15 February,2011 12:34 PM IST | | Agencies
It was one long kiss - one world-breaking embrace for mankind. A determined Thai couple locked lips for 46 hours, 24 minutes and nine seconds to celebrate Valentine's Day in this southern beach resort town, emerging victorious and exhausted after a landmark 'kissathon' that organisers claim marked the longest recorded smooch in history.
The previous record of just over 32 hours was set in 2009 by a couple in Germany, according to Guinness World Records, whose officials will have to verify the latest milestone for it to become official.
Fourteen mostly Thai pairs entered the contest when it kicked off Sunday morning at 6 am local time. By yesterday afternoon half had already beaten the record and were still puckering up on the white-marble corridor an ocean side shopping mall in Pattaya.
Passing tourists gawked and smiled at the spectacle, snapping pictures with glowing mobile phones behind a red rope. "We didn't think we would find anybody that could break the record," said Somporn Naksuetrong, the manager of Pattaya's Louis Tussaud's Waxworks museum, which organised the competition. That seven couples apparently did, he said, "is amazing."
The winner was announced before dawn today: a Thai couple from Bangkok named Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat. The pair won a diamond ring worth 50,000 Thai Baht (1,606 USD), and a 100,000 Baht (3,213 USD) cash prize.
According to the rules, the lovebirds' lips could not part at any time. They were allowed to drink water, coffee, milk or juice - but only through straws while continuing to kiss. They also had to remain embraced during bathroom breaks possible every three hours - accompanied by contest monitors. The harshest rule: no sitting or sleeping.
One woman participating with her boyfriend fainted just half an hour after it began Sunday. Despite its reputation for having one of the biggest sex industries in the world, Thailand is still a conservative nation where kissing in public - even a small peck - is frowned upon.
Participants had to show proof they were either married or truly a couple - a letter from parents or a marriage certificate was acceptable.
The official record for the longest kiss was clocked at 32 hours, 7 minutes and 14 seconds long by Nikola Matovic and Kristina Reinhart in Germany in February 2009, according to Guinness.
