The Tourism Authority of Thailand has been promoting Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, while UNESCO has been assessing damage.  Flood waters are still being drained and there is serious salt water damage and mold.

Yet, the Tourism Authority of Thailand thinks that it is OK for tourists to visit the ancient ruins and continues to promote the area despite the dangers.

Ayutthaya Flood

The Tourism Authority of Thailand news site, TATnews, has this to say about Ayutthaya:

Visitors can explore almost all of the World Heritage Site and the other ancient ruins spread throughout the city. All transportation is operating as per normal and most services and activities for tourists are available as per usual; such as bicycling, elephant rides, guided tours, restaurants and accommodation.

Sure hope that no tourists catch any diseases walking around and that none of the buildings collapse.

In the same article, the Ministry of Culture’s Fine Arts Department says:

most of Ayutthaya’s ancient ruins remain strong and intact. The restoration of historical sites affected by the flood is underway under the guidance of UNESCO, which recommended slowly pumping water out of some of the ruins; such as, Wat Chai Wattanaram to preserve their structural integrity.

But, according to an article in The Nation, Ayutthaya’s monuments of serious concern: Foreign experts, the ruins are in seriously bad shape.

Unesco’s international experts have expressed concern about the stability of the monuments, foundations and decorative works in the historic city of Ayutthaya, which were hit hard by the worst flooding in decades.

Who do you believe?  The Tourism Authority of Thailand or UNESCO Foreign experts?

Tim Curtis, chief of Unesco’ Bangkok culture unit, said there is a need to closely monitor the condition of the sites and the affected monuments, especially in the next few months after the foundations and structures dry out and over the long term.

Not according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand – now is the time for tourists to visit the ruined ruins.

The entire island of historic Ayutthaya and its surrounding area was under water for over a month starting on October 4. In some areas, the floodwaters were about three metres deep. While the water has receded in the inner island, a number of monuments in the outer periphery remain flooded. More than 100 historic monuments in and around the Ayutthaya World Heritage Site have been affected by floods, according to the Ministry of Culture’s Department of Fine Arts.

Hmmm. The Tourism Authority of Thailand only mentions one temple that is still under water – Wat Chai Wattanaram – saying it is still being carefully drained.  UNESCO mentions “a number of monuments” are still flooded.  Who do you believe?

At the request of the Thai government, the first official international expert mission to Thailand on the restoration of the Ayutthaya Historical Park and cultural monuments was held last week to plan for post-flood recovery. It included damage assessment, emergency stabilisation, restoration, and planning to make the impacts less severe in the long-term.

Wonder if it included opening the area to tourists since the Tourism Authority of Thailand is promoting it?

With support from Unesco, the mission included Carlo Giantomassi, mural painting expert from Italy and Dr Zoran Vojinovic, a water management specialist from the Unesco-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands.

But, the Tourism Authority of Thailand will not listen to them – they are foreigners.

Giantomassi said the situation of the murals is of serious concern. They have been damaged by water and salt, and also show cracking. Due to the water being drawn up into the images, there has been capillary action with water rising from 80 centimetres to two metres high. Field testing found both sulphate and nitrate salts, which deteriorate, degrade and ultimately destroy the classic murals.

Why doesn’t the Tourism Authority of Thailand realize that the Ayutthaya site needs to be completely shut down until repairs and restoration are finalized?  Oh, yeah – money.

“The situation is very bad in 90 per cent of the cases, because of the humidity from the 80 cm to two metres levels and the presence of sulphate and nitrates. A great problem in Thailand is the humidity and capillarity. Every wat [temple] I visited was affected by this problem. If you don’t stop it completely, there will be a lot of damage in the future,” he said.

Nah – the Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t agree and will continue to dupe tourists into coming hindering the restoration.

Vojinovic said that water management needs to be carried out at both micro- and macro- levels. The flow capacity of the waterways in Ayutthaya is approximately 1,500 cubic meters per second. As the measured inflow on October 4 was 3,300 cubic meters per second—over double the waterways’ capacity- flooding occurred.

No problem.  The Tourism Authority of Thailand fixed all of that with their clean up day – mops and brooms – no long term plan.

“A combination of both structural and non-structural solutions needs to be considered; one without the other will not be sufficient,” he said.

Good luck getting the Thai Government to fork over the money and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to stop sending tourists.

Vojinovic also suggested that in the short-term, existing dykes can be improved or raised, canals should be dredged and portable dykes and pumps can be deployed.

There you go – get the Tourism Authority of Thailand to help build dykes – I am sure that the desk sitters can use the physical fitness.

In the mid-term, some of the channels can be widened, multi-purpose ponds can be built for water retention during the rainy season, and monuments can be flood-proofed, he said. In the long-term, measures may be needed to counteract the mega-scale of water, such as construction of diversion channels.

More money needed from the Thai Government.  I can see it now.  The Tourism Authority of Thailand will set up collection boxes all over the Ayutthaya campus and expect tourists to donate.

Through the assistance of the Japanese government, Yoko Futagami, a conservation specialist and Dr Tetsuo Mizuta, a flood risk management specialist, also joined the mission.

Another foreigner that the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thai Government will not listen to.

Futagami from the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Culture Heritage said the monuments show salt efflorescence and accumulation of salt and mud, which leads to growth of algae and scaling of the brick surface.

More mold and fungi on all of the buildings – great for tourism.  Keep on promoting Tourism Authority of Thailand.

The field survey mission was undertaken on November 30 and December 1 at key monuments in Ayutthaya, some of which are still partly flooded, such as Pom Phet Fort and Wat Chaiwattanaram, while others are already dry, such as Wat Phra Si San Phet. A detailed assessment will be required to determine the extent of any damage. The water management experts surveyed the existing permanent and temporary waterways and water management infrastructure in the historical island and the outside area, while the mural conservation specialists inspected temples with important murals such as Wat Pradoo and Wat Puttaisawan.

A detailed assessment that will be ignored and the Thai Government and the Tourism Authority of Thailand will do it their way.

The international experts worked alongside Thai specialists from the Asian Institute of Technology, Department of Public Works and Town Planning, Engineering Institute of Thailand, ICOMOS Thailand and the Association of Siamese Architects. The mission was accompanied by specialists from the Fine Arts Department and representatives of the embassies of Portugal and the United States.

Now to form a committee, schedule meetings, allocate funds, and do nothing.

“We have two issues at hand: first is the heritage conservation of Ayutthaya as a World Heritage Site in a living urban landscape; second is the flood water management issue of the whole flood plain. We need to link those two together,” concluded Curtis of Unesco Bangkok.

And, never the twain shall meet.

The historic city of Ayutthaya was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991. Founded circa 1350, Ayutthaya was the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. Its remains, characterised by prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of its past splendour.

And the Tourism Authority of Thailand feels it is more important to promote the 20 year anniversary than to keep people away and let a proper restoration take place.

The text was modified to remove a broken link to http://www.tatnews.org/tat_release/detail.asp?id=5764.

Tags: ayutthaya experts fine arts ministry of culture TAT temple ruins tourism authority tourism authority of thailand UNESCO will the tourism authority of thailand ruin ayutthaya