With all of the recent flood warnings in Thailand now resinded, tourists are flocking back to Thailand, particularly for the Thai New Year in April which features exciting water fights.
(prHWY.com) January 9, 2012 - Paris France, CA -- Thailand is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the whole of Asia, and receives around 12 million holidaymakers every year. In October 2011, the country was thwarted with floods that affected the beginning of the "tourist season" and that has seen a drop in the passenger flights, some even being dropped altogether. As January to April is the dry season, the Thailand Tourism board has upped their efforts to bring tourists back to the tropical delights as the flood waters and damage has been dealt with and has paved the way for some Thailand bargain holidays.
As Thais, Asians and tourists from all over the world, in particular Australia and the UK, get ready for the Thai New Year (April 13-15th), called Songkran, it will bring about millions of gallons of water again. But, this time, the water is used to cleanse the spirit, marks an end to the dry season and starts the new traditional new year (which is 2556 this year). What that means for unsuspecting tourists is for three days, or six in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand, is buckets of water thrown at each other, anarchy and mayhem as pick-up trucks full of laughing and smiling people drench each other.
Songkran is one of the most popular events in Thailand, particularly as it brings welcomed, cold water during the hottest time of year. With temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius in April, having iced water splashed all around douses the heat from the giggling locals and tourists.
Music, entertainment, visits to temples and offerings to monks are all part of the Songkran festival. Tourists seeing it for the first time are normally shocked yet cannot help joining in the fun and games. As many cars, tuk-tuks and obviously motorcycles are open to the drenching of water, traffic in the major cities, towns and villages is very slow therefore those looking for a Thailand bargain holiday will need to plan their holiday carefully as transport is severely limited.
Sonkgran comes from the traditional calendar of Thailand and many other Asian countries that utilise the lunisolar calendar. The mid-April festive ties in with Bengali, Tamil, Sri Lankan, Orissan, Nepali and Malayali new years and therefore sees most of South East Asia come to a standstill in terms of business and economics around this time. Although the traditional peace offering for new year gifts was a cleansing of the hands in a slow and respectful manner, the modern equivalent has turned into a full-on water fight with water cannons, water guns and buckets of ice-filled water being tossed around.
A spokesperson for ThailandBargains.co.uk said, "We always see a marked increase in sales for April and it's mostly due to the Easter holidays and holidaymakers looking for an exciting time with water fights, as well as the usual Thai attractions such as temples, tropical rainforests, stunning islands and affordable food, drink and accommodation."
For more information about how to find the best Thailand bargains, please visit
http://www.thailandbargains.co.uk for bookings.
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