Songkran is a giant water fight and the best Thai holiday. I survived Songkran in Chiang Mai 2017, one of the largest and longest active celebrations in the country. Songkran coincides with a month that school kids are out of class – think summer vacation, so kids are everywhere! Songkran day is April 13 but is celebrated from Friday April 12 to Wednesday April 17. The main water fights will happen over the weekend but you may not be safe until Thursday! There will be slightly different celebrations in parts of Bangkok this year. Here’s what to know if you’re going!
What is SongKran
Songkran (kran rhymes with Tron) is a 2-5 day celebration of New Year’s on April 13th. The length of the festivities depend on the location. If you plan to be in Thailand during this time, you cannot avoid it! It’s a national holiday and is 5 days to allow people to travel home to their families. Personally, I wouldn’t want to avoid it – I loved this holiday! In Chiang Mai, one of the largest centers of celebration, the entire city turns into a weeklong water fight, and I was happy to be there in 2017.
Why a Water Fight
Water is a cleansing and purifying force. Traditionally, on this holiday and others, Thais pour water over Buddha statues 3 times as a purification ritual, washing away bad luck and misdeeds. This spread to pouring water on people and escalated into to a full out water fight. “Fight” is maybe not the best term. The intent is not to hurt people but has turned into a water fight due to the availability of water guns of various sizes. Just remember, it all started as a blessing!
Other Songkran Traditions
Songkran is not just about the water fight. Thais go home to spend time with their families, especially older family members. They remember and honor their ancestors. They may also clean their homes and shops, a common New Year ritual in most countries. They make merit at Buddhist temples by donating food to the monks and making other offerings. I recommend visiting the colorfully decorated temples.
Songkran Survival Tips
What to Wear
- Rule #1 – everything is wet and will stay wet.
- Comfortable shoes – you will have to walk a lot. Make sure your shoes are comfortable when wet. I recommend not buying the cute duck slides like I did. The socks saved my feet from blisters but not a fashion faux pas!
- Workout clothing. I’m not a bikini-on-the-streets girl so I opted for modest, colorful workout clothes instead. It worked. That being said, swimwear undergarments are going to be more comfortable than anything else. Dress colorfully!
- Eye protection. Sunglasses or colored glasses are readily available at shops and will help protect your eyeballs from any stray debris.
- Waterproof phone bag. A must-have! You don’t want to miss out on the photo ops, but you will get soaked. Protect your phone and baht with a waterproof bag. No need to spend big bucks on one before you go – colorful Baht Shops (aka the Dollar Store) have ones that work just fine.
- Water gun. While you’re at the Baht Shop, check out the available water guns. I opted for a Hello Kitty backpack-style soaker. It dripped a bit, I didn’t notice as soon as I got wet, which was very quickly! You’ll also notice people with buckets – those are for throwing water. Heads up!
- Sun protection. Bring sport-style sunscreen to re-apply and I definitely recommend a hat of some sort.
On the Streets
In Chiang Mai, the majority of the festivities happen around the Old City walls, around the canals and gates. The east gate, Tha Phae, had a photo op sign and plenty of room for running around safe from vehicle traffic. Also, bonus, there’s a Starbucks across the street for a potty break and tons of good food spots when you need a break. We walked back through the center of Old City and there wasn’t nearly as much action on the streets. There were also several spots for live music all around the canal. Follow the music!
You will get wet on tiny back streets, too! I snuck out at dawn on the second day of Songkran to hit the 7 Eleven for breakfast a block away, thinking I’d beat anyone out. Not so, a couple giggling old men came and gently dumped a full bucket of water down my back. Blessings!
Basic Rules
- Don’t shoot/splash anyone in the face.
- Don’t shoot anyone eating.
- Don’t shoot drivers – passengers are fair game. But don’t shoot anyone on a scooter.
- Don’t be an aggressive jerk. Don’t shoot old people… be a decent human, please.
- Do wear a shirt – Thais are still modest people and will be offended by folks running around half naked.
- Everything else is fair game! That means YOU are fair game. Smile and have fun!
Refill stations are easy to find 
Put on a shirt, bro 
Don’t splash drivers!
What to Expect
- Getting around. The red truck songtaews are harder to find during festivities and they are not off-limits. People throw buckets of water into the back of the trucks. Heads up! If you aren’t able to walk around day, consider paying a driver for a songtaew (red truck) or tuk-tuk (open 3-wheel scooter) a full day holiday-rate fee. You will become a bit of a moving target but it’s all in fun. Expect to pay double whatever you may normally pay to get around. The usual 40 baht songtaew ride home was 80 during Songkran!
- Scooters. Stay off scooters and be aware of them! Right away, a scooter lost control on the slippery streets and plowed into our group. Most people were only scraped and bruised, but several people were taken to the hospital to have their injuries treated. One girl ended up with a broken heel and a pair of crutches. Not a fun vacation story and she missed out on a lot of festivities. On that note, don’t throw or shoot water at people on scooters!! It’s rude, dangerous, and unnecessary. On a normal day, scooters and Thai traffic are the most dangerous thing in Thailand. Just add water and it gets worse. Be aware of your surroundings and I recommend staying off the streets with vehicle traffic as much as possible.
- Bros. There is a contingency of young foreign dudes who come to throw down. They get drunk and aggressive. You’ll find them in the popular hostel areas but during this holiday, they’re everywhere. Feel free to call them out for being jerks and they usually go away. I scolded a couple boys who were dousing people on scooters, because I’m an old lady and like I said it’s unnecessary. I ran acrsongkranoss a few Thai bros, too, slinging canal water from buckets so fast it stung my legs. I moved quickly along.
- Water. You’ll find trash cans full of water as refilling stations spread out across the city. People will refill them with water from hoses, or the dirty gross canal water. Neither are super sanitary so don’t shoot water into your mouth and remember to drink only bottled water. Some folks drive around in pickup trucks with trash cans full of water in the back, with a giant ice block inside! You can always tell the difference because the canal water is warm, almost hot, versus the colder, slightly cleaner tap water. But you cannot control which one you’re going to get hit with. I took the precaution of taking a pepto pill (here’s why) but no one in my group got sick from water (alcohol is another thing…).
- Remember to eat and rehydrate! You may feel cooler because you’re wet all day but don’t forget to rehydrate! It’s the hottest time of the year and chances are you’ll be covering a lot of ground. Stop to eat – most food places are off limits for water fights. Don’t shoot anyone eating, it’s rude!
- Kids. The Thai kids are the BEST during Songkran! I loved playing with the kids. Their joy is infectious. Remember that a lot of Thai people don’t have a lot of money. You won’t see all the kids with fancy water guns. One girl had her grandpa show me how he made a hole in the cap of a small water bottle so she could squeeze/shoot water out of it. I let another little girl use my gun hose to soak her brother. Playing with the kids was an absolute blast!
- Nighttime Songkran. The water fight doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. Maya Mall Plaza had a huge outdoor concert with lights and water misters. Most of the outdoor bars have live music, as usual, and water misters going, not usual. Thais love music and they have awesome cover bands. Change into different wet clothes for the nighttime and go dance in the mud and make friends!
Songkran was one of my favorite Thai holidays. If you aren’t game for a giant water fight and visiting Thailand in the hottest month of the year, wait for the Light Festival Loy Krathong and Lantern Festival Yi Peng in November!
