Together We Can Sale @ Arena 10, Soi Thong Lor 10, Bangkok - 30 May 2010

The Together We Can: Grand Sale initiative is spreading outwards in all directions, after its initial success on Silom Road, the opportunity for businesses brought to a standstill by the two months of demonstrations to shift stock and generate some much needed revenue has this weekend shifted to Thong Lor, one of the city's most affluent areas, and shoppers hungry for a bargain have flocked to the new temporary location on Soi 10, just as they did when the temporary stalls were thrown up at Silom Road. The site for the sale here is the Astroturf-covered pitches of the Arena 10 indoor football complex located half way down Thong Lor Soi 10, about a kilometre-and-a-half down Sukhumvit Soi 55 away from Sukhumvit Road. Together We Can: Grand Sale is the brainchild of the Governor of Bangkok, Mom Rajawongse Sukhumbhand Paripatra, who wants to get the battered, bruised - and in many cases - burnt city back on its feet as quickly as possible, help small businesses stunted by the affects of the protests that choked the life out of the usually-heaving city centre and create a buzz that will bring a divided people together. There are plenty of visuals: posters have gone up around Bangkok and dedicated T-shirts have been hurriedly printed bearing the colours of the nation flag, these are hot items already, and an array of popular actors and singers have been trotted in to lend their stamp to the efforts. The idea of the Grand Sale first kicked off on Silom Road, the busy commercial district that suffered when the Red Shirts poured into the city; its usual traffic-clogged length was turned into a "Walking Street" for the weekend. Special free shuttle buses have been laid on to get people up to Arena 10 and the bargain hunters quickly pour in to browse amongst the stalls that are wedged tightly in on the lurid green plastic grass of the two football pitches that lie back-to-back under the long canvas roof stretched tight over a series of arching hoops. Such is the demand for space that the traders have spread out all across the complex's car park and outdoor areas and the spaces not occupied by goods, mostly somewhat haphazardly laid, out are occupied by shoppers. The scope of the businesses affected can be seen across the diversity of the booths: from jewellery and trinkets to elegant dresses targeted at the more-mature lady, from designer handbags in luridly coloured leather to hand caved and varnished wooden mobiles. There is entertainment laid on too, with well known talk show host Udom Taepanich grabbing the attention of a large crowd when he takes to the microphone and many stall holders have thrown signs up that indicate that once the were plying their business in the catacombs of the now burnt-and-blackened CentralWorld mall, as well as other key locations that faced the arsonists' attentions such as Center One at Victory Monument and Siam Square on Rama I Road.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• central
• world
• sale
• thong
• lor
• thonglor
• centralworld
• bangkok
• thailand
• arena
• 10
• football
• pitch
• astroturf
• ctw
• may
• 2010
• june
• burnt
• damaged
• fire
• together
• we
• can
• soi

[bjkjs]

my and my 2 kids are planing to play here at arena 10 when we visit bangkok on april. is it still open? this video tells me that its some how converted into a bazaar.:-(( if its still functioning can we just go there and play with other people even thou there are only 3 of us?

[TimeSplittersChimp]

how much does it cost to use indoor football pitch at Arena10, i move to Bangkok on 30th August and want to find places to play football