VALENTINE'S DAY IN THAILAND

From an article in the Bangkok Post:

Love Is In the Air, At Least for Some, On Day of Romance
POST REPORTERS
There was love, ambition and anger in the air on Valentine's Day yesterday. A couple in their eighties formally tied the knot, a student tried to rob a dentist to raise the money to take his sweetheart out, and a high-profile pathologist received a pestle in protest against her work.

With the aid of a cane, Grandpa Mak Charoensuk, 88, walked hand in hand with Grandma Ui, 86, to register their marriage at the Muang district office in Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday.

Grandpa kissed his bride, whose wide toothless smile lit up her face. They were among 34 couples joining a mass wedding.

In Suphan Buri's U Thong district, Sorn Poh-ngam, 68, and Nuan Unpee, 66, kicked a kerosene can to show that they are physically fit. In the Thai saying, people able to kick the kerosene can ''hard and loud'' are fit enough to have sex.

All 60 couples who converged there received free health check-ups.

In Trang, 40 couples were married 12m under the sea.

In Prachin Buri, seven pairs glided 60m down the Weluwan waterfall cliff to register their marriages.

But Bang Rak, Bangkok's ''district of love'', remained the favourite place with 665 couples choosing to formally tie the knot there.

In Nonthaburi's Muang district, an engineering student tried to rob a dentist in the morning in order to take his sweetheart out last night. But police chased and arrested Supatchai Sudglao, 26, after spotting him hitting Kamol Tangkij-ngamwong, 37, on the back of his head with a wooden stick. Supatchai was charged with attempted robbery.

To patch up differences after the dismissal of Pol Gen Kowit Wattana as national police chief on Feb 5, Supreme Commander Gen Boonsang Niampradit hosted a reunion of Class 6 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School.

All Council for National Security members and their spouses went to the party at the residence of CNS leader and army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin last night.

But for pathologist Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan, a pestle wrapped in a red ribbon and a lawsuit against her did not signify love from Noppadol Thammawattana. The head of the Central Institute of Forensic Science said after the second autopsy of his elder brother, Hangthong, that murder was the cause of death eight years ago. Mr Noppadol was charged with conspiring in the murder, before a third autopsy confirmed suicide was the cause.

THAI LOVE - TEN COMMANDMENTS

Ever since reading about the "official" 10 commandments of Thai love released by the Ministry of Culture earlier this week, I've been trying to track down a copy.  I finally found the list this morning, courtesy of Steve Suphan at Thai-Blogs.com.  He prefaces the list by writing,

"...according to the golden-oldies in charge [at the Ministry of Culture], all proper Thai girls are virgins before the day of their marriage.  And any girl who dares get herself involved with any disgusting behaviour beforehand is labeled ‘Un-Thai’ and declared a threat to both national security and Thai Culture."

The Ten Commandments:

•  1. Love with patience, so as not to become a premature parent.


•  2. Truly love only one person.


•  3. Love with mercy, trying not to hurt the one you love.


•  4. Carefully love to avoid taking risks that might lead to contracting sexual diseases.


•  5. Love with honour, waiting until the proper time to have sex.


•  6. Love in accordance with custom.


•  7. Love reasonably, not taking sexual advantage of your lover.


•  8. Love permanently, without defaming the one you love.


•  9. Love honestly, believing in your partner.


• 10. Love with understanding, forgiveness and without anger.

I don't know.  Sounds pretty reasonable to me...

But it does sound like the Ministry should worry considering polls such as the one reported on in this Reuters article:

Thai Teens Keen for Valentine's Day Sex
Tue Feb 13, 2007 6:51 AM GMT16

By Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK, Feb 13 (Reuters Life!) - A third of Thai teenage girls think Valentine's Day is an excellent time to lose their virginity, and police in Bangkok are out to stop them.

Police in the capital, famous around the world for its fleshpots, will enforce a 10 p.m. curfew on February 14 after a poll of teenagers was published last week.

