The Songkran Festival takes place mid-April, starting on April 13th and lasting from three to five days, depending on where you are. Songkran is the ancient New Year of the people of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. No matter which country you go to, you are bound to have a fantastic time, get soaking wet, and probably pretty drunk as well.
The origin of the water festival stems from locals going to their temples to pray, during which time they would also bring food for the monks and use scented water to pour down the backs of the monks, allowing them to start the new year clean and smelling fresh. To this day, most locals will first pour water down your back before even dumping water over your head. It comes from the tradition of washing the monks.
I hope you enjoy my short video of Songkran and get a glimpse of what it’s like.