Chonburi (city)
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| Chonburi | |
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  Chonburi
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country |  Thailand |
| Province | Chonburi Province |
| District | Amphoe Mueang Chonburi |
| Population (2006) | |
| - Total | 180,000 |
Chonburi is the capital of Chonburi Province in Thailand. It is located about 100km east of Bangkok at the coast to the Gulf of Thailand. The name means city of water.
[edit] Chonburi Water Buffalo Festival:
Thousands of people flock to this entertainment in downtown Chonburi, 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Bangkok, at the annual water buffalo festival. About 300 buffaloes race in groups of five or six, spurred on by bareback jockeys wielding wooden sticks, as hundreds of spectators cheer. The water buffalo has always played an important role in agriculture in Thailand. For farmers of Chon Buri Province, near Bangkok, it is an important annual festival, beginning in mid-October it is also a celebration among rice farmers before the rice harvest. At dawn, farmers walk their buffalo through surrounding rice fields, splashing them with water to keep them cool before leading them to the race field. Buffalo Racing is the most amazing festival it all started over a hundred years ago when two men arguing about whose buffalo was the fastest ended up having a race between them. That’s how it became a tradition. It gradually became a social event for farmers who gathered from around the country in Chonburi to trade their goods. The festival also helps a great deal in preserving the number of buffalo, which have been dwindling at quite an alarming rate in other regions. Modern machinery is rapidly replacing buffalos in Thai agriculture. With most of the farm work mechanized, the buffalo-racing tradition has continued. Racing buffaloes are now raised just to race, they don't work at all. Few farm buffaloes which still do work are much bigger than the racers because of the strenuous work they perform. Farm buffaloes are in the “Buffalo Beauty Pageant”, a Miss Farmer beauty contest and a comic buffalo costume contest. This festival perfectly exemplifies a favored Thai attitude to life — "sanuk," meaning fun [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] .
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Buffalo Racing, Thailand, thailand-guide.org (p) some content provided by Tourism Authority of Thailand, Last Updated : 01-Jul-2007
- ^ TravelSoFun Ltd.
- ^ Watching the Buffalo Racing, by Panrit "Gor" Daoruang, 14 October 2003, Thailand Life
- ^ Running of the buffaloes: Thais take their beasts of burden to the races; by: Alisa Tang, Associated Press Writer
- ^ Buffalo Racing, The lowdown by Aliwyn Cole, August 1st, 2005, Urban Lowdown
- ^ "Running with the Buffalo", originally published in the Learning Post, a supplement of the Bangkok Post
- ^ Buffalo Race Festival, History of Buffalo Racing, , October 18, 2005
- ^ Buffalo Racing in Chonburi, Thailand Picture Blogs - Photo Category: Thai Festivals, 06/10/2006
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