With the abundance of cheap budget airlines offering daily flights to Bangkok, there has never been an easier time to visit the Land of the Smiling Buddha. Simply turn on your internet connection, make your booking, and you will be off across the Southeast Asian peninsula in a blink of an eye!
2. Check in To Your Two-Days Accommodation
Wherever it is located. Bangkok or Chiang Mai, Phra Phradaeng to Khon Kaen, you have plenty of options because the exhilarating experience you are about to take part in is conducted nation-wide! It is better to do previous research on what kind of splashy adventure you are looking for, because they are carried out differently based on each region.
3. Stock Up On Your Ammunition
Pails, rubber hoses, water balloons, water guns, you name it. Powder or flour would be pleasant additions to spice up your attacks!
4. Get a Good Meal and a Good Night Sleep
Obviously you want to be extra fit and well-rested before you embark on your crazy water-splashing extravaganza! And finally.....
5. TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF, LOAD YOUR AMMUNITION, GET DOWN ON THE ROAD AND START SPLASHING WATER LIKE MAD!
It is called SONGKRAN FESTIVAL, the traditional New Year's Day in Thailand from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia.
The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off are taken on the weekdays immediately following. If they fall in the middle of the week, many Thai take off from the previous Friday until the following Monday. Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1 April was used until 1940. 1 January is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then.
Songkran has traditionally been celebrated as the New Year for many centuries, and is believed to have been adapted from an Indian festival. It is now observed nationwide, even in the far south. However, the most famous Songkran celebrations are still in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six days and even longer. It has also become a party for foreigners and an additional reason for many to visit Thailand for immersion in another culture.
The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors, and monks.
Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran may also go to a Buddhist monastery to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddha images from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water mixed with a Thai fragrance over them. It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In northern Thailand, people may carry handfuls of sand to their neighborhood monastery in order to recompense the dirt that they have carried away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles and decorated with colorful flags.
Some people make New Year resolutions - to refrain from bad behavior, or to do good things. Songkran is a time for cleaning and renewal. Besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais also take this opportunity to give their home a thorough cleaning.
After participating in Songkran, you may now return to your daily routine, carrying that precious memory of unbridled laughter and losing yourself amidst the bash of splash!
For more weekend ideas in and around Singapore, visit weekend.com.sg.
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