SILOM ROAD BECOMES FIRST SUNDAY WALKING STREET

A major portion of Silom road, one of Bangkok’s most significant business and tourist thoroughfares, was converted into a “Walking Street” all through Sunday, 18 November, in a project designed to boost tourism, expand the range of recreational activities for Bangkokians, and lower air pollution.

Thousands of people including visitors and weekend shoppers took advantage of the closure to all vehicular traffic and strolled along the just under one-kilometre stretch of road from the Dusit Thani Hotel to the Thai Airways International Silom Office.

Deputy Premier Pitak Intrawithayanunt and Bangkok Governor Samak Sundaravej were among the senior government officials who officiated at the event, which bore the theme “Green Life - Green Silom”. In keeping with the objective of the closure, Mr. Pitak and his family took public transport to attend the event.

The Silom area includes the famous Patpong district, as well as dozens of commercial centres, shops and restaurants. A little further away from the closed off area are attractions like the Bangkok Folk Museum, Neilson Hays Library and Sri Mahamariamman (Uma Devi) Hindu Temple.

The closure turned the normally busy and congested area into a festive and colourful “Walking Street” where people strolled around in an atmosphere of clean air and total comfort. Local newspapers reported very positive reactions from the many citizens and tourists who attended.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Pradech Phayakvichien said, “Activities like these go a long way towards making Bangkok a ‘fun’ place to visit. We were very pleased to see foreign and even domestic tourists having a really nice time.”


Under the first phase of the project, the closure is to be extended through to the end of the year, taking effect every Sunday from noon to 02.00 hrs Monday. No buses, cars or motorcycles will be allowed into the area. The only means of public transportation will be the Skytrain, via the Saladaeng Station which is close to the Dusit Thani Hotel on Silom itself.

Seven theme activities have been identified for each of the remaining “Walking Street” weekends under the title “Seven Wonders @ Silom”. These include:

25 November -- “Healthy Silom” featuring Chinese-style exercise and other self- defense arts like Muay Thai (Thai boxing) and Tae Kwon Do.

2 December -- “The Melody of Silom”, an assembly of musicians and bands to perform non-stop music including His Majesty King Bhumibol’s royally composed songs.

9 December -- “The Art of Silom” which will see a large gathering of both amateur and professional artists exhibiting their works as well as doing live paintings, along with an exhibition of H.M. King Bhumibol’s personal paintings.

16 December -- “Gift & Give”, a gift festival featuring souvenirs from all regions of Thailand and bars providing a free taste of various beverages for the first ten minutes of every hour.

23 December -- “Thai’s Winter” featuring a flashback of winter in Thailand during the old days and the largest ballroom dance in the history of Thailand.

30-31 December -- “Silom Bangkok Carnival and To Be Continued” featuring a carnival-like procession along Silom road, ‘Tour de Silom’ bicycle race as well as the Countdown to 2002.

The project was originally initiated by the National Energy Policy Office (NEPO) as part of a plan to create a number of walking streets in five major areas throughout Bangkok in an effort to cut pollution and encourage energy conservation.

The other four areas are Yaowaraj (Chinatown), Khao San (popular among backpackers), Rattanakosin Island (where the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha are located) and Lat Ya (on the Thon Buri side of Bangkok).

A final decision on expanding the project to include these four areas and continuing it into 2002 and will be made after the success of the Silom project is evaluated.

However, an opinion poll of 5,076 people about closing the five areas indicated overwhelming support, with 70% in favour.

About 94% of respondents said it would help ease air pollution while 90% and 88% said it would boost tourism and help conserve fuel-usage, respectively. Silom was first on the list of roads which most people wanted to see closed.