How Big is this water festival here? This will be my first time here during this time of year. I live on a busy street four floors up, and would make a great water ballon launching platform.

It lasts about a day and a half only. Starts after work on the day before and runs through the real holiday and by sunset that day it's pretty much over.

Which date is the "real holiday" this year?

Both Friday the 13th and Monday the 16th are Songkran Bank holidays. I think Saturday the 14th or Sunday the 15th is the actual date of Songkran as the Monday holiday is an alternate day off because Songkran falls on a weekend.

Having been hit in the eye by a water baloon befor and knowing the pain, cost and inconvenience it cauases..... please stay away from Hua Hin, dont need idiots doing that

lovely getting to hua hin on the 15th,late hopefully will have missed songkran,okay 1st or maybe 2nd time,but no joke after that,especially in cnx,lol.

I dont realy partake in Songkran anymore, after living in Thailand for 9 years. The first 4 or 5 years I had a right good laugh with it all but the last few years I just cant get into it. Dont get me wrong though, its a brilliant festival and great fun - for some reason though I just dont buzz off it in the way I used to.

Soi Bintabaht is a good crack for Songkran and all the streets are packed out. Bar girls are steaming drunk as are tourists. Its all good fun. Some of the tourists get carried away with it a bit though.... For example pointing a hose pipe square in your face for like a whole minute.... "Ok mate, it was a laugh at first but give it a rest will ya!"

Soi 80 is pretty much the same deal.

Market Village usualy put something together which is a bit more tame, but still wet and wild.

Its pretty much a good laugh anywhere you go in Hua Hin to be honest. Find a spot with a gew drunk locals and get into the spirit of it. Please leave the frigging ice water alone though - nothing worse than getting a bucket of ice water SLOWLY tipped down your back

I have always wanted to try Chiang Mai out for the festival and was thinking of flying up for the weekend but all the flights are full, so ill probably venture out for a few hours in the day, get a little p!ssed on Thai Whiskey and head back home before the ice water buckets start to wind me up.