Spotlight on Bangkok’s Film Festival
Date: 24-30 Sep 2009
Venue: Bangkoki
Now in its seventh year the curtain will rise on the annual Bangkok Film Festival, 24 to 30 September, in the heart of Bangkok's downtown swank shopping district. The spectacular event promises to deliver more than 80 exciting films with the focus on a new generation of film makers particularly from throughout Asia.
The event is co-hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, with the gala opening set in the forecourt of the upscale Central World shopping mall.
The opening ceremony promises to be an extravagant affair reflecting classical art and Thai heritage, while the welcome dinner will be hosted near the Chao Phraya River to accentuate the city's rich and historical ambience.
Other events and film showings will be at various venues including Paragon Cineplex, Siam Paragon Shopping Complex, SF World Cinema and Central World.
Thailand has for decades earned a reputation as superb location for shooting international movies. A Google search of movies shot on location, in part or whole, in the country confirms its popularity with over 700 examples. Its popularity as movie location has helped to ensure that the local film industry has also prospered and improved in quality.
This development is reflected in comments made recently to Hollywood's foremost entertainment publication, Variety, which interviewed, Jareuk Kaljareuk, chairman of the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, who also acts as the festival director.
He said: "The Thai film industry has expanded both in its technological advances, its professional skills and its artistic development. It is ready to take its place as a leading member of the international filmmaking community."
Although still to be confirmed, the possible contenders for the Golden Kinnaree Awards, according to Variety, are: Canadian helmer Xavier Dolan's "I Killed My Mother," which won three out of four prizes at Cannes' Directors' Fortnight; Jacques Audiard's Cannes' Grand Prix winner "A Prophet"; Lukas Moodysson's thriller "Mammoth"; and "Burma VJ" by Danish documentary maker Anders Ostergaard.
The Golden Kinaree Awards will be held at Chatrium Suites, a Dusit Group hotel in Bangkok.
Popular action actor, Jean Claude Van Damme, will attend the festival. He is no stranger to Thailand having first visited the country to star in the movie, The Quest, shot on location at the Mountain Inn hotel in Mae Hong Son back in 1996. At this year's film festival he will introduce his latest film “Until Death”.
Other international movie stars attending the event include Byung-Hun Lee, the Korean star who had a role in the blockbuster movie G.I. Joe and Armand Assante, well known for his action movies over the last two decades.
Golf Bargains Galore
Date: 1 Aug - 30 Sep 2009
Venue: Hua Hin/Cha-am
Tee of time at the annual Hua Hin/Cha-am Golf Festival.
It could be tagged the best golf offer in Asia and it is perfect timing as the bargains on the greens are now matched by superb discounts offered on air travel and accommodation.
Hua Hin and Cha-am, twin resorts on the west side of the Gulf of Thailand, annually host the Hua Hin/Cha-am Golf Festival that runs throughout August and September.
For golf enthusiasts it is pure magic. The option of playing eight competition level golf courses all within easy reach of the two resorts, at incredibly low green fees, is undeniably an offer too good to refuse.
The following eight golf courses are participating in the festival :
Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin
Imperial Lake View Hotel and Golf Club
Springfield Village Golf and Spa
Majestic Creek Golf and Resort
Sawang Resort and Golf Club
Palm Hills Golf Resort and Country club
Kaeng Krachan Golf and Country Club
Royal Hua Hin Golf Golf Course
Amazing Thailand Adventure Race Series
Date: Sep 19, 2009 
Venue:
Koh Samui
The Ibis Koh Samui Trophy brings the new, spectacular and fast growing sport of Adventure Racing to the South of Thailand.
Supported by Ibis, The Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Tourism Association of Koh Samui and the Thai Hotel Association of Koh Samui, this inaugural Adventure Race is set to attract 150 teams from around the world.
Scheduled on September 19 and part of the Amazing Thailand Adventure Race Series, the race will start and finish from the magnificent Bohput beach in front of the IBIS hotel in Bohput.
Adventure Racing is a highly visual and dynamic sport genre, stretching competitors to their limits.
It is a sport that is rapidly capturing the imagination of sport people in Thailand and around the world.
Bathing Buddha Ceremony
Date: 17 - 21 September 2009
Venue: Phetchabun City Hall, in front of Traipoom Temple and Botchanamarn Temple
A Bathing Buddha, or Um Phra Dam Nam ceremony, is held during September each year. It is a traditional religious and well known ritual held annually in Phetchabun.
Buddha statue, called Phra Buddha Mahadhamaracha cast in the ornamental Lop Buri style, was found in the Pasak River by a group of farmers four hundred years ago and it was then taken to be housed in Wat Trai Phum. According to a legend, the Buddha statue was disappeared twice from the temple and was later found in water.
The ceremony starts at 1 p.m. The Buddha statue is carried around town and put under a tent in Wat Trai Phum, so buddhists can pay respect to the image and stick gold leaf on the body of the Buddha statue. In the evening, prayers are chanted. At night, there are various kinds of entertainment. The next morning, people make merit as it is Sat Thai Day. Foods, including Krayasat and other necessities are given to monks. The Buddha statue is then taken to be immersed in the Pasak River by the local governor of Phetchabun in the belief that this act brings happiness and fertility to the province and traditional dances are performed to show respect to the Buddha statue.
After the ceremony, the water in the river is regarded as sacred. As a result, people swim in it or take the water to drink before the boat racing begins.
For More Information Please contact :
Phetchabun's Public Relations Center, Tel. +66 (0) 5672 1733
TAT Phitsanulok Office, Tel. +66 (0) 5525 2742-3
The Illuminated Boat Procession
Date: 29 September – 15 Octorber 2009
Venue: Mekong River, Mueang District, Nakhon Phanom
This festival was originally aimed at payings respect to the Lord Buddha. Then the competition of the illuminated boat processions was organised to add colour to the event. An invitation is delivered to the public and private sectors, including temples,to participate in the competition. The illuminated boats lined up in the middle of the Mekong River create an impressive scene for viewers.
