WE Smile Magazine June 2015

วัฒนธรรม
ฮกเกี้ยน
Hokkien Cultural
Highlight
064
At sundown, once the smoke of forest
fires faded, we travelled from our hotel
to the Chao Mae Tomo Shrine, our
destination for this trip. Since the province
shares a border with Malaysia, the charm
of Narathiwat is in its diverse cultures.
Sungai Kolok is on the crossroads Thai,
Malay and seafaring Chinese people. When
you speak of the south, aside from Phuket,
Sungai Kolok has the largest community
of Hokkien Chinese. The heart and soul
of the people here is tied to Chao Mae
Tomo Shrine, where the grand Sompoch
festival is held every year. This year’s
parade includes an International Lion
contest in which our Asian neighbours
from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore,
Taiwan, Macau, and Vietnam took part.
The festival is not only an important
calendar day for locals, but it also helps
to stimulate the city’s economy and
solidify Thailand’s relationship with
neighbouring countries. This is a special
time of year where the city is filled with
local and international tourists who come
to worship Chao Mae Tomo. Restaurants
around the city swell with visitors, as do
hotels, which become fully booked.