A group of French tourists were enjoying a buffet breakfast at the River View Place Hotel on U-Thong Road in Ayutthaya, a day after the floodwaters receded in the inner part of the ancient city, while hotel staff were packing food items for flood victims, which has become one of their routine jobs since the old capital of Siam was inundated.
Tourists travelled from Phitsanulok to Ayutthaya, a World Heritage site, after they were informed the water had been pumped out of the old town.
"Since November 8, about 10% of Ayutthaya has dried up," said Ayutthaya Governor Withaya Pewpong. The roads are now accessible to small vehicles and local officers have already started to collect garbage and clean up the city as of last week.
"We will spend the next 60 days draining out the water and reviving the city. We will bring normalcy back to the lives of the people affected by the floods by the end of this year as a New Year's gift," promised the governor.
For the past two months, floodwater has submerged 16 districts of the province, or about 90% of the land, including rice fields and five industrial estates, as well as historical sites and ruins.
"The flood losses total as high as three billion baht," said the governor. However, there are seven key places that have been spared from the floods:
Wat Phanan Choeng Worawihan, Wat Phut Thai Sawan, Wat Nivet Thammaprawat, the Queen's summer palace, Bang Pa-In Palace and the Bang Sai Royal Folk Arts and Crafts. "They are part of the seven wonders," he added.
While the governor waits for the post-flood recovery budget that was approved by the Cabinet, he outlined the expected time frame for repairing basic infrastructure and helping flood victims, in which each flood-hit household will initially receive 5,000 baht in compensation, as well as making sure the five industrial estates will be able to resume operations next month.
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that at the very least a couple of factories in each industrial estate will be able to resume operations on December 16, and that the rice fields will be ready for planting by January," he said.
As for the tourist attractions, the province has teamed up with local companies and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to encourage people to help restore various sites, mostly old temples, under a massive clean-up campaign called ''We Care for Ayutthaya'', as well as reviving visitor confidence.
The campaign kicked off on November 10 at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhol, where 300 volunteers from Bangkok and local residents armed with brushes, brooms, shovels and hoses helped to remove the dirt and debris remaining in the temple grounds and on different Buddha images.
The TAT has also prepared a list of 500 religion-related places, including Thai temples, 41 churches, 61 masjids and 45 Chinese shrines, for those who wish to participate in the big clean-up activity.
''If any organisation, group or individual would like to make a contribution, whether to help clean or offer financial assistance, they can do so by contacting our office,'' said Somchai Chompoonoi, the executive director of the TAT's Central Region.
The massive clean-up campaign will be promoted until the end of January. And next year, TAT will coordinate with related agencies to help organise monthly marketing activities to encourage more tourists to visit this ancient town.
''Although the floods have shown no mercy, the Thai people have shown their generous spirit and helped each other. I am impressed to see the level of cooperation among the people to help get Ayutthaya back on track,'' said Qin Yusen, the cultural counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, who also participated in a clean-up activity.
Yusen added that the Chinese government will extend a hand and send a troop of performers to Ayutthaya to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ayutthaya being declared a Unesco World Heritage Site on December 13, as well as the Chinese New Year, which falls on January 23.
''Ayutthaya is ready for visitors,'' said the cultural counsellor, adding, ''I give full moral support that Ayutthaya will soon be back on its feet and normal life will resume again _ and perhaps even better than it was before.''
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