Love beats disenchantment, 254 to 1

PHUKET: Love was in the air yesterday, as 254 couples formalised their marriages at the island’s registry offices on the year’s most romantic day. With 167 couples, Muang District saw the highest number of registrations for Valentine’s Day, while 57 couples were married in Thalang District and 30 in Kathu. “Our district gave flowers made from fish scales to the couples,” Suksun Siengek, assistant district officer of Thalang District, told the Gazette. The other two districts offered gifts of chopsticks and all three decorated their offices to mark the special day. Ever practical, the Phuket Provincial Health Office made gifts of condoms to all the newlyweds. There was only one sour note to the day, at the Thalang District office where one couple came not to marry, but to register their divorce. “Normally we don’t like to register divorces on Valentine’s Day, but this couple insisted that they couldn’t live together a moment longer,” K. Suksun said. Meanwhile, the island’s florists were furiously busy, with many open around the clock from Monday onwards. Five florists contacted by the Gazette all said that most customers were teenage students of both sexes. The average amount spent ranged from 200 baht to 500 baht. Roses were the most popular blooms, with red being the favorite color, followed by white, pink, and peach. Though prices on Valentine’s Day soared from the usual five baht for a single rose to 15 or 20 baht, demand remained high. “I sold about 100,000 baht’s worth of flowers,” said Metha Tansupasri, owner of The Flower Shop By Metha. He added that on Tuesday evening there were two traffic accidents right in front of his shop, caused by the unusually high number of cars trying to park there.