Noted as the hottest month of the year, April in Chiang Mai Thailand has lots of joy and excitement to bring. For your summer not to look ordinary, why not try visiting the place during Songkran week? What more could you ask when everything that you are looking for in a fantastic holiday is here? Well, Chiang Mai Festival is truly different as this showcases exotic dishes, historical places, pageants and of course, the famous water-soaking event. If you wish to bring your kids then, you can assure they’ll love this event.
Eastern countries have the most popular way of celebrating New Year. In Thailand, Songkran is a well known festival for welcoming to upcoming year. While other countries are popular because of fireworks display, Chiang Mai Thailand is known for its water fight event. However, this is not just done to alleviate the hot weather. Thais do not just splash water upon others for no reason. In fact, they are doing such thing for they believe that getting bathed serves as good luck. As part of the amusement, kids also join the celebration with their water guns along with small containers.
The fixed date for Songkran Festival is from April 13 to April 15 though Chiang Mai starts earlier depending on the weekend before the respective dates. There are actually so many places to celebrate Songkran such as pools, canals and even on streets where there are supplies of water. Better yet, grab waster pistol, ride on a pickup and start shooting water to people. However, the best way is to grab a hose. For safety reasons, it is advised to cover your valuables including cellphone, camera and other gadgets to prevent them from getting damaged or it would be better if you leave them at home.
Fun is actually just one aspect of Chiang Mai Songkran Festival. It actually has a deep meaning and that is to ask for blessings and to enrich religious intentions. As everyone wishes for good vibes, housewives clean their respective houses and remove every junk. On the other hand, young individuals are showing their respect to elders by pouring fragrant water on their palms.
As guest in the country, you can consider staying in hotels which are far from the busy areas just in case you want to avoid the huge number of people. Yet, your stay in Chiang Mai would not be complete without trying their finest cuisines. Restaurants are situated side by side of the cities and are usually a walking distance. The problem is that there are reservations. So to avoid the hassle, you should have your reservation earlier.
Chiang Mai Songkran Festival 2020
Venue: Chiang Mai City, Chiang Mai
Activities: Procession and bathing of Phra Buddha Sihing, local Lanna women riding a Kang Chong (a Northern vehicle) procession, bathing and paying respect to elders by pouring scented water (nam op), building sand pagodas, local art and cultural shows, Lanna’s man and lady beauty contests, water splashing around the moat of Chiang Mai, and enjoy delicious international foods along Urban Culture Street.
