Songkran In Pattaya

[The Philosopher]

Hello Pattaya folks - Have the dates for Songkran in Pattaya this year been announced? Is it as usual later than the national holiday - thanks

[Artisan]

Hello Pattaya folks - Have the dates for Songkran in Pattaya this year been announced? Is it as usual later than the national holiday - thanks

The three days Thurs. 13th April, Fri. 14th April and Sat. 15th April are the official days. The Pattaya Songkran day will be sometime during the following week and the website of the TAT Governor indicates that 18th and 19th April have been the selected days.

Holy sh1t....please, not TWO days of this nonsense.

Check this link:

Pattaya Songkran 2006

[davethailand]

Pattaya 19th

Nakula 18th

Jomtien 17th (maybe other way around with nakula)

It starts on the 12th though and finishes on the 19th.

[JSixpack]

Hello Pattaya folks - Have the dates for Songkran in Pattaya this year been announced? Is it as usual later than the national holiday - thanks

The three days Thurs. 13th April, Fri. 14th April and Sat. 15th April are the official days. The Pattaya Songkran day will be sometime during the following week and the website of the TAT Governor indicates that 18th and 19th April have been the selected days.

Holy sh1t....please, not TWO days of this nonsense.

Check this link:

Pattaya Songkran 2006

What do you mean, two days? SEVEN days. Unofficial Songkran starts on the 13th, often instigated by the stupid farangs. The peak will the 19th, however.

Good time to leave Thailand. Me, I often take a quiet break in Penang. What you CAN do is stay inside or travel during selected hours during the 13-15, then go to BKK on the 16th to avoid the Pattaya madness. Another plan is to stay at a "full service" hotel like the Penthouse where you don't need to go out, really.

[naka]

What do you mean, two days? SEVEN days. Unofficial Songkran starts on the 13th, often instigated by the stupid farangs. The peak will the 19th, however.

Good time to leave Thailand. Me, I often take a quiet break in Penang. What you CAN do is stay inside or travel during selected hours during the 13-15, then go to BKK on the 16th to avoid the Pattaya madness. Another plan is to stay at a "full service" hotel like the Penthouse where you don't need to go out, really.

Often instigated by stupid Farang ! ... What a crock of ....

If there were not one Farang in town the craziness would still go on.

[johnh101]

Time to get the hel_l out of dodge ! !

[jbaldwin]

I will be in Bali from 5 April to 25 April using the Air Asia free flights offered at the end of last year. After three years in Pattaya I cannot face another Songkran

[h5n1]

Absolute DISASTER

I think it was ten days last year.

I came back a few years ago from Lao (ended a week almost prior), STILL GOING ON. I had my camera in my bag and fuxxing I begged the falang - please dont shoot me with water, I've my bag and camera!!! Falang insisted on shooting me full on in face with water cannon even though I had my pack on my back and in no partying position (hot, tired, sweaty and looking for a room). Lest you thnk that it was only a few, bet 20 guys shot me - and the thai women were not much better.

drunken madness

Edited January 16, 2006 by h5n1

[HarryHacker]

How is your water situation?

[Pattaya_Fox]

How is your water situation?

I go regularly throughout the day, thank you!

(sorry Harry couldn`t resist)

[icecubes]

What do you mean, two days? SEVEN days. Unofficial Songkran starts on the 13th, often instigated by the stupid farangs. The peak will the 19th, however.

Good time to leave Thailand. Me, I often take a quiet break in Penang. What you CAN do is stay inside or travel during selected hours during the 13-15, then go to BKK on the 16th to avoid the Pattaya madness. Another plan is to stay at a "full service" hotel like the Penthouse where you don't need to go out, really.

Often instigated by stupid Farang ! ... What a crock of ....

If there were not one Farang in town the craziness would still go on.

Dead right Naka,

It’s the Thais who are the naughty ones.

The farangs don't through buckets of water with ice still inside over

Motor cyclists on the road.

On any day over Songkran you count the farangs and the thais throughing water

Its 2-1 in favour of the Thais. (up to them its there festival )

Glad I wont be there.

I'm sure the death toll will be totally acceptable over this period

Have a wet Time.

[davethailand]

I shall be confined to the truck for the entire week

[HarryHacker]

How is your water situation?

I go regularly throughout the day, thank you!

