Dances, tom yum spice up festival at Thai consulate

      Folk dance ramwong and tom yum koong, the spicy shrimp soup, competed to overwhelm the senses at a festival organised by the Thai consulate in HCM City on Wednesday to showcase the nation’s cultures and destinations.
"Thai Night: Thainess", held at the Movenpick Sai Gon Hotel, saw dancers perform eight of Thailand’s 14 main dances.
Ramwong
, one of the country’s most popular folk dances, featured specific movement patterns with dancers moving around in a circle. Some guests joined in too.
"Ramwong was very popular in the central region of Thailand during World War II," said Natthakarn Sriyaphan, the Thai consul in the City.
He called the event a good opportunity to discover Thailand, "a land full of promise".
Thailand’s attractions range from culture, history, and temples to modern eco-tourism, beach vacations, shopping, and entertainment, he said.
The country’s political situation has returned to normal and Thailand is now a safe destination for tourists, he said.
He also said Thailand is adopting stringent measures to control the spread of swine flu.
A representative of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said a multi-pronged campaign for 2009-10 ranges from stepping up online marketing efforts to focusing on social media and short-duration packages targeted at neighbouring countries to intensive pursuit of new markets and niche products.
The event was organised together with the TAT and the Thai Business Association in Viet Nam.
The consulate is also organising a four-day Made-in-Thailand Exhibition 2009 featuring 200 companies that opened yesterday at the HCM City International Exhibition and Convention Centre.