Love-struck teenagers would be sent home or taken to a police station to wait for their parents to fetch them on Wednesday night, Bangkok Deputy Police Chief Kamol Kaewsuwan said.

"Love is nice and beautiful, but it does not necessarily involve sexual engagement. Teenagers would do better focussing on school," Kamol said of the curfew.

Police would also be on the look out for public displays of affection by under-18 youths hanging out in shopping malls, cinemas and other entertainment venues on Valentine's Day.

"Hugging and kissing in public places are indecent," said Police Colonel Chokechai Deeprasertvith, who heads a special unit to fight crimes against children, youths and women.

The Assumption University poll of 1,578 teenagers published last week found one third of teenage girls were willing to have sex on Valentine's Day if their boyfriends asked.

Another survey of 1,222 youths by the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce found 11 percent planned to lose their virginity on Wednesday night. Nearly 51 percent said they would not have sex.

It's not the first time predominantly Buddhist Thailand has tried a social order crusade popular with the middle class, many of whom are uncomfortable with public sexuality and support moves to rein in anything-goes Bangkok.

A short-lived 2004 morality campaign under former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra cut the operating hours of go-go bars, nightclubs and massage parlours despite warnings it would hit the country's lucrative tourist trade.

Recently, university student and budding movie starlet Chotiros Suriyawong was rebuked for wearing a revealing sexy black dress to Thailand's version of the Oscars.

"Society feels this is a disgrace and her actions have affected the reputation of this university," Suraphol Nitikraipot, rector of the prestigious Thammasat University, was quoted as saying by the Nation newspaper on Tuesday.

I'm not trying to take some moral high ground here (or, maybe I am?) although I do agree with the points on the Ministry of Culture's Ten Commandments.

I'd also like to point out that such campaigns against public displays of affection and premarital sex are very common in Thailand despite the often Western assumption that the red light areas of Bangkok, Pattaya, or Patong are the only reason tourists come to this country.  (And to repeat how offensive the topless swimmers on local beaches are to the devout Buddhist and Muslim Thais that live here.  It often amazes me that people come here and repeatedly insult the culture...)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

My wife's at work tonight (she's cooking for Papaya Pok-Pok on Rat-U-Thit in Patong) and I'm home alone.  I did put together a nice, romantic, music mix for later however...

Anyway, since this is Thailand I thought I'd share an article found via 2Bangkok.com:

Thai Cops on Alert for Underage Kissing
The Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand - A word of advice to young Thai lovers on Valentine's Day: No kissing in public. Bangkok police say they plan to protect underage couples from the sting of Cupid's arrow, and will crack down on what is deemed to be "inappropriate" behavior.

Patrols will start after school hours in "high-risk areas," like public parks, shopping malls and restaurants and expand in the evening to include nightclubs, bars and so-called love motels, which rent small rooms for short periods of time, said Police Lt. Vorawat Amornviwat of the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

"If we find teenagers below 18 engaged in inappropriate behavior like kissing, we will give them warnings and report to their parents so they can pick them up," he said. "Alcohol is definitely a catalyst for this kind of behavior, so we will keep an eye on underage drinking."

The Metropolitan Police force has also asked nightclub and bar owners to help by turning away underage customers.

"These places are not meant for kids," he said, adding that Valentine's Day required extra vigilance "because they seem to be more vulnerable to sexual temptations on this particular night."

The crackdown on public displays of affection is the latest effort to balance the country's look-the-other-way tolerance with Buddhist values of modesty and manners.

Over the weekend, the Culture Ministry issued what it called the "10 Commandments of Love" to encourage teens not to engage in sexual activities while celebrating Valentine's Day. The first commandment: "Love with patience, so as not to become a young parent." No. 4 urges youths to love carefully "to avoid the risk of sexually transmitted diseases."

February 12, 2007 11:29 PM