Longest continuous kiss sets world record

What's the most precious gift on St. Valentine's Day? Giving him/her world's longest continuous kiss!

A gay couple from Thailand kissed each other for 50 hours 25 minutes and 1 seconds in Royal Garden Plaza Pattaya, setting a new Guinness World Record and bringing home two diamond rings, 100,000-Baht($3240) cash prize and gift voucher from Anantara Phuket that are altogether worth up to 200,000 Baht ($6481).

The previous record of 46 hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds was set by another Thai couple last year, who broke their own record together with the gay couple and became the first runner-up this year.

The gay couple, 31-year-old Nontawat Jaroengasornsin and 29-year-old Thanakorn Sittiamthong, who are from central Thailand's Chachoengsao province, have been living together for three years. This is their second time participating in the kiss competition. Last year, in Thailand's first longest continuous kiss competition, they made it to 22 hours 9 minutes and 17 seconds.

A gay couple from Thailand kissed each other for 50 hours 25 minutes and 1 seconds in Royal Garden Plaza Pattaya, setting a new Guinness World Record. [Photo/Ripley's Believe it or not!]

Nontawat, a coffee shop owner, said he would give the two diamond rings to his boyfriend Thanakorn and his mother. As for the cash prize, they would use it to pay for his mother's medical treatment and Thanakorn's further education.

Seven Thai couples, 6 husband-wife and 1 male-male couple, participated the contest at 4 pm on Sunday, among whom four couples including the male-male couple were contestants from last year's competition. One couple quitted after kissing for 9 hours, and the other 6 couples all made it to the second day.

According to Somporn Naksuetrong, General Manager of the organiser Ripley's Believe it or not!, no sitting or sleeping was allowed during the competition; the couples' lips could not part at any time, even during their bathroom breaks. Only water, milk or juice could be consumed through straws while they continue the kiss, no food was allowed.

Holding this competition in Thailand, a relatively conservative country where people would not kiss in public, the organiser added two new rules-all the competitors must be over 20 years old, and they must have been living together as husband-wife, female- female or male-male couple for more than one year. In this case, the couples needed to provide marriage certificate or letter of confirmation from their parents to the organiser.

Having a new record over 50 hours, Somporn said they will hold a meeting and decide whether there will be the third competition next year. He said the new record might be really hard to break, they may consider holding other kind of event on next year's Valentine's Day, for example, wife-carrying competition around Pattaya. But one thing is for sure, the event will still be open to couples only because all the activities held by the organiser focus on strengthening family relationship and giving couples an opportunity to show their love for each other.