(sorry Harry couldn`t resist)

....so I C ;-)

[nev]

been in pattaya for the last 2 songkran and will not this year i can take 1 day but 7 was just too many.

had a bad experience at seaside cafe just off soi7 having breakfast at 9ish in the morning sitting outside with a girl there was a few other couples, and a stupid falang in the bar next door very mao,started firing one of those cannons at a guy walking in the the restaraunt tottally soaking everyone outside and a ruining a few peoples meals.

is there an offical time it is supposed to start at i heard it was middday?

[JSixpack]

Often instigated by stupid Farang ! ... What a crock of ....

If there were not one Farang in town the craziness would still go on.

Well, no, actually it wouldn't, pal. We know that because other regions in Thailand generally wait their turn; elsewhere the madness doesn't last for 7 days; and it reaches its most extreme form in the tourist areas, though--influenced by the tourist areas--the madness is spreading to more exclusively Thai regions as well.

Note I said instigated. As for implementation, true, the Thais are generally the worst because there are so many of them and they have far greater access to the resources of mayhem. Now that the tourists have basically corrupted the original idea of Songkran, the Thais have applied their own ingenuity to the newer form of "celebration" and are giving an excellent account of themselves.

So I stand by my original statement. The stupid (mostly young) farangs on holiday in the beer bars of PTY don't want to wait to start in, and they know that they don't have to wait. After all, suppose they must return home before the 18th rolls around? They'd miss all the fun. Nobody enjoys it more than they do. And so, soon as BKK starts, they start along with the bar girls whom they patronise and off it goes like spontaneous combustion.

If you want to see this in action, just observe the bar scene, and those bars w/ the most young farang, early on the 13th. Drive all around PTY and note where it is exactly the water is starting to come from at the very beginning.

The other group of main instigators is the kids. They are eager to get started too, and they know it's already started elsewhere. The stores are already selling water pistols and they've persuaded momma to buy them one and they want to use it. However, the kids aren't such a big problem, so I didn't bother to mention them.

Whatever. It's what happens in PTY, so my main point is to prepare one way or the other for the unusually protracted Songkran here.

[astral]

Often instigated by stupid Farang ! ... What a crock of ....

Songkran and the dates has absolutely nothing to do with Farangs.

Basically it starts in Chonburi on the official date and moves one city a day, along

the Eastern Seaboard to Pattaya, 7 days later.

[Artisan]

Often instigated by stupid Farang ! ... What a crock of ....

Songkran and the dates has absolutely nothing to do with Farangs.

Basically it starts in Chonburi on the official date and moves one city a day, along

the Eastern Seaboard to Pattaya, 7 days later.

Not according to a previous postings. Songkran in Pattaya now kicks off on the 13th and gathers force right up to the climax on the 19th.

Not including Chonburi and Pattaya, what are the other 5 'cities between these two? Bang Saen, Sri Racha, Laem Chabang can hardly be called 'cities'.

Furthermore, not that long ago, Songkran in Pattaya was celebrated in the traditional way only on the 13th, 14th, 15th April. Then, as tourist numbers declined because of the sweltering temperatures in mid-April, the TAT, wishing to promote tourism further, decide to have almost a week-long Pattaya Festival coincident with the traditional Songkran holiday. So, Pattaya's Songkran was designated to be held on 19th April, as a closing event for the festival. So, in a way, the date of the Pattaya Songkran is indirectly due to the tourists (predominantly farang).

[JSixpack]

Often instigated by stupid Farang ! ... What a crock of ....

Songkran and the dates has absolutely nothing to do with Farangs.

Basically it starts in Chonburi on the official date and moves one city a day, along

the Eastern Seaboard to Pattaya, 7 days later.

Wrong. You see, the Pattaya Songkran starts "informally and unofficially" a week before the official time of the 7 days later, and hence it lasts for at least 7 days, not 2 as it should. This is what we (well, some of us) are complaining about. And the reason it starts 7 days early (unofficially and informally) in Pattaya, and therefore lasts a full 7 days--whereas it does not do so in more purely Thai areas--has just everything to do with the stupid farangs of course. I'm surprised that this rather obvious point is so difficult for you to grasp. But don't take my word for it. As I say, ride around on the 13th (a week earlier than the official beginning in Pattaya) and see for yourself just how and where it is starting. Ask yourself why it is that Songran doesn't last 7 days like this in, say, Sattahip.

