1 & 2 Local youth may participate in the water splashing festivities more but the festival is also for the young at heart
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Soaked in fun for Songkran // COVER //
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4 Elephants getting into the spirit of the festival as well!
In the scorching April heat, nothing beats the spray of cold water to cool down during Songkran It’s a brand new year, at least to the Thais it is. The Songkran Festival is also known as the Thai New Year. The three-day festival that falls from 13 to 15 April each year is a big celebration that marks the beginning of the new year in accordance to the Buddhist/Hindu solar calendar and the start of summer. Songkran celebrations are filled with tradition, much like how Lunar New Year is celebrated in Singapore. Many locals who have moved to the city for work return home to celebrate Songkran with their families. The mornings of the festival are spent merit-making by visiting local temples and offering food to the Buddhist monks. An iconic ritual involves pouring water on Buddha statues, which is considered a means of purification and the washing away of sins and bad luck. This water pouring is also practiced in homes by the young on the elderly. It is no surprise now that water has a huge significance during this festival and is most evident during the water splashing play that takes place on the streets. Streets are often closed to allow the local youth to run out to splash water on their friends and tourists too. Soaking someone completely till their clothes stick to their bodies is not considered insulting nor is it considered rude; the water is meant to bring blessings on the people splashed and is welcomed coolness in the hot summer sun.
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3 The mornings of Songkran involve merit-making at the temples to absolve worshippers from sin
Want to experience Songkran for yourself? Head to these locations for the best fun for tourists:
5 Songkran is a fun time of celebrations for locals and foreigners too
Bangkok Khaosan, the backpacker’s haven, is where to head as a foreigner to get into the wet festivities of Songkran with the locals. The whole area is a wild playground for tourists and locals alike to splash water onto unsuspecting passers-by. Watch out for locals who will also smear powder onto you – all in good fun, of course. Chiang Mai Celebrations take place all over the old town, especially at the roads surrounding the old town, where water is plentiful. There are beautiful processions of colourfully decorated pickup trucks that can cause traffic congestion but this is the best time for tourists to get in on the action. The trucks are all loaded with people holding buckets of water waiting to tip their barrels onto other vehicles and pedestrians. Songkhla This is a popular spot for tourists from Singapore and Malaysia due to its proximity to the Malaysian border. Songkran is also celebrated on a much larger scale here and the business district in the heart of Hat Yai is where the Midnight Songkran Fair takes place. There are lanterns in different shapes and colours that light the place up, as well as other activities to help usher in the new year. Water splashing happens more often at night, as compared to other areas in Thailand where water splashing usually takes place in the day. Khon Kaen Sichan, the main thoroughfare in the centre of the town is closed for Songkran and its water splashing activities. The road has been nicknamed ‘Sticky Rice Road’ and branded as a second Khaosan Road as the water splashing here is similar to that of the backpacker’s
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street in Bangkok. Here, the local youths have their fun splashing water and smearing each other (and tourists!) with rice flour. There is usually dancing, eating and drinking during the festivities as well. For more infomation, please visit our booth 7H13 or visit www.tourismthailand.org/sg
Khon Kaen Chiang Mai
Bangkok
Songkhla