BANGKOK has a reputation for its night life scene, entertainment, pubs and seedy red light districts, all enjoying a roaring trade on the heels of tourism. But when it comes to culture the options diminish to just one major city location; Siam Niramit.

Exclude the city’s dinner and cultural dance shows, puppetry and the classical performances at the National Theatre, and what remains is the mega cultural performance that unfolds nightly at Siam Niramit.

Established six years ago, the show is popular with both Thai and expatriate residents who are looking for a suitable entertainment venue to introduce Thai culture to their guests visiting the country. It has also gained strong support from tour operators particularly those specialises in Asian markets.

It must be doing something right as the owners of Siam Niramit opened a full-fledged show in Phuket, last month, to capture a slice of the tourist market that goes direct to the southern island, rather than stop in Bangkok.

Siam Niramit offers just a daily single 80-minute, three-act show. The curtain rises at 2000, but visitors can enter the complex at 1730 to browse through a four-region handicraft village, where there are also cooking demonstrations.

The pre-show tour is quite interesting as there are fine examples of Thai architecture and a guide is to give an explanation in English.

The heart of Siam Niramit is the stunning stage show. The theatre itself will impress you by its sheer size with seating for 2,000 people. The vast tiered seating area appears to dwarf the stage a substantial affair with wings and a series of backdrops hanging from the a lofty ceiling.

Lofty it is, enough to be named the world’s highest stage at 11.95 metres high by none other than the Guinness Book of Records.

It is also wide enough to support elephants and a troupe of 10 to 20 people leading a fascinating parade from one end of the stage to the other. Sit back and enjoy three spectacular acts that each tell a story of how Thais live. It is educational for both urban Thais who dwell in the capital and foreigners who want to delve a little more into Thai culture.

The first Act tells the story of Thai people in the past using special effects of light and sound. It focuses on the four key regions that make up Thailand – the central rice plains, Northeast (known as Isan), the South and North.

The second moves on to the nation’s religious background weaving a colourful tale of customs and dances that touch on the religious principles of law and karma. In a dramatic series of dances and imagery it takes the audience through Buddhism’s teachings on birth, life and death with a peep into the dismal destiny of hell that awaits those who fail to follow its precepts.

After the scene of horror, the show turns to nature, or the Himapaan forest the home of mythical creatures like Kinnari (half bird and half human creature) and Garuda (bird-like creature).

The third and final act is a journey through the country’s vast array of colourful, national and regional festivals. The grand finale is quite breathtaking with elephant parades and spectacular light and sound displays to accompany the choreography.

The show has two price categories, one including a dinner buffet or just the cultural performance.Rack rates when booking through the website are Bt2,350 for a golden seat and Bt1,850 for a standard seat with dinner buffet. The show only costs Bt2,000 and Bt1,500 for golden and standard seat options.Travel agents get concessional rates of around Bt1,000 to Bt1,200 per show ticket with dinner buffet so that tends to be the most popular booking channel.Siam Niramit is definitely a show that Bangkok residents can recommend to visitors. It comes with a high standard of presentation and at the close the show you will agree that it fulfills its objective of outlining the basic essentials of being Thai

website for Siuam Niramit includes Videos and Brochure - here

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