very much to share it with you. Trang is
about 860 km to the south of Bangkok. It took
fourteen hours to travel there by train, twelve
hours by air-con bus, and only one and a half
hours by plane. |
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Taking
the night bus, our photographer, Annie, and
I arrived at Trang Bus Terminal at 7 o'clock
in the morning of 13 Feb. We joined the procession
at about 10 o'clock. The weather was really
hot and the sunshine was so sweltering that
I felt as if I were being grilled (but Annie
was almost burnt, haha!) Anyway, local people
still rushed to see the grandeur of the bride
and groom parades.
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Ms Rungsiya and Mr Taladhar
before going underwater
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Most
of them sat on litters and were carried in processions
while some walked. In the evening, there was
a welcome dinner with cultural performances
at Thumrin Thana Hotel.
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Processions of brides and grooms
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I
talked to some brides and grooms about their reasons
for participating in the "Trang Underwater
Wedding Ceremony". Two couples' opinions
were outstanding, so they were selected to be
elaborated here.
Let's begin with the first couple. Ms Phansira
Bonato, a Thai woman who is a flight attendant,
told me that she overheard an on-air spot concerning
this event. It was about a writing competition
of true impressive love stories. Ten out of the
participating stories would be chosen and the
winners would get a chance to join the "8th
Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony" free of
charge. She started writing the story of her groom
and herself that night. |
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The process of pouring holy
water
onto the palms of the wedding couples
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| And
yes! Her story was selected. She said, "I'm
happy to be here. Daniele (her groom) loves diving
and has a licence, so I agree with him to join
this ceremony". Mr Daniele Bonato who is
an Italian added, "When I go back, this will
be a wonderful experience. I'll talk to my friends
and relatives about what I did and I think they
will like it because in Europe now, Thailand is
famous among tourists and everybody loves Thailand.
All of my friends will like it. Yes, I will tell
them of course. And I will take some brochures
for them". |
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| Another
couple -- Ms Rungsiya Kongsoithong, a Thai woman
and Mr Sushil Ratna Tuladhar, a Nepalese said,
"We already planned to get married and we
were already engaged. We are divers as well and
already got licences as experience divers. We
learned about this event from the Internet. |
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appreciated this thing. So, we moved on to ask
about the ceremony and we came here with our own
budget to fulfil that". |
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At Chao Mai pier before
heading for Kradan Island
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next day was the highlight of this event because
13 out of the 48 couples would dive to get married
underwater. Now you may wonder why only 13, not
all 48 couples. I also had thought that every
couple would go diving. The reason was all about
safety because beginning divers might face an
accident. So, the organizer allowed only those
having licences to dive. On that day, we, (the
brides and grooms and the press group) set off
for Kradan Island, to the southwest of Trang province,
early in the morning. There, the "8th Underwater
Wedding Ceremony" would take place. |
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Along
the way in the boat, the sun was bright, the
sky was clear and the sea was calm, there were
no waves at all. It was really an auspicious
day for wedding.
When we reached Kradan Island about one and
a half hours later, we found the place was decorated
with beautiful arches, a heart-shape stage and
the ceremony's symbol*. Here, the Thai ceremonies
of pouring holy water onto the palms of brides
and grooms and of placing holy threads on their
heads would be arranged. Apart from the brides
and grooms' relatives, the guests included tourists
who were coincidentally spending their vacations
on the island.
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Brides and grooms's relatives
and
guests dnace joyfully in a klong
yao performance accompanying the
Thai-style wedding cerermony
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| After
the process of pouring holy water, thirteen couples
who had legal diving licences would get themselves
prepared to go diving and to complete the wedding
underwater. |
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The first group of six couples
emerging from under the sea.
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About
20 minutes passed when the first group of 6 couples
emerged from under the sea. One of them, Ms Rungsiya
Kongsoithong and Mr Sushil Ratna Tuladhar, said,
"It was so exciting and wonderful. We would
like to invite other people to get married this
way".
As for Ms Phansira and Mr Daniele Bonato, since
the bride still didn't have a licence, they were
not allowed to dive. Kate, look at the cheerful
photos taken by Annie which I enclose. Now, do
you feel like getting married underwater? |
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That
evening of 14 Feb. was the perfect time for celebration.
Dinner was arranged on the "Underwater Wedding
Beach" with a band playing romantic songs.
Mr Tuladhar surprised his bride by going on the
stage, sitting in the drummer's position, having
his brothers and other relatives play other instruments
and performing Eric Clapton's masterpiece "Wonderful
Tonight".
Oh Kate! At that moment, guests were waving sparklers
in accordance with the tune and I thought "How
wonderful!". The song was just perfect for
the night. It was so sweet. At the end of the
feast, couples floated lit lanterns together.
Hundreds of them drifting in the air with the
dark blue sky as a backdrop provided a magical
scene. |
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Wedding couples float lit
lanterns together.
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next day (15 Feb.) all couples went to plant champak
trees at the Arbor for Love' 2000 Garden in the
Southern Botanical Garden (Thung Khai) to the
south of Muang County. This project for wedding
couples to grow trees was initiated in 2000. Up
to now, there are 412 trees, with labels bearing
the growers' names and dates of planting. |
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Ms Phansira & Mr Daniele
Bonato planting a champak tree.
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Growers
will continuously receive reports on their tree's
progress. Some still pay a visit here once a year.
This was the last activity of the "8th Trang
Underwater Wedding Ceremony".
Now Kate, if you and Jake want to find more information,
just visit
www.underwaterwedding.com. I'd better end
this long letter here and will write you again
soon. Hope to hear from you. Don't forget to give
Jake my regards, ok? |
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Best
wishes,
Glory. |
| A
Brief History of Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony
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| "Trang
Underwater Wedding Ceremony" has been arranged
for eight consecutive years. And "Trang Season
of Love", starting annually from December
to May is an accompanying campaign to draw more
tourists to the province. During these months,
the Andaman Sea will not be affected by the monsoon.
The sky and the sea are in their most beautiful
state. It is the most suitable time to dive because
divers will be able to see coral reefs clearly.
Also, Trang has been planned to be introduced
as a Romantic Destination. |
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The first couple getting married
underwater--
Mr Nopphadon & Ms Phorada
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The
ceremony was recorded by the Guinness Book of
World Records as the largest underwater wedding
of the world and as the underwater wedding ceremony
in which the largest amount of wedding couples
ever joined.
The Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony was held
for the first time in 1996. It was initiated
by Khun Yongyuth Wichaidit (then Trang Province
Governor) and Khun Surin Tothapthiang (then
the President of Trang Chamber of Commerce).
There were two couples participating in the
first-time ceremony.
The background of a couple of divers -- Mr Nopphadon
and Ms Phorada Surathin -- will be briefly described
here. At that time, both of them were volunteers
for the programme "Giving Back Natural
Condition to Coral Reefs". They met each
other there. After that, an intimate relationship
began as they shared the same interest. Ms Phorada
added, "When you go diving, it's all natural,
no make up and people will see your true colour".
When they planned to get married, the "1st
Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony" was
ready to be arranged. So, they decided to join
it and became the first couple who got married
this way. Now, they have three kids. All are
going to be trained as divers as well.
Special thanks to Trang Chamber of Commerce,
Thumrin Thana Hotel and Siam PR Consultant for
the kind assistance they gave Annie and me during
our visit to the event. -- Glory
It consisted of two pink oxygen tanks, each
with a cartoon of a cute fish representing a
bride and groom.
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