fah-thai-magazine-march-april-2017-in-flight-magazine-of-bangkok-airways

sONGKRAN
Right
Elephants playfully
douse humans
during Songkran.
The former capital
of Ayutthaya is an
ideal place to see
them get into the
splashing game.
Below
Expect to be wet all
day, and most likely
at night, too.
The first blast of
cold water is
never the kindest,
especially when
foam is involved!
to spread around the old city and its
moat. From sprinkling water as a
means to bless people, to splashing
bowls of water, Songkran became
a big participatory event. That’s
why 2.4 million foreign tourists
visit Thailand in April alone, most
coming for the Songkran holiday
with its billing as the “World’s Best
Water War.”
Now, festivalgoers roam around
Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and
other Songkran holiday destinations
with tanks of water on pickup
trucks. All modes of transportation
- bicycles, motorcycles, cars –
deliver aggressive blasts from water
guns or throw water balloons at
passersby. The government even
tried to ban skimpy clothing and the
high-powered water guns from the
Thailand’s water festival may have
more visibility, but neighbouring
countries Laos, Myanmar and
Cambodia also engage in their own
versions of water fights.
Songkran Festival. But few take it
seriously and instead playfully leave
dirt and wet powder pastes on the
faces of policemen.
The Songkran Festival is also a
homecoming event for Thai people.
Businesses close down for three
days or longer. Bangkok experiences
a mass exodus a few days prior to
reunite with family members in
their hometowns. To capture the
spirit of Songkran, people wear
brightly printed shirts. The fanciful
shirts, once a choice for country
folk only, reinvented itself as “high
fashion” over Songkran for the
holidaymakers and festival goers
who want a quick dose of the good
old days.
From sprinkling perfumed
water to high-pressured water
guns, from traditional Thai
costumes to wet t-shirts and
shorts, Songkran has evolved
through a series of makeovers. At
its heart though, Songkran is still
Thailand’s celebration of family
and the new year.
Hansar Moment of Happiness
Samui, Bangkok, Pranburi, Khao Yai, Cha Am
www.hansarhotels.com
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