Thailand meets England

Many of the international tourism boards tend to hold events in just London or the big cities like Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester presumably thinking that people can get to these places quite easily. A few pop over to Dublin and Belfast as well.

Thailand is one of the few that venture into other places and in August, they are involved with events that showcase the country and its food at places in the south of England.

Starting on Sunday in Bournemouth, there is the 10th Thai Summer Fair in Boscombe. Held at the Bournemouth Thai School, there will be Thai classical dancing, Muay Thai demonstrations, (a martial art) Thai costume pageant shows as well as products from Thailand at the various stalls. And food – lots of it!

Next weekend on the 11th, Thailand will be on show again at Southsea’s Castle Field in Hampshire. Organised by the Thai Solent Society, the agenda is pretty similar. There will be Thai food and crafts, live music, Thai dance, a Thai costume contest, children’s activities, Thai massage, Thai boxing demonstration, bouncy castle and street dance. Although it is free, any money raised will go to help the Thai community who live locally, to school children in Thailand and finally, local children.

The following weekend -18th of August – the tourist board is at Maidstone in Kent at Mote Park and which is also organised by the Thai Solent Society. Here the same sort of events will take place but there will also be a playground and children’s activities and for the adults there’s a Beer Garden

Wrapping up the month, the “roadshow” gets to Secretts Farm at Milford in Surrey. This event over the August bank holiday weekend follows the same formula. Unlike the others this will cost £10 for each adult to enter but the money will go to the Mudita Trust Charity, a UK registered, non-profit, non-sectarian and non-government trust dedicated to helping abused, distressed and underprivileged children in Thailand.

At each event there will be the opportunity to win flights to Thailand so you can see the country for yourselves plus plenty of other prizes of crafts and vouchers.

As a way of introducing or reminding us of the advantages of holidaying in Thailand, this method of taking the country to towns and cities seems a great opportunity. This year Maidstone is a new addition. In future years there might be other stops – perhaps at farms, animal trusts or village greens – where the farm and the tourist authority could stage an event to the benefit of both

For more about Thailand and holidays there, click here.