At Chaopraya Antique Café, near Bangkok, you must go barefoot

A flooded restaurant by the river Chao phraya in Thailandhas become an incredible focal point, as entertainment enthusiasts began flocking to its water-filled space to eat in the middle of the tide.

Now, instead of empty chairs and empty tables due to the floods that hit many parts of Thailand, the Chaopraya Antique Café it is as full as ever, offering an experience that its owner calls it «hot-pot surfing».

Instead of closing, which would be the most normal, the Chaopraya Antique Café remained open to customers enjoying the wonderful food and the thrill of avoiding the waves created by passing boats.

“Customers absolutely love the waves,” he said Titiporn Jutimanon, who runs the restaurant at Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok and added: “What I thought would be a crisis turned into an opportunity.”

The videos have gone viral on social media with customers sitting in chairs, their feet dipped in water, taking a bite to eat and getting up to avoid the rippling waves.

Some 30 northern and central provinces have been hit by floods in recent weeks, raising the level of the famous river that flows through Bangkok.

His business Titiporn Jutimanon was forced to close during lockdowns implemented in the country due to Covid-19, but is now happy to have decided to take that risk.

“Not only do they love the atmosphere and the pork barbecue and the view of the sunset; the flood has become an additional unique factor,” he told Associated Press. “I feel so lucky that customers love it, the flood was not a deterrent for them,” he said.

Customers cheer and laugh as their wooden stools are torn down by the water that floods the restaurant. They enjoy this unique experience when the water levels are higher.

“It’s a fun challenge – you do not know if the time you eat you will get wet and how much,” joked the customer Jetdanai Boonrod, 30 years old.