SURIN, DEC 17 (TNA) – Eel catchers from seven countries
get down and dirty to offer fun and amusement at an annual cultural fair of Surin province in the Northeast of Thailand. 
Gathering at the annual “Eel Catching, Hom Mali Rice”
Festival in Chumphon Buri, the contestants from China, Denmark, Japan, France,
the United Kingdom, South Africa, the Philippines and Thailand take part in the
slippery competition.
The rule is simple; contestants in individual, male team and
female team divisions getting down in muddy pond and catching the most eels
with bare hands.
In the highlight of the 20th edition of the week-long
festival, they dipped in 10-meter-long, 6-meter-wide, and 50-meter-deep ponds
filled with hundreds of mud eels. Visitors from around the world witnessed the
muddiest competition, considered a celebration of Thai farmers’ traditions and
livelihood.
The individual division result ended up indecisively with
three contestants from Japan, South Africa and the Philippines, sharing the
first place after managing to catch three eels a piece.
In both male and female team contests, skillful Thai eel
catchers representing local villages won the trophies, both capturing 10 eels.
The Festival also features rice culture of the district
located at the heart of Thung Kula Ronghai, a vast area in Thailand’s northeast
boasting home of premium Hom Mali or Thai aromatic jasmine rice.
Ten villages of Chumphon Buri district co-organized the
Festival to promote their produce, traditional way of life and local
tourism.(TNA)
