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Residents and citizens from across Bahrain flocked to the fourth annual Thai festival last weekend.
The spectacular four-day festival, organised by the Thai embassy at Thai Mart in Diyar Al Muharraq, showcased cuisines and products from the Southeast Asian kingdom, including organic items, crafts, oud, dry snacks, arts and beauty products.
The event that concluded on Saturday was organised under the theme, Night Bazaar.
“We are conducting the event for the first time during the summer,” Thai ambassador Thanis Na Songkhla told GulfWeekly at the inauguration of the event.
“The relatively cooler nights would be a better time to experience all that Thailand has to offer, right here in the kingdom.”
The event gave young businesses set up at the new mall near Dragon City a chance to showcase their unique product lines.
GulfWeekly spoke with three vendors out of the more than 40 who took part in the event to find out what brought them to Bahrain and how they hope to expand their operations outside Thailand.
“We already have 22 branches in Thailand, but Bahrain’s unique position in the Gulf is perfect for us to expand in the region,” Nichcharee Sophonchalermun, owner of Ms Flora boutique and Ms Flora café, said.
“We are hoping to open five branches across the region in the coming years, providing handmade products and accessories.”
Nichcharee’s boutique shops provide a number of accessories created in her factory in Thailand, catering to local and exotic tastes. She will also showcase her products at Expo 2020 taking place later this year in Dubai.
Kavin Krisnawongsakul is the young scion of Andy Oud, a 42-year-old business with operations in Thailand and Cambodia. He, along with wife Saranya, wants to expand his market reach in the Middle East with a series of retail stores.
“Since 1979, we have been providing stellar quality Agar Oud, Dahn Al Oud and Oud Bakoor across the Middle East,” Kavin explained, while showcasing a 30-year-old bottle of pure Dahn Al Oud.
“When the Thai Mart opened in Bahrain, we saw it as the perfect opportunity to reach our customers directly through this retail business. Bahrain is also a hub for the region and we would like to reach the Saudi and UAE market through our operations here.”
To re-energise shoppers, the festival also had a slew of culinary options, in particular showcasing street food from Thailand, right here in Bahrain.
Shada Restaurant has been in Bahrain for more than 30 years and chose to highlight their best-sellers, including chicken satay and other grilled items at their stall.
“We have perfected our recipes over the last 30 years, based on authentic Thai cuisine, adapted to local tastes and we thought the Night Bazaar at the Thai Mart would be the perfect venue to showcase our menu,” Sakeena Sayed explained.
Many of the vendors are permanently located at the mall and are excited to see increasing footfall as Covid-19 restrictions start to ease.
Meanwhile, Abdulla Isa Aswad won a round-trip ticket to Phuket and three-nights accomodation, and Edison Fetalino won a round-trip ticket during a draw held during the four-day festival.
For more details, follow @thaiembassybahrain on Instagram.
