Get the chance to experience and participate on Thai people’s traditional activities during the Songkran Festival or the Thai New Year, a four-day activity that happens in the month of April every year. Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike are welcome to go to the temple and witness various activities, eat, drink, and throw water. The four-day activity consists of the following:
April 12 – it is called as the Wan Sungkharn Lohng. Thai people on this day do the house cleaning and general preparation for the New Year. However, if you are in Chiang Mai, this is the day wherein the Songkran procession is held. The procession consists of Buddha images and attendant on beautifully floats with beautiful décors accompanied by the locals and minstrels. After the procession or parade, the water fight will follow.
April 13 is the day Wan Nao. This is the day where people cooked foods and preserved it for the Buddhist merit –making that is happening on the following day. On the other hand, activities happening at the Wat Prasingh temple continue and locals go to the banks of the Mae Ping River in the evening to gather sand and deposit it in piles topped with flowers in the temple.
April 14 is the third day of celebration and is called as the Wan Payawan. On this is day is when the grand New Year celebration begins at early in the morning with people doing some merit-making  at the temples. Those preserved food that are cooked the other day are being offered. Other than preserved and cooked foods, offered items at the temples are fresh fruits, monks’ robes and other offerings. People from home on the other hand, do the final cleaning of Buddha imaged with the use of a scented water.
April 15, the fourth and final day of the festival is also called as the Wan Parg-bpee. Homage is made during this day wherein locals paid to ancestors, elders, and other person that deserves the respect because of their age of position. This is also called as the ‘Rohd Nam Songkran’, which means “The Pouring of Songkran Water”. While sprinkling water to the elderly, wishes of good luck are also uttered.
People in Chiang Mai during this day are celebrating the final day of celebration and are throwing water with each other. Residents of Chiang Mai on this day are dedicated to have some fun.
Having able to join with the Thailand local residents in celebrating the Songkran Festival will surely be a memorable experience for you. Songkran is one of the festivals in Thailand that you should not miss because of its abundant religious and fun activities, and it only happens in Thailand. Other places might have their own festivals as well but will be very different from Songkran. If you want to experience the Songkran Festival, plan ahead, reserve your accommodations and festival tour early so that when the day of the festival comes, you won’t be having any problems with hotel reservations and festival tour packages, because for sure, many of the tourists will be coming to Thailand to witness the Songkran Festival.

When visiting Thailand, your visit would not be a complete one if you fail to do some of the best and exciting things that you can do in Thailand. This includes your chance to learn to Scuba Dive. If you are a lover of water and loves to see underwater creatures, then this activity is best for you. Thailand has the most beautiful diving spots and is one of the cheapest. For only £150, you can already have your PADI Open Water certificate to various dive shops in Thailand. The package includes the kit and a four day training and bunch of diving.
Watching Muay Thai match is another great thing to experience in Thailand. You can feel the power of Muay Thai boxers at the Lumpini Stadium in Bangkok. Purchase a cheaper ticket if you want to witness the fight with any other fans or the more expensive ones if you wanted to be on the ringside and enjoy the fun more intensely.
Tigers are wild, and everybody is afraid to get closer to them. However, given the chance to stroke them is an unusual experience. If you are of those who wanted to have an unusual friendly encounter of tigers by stroking them, you rather visit the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province. With just a small amount of donation, you can already stroke the tigers and strike a pose with them.
If you think, Bangkok is the best place to visit in Thailand; you have to think again because Chiang Mai also has wonderful views and experiences to offer. If you love elephant trekking and witness fine scenery at the same time, Chiang Mai is the best place for this activity. They have the green virgin forests and breathtaking mountains for you to love. Moreover, if you want to have a break from trekking, you can try to do bamboo rafting and swimming in their jungle waterfalls.
If you want to witness the busy life in Thailand and watch different type of people rushing in, you had better go to Khao San Road in Bangkok. Here is where most of the travelers go first for people watching activity. The place is packed with hotels, bars, restaurant, travel agent, stall selling everything and more.
Another great thing that one must do in Thailand is to experience shopping in their Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. As the name suggest, the floating market is composed of hundreds of little boats loaded with their items for sale like fruit, vegetables, chickens, blankets, clothes, and more.
If the floating market does not excite you, then, Chilling to Thailand’s legendary islands will surely take you to a high energy level. If you love going to the bars, you must visit Koh Samui, which is great for partying. Koh Phangan is known for its unique Full Moon Parties and Koh Tao if you love to dive.
After doing all those breathtaking activities and visiting various places in Thailand, The Grand Palace in Bangkok will complete your fine travel experience. The Grand Palace is an exotic architectural masterpiece, with fabulous ornaments and was once the home of the King and government officials of Thailand. Visiting here requires modest clothing or you won’t be allowed to come in.