October 2009
Sakon Nakhon Wax Castle Festival
Date: 1 - 4 October 2009
Venue: Sanam Ming Mueang, Suan Somdej Phra Srinagarindra, Sakon Nakhon
One of the biggest events in the Ok Phansa Day (The end of Buddhist Lent), the assemble of the wonderful wax castles which are created from the talent artists in the province. Experience the magnificent Wax Castle Procession and feast your eyes on the wonderful tradition of Sakon Nakhon people.
Buffalo Racing
Date: 3-4 Oct 2009
Venue: Chonburi
You could be forgiven for thinking that a domesticated buffalo is not built for sprinting, but in Chonburi town, the gateway to resorts along the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, farmers have managed to tweak a turn of speed from these working animals that is nothing short of amazing.
The annual Buffalo races, 3 - 4 October 2009, are a hotly contested series of sprints across on an open space in front of the town’s municipal offices.
Tourists and the town’s residents turn out for these amazing races that have been featured in the past on CNN and the BBC as a must-see event.
The races are taken very seriously by the owners of the buffaloes. Prizes for the first nose past the finishing line guarantee owners go to considerable lengths to ensure their buffaloes are in tip-top condition.
Clouds of dust rise as these hefty animals pound down the short course at an alarming speed, reminiscent of a stampede. The crowd roars in support of the favourites and the atmosphere is as an enthralling as watching thoroughbred race horses.
Admittedly, mites slower than a race horse, but the buffaloes are no slouches when it comes to making a short dash for glory.
Although this day of fun and competition would succeed with just the buffaloes as the celebrities, there are other activities to make it a worthwhile outing for families.
A fair with food stalls and handicrafts appeals to visitors who love authentic Thai food, snacks and sweets. Then there are the rides for children, concerts of folk music and, of course, a beauty contest where the prize is the honour of being declared Miss Buffalo.
Not exactly the most adhering of titles for an aspiring beauty queen, but it does not seem to deter contestants from seeking the limelight of the catwalk.
Here is a festival that provides photo opportunities to capture an unusual adaptation of the 100-metre dash. Well worth seeing, is always the conclusion of those who make the effort to travel to Chonburi.
Bang Fai Phaya Nak (Naga Fireball)
Date: 4-5 Oct 2009
Venue: Mueang, Phon Phisai, Pak Khat, Bung Kan, Tha Bo, Si Chiang Mai and Sangkhom
This extraordinary miracle always occurs at the beginning of the full moon night in the eleventh lunar month (End of Buddhist Lent). It can be seen along the Mekong River in the districts of Mueang, Phon Phisai, Pak Khat, Bung Kan, Tha Bo, Si Chiang Mai and Sangkhom. Bang Fai Phaya Nak is a term used for red and pinkish fire balls, which according to belief, belong to Phaya Nak or the great serpent of the underwater world. On the day marking the End of Buddhist Lent, a great number of people come to witness this phenomenon.
Naga Fireball Festival in Nong Khai 
It remains a mystery that never ceases to puzzle both visitors and locals alike. Just what is the origin and nature of the fireballs that fly from the surface of the Mekong River high into the night sky for all to see?
Locals swear there is absolutely no doubt at all about the origin of the fireballs. Naga, the serpent reportedly dwelling in the murky currents of this mighty river, propels fireballs skyward, probably to remind villagers to treat this life-giving river with respect.
Of course, there are detractors, researchers who have spent years of study attempting to explain away the fireball phenomenon, all to no avail.
Some say it is an elaborate hoax, but the only way to find out is to travel to Nong Khai and check out river scene and the carnivals that villagers organise to celebrate the now famous legendary serpent.
Festivities run from 10 to 16 October, along the Mekong River bank, in Phon Pisai district in Nong Khai province. There are also corresponding celebrations on the Lao side of the river and no shortage of theories on whether Thailand's neighbours, on the opposite bank, may know more than they are admitting on what causes the spectacle.
But there is no denying the fact that there is something almost mystical that causes the fireballs to erupt from the surface of the river, and villagers are taking no chances, hence the religious activities at various temples in the district to appease the Naga.
Visitors can participate in a traditional "Tak Bat Thevo" ceremony, or the early morning alms giving to monks. It involves offering sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves, presented on the important final days of the three-month Buddhist Lent.
In the evenings, during the festival week, people gather at the river bank for the Naga procession and cultural performance that reflect the rural village traditions of the northeast region.
If all goes to plan the highlight of the trip will be the amazing sight of the Naga fireballs erupting into the sky, a phenomenon that is very likely to prompt some light hearted banter and arguments at riverside food stalls over glasses of ale or the local rice whisky on their origin.
The most convenient way to reach Nong Khai is to take one of the many daily flights offered from Bangkok to Udon Thani, either on the national airline Thai Airways International, or one of the low-cost airlines. The flight takes 50 minutes and from Udon Thani, mini buses offer a 40 minute transfer to Nong Khai. An alternative is to take the rail service that runs every evening from Bangkok to Nong Khai.
Yi Peng Festival
Date: 27 October - 2 November 2009 
Venue: Tha Phae Gate, banks of Ping River, Chiang Mai Municipal Office, Chiang Mai
An amazing procession of hanging lanterns, Krathong design contest, Miss Yi Peng beauty contest, light and sound presentation in Ping River, the ancient Thai Lanna Krathong activities, local cultural performances, and local handicrafts market in Lanna style.
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