Temples and Songkran

The past few days have been spent still exploring Bangkok – there is so much to see here!
I’ve stayed near the “old town” area the past two nights, which is where the grand palace is. There are a lot of other gorgeous and historical buildings in the area as well.

As noted before, there are temples on what feels like every street corner. Similar in style to one another, yet each temple has features that make it unique. They are all so intricate in design. No matter how many temples you see, you never get sick of them!

A few buildings are closed that I wanted to visit as it’s a national holiday in Thailand – Songkran!

Songkran is the Thai New Year, based on the lunar calendar, and occurs every year on April 13-15th.

The Thai’s celebrate by hosting huge water fights. Kids and teenagers use water guns to soak people, some have buckets of water to splash, and you’ll often see hoses being sprayed. Most of them dress in Hawaiian shirts too!

April is the hottest month in Thailand (yesterday the “feels like” temp was 108!!), so the water is certainly refreshing!

I love that the holiday revolves around having fun and spending time with family (hence why many buildings are closed), not the crazy New Years we’re accustomed to in the US.

There are certain roads in Bangkok closed off just for water gun fights, but they have tamed it down this year as the country is still mourning the death of their King.

It was pretty fun to walk down these streets though! Even when the locals soak you, it’s all in good fun. I didn’t take out my camera walking down these streets, but got a few other good shots.

Aside from the designated streets, people are walking around with water guns and kids are on street corners ready to soak you. They toss water on tuk tuk passengers and squirt you as you pass by. I’ve been walking around with my wallet and phone in a plastic bag in my purse. It’s so hot though, that even if you get soaked, you dry pretty quickly!

It’s been really fun to be here for a traditional holiday. Aside from the water fights, there are water bowls at all the temples, and the locals pour water on the Buddha and pray as good luck.

Two more days in Thailand, then off to Nepal!!