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Definitively YES!
Songkran, also known as the Thai New Year or Thailand Water Festival is celebrated every year for three days from April 13-15. It is one of the most important events of the year for Thai people. Traditionally during Songkran young people poured scented water on their elders to pay respect and bring good fortune for the coming year. While this still takes place, Songkran’s current incarnation is more of a nation-wide wet t-shirt contest, minus the sexually explicit nature and disappointed parents.
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We wanted our first experience at the world’s biggest water fight to be maximally awesome, so we hopped an overnight bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is known to be the wildest place to ring in the Thai New Year and tens of thousands of visitors, both Thai and foreigners, flock here every year to celebrate.
Even though it’s extremely crowded in Chiang Mai during Songkran we had no trouble finding an inexpensive guest house in the northeast corner of the moat, right in the heart of the action. After tossing our bags into our room and chowing down on the nearest bowl of Khao Soi, one of our favorite meals in northern Thailand, we headed straight into the inferno and armed ourselves.
Our weapons of choice were water guns, perfect for battle on the go.
After ingesting a few too many mouthfuls of moat water on day one we decided to stick to areas where the H2O came from hoses. We quickly learned that the best method was to make friends with stationary revelers and hunker down in one spot with buckets.
Hundreds of trucks, tuk tuks, motorbikes and song-taews drove loops around and inside the moat, fun moving targets, however equally armed and usually with icy water.
The freezing water was a welcome reprieve though as April is the hottest month in Thailand with temperatures averaging in the high 30s (90s in Fahrenheit).
This little girl’s got it figured out.
Over the three day festival we made our way around to different areas to soak in all the action. There were dancing lady boys, parades, sponsored stages with performers and live music, an untold number of street food stalls, people young and old living it up.
Many Buddhists still celebrate Songkran in it’s traditional form as well. In the early morning people can be seen giving food and alms to monks in exchange for blessings. Many Buddhists go to Chiang Mai’s numerous temples to chant prayers, give offerings, and pour scented water onto images of the Buddha. Originally pouring water on people was meant to signify the washing away of negativity from the previous year.
Songkran in Chiang Mai was a wild and unforgettable experience. Hopefully we’ll be able to attend many more New Years celebrations to come in Thailand and neighboring countries like Cambodia, Myanmar and India that have their own traditions, both modern and old.
Check out the short video we made about Songkran:
Haven’t attended one but I heard a lot of crazy experiences from my friends! From the looks of it, you guys had fun!
It was a ton of fun! Hope you can make it there one year 😀
This looks awesome! I’ve always heard about it, but I’ve never participated! I need to get back to Thailand ASAP!
Haha yes you do! Thailand is always a good idea 😀
Ahhh Songkran!! I’m so annoyed that I keep missing the festival. I’m hoping that at least by next year, I can go. I always miss it by a few weeks!
You will make it one of these years! There are similar festivals happening all over SEA at the same time, so even if you just get to the region you’ll be golden :p
I love how you included the traditional part of Songkran along with the fun part. I’ve read about this and it does sound like fun. I’d be worried about my camera though…I love Thailand, and just like everything else there, it’s all smiles when folks are dousing you. I love it.
Thanks Corinne 🙂 It is definitely not a place for cameras. Luckily ours is waterproof! And yes, Thai people are super smiley, especially when they are dousing you with ice water :p
Oh, that seems so awesome! I love going to different festivals around the world. I wish we did things like this in the U.S. (or I knew where to find it). I love your pictures as well 🙂
Thanks Natalie 🙂 Agreed, I can’t think of any similar festivals in the US. Hope you can make it to Songkran Festival one year!
I was just wondering about the temperature but then saw it was in the high 30’s. I guess some water is more than welcome in those conditions. Had no idea about this tradition. Looks very colourful and fun!
Cool video!
Thanks Hugo! It was even hotter in Southeast Asia this year (2016) with temperatures in the low 40s! Being dosed with ice water never felt so good 🙂
I looks like an awesome reason for adults to play with water!
Haha definitely!!
That festival looks like a blast! We have a version of it in San Juan, Metro Manila. But not quite as colorful and big!
We’d love to check that out! Is it also a New Years celebration there?
Seems like you guys had a better experience than me! I found myself in the middle of Songkran with a broken heart and a heavy backpack and was not so please about being showered in smelly water haha 😉 Love the video!
Oh man, that sounds rough all around 🙁 The smelly moat water was not my favorite either. I (Jen) ended up with a weird fungal rash on my stomach from the moat water…thankfully a random Danish doctor in a pharmacy hooked me up with some cream. Ahh, the joys of weird skin stuff in SEA :p
Cutest photo of all is that little girl in a bucket! Clever girl!! This event has been on my list for a while now – who wouldn’t want to embrace their inner child and take part in a city wide water fight!! It’s a dream!! This along with La Tomatina in Spain, which is the city wide tomato fight 😀 Hopefully I can get to each of them soon!!
Haha she definitely had the right idea! OMG yes, La Tomatina is on my list for sure! Maybe see you there!! 🙂