Continue reading »]]> I am going to be in Thailand for songkran for the first time this year. I would like to know how long the water fighting goes on for. I would also like to know if a lot of Thai people leave Phuket and travel home for songkran? i have read that this is the case.

Songkran festival is held during the hottest month of the year in Thailand. It is a 3-day festival usually set to April 13 up to April 15. People are throwing buckets of water on each other (also on strangers) during the festival. The water fighting usually starts on the first day (but you’ll not see much water-throwing going around). On the second day, there will be more. But on the third day (last day), it will be on full-blast with almost all people participating.

The Songkran festival is always a non-working public holiday. Most offices and businesses are closed during this 3-day period. So, most people working in the city usually go to their hometowns in the provinces. This is particularly true in Bangkok (where the city becomes virtually like a ghost-town, with few people on the streets and few cars on the road during this period). Many people from Bangkok travel southward to places like Pattaya, Hua-Hin, Samui, Phuket to spend their holidays there. Many people also travel northward to Sukkhotai, Chiang Mai (where they have the biggest Songkran festival), Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son. Many people also travel northeast to the Issan provinces (Udon Thani, Kalasin, Roi-et, Ubon Ratchatani, Nongkai).

As to your last question, it must be the other way around. Phuket will have a lot more people coming in for Songkran than people coming out (this includes Thai people as well).

How much to charter a private jet from Houston to Phuket?