PHOTOS

14 APR 2023

New Year comes with a big splash

Thailand on Thursday officially began celebrating Songkran, or Thai New Year, with locals and foreigners alike flocking to major sites and splashing water on each other nationwide after a three-year suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 
9
New Year comes with a big splash
A procession carrying the sacred Phra Buddha Sihing statue from Wat Phra Sing in Chiang Rai makes its way to Iconsiam shopping centre, where the image will be enshrined until April 20 for people to pay their respects. (Photo: Nutthawat Wichieanbut)
New Year comes with a big splash
Revellers shoot water guns outside the CentralWorld shopping complex as the five-day Songkran festival officially kicks off. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
New Year comes with a big splash
People enjoy the first day of Songkran at CentralWorld shopping mall. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
New Year comes with a big splash
Songkran revellers pose for a photo on Khao San Road. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)
New Year comes with a big splash
Tourists wielding water guns pose for a photo during a water fight on Khao San Road, one of the most visited Songkran destinations in Bangkok. The road was closed to traffic and teeming with revellers on the first day of the festival. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)
New Year comes with a big splash
The Songkran festival is in full swing outside the CentralWorld shopping complex. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
New Year comes with a big splash
Strangers are bound by the same mission — to soak each other and to make sure they stay drenched for as long as possible. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
New Year comes with a big splash
Revellers sport unique fashion in a full-blown water-throwing battle. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
New Year comes with a big splash
There was no let-up in water fights outside the CentralWorld shopping complex on Thursday, the first day of the five-day Songkran festival underway around the country. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)