How to celebrate the Thai New Year
Foreign visitors to Thailand have but one option during Songkran – embrace, embrace, embrace. Tourists are special targets during the festivities and young Thais will make an extra effort to pour ice cold water down the back of your shirt if they see you pass by. KhaoSan Road, Bangkok’s backpacker ghetto, is the place to be for all-out street fights with thousands of Thais and foreigners armed with water guns and cans of beer, battling both the heat and each other. This year, the military junta confiscated thousands of red buckets distributed by people close to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in the weeks leading up to the celebrations. People using these red buckets to splash water or pose in front of a camera risk prosecution for sedition and up to seven years in jail. It is unclear how enforced the suppression of what the junta deems as divisive or immoral will be, but as the military has just been handed sweeping new powers to arrest citizens for a wide variety of crimes and infractions, caution is advised.
What to wear for Songkran
As it’s hot, and clothes are likely to get ruined by sustained water and talc attacks, it’s advisable to wear as little as possible and to leave precious items of clothing in one’s luggage. Still, near-nudity is frowned upon and Thailand’s prime minister and junta leader General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the nation’s arbiter of taste, has warned that exposure of too much flesh will result in arrests. Women wearing revealing clothes walking the street will be banned from celebrations. One should also keep one’s camera fully clothed – without waterproof housing, it’s likely to fall victim to the watery shenanigans.
How to celebrate the Thai New YearForeign visitors to Thailand have but one option during Songkran – embrace, embrace, embrace. Tourists are special targets during the festivities and young Thais will make an extra effort to pour ice cold water down the back of your shirt if they see you pass by. KhaoSan Road, Bangkok’s backpacker ghetto, is the place to be for all-out street fights with thousands of Thais and foreigners armed with water guns and cans of beer, battling both the heat and each other. This year, the military junta confiscated thousands of red buckets distributed by people close to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in the weeks leading up to the celebrations. People using these red buckets to splash water or pose in front of a camera risk prosecution for sedition and up to seven years in jail. It is unclear how enforced the suppression of what the junta deems as divisive or immoral will be, but as the military has just been handed sweeping new powers to arrest citizens for a wide variety of crimes and infractions, caution is advised.What to wear for SongkranAs it’s hot, and clothes are likely to get ruined by sustained water and talc attacks, it’s advisable to wear as little as possible and to leave precious items of clothing in one’s luggage. Still, near-nudity is frowned upon and Thailand’s prime minister and junta leader General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the nation’s arbiter of taste, has warned that exposure of too much flesh will result in arrests. Women wearing revealing clothes walking the street will be banned from celebrations. One should also keep one’s camera fully clothed – without waterproof housing, it’s likely to fall victim to the watery shenanigans.
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