Phang Nga to strictly enforce dress code on tourists visiting historic temple cave
The Phang Nga provincial administration has instructed local authorities to strictly enforce a dress code for tourists visiting a temple cave in the southern province.
Phang Nga deputy governor Phakphum Intharasuwan inspected Wat Suwan Khuha, or the Temple of Cave, in Tambon Krasome of Phang Nga's Takua Pa district on Tuesday morning after local people filed complaints with the provincial administration that tourists were dressed in a way that showed disrespect to the temple.
Normally, people are required to wear trousers or proper dress when entering a temple but since the temple is a cave, tourists treated it as a sightseeing spot and often wore shorts and inappropriate clothing.
Phakphum said the temple's cave wall has been registered as a historical site by the Fine Arts Department because King Rama V and King Rama IX have written initials on the wall.
But tourists often wrote on the cave wall, requiring officials to erase tourist graffiti.
The deputy governor also instructed local officials to monitor and advise tourists against vandalising the historical cave's wall.