Chiang Mai, Thailand
To celebrate the traditional New Year, Thailand’s crazy Songkran H2O festival is held every Apr all over the country. But the best house to live is Chiang Mai.
Picture tens of thousands of men, women, in addition to children roaming the streets armed alongside squirt guns, H2O cannons, in addition to buckets of icy mutual coldness H2O searching for their side past times side victim.
They locomote on foot, piled onto scooters or inwards the dorsum of pickup trucks.
No i is prophylactic from their wrath. If you’re dry, y'all won’t live for long!
Songkran is Thailand’s craziest holiday, in addition to the whole province comes to a stand-still for a duo of days spell everyone cools off during the hottest calendar month of the year.
Traditional New Year
The official Thai Buddhist calendar begins alongside the expiry of the Buddha 543 years earlier the start of the Christian calendar.
It’s also celebrated inwards Apr according to Sun & star alignment rather than the start of the lunar year.
Originally, scented H2O was poured over statues of Buddha for goodness luck. This H2O was thence saved in addition to gently sprinkled onto loved ones equally a blessing.
Eventually, that time-honored in addition to holy tradition has morphed into filling giant super-soakers total of dingy moat H2O in addition to blasting it into the faces of consummate strangers!
Songkran inwards Chiang Mai
While large celebrations are held all over the country, the northern metropolis of Chiang Mai is the best house to be. The one-time metropolis is surrounded past times a large square-shaped moat. Four miles of it to live exact.
This moat is used equally a refill station. Most people congregate roughly it for Songkran. Families lower buckets on strings into the moat, filling them upward to live unleashed on the crowds passing by.
Pickup trucks in addition to tuk-tuks inch their means roughly the loop loaded alongside 55-gallon barrels total of water.
Massive blocks of H2O ice residue within these containers for an extra kick.
The festival lasts longer inwards Chiang Mai too, alongside at to the lowest degree four total days of madness compared alongside alone two inwards other cities.
Possibly the Best Festival Ever
I’d heard stories near Songkran from many other travelers who claimed it was the best festival they’d ever been to. After experiencing it for myself this year, I make got to agree. Why is it thence special?
- All ages participate, from three yr olds to senior citizens.
- Tens of thousands of people accept to the streets.
- You instruct to deed similar a kid in i lawsuit again without judgment.
- Everyone is grinning in addition to having a blast.
- No tickets to pay for (well, aside from the cost of a H2O gun).
- It’s both roughshod in addition to incredibly polite at the same time.
I can’t state y'all how many times somebody poured a bucket of freezing mutual coldness ice-water downward my back, thence apologized for it!
Everyone is your friend during Songkran. I oftentimes simply hopped upward on the dorsum of a truck in addition to joined a grouping of strangers who happily welcomed me onto their mobile splash onrush vehicle.
All Kinds of Entertainment
In improver to the roaming hoards of H2O soldiers, you’ll also observe stages in addition to tents sponsored past times local in addition to international companies. They unremarkably include professional person dancers dressed inwards skimpy outfits, spraying H2O from hoses onto the crowd.
Large machines sporadically spew mountains of bubbles into the street creating an impromptu foam party.
Religious processions march through town alongside statues of Buddha on beautifully decorated floats. Spectators attempt in addition to spray H2O on the Buddha’s shoulders inwards the traditional fashion, for goodness luck.
You may instruct splattered alongside a muddy mixture of white chalk too.
Kids randomly popular out of barrels on the dorsum of trucks shooting y'all inwards the face, others run roughly inwards total costumes or Halloween masks.
Songkran is a consummate daze to the senses.
Getting Into the Action
To railroad train for Songkran I donned my best Rambo gear in addition to picked upward a fully automatic water-uzi. It fifty-fifty had a removable clip for a reservoir. While the piddling blueish & orangish gun didn’t make got the best make — I could handgrip downward the trigger in addition to spray to my heart’s content.
I proceeded to deport drive-by soakings all over town on my moped.
Now riding a scooter inwards Thailand is already pretty dangerous, but during Songkran, it’s a flake suicidal. Alcohol flows freely for four days, in addition to no i thinks twice near throwing large buckets of H2O into your aspect upward equally y'all travail by.
So I wouldn’t recommend it unless y'all make got enough of scooter experience, a motorbike license, in addition to are equally stubborn equally I am!
But most of the festival was spent teaming upward alongside swain farangs similar Ryan & Liz, Gillian & Jason, Jill & Josh, Diana, in addition to Rikki & John inwards an endeavor to defend ourselves from the Thais.
The Chiang Mai Songkran sense is a wild goodness time. I would beloved to become dorsum in i lawsuit again inwards the futurity if I can. Until I observe a contender, it’s the coolest festival I’ve ever attended.
And alongside all that ice-water flying around, I hateful it. ★
Watch Video: Songkran Water Festival
(Click to sentry Songkran Festival – Thailand on YouTube)
Festival Dates: Usually inwards April
Packing Guide
Check out my travel gear guide to assist y'all start packing for your trip. Pick upward a locomote backpack, photographic telly camera gear, in addition to other useful locomote accessories.
Book Your Flight
Book inexpensive flights on Skyscanner, my favorite airline search engine to observe deals. Also read my tips for how I observe the cheapest flights.
Rent Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Car
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Book Accommodation
Booking.com is my favorite hotel search engine. Or rent local apartments on Airbnb ($35 discount!). Read my post for tips on booking inexpensive hotels.
Protect Your Trip
Don’t forget locomote insurance! I’m a large fan of World Nomads for short-term trips. Protect yourself from possible injury & theft abroad. Read to a greater extent than near why y'all should ever ship locomote insurance.
Recommended Guidebook: Lonely Planet Thailand
Suggested Reading: Sightseeing
READ NEXT: 33 Cool Travel Jobs For Work
Have y'all ever celebrated Songkran inwards Thailand before? Did y'all similar it?
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