The Tham Luang cave of Thailand, in which, 4 years ago, 12 children got stuck along with their coach, is opening up for tourists in the month of October. The incident has inspired a number of web series, movies and documentaries, and now, the area near by the cave is being prepared as a tourist spot. Roads, a rest-house, a restaurant, and a resort have also been built.
Nafsan Chaiya, the village headman of a village situated near the cave, called Ban Jong, has said that he is still not able to believe that their area could get developed to such an extent. Not even the people belonging in the nearby district knew about the cave, but now, cafes, restaurants and hotels have started coming up in the area. A statue of a local diver, Saman Gunan, who had lost his life in his attempt to rescue the children, has also been placed near the cave.
After the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic died down, films produced under two big banners brought this place in the limelight once again. Lat year, in the end of July, a movie called ’13 lives’ was also released which was based on the same incident. Recently, Netflix has released a web-series inspired from the events, called ‘Thai Cave Rescue’. The Tham Luang cave is situated amidst highly rugged mountains, and this mountain range goes on to Myanmar from the highest border of Thailand, Chiyang. The cave is extremely long and narrow and takes the form of a high-flowing river in the monsoon season.
Vern Unsworth, who had discovered the cave has been surveying it for quite a long time now. He had also helped in rescuing the children who were stuck here for 18 days. Now, he is highlighting the connecting segment and the potential tourist spots. This 7-mile long cave will become Thailand’s longest cave by the next year.