Yawn.

[Artisan]

It's the duration of the Pattaya Songkran that has absolutely everything to due with the farang tourist population here. They are here for 'fun' (and why shouldn't they be anyway?) and the sooner the 'fun' can start, the more enjoyable their holiday will be...and do any of them give a toss as to how juvenile and annoying they can be?.....No!

[raro]

De facto it lasts about seven to ten days in Pattaya. However, by 6 pm the water splashing should be over. Last year most people obyed to that ceasefire, only pissed farangs (at least my observation....) were still going on until late at night.

[h5n1]

i always thought the holiday was actually dictated by the moon?

usually the first day is the party

second day is the parade/s incl religious figures and a bit of partying

thrid day is for visiting the wat and for family

pii mai in pattaya - the duration of ten days i think it was last year has everything to do with farang

it is now law as i understand that water goes away @ 6pm - but dont count on it. last year went out at 7/730 nice and clean, got shot right in my own soi by some drunk arse farang.

id not been here for a few years and last year i remembered why. ill go back to visit parental units - its so hot anyway this time of year.

6pack is spot on. everywhere else holiday is 2-3 days. even in luang prbang where its a huge parade and party across the river etc... its 3 days.

like everything in pattaya, if its not excessive and well overdone - its just not the pattaya way

[Artisan]

i always thought the holiday was actually dictated by the moon?

usually the first day is the party

second day is the parade/s incl religious figures and a bit of partying

thrid day is for visiting the wat and for family

pii mai in pattaya - the duration of ten days i think it was last year has everything to do with farang

it is now law as i understand that water goes away @ 6pm - but dont count on it. last year went out at 7/730 nice and clean, got shot right in my own soi by some drunk arse farang.

id not been here for a few years and last year i remembered why. ill go back to visit parental units - its so hot anyway this time of year.

6pack is spot on. everywhere else holiday is 2-3 days. even in luang prbang where its a huge parade and party across the river etc... its 3 days.

like everything in pattaya, if its not excessive and well overdone - its just not the pattaya way

The Chinese New Year is a lunar festival and falls on the New Moon Day of the first lunar month and this year the new moon is on 29th January. The Thai New Year doesn't follow any rigid lunar calendar and is always (well, as long as I can remember) kicked off on the 13th April, culminating in the orgy of water in Pattaya on 19th April.

[Mobi]

De facto it lasts about seven to ten days in Pattaya. However, by 6 pm the water splashing should be over. Last year most people obyed to that ceasefire, only pissed farangs (at least my observation....) were still going on until late at night.

here's my four penn'th. I used to live in BangSaen, and was reliably informed that the municipalities of BangSaen and Pattaya ( and maybe elsewhere) co-ordinate the Songkran felstivals to ensure maximum benefit to their respective towns in terms of visitors and consequent commercial gain for residents. Thus Bang Saen Songkran is usually a week ahead of Pattaya. The BangSaen Songkran weekend is something to behold - absolutely deluged with tens of thousands of Thai visitors from Bangkok that creates a traffic jam that stretches back to the mtoorway - all armed with tanks of water and ice and out to create 2 days of mayhem. This is almost 100 % Thai - but Ihappened to have had farangs staying with me, and they absolutelely loved every minute of it. I haven't been to a Pattaya Songkran for many years, but as previously mentioned, it will usually be held the week after Bang Saen. to avoid a clash. Many, many years ago, I had a relatively water free Songkran in Pattaya, and returned to Bangkok on the Sunday night by Bus, got a Tuk Tuk from the bus staion to my apartment off Sukhumvit, and was barely a few yards from home., when me,my bags, my wife and baby daughter were absolutely drowned by buckets of water thrown by a bunch of farang kids. I was apoplectic - and screamed blue murder at them - 'this isn't even your festival! etc etc. MY wife (Thai,long since divorced) was highly amused, and kept reminding me of it, years after the event. My daughter, now 29 is coming out at Songkran for a visit and can't wait to enjoy the delights of the festival - even wants to follow it from Bang Saen to Pattaya. These days bangkok tends to go on for at least 5 - 6 days and farangs are very much fair game for gangs of Thais who gather in the sois throughout the town. Many of my friends just stock up on a few crates of beer and lock the doors for a week. At the end of the day - this is Thailand and I've learned to go with the flow (literally) and if it puts smiles on the faces of Thais and farangs alike - where's the harm?

