King's Cup Elephant Boat Race & River Festival
T
he first annual King’s Cup Elephant Boat Race & River Festival took place on the banks of Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River over the weekend of March 29th to the 31st. Sponsored by Anantara, monies raised benefit Thailand’s beloved elephants. The event was held next to the Anantara Riverside and the
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HOT Magazine
Avani + Riverside Hotel’s and was one Bangkokians’s had been waiting for. The River Festival and Boat Race kicked off on Friday the 29th with an opening spiritual blessing ceremony as well as a celebration of Thai culture that included dance performances and traditional drumming. On the
water twelve teams paddled specially commissioned boats, decorated with artistic elephant heads rising elegantly above the water, the boat were tails inspired by traditional Thai fish motifs. The teams included members from the Royal Thai Navy, the Royal Thai Navy Seals as well as international teams from China and the Philippines.
