Songkran – A Festival of Two Faces
For most tourists, the Thai New Year celebration in Bangkok is one huge water fight. It’s concentrated around a few tourist hotspots in the city and can be great fun. But there’s also the traditional Songkran festival, where water plays a central role too. It also has a deeper meaning.
Duration: approx. [4:11]
As of April 2026
Audio Transcript
34) Songkran
I’ve experienced Songkran in Bangkok several times, including right in the middle of the big water fights around Silom Road and Khaosan Road.
And yes, it really is fun at first.
Suddenly, water is coming at you from all sides. Pickup trucks with huge tanks drive through the streets, and even adults are out like children with water pistols. Some people stand by the roadside for hours, waiting for the next passer-by to soak. Music blares from giant speakers, roads are closed, and whole neighbourhoods briefly turn into one huge outdoor party.
The huge water fights at tourist hotspots are staged events, however, designed mainly to attract visitors who come to the country around Songkran.
The real Thai New Year celebrations often take place elsewhere—not where it’s loudest, but in temples, residential neighborhoods, and the city’s everyday life, which surprises many visitors.
Songkran suddenly becomes part of everyday life, too. Outside supermarkets, restaurants and small street shops, employees pause for a moment to pour some water over a Buddha statue by the entrance, then carry on working. That’s when you realize just how deeply this festival is rooted in people’s lives.
Carefully pouring water over the Buddha figures is a traditional practice.
Here, water is more than just fun: it also represents cleansing, respect and a fresh start to the new year. Unlike the party districts, the focus isn’t on huge water fights, but on a calm, symbolic ritual.
There are also family rituals that visitors usually never see—not because they’re hidden, but because they take place within families. Younger family members gently pour water over the hands of their elders, often jasmine-scented water with flower petals.
It’s about respect, blessings and consciously marking the transition into the new year.
You don’t see much of that on the streets. There, you’re more likely to see the public side of Songkran.
In front of many small bars, older people sit in the shade on plastic chairs, watching the action. Children stand by the roadside with buckets of water, waiting for the next passing vehicle. Nearby, the street food stalls carry on as usual. Someone is grilling; someone else is selling fruit or iced coffee, while small groups of laughing children make their way through the streets with bowls of water.
I find exactly this combination particularly interesting in Bangkok during Songkran.
On one side, it’s all-out chaos with huge water fights; on the other, everyday life carries on surprisingly normally. While tourists wield water cannons along the main party streets, just a few streets away families sit outside their homes and watch the festivities.
This isn’t folklore for visitors; it remains an important part of cultural identity to this day. That’s why I now prefer the quieter neighbourhoods away from the main party strips, especially around smaller temples on the Thonburi side. West of the Chao Phraya, it’s easy to see how naturally Songkran is part of everyday life.
Of course, you’re rarely going to stay dry there either, but things are usually much more relaxed than at the well-known hotspots.
Often, it’s the little gestures: a little water from a bowl, children standing by the roadside with small buckets, laughing and shyly asking if they can smear a little white paint on the stranger’s face.
These quieter scenes often say more about Songkran than the big water fights on the tourist streets.
This is the Thailand I love.