Lovers nationwide celebrated Valentine's Day yesterday, with 250 couples registering their wedding at Bangkok's Bang Rak (Village of Love) district, while Pattaya hosted a contest for the longest kiss - and seven couples broke the world record.

As has become tradition, couples made their weddings memorable at various sites in Thailand. Nine couples in Chiang Mai registered their marriage midair in balloons, while 20 couples trekked "to prove their everlasting love" at the top of Loei's Phu Luang mountain.

At a weddingregistration event hosted by Bang Rak district office at the Bangkok Commercial Asset Management Building, newlyweds Ekkachai Saranet, 31, and Ratchadawan Chotikul, 28, were the first to win a golden marriage licence.

In Pattaya's Royal Garden Plaza, a contest to try to break the world record for the longest kiss was successful. The old record of 32 hours, seven minutes and 14 seconds was set in the German city of Hamburg on Valentine's Day in 2009. 

Yesterday, when the clock passed the record time, seven of 14 couples in the contest were still standing kissing.

They shared prizes worth Bt200,000 in total.

While many gave lovers roses and chocolate, many Thai teens begged to differ. Chandrakasem Rajabhat University student Wanicha Jaemsaard said she would like a trip with a loved one rather than a rose and would like to do social service such as making Braille books for the blind.

University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce student Panich Maneerat said he would like to celebrate the day by donating blood to the Red Cross Society because the day should be a chance to do good with loved ones.

At the Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary in Loei's Phu Rua district, 20 couples trekked through the mountaintop's wildrose meadow in cool weather and admired 160 species of orchids before registering their marriages.

In Chiang Mai's Muang district, eight Thai couples and one British couple got on balloons to register their weddings midair in the Chalermphrakiat 80 Pansa Park.

Not only people got into the act. At the Chiang Mai Night Safari, seven pairs of rabbits were "wedded" in three types of ceremonies - Thai Lanna, Chinese and international - with Chiang Mai Governor MR Disanadda Disakul presiding.

At Chiang Mai Zoo, officials decorated the panda display with pink hearts for Thaiborn youngster Lin Ping. Fruit in a heartshaped basket was given to Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui, although Lin Ping was still too small to eat anything other than apple and bamboo bread.

(The Nation)