Top Thai Foods That Deserves a Try

When visiting Thailand, do not try to leave the place without giving a try to their wonderful dishes. Because of the Thai people’s principle of giving their food the balance of five flavors including the spicy, salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. If you still do not have the idea of what food to order when visiting Thailand, you can try to take some of our suggestions below.

Gai Pad Met Mamuang or the Stir-fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts – this mouth-watering Thai food is a nice treat for your adventurous taste buds. Its slightly sweet and salty taste of chicken fried with crunchy cashew nuts, will sure make you and your kids love to get back to Thailand more often.

Por Pia Tord or the Fried Spring Roll – this is one of the most favorite and popular appetizers of Thailand’s foreign visitors like you. It is a nice tasting (not spicy) crispy pastry with a mix of fried vegetable filing and comes with a sweet and sour dip.

Panaeng or the Meat in Spicy Coconut Cream – this is another delicious dish of Thai people. You can cook have this dish in pork, chicken or beef. The Panaeng tastes like the Thai red curry plus the thicker and richer coconut milk sauce resulting it to taste sweet and mildly spicy, and is perfect with warm steamed rice.

Som Tam or the Spicy Papaya Salad – this is one of the most popular salad or side dish among Thai people. It tastes spicy and sweet. It composed of various vegetables including the shredded unripe papaya, yardlong beans and tomato. The Som Tam is perfect as side dish for grilled chicken with sticky rice.

Moo Sa-Te or the Grilled Pork Sticks with Turmeric – this dish has an appetizing sweet flavor plus you can dip it in a rich, juicy sauce that is made of turmeric and curry powder. Dips for this inviting grilled pork sticks comes in two variety, the mildly spicy thick sauce with coconut milk, ground peanuts, and curry powder, and the sweet and sour vinegar sauce.

Tom Yam Gai or the Spicy Chicken Soup – when having a sumptuous mealtime, soup never goes out of style. Thai people’s Spicy Chicken Soup is clear chicken soup blended with chili, lime and fish sauce. Simmered in lemon grass, shallot and galangal, Tom Yam Gai will let you love Thailand.

Tom Kha Kai or Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup – if you are not into spicy dishes, this is the best one for you. Another variety of Thai’s chicken soup, but this one is less spicy, but with the same great taste because it is also simmered in various Thai herbs.

Kang Keaw Wan Gai or Green Chicken Curry – with a blend of green curry chili paste, coconut milk, sugar and fish sauce, the Kang Keaw Wan Gai is perfect with steamed rice of Kanom Jeen, Thai’s spaghetti-like noodle.

Pad Thai or Fried Noodle – it is a popular dish in Thailand that is composed of stir-fried noodle with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chili pepper plus bean sprouts, shrimp and tofu. Garnishing includes crushed peanuts and coriander.

Toom Yam Goon or Spicy Shrimp Soup – this dish has a one of a kind taste that is made possible by fragrant herbs, shallot, tamarind and chili pepper.

The above-mentioned are just a few, and you can always try those that you like most.