[johnh101]

I haven't been to a Pattaya Songkran for many years

Well sorry mate but you are not qualified to give an opinion any more.

It is <deleted> bedlam for at least 7 days.....me I am going to the UK for a holiday. I always promised myself never again.

[Mobi]

I haven't been to a Pattaya Songkran for many years

Well sorry mate but you are not qualified to give an opinion any more.

It is <deleted> bedlam for at least 7 days.....me I am going to the UK for a holiday. I always promised myself never again.

Fair enough, I'm sure you know best.

Anyway, I'm about 15 kms outside Pattaya, so I'll just stay put and send my daughter out with the driver ... and the dog... she aught to like it???

[Artisan]

I haven't been to a Pattaya Songkran for many years

Well sorry mate but you are not qualified to give an opinion any more.

It is <deleted> bedlam for at least 7 days.....me I am going to the UK for a holiday. I always promised myself never again.

Well "sorry mate you also" as I too haven't been to Pattaya Songkran for many years and I have lived in Pattaya continuously for 23 years.......so does that make me qualified to give an opinion or not? probably more so than you "mate". Mobi D'Ark made a positive contribution to this thread.

[JSixpack]

if it puts smiles on the faces of Thais and farangs alike - where's the harm?

How about a motorcycle accident for harm? Check the statistics (I was almost one of them). How about your camera ruined? How about a fight?

It ain't that simple, you see. Lots of people are grimacing, not smiling. Why does the smiling have to be done as well at the expense of those who don't want to participate?

It's merely water hooliganism. Hooligans enjoy themselves, yes, of course.

[Jai Dee]

Mobi D'Ark made a positive contribution to this thread.

It is nice to see the odd positive comment about Songkran, but I must also agree with the majority of posters on this thread... in Pattaya it's absolute mayhem... and impossible to avoid. Traffic comes to a standstill... with Sukhumvit Road packed 5 lanes across. Water tankers sell supplies to passing pickups... music blares from high powered stereos... and water flying everywhere.

It can be a lot of fun... and for anyone who hasn't experienced it before, it should be on their "must-do" list of experiences in Thailand.

As for me, I will do as I've done for the past 4 years... go upcountry to my missus village in Isaan, and enjoy a traditional Isaan Songkran... sanook mak mak.

[Artisan]

My daughter was born in Sri Racha on 15th April 2002 and my wife's admission to hospital had been somewhat of an emergency. On the 19th April, my wife was discharged from hospital and the three of us returned to Pattaya along the Sukhumvit Road. The journey from Mini Siam to Jomtien Beach Road took 4½ hours, inching southwards in five lanes of traffic. There were also five lanes of traffic heading north, or should I say 'pointing' north? There was a ban on these polycarbonate water pipes used as water guns but they were on sale everywhere and what police were there didn't bother their bums to stop them.

We were thankful that we were heading home rather than trying to reach a hospital quickly amid this demented havoc .

[Mobi]

if it puts smiles on the faces of Thais and farangs alike - where's the harm?

How about a motorcycle accident for harm? Check the statistics (I was almost one of them). How about your camera ruined? How about a fight?

It ain't that simple, you see. Lots of people are grimacing, not smiling. Why does the smiling have to be done as well at the expense of those who don't want to participate?

It's merely water hooliganism. Hooligans enjoy themselves, yes, of course.

OK OK OK – I put my hands up - you win. Songkran is an excuse for hooligans to make life a misery, and you’re absolutely right about the road accidents, which I deplore, especially the ones which have been caused by water thrown at motor cyclists. I was only trying to put the festival into a historical perspective with a few reminiscences and also to explain why Pattaya tends to hold its festival a week after the rest of Thailand. However: is New Year in Trafalgar Square trouble free? Is the Notting Hill Carnival free of murder, rapes and robberies? I you have a festival like Songkran, its bound to bring out the worst in some people. So should it be cancelled? I think not. But when all’s said and done, I’ve seen a lot of poor, and impoverished Thais derive a tremendous amount of enjoyment from participating in Songkran, to say nothing of thousands of tourists who enthusiastically join in the fun. As for us old farang farts? We can leave the country or bolt the doors. Smile or grimace? The choice is yours.