More criticism heaped on French tourist’s disrespectful temple act
Criticism has continued to pour in against a French tourist who posted online a photo of herself walking along the top of a wall around the historic Ku Chao Luang attraction within the compound of Chiang Mai’s Wat Suan Dok.
The photo was posted on the woman's Facebook and Instagram pages on June 15, but Thais came to know about in only recently and shared it widely this week along with criticism of the “inappropriate action”. Some incensed viewers have tried to get Facebook to remove the photo.
A reporter from The Nation visited Wat Suan Dok on Thursday and found that the temple – which receives large numbers of tourists every day - had posted a sign urging appropriate behaviour, in Thai and English. Ku Chao Luang is where the urns carrying the ashes and bones of Chiang Mai’s kings and royal family members are kept. It was registered as a national ancient site under the supervision of the Fine Arts Department in 1935.
Tour guide Chiewcharn Hassadisewi, who was leading 10 tourists from the Netherlands to visit the temple, said he always stressed the need for tourists to act appropriately while visiting Thai temples.
Chiewcharn said the tourist in the photo had travelled on her own and this made it harder for people to spot her actions. He also urged the temple authorities to erect more signs in many foreign languages to ensure tourists got the message.