Tag Archives: water festival

Travelogue: Thingyan in Yangon

While I was in Yangon, I caught the tail end of Thingyan, the Burmese New year, which like the Thai New Year is celebrated with a huge water festival all throughout the country.  Stores are closed, everyone goes home to visit family, and business grinds to a standstill as everyone washes away the burdens of last year and begins a new year afresh.  And Yangon throws the best water fight of all of Southeast Asia – smaller than Thailand, less advanced than Thailand, but still the best.
Thingyan in Yangon - water station

Interestingly, this is the fourth New Year celebration I attended in four months:
– The western New Year at the Taipei 101 in Taiwan (Jan 1)
– The lunar / Vietnamese New year of Tet in Saigon, Vietnam (Jan 28 – Feb 5)
– The Thai New Year of Songkran in Bangkok, Thailand (April 13-15)
– The Burmese New Year of Thingyan in Yangon, Myanmar (April 13-16)

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Travelogue: Songkran in Bangkok

Songkran, the Thai New Year!  It’s a time of respecting your elders and washing away your sins from the past year.  Or for most westerners (and most younger Thai folks), it’s known as the water festival, home to the biggest water fight in the world!  There are actually a couple of countries that celebrate Songkran – Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, but Thailand’s is the biggest and most awesome.
Songkran in Bangkok - Silom from above 12

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