Songkran 2014 - confused tourist seeks clarification

[junglechef]

My google searches (http://songkran2014.com/when-is-songkran-2014-thai-new-year-2014/) come up with Sunday the 14th as the first day which I believe is usually the biggest day to celebrate and continuing on Monday and Tuesday the 15 & 16th.

But I was informed by a resort that on this Saturday April 13th the Cheweng Beach Rd. will be closed to celebrate Songkran 2014.

Anybody know anything about this?

So where (and when) is a good place to take my kids to enjoy the festivities? Perhaps one that is not too crazy.

Thanks in advance,

JC

[thepool]

If you are hoping for a culturally uplifting festival be prepared for a big disappointment !

[Tropicalevo]

Songkran is Sunday 13th April.

Depends where you are based. Smaller villages will be less crazy (Bangrak, Choengmon etc.)

[PoorSucker]

Chaweng beach road will be OK.

On Samui, Songkran does not continue on Monday and Tuesday the 15 & 16th.

[junglechef]

I'm a bit aware of what to expect and that's why I'm looking for something a bit more subdue (safer) but as I'm with 3 Thai boys ages 9 &10 what a prefect way to entertain ourselves on another hot day here. The last time celebrated Songkran on Samui was 10 yrs ago and it was quite pleasant but I know things have changed (ice cubes and worse). I went to a Wat the other day to celebrate my 2 yr olds birthday and couldn't even find a monk to make a offering to so I'll leave the cultural/religious stuff for back home in Northern country.

[junglechef]

I think there is some confusion to what I'm confused about. Here's is the message from the resort.

""Please note that on April 13,2014 is Songkran day in Chaweng road will be close from morning 06.00 am to midnight 24.00 pm It will be the trouble for the transfer from Airport to Hotel if you can change arrival date we recommend.

This is a Saturday!!

Does this make any sense to anyone?

[Mrjlh]

April 13th is a Sunday....what calendar are you looking at? Wrong month or year?

[junglechef]

Well now I know what the confusion is .... ME!!! Sorry as I was sent this to investigate by friends coming who are arriving on Saturday, maybe it's the time change and in turn the day what confused them and I'm easily confused anyways. Appreciate the Samui TV community putting up with me

[samuijimmy]

Well now I know what the confusion is .... ME!!! Sorry as I was sent this to investigate by friends coming who are arriving on Saturday, maybe it's the time change and in turn the day what confused them and I'm easily confused anyways. Appreciate the Samui TV community putting up with me

Don't worry about it, .....more than one or two of us living here get confused from time to time! ....It's the hot weather!

[PiPiFFS]

Chaweng beach road will be OK.

On Samui, Songkran does not continue on Monday and Tuesday the 15 & 16th.

According to the calendar I have Monday is the 14th ?

[Rooo]

Public holidays for that period:

13 April (Sunday) Songkran

14 April (Monday) Songkran

15 April (Tuesday) Songkran

16 April (Wednesday) Songkran Substitution Day

[robsamui]

I think there is some confusion to what I'm confused about. Here's is the message from the resort.

""Please note that on April 13,2014 is Songkran day in Chaweng road will be close from morning 06.00 am to midnight 24.00 pm It will be the trouble for the transfer from Airport to Hotel if you can change arrival date we recommend.

This is a Saturday!!

Does this make any sense to anyone?

OK so we got it now that Sunday is the 13th, and that on Samui just the 13th is wet wet wet. OK?

The notice from your resort about the road being closed - well it won't be 'closed'. (There would probably be an uprising if it were to be closed!)

What they were trying to tell you was:

"Dear valued guest.

Sunday 13th April is the Thai New Year, known as Songkran. You will discover that every shop, bar and restaurant along the whole length of Chaweng Beach Road will be out on the street. They will all have hosepipes, 200 litre tubs of water and buckets, and be standing end to end in an unbroken 5 kilometre line, all on their own little territory, drenching over and over again every person and vehicle which is moving. It won't matter that the reservoirs are empty and it hasn't rained for two months because this is Thailand. Hooray! Because of this, traffic will vary between a crawl and a total standstill from about 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.

Although it will perfectly possible for our airport shuttle bus to fetch you from the airport to the resort, this isn't going to happen, as the boys who drive the buses don't think diving a bus on Songkran is any fun and so won't do it. They will, however, be waiting outside our resort with buckets and hosepipes, looking forward to soaking incoming idiots guests to the skin - which is enormously great fun. Unfortunately, unwitting guests who have just spent the last 24 hours travelling are often unable to enter into the spirit of Songkran in this way and, strangely, are mostly not amused by a total drenching - passports, cameras, i-Pads, money and cell phones included. (Huh! Farangs!)

Therefore we have no other option but to kid you that the road will be closed on this day and ask you to remain in your own country, in the hope that your miserable, bad-tempered, foreign attitude will not spoil our traditional cultural day of gentle blessings. Songkran is important to us, as we celebrate the **"washing away of the old year and show our respect to everyone by a symbolic dab of water on the cheeks"**.

(**Wikipedia**.)

Have a lovely dry day,

Your resort."

Get it?

R

[SamuiMole]

Absolutely spot on Rob , couldn't have put it better myself.

Funniest "observation" I have seen on TV in ages

[samuijimmy]

^ A good reason to stay in Maenam, Ban Tai or Ban Por ! Usually only noon to about 4 pm .... less likely get wet to west of Maenam! Thaling Ngam and those areas hardly a soul about, except perhaps the odd kid with a squirt gun!

[PoorSucker]

Right now on Samui Beach road.

http://www.samuiwebcam.com/tropical_murphys_koh_samui.html

[junglechef]

Talk about a direct and current answer!!!

[watcharacters]

.

Stay away if you don't want a little fun.

[samuijimmy]

Well, I was going to make a dramatic new thread, "Snowstorm hits Samui's Songkran.... along with light to heavy showers of rain to sunny dry periods! "

It depended on where you were... / are .... but the best fun was at the new Central Shopping Centre, I don't think anyone of any age could have not enjoyed that...

I was driven around on a magical mystery tour from Maenam, to Bohput, Chawang and Chong Mon... and back! We filled water tanks three times...

It really varied from being very busy with lots of water, to virtually none in some areas! Bars and some resorts seemed to have the biggest crowds and amount of water, pretty predictable really!

Saw no miss-haps amazingly, but never seen any in the years I have done this,... six now, I think!

I'll post a few more photos in the photo section!

[Patsycat]

Right now on Samui Beach road.

http://www.samuiwebcam.com/tropical_murphys_koh_samui.html

As you know, i am a bit dippy sometimes. But last night at around 11pm Swiss time i looked at that. What a stupid person i am. All i saw was chairs on tables. I shall tune it later, or now maybe.

Chairs off tables. Get a group of you lot to go there and wave at me at a certain time.