Girls in hot Tom Yam soup

Our home in Bangkok is in the Bangna district. It is somewhere between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Chatujak or MBK. It’s Bangkok’s Shah Alam, without the landmark mosque and schools with uncreative names (e.g. Section 13 Primary School, Section 17 Vocational School etc).

On our last day in Bangkok, we took a taxi to Siam Paragon (Bangkok’s Suria KLCC without the twin towers). We were supposed to meet up with Nicolekiss but our souvenir shopping list was a yard long. Our meet was reduced to apologetic text messages; she had already left for her hotel when we got to Paragon. Sorry again Nic.

I digress.

I want to say that Thailand is by and large a conservative country. This may sound surprising for some as Bangkok is known for its sex industry and transgender activities. (Prostitution is really illegal in Thailand – but no one pays too much attention.)

Throughout our taxi ride to the city, we were bombarded with radio messages asking women to dress in appropriate attire and to avoid skimpy clothes over the Songkran festival. The Culture Ministry must have been concerned given the past incidences of inappropriate encounters and abuses over this festivity. I can see why, it was like Spring Break Wet T-shirt contest on Khao San Road on Songkran.

A popular Thai girl band, Girly Berry was engaged by the Ministry to promote this avoid-skimpy clothes campaign.

"It is not only about what to wear. It is about behavioral change. If the Girly Berry girls can change, teenagers will follow," a member of the Thai ruling party preached.

I simply knew the Ministry had made a mistake – they have asked a girl band famous for their sexy outfit to be ambassadors for this campaign! It’s almost like asking KY to be an ambassador for vegetarianism, like asking Xiaxue to promote sarees, like asking Suzette to promote cow’s milk as breast milk substitute.

In front of the National media, the girls obliged and posed in traditional Thai costumes days before Songkran.

Now take a guess what happened when they performed during a Songkran show? (Malaysian ministries are not the only ones capable of comedy of errors!)

Read this:

Girly Berry band too sexy for Anusorn - Bangkok Post