It was one long kiss _ and one record-breaking embrace for mankind.
Seven couples locked lips for more than 33 hours to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Pattaya in what organisers claim is the longest recorded smooch in history.
The previous record _ 32 hours, seven minutes and 14 seconds _ was set in 2009 by a couple in Germany, according to Guinness World Records.
Fourteen pairs of lovers entered the contest when it kicked off on Sunday at 6am.
By yesterday afternoon, half were still smooching away on the white-marble corridor at a shopping mall, where tourists gawked and smiled at the spectacle, snapping pictures.
“We didn’t think we would find anybody that could break the record,” said Somporn Naksuetrong, manager of Pattaya’s Louis Tussauds Waxworks museum, which organised the competition. That seven couples apparently did so, he said, “is amazing”.
The last couple left kissing will win a diamond ring worth 50,000 baht and a 100,000 baht cash prize.
The rules state the lovebirds’ lips cannot part at any time.
They are allowed to drink water, coffee, milk or juice, but only through straws while continuing to kiss.
They also have to remain embraced during bathroom breaks, which are allowed every three hours, but they must be accompanied by contest monitors.
The harshest rule: no sitting or sleeping. One woman participating with her boyfriend fainted after just half an hour.
In Bangkok, the annual tradition of marrying in Bang Rak _ which means “District of Love” _ was as popular as ever, with 888 couples registering their marriages at the district office.
One of the couples who registered marriage yesterday also won a condominium, while 12 other newlyweds won gold marriage certificates in the district’s prize draw.
Furthermore, the district office refused to process any divorces yesterday.
The management of Songkhla Zoo organised a Thai-styled wedding ceremony for a pair of orangutans.
The wedding of Nancy, who is resident at the zoo, and Suriya from Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri yesterday took place in front of a crowd of amused visitors.
