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Friday, March 29, 2024

Pattaya mayor confirms Songkran, including the “big day” on April 19, will take place – but no water fights

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The mayor of Pattaya has allowed this year’s Songkran festival (aka the water festival and Thai New Year) to continue in Pattaya and Na Kluea, but the focus will be on traditional and religious practices. The infamous water fights, he5 alcohol use, powder, foam parties and other parties have been banned for the time being due to concerns about Covid19.

Sontaya Khunpluem, the mayor of Pattaya, yesterday gave the green light for Songkran to go ahead this year, which will take place from April 18 to April 20 in the Pattaya, Naklua and Bang Saray areas.

National holidays are from April 13 to April 15. This will be the first time since 2019 “Wan Lai” on April 19, or Water Day, will be allowed in Pattaya due to Covid19 precautions. It’s unclear what this will look like, however, as water games and fights are banned due to the still ongoing spread of the virus.

April 19 is typically the biggest celebration of the year for Pattaya, even more so than Christmas and New Year’s, but due to strict rules to “prevent the spread of Covid-19”, it will look significantly different.

According to the mayor, this year the focus will be on preserving Thai traditional practices such as earning merit, bathing the Buddha statue and paying respect to the elderly in order to avoid close contact activities to cope with the “Covid Free Setting” regulation. The city council is still looking at exactly what the 19th will look like, but admitted that it will be very different and toned down than I am used to.

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