Happy Songkran!
Songkran – Aka Thai New Year, one of the best days in Thailand and the best festivities around the world. A day filled with laughter, happiness, water fights and a few drinks it is an exceptional day to experience. In Phuket, the festivities last one day; however further north they can last up to 6 days, bringing in the new year.
Songkran is an innocuous day where everyone gets involved; streets are lined with pickup tucks loaded with ice-cold water and ‘water warriors’ splashing passerby who line the side of the road to shoot back. It is a fairly chaotic scene but the ambience around the whole country is happy and exciting, there is no way one could leave the house without getting wet. Many streets are closed, open only for pedestrians as the most obvious celebration is throwing water upon others. In addition, many Thais have small bowls of talc powder (sometimes coloured), mixed with water to smear on the faces and bodies of random passerby as a blessing for the new year.
There are also some traditional Thai customs that come along with the water fights. Visiting a Temple(Wat) to pray, donating money and food to the Monks and getting a blessing for the new year is a very important ritual for many Thais. My friends and i did this before our antics started as well as fed the dogs and cats around the Temple as it is a feast day; for everyone.
Songkran is around April 13th and is celebrated all over the country, if you get the chance to partake its definitely worth sticking around for!
Water Festival
Kelissa Brockett 