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Splash and crash: Thailand celebrates Songkran as energy crisis deepens

The world’s largest water fight erupted across Bangkok on Monday as the three-day annual Songkran festival drew a surge in tourists to a country whose bruised economy badly needed a reason to celebrate.

Thailand has refused to let a fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran dampen its traditional New Year’s celebrations, even as prices spike for everything from petrol to ice during the hottest month of the year.

The water festival – also known as Thingyan in neighbouring Myanmar and Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia – marks the start of the new year across the Mekong region, according to the Buddhist calendar, and is a moment of renewal and celebration for agrarian communities.

Residents of a village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, receive a holy water shower believed to bring good luck during Choul Chnam Thmey celebrations on Sunday. Photo: AP

It also provides an excuse for street parties on a grand scale. Bangkok hosts some of the most raucous celebrations, from music festivals with fireworks and high-pressure water jets to parades where revellers’ minimalist approach to clothing runs the risk of incurring 5,000-baht (US$156) fines.

Visitors flock to the Thai capital’s S20 Songkran Music Festival, Khao San and Silom party districts and major shopping centres including Central World and Icon Siam, steered by social media posts on the likes of Instagram to RedNote.

Around 1.8 million passengers are expected to arrive at Bangkok’s main Suvarnabhumi Airport from Friday last week through to next Sunday – slightly less than last year, but still roughly 182,000 arrivals a day.

Revellers in Silom Road, Bangkok, dance on the street on Sunday, the eve of the Songkran. Photo: AFP

Some 11,000 flights are due to land over the same period, a 4.6 per cent year-on-year increase, amid a wave of so-called revenge travel by holidaymakers who had shelved plans after the Iran war caused airports across the Middle East to close.

Social Media Asia Editor