Amazing Thailand - Events & Activities

[Kushinagar]

Calendar

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Kushinagar]

February

- Chaiyphum Bike Week (Contact 089-864-5000)

 

- Burapa Bike Week

[Kushinagar]

October

 

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Naga Fireballs.

The annual Naga Fireballs festival is celebrated every year on the full moon night of the 11th lunar month in Nong Khai, a small province on the Mekong River in northeastern Thailand.

 

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Every year, large numbers of people flocked to this province to see the natural phenonmenon of glowing balls emerging from the Mekong river (also over at Laos side). Called “Bung Fai Phaya Naga” by locals, the naga fireballs, which emitt reddishpink balls of light and usuฌally in their thousands, shoot skywards out of the Mekong River.

 

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Phuket Vegetarian Festival

The Vegetarian Festival takes place at the start of the ninth Chinese lunar month, which falls in late September or early October. This is Phuket's most famous and spectacular festival. The rituals, which last for nine days, are performed to purify both body and mind. During this time, participants go on a strict diet, which is technically vegan as no animal products are allowed to be consumed.

There are processions through the streets and tests of devotion where supplicants perform acts of self-mortification including piercing of the cheeks and tongues with knives and various objects. The more impressive events include ascetic devotees walking on burning coals and climbing ladders with knife-edged rungs. Definitely not for the faint hearted.

 

 

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3 NATION CHARITY RIDE 2008

Surat Thani, Thailand

 

Date : 24 to 26 Oct 2008

 

[Kushinagar]

July

 

 

- Hatyai Bike Week

• 4 to 5 Jul 2008

[Kushinagar]

August

 

- Surathani Top Twin Bike Week

• 2 to 3 Aug 2008

[Kushinagar]

September

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[Kushinagar]

March

 

- Korat Bike Week

 

- Khao Lak Bike Week

 

- Phattalang Bike Week

 

- Prachuap Bike Week

 

- Khon Kaen Bike Week

[Kushinagar]

April

Songkran (Thai New Year).

"Songkran" is a word from the Sanskrit language which means to "move into" and refers to the orbit of the sun moving into Aries. It marks the end of a 12-month cycle and the beginning of a new solar year. Songkran is therefore the Thai New Year celebrations.

 

The Thai New Year is celebrated every year on 13 Apr to 15 Apr. It is also celebrated in Laos (called pi mai lao or "Lao New Year), Cambodia, Myanmar (called Thingyan), and by the Dai people in Yunan, China. Sri Langka also celebrates a similar festival called Sinhalese and Tamil New Year on the same dates.

 

The New Year celebration most obvious of Songkran is the throwing of water. People roam the streets with containers of water or water guns, or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends and neighbours.

 

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The throwing of water originated as a way to pay respect to people, by gently pouring a small amount of lustral water on other people’s hands or over a shoulder as a sign of respect. The water is meant as a symbol of washing all of the bad away and is sometimes filled with fragrant herbs.

 

Among young people the holiday evolved to include dousing strangers with water to relieve the heat, since April is the hottest month in Thailand (temperatures can rise to over 100°F or 40°C on some days). This has further evolved into water fights and splashing water over people riding in vehicles.

 

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Nowadays, the emphasis is on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival's spiritual and religious aspects, which sometimes prompts complaints from traditionalists. In recent years there have been calls to moderate the festival to lessen the many alcohol-related road accidents as well as injuries attributed to extreme behavior such as water being thrown in the faces of traveling motorcyclists.

 

 

Phuket Bike Week.

The Phuket Bike Week project was first held at the “Mitthrapap Beach” or “Friendship Beach”, in Rawai, Phuket in 1995 attended by two local groups of bikers: the “Phuket Riders” and the “Sun of Chewa”.

 

This event usually are held in conjunction with the Songkran festival involving bikers from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and tourists in Phuket.

 

The focus of this event aimed to help promote bikers' awareness on safety (the importance of wearing helmets), the fight against amphetamines (also known in Thailand as “Ya Ba”) and of course having a good time. Proceeds from the event goes to charity organizations.

[Kushinagar]

May

 

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[Kushinagar]

June

 

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[Kushinagar]

November

 

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Loy Kratong (or Loi Kratong) Festival.

Although not an official public holiday, Loy Kratong is one of the most popular and romantic of Thailand's traditional festivals. The festival is held on the night of the 12th full moon, which lands some time in November. The festival is held to pay homage to the goddess of rivers and waterways, Mae Nam.

 

 

Note that Loy Kratong is celebrated on a full moon night, so the date will change from year to year.

 

 

Loy literally translates to "float", while Kratong is the Thai word for a sort of tray made out of banana leaves. Loy Kratong is celebrated by floating elaborate kratongs decorated with flowers, candles and incense on just about any waterway in the kingdom. In Bangkok, most people flock to the banks of the Chao Phraya river.

 

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The "birthplace" of this celebration is at Sukhothai where there is an elaborate & impressive sound and light show package for tourists.

 

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The nearly-week long celebration in Chiangmai is by far the most interesting. Several streets in the old city are closed to traffic at night for a huge market featuring several stage shows. On the night of Loy Kratong, there's a parade of giant kratongs along with contestants for the title of Miss Nopamas. The procession starts at the Tapae Gate and ends at the river-side where the giant kratongs are floated.

 

 

Loy Kratong in Chiang Mai has the added feature of a parallel festival called Yi Peng. Yi Peng is celebrated by launching hot air balloons made of rice paper into the night sky. The night sky is literally filled with thousands of these bright lights shining like a moving river of stars. It's a truly magical sight that can't really be captured in a picture.

 

Loy Kratong in Chiang Mai has become so popular that the hotels around the city are fully booked a month or more in advance. If you want to celebrate the festival in Chiang Mai, plan ahead and book your hotel well in advance.

 

 

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Death Railway Sound and Light Show in Kanchanaburi

Contributed by Al-Simmons

 

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An annual event, this is a seven-day festival commemorating the destruction of the bridge over the River Khwae. Thousands of visitors are drawn to the festival to see a pyrotechnic show that recreates the bridge’s final days. Part of the ‘Death Railway’, the bridge was constructed by primarily Australian Prisoners of War held by the Japanese during World War 2 and thousands of visitors come to the town during the period of the festival. It can actually get a bit difficult to find accommodation so it might be best to stay in Bangkok – a two-hour drive away – and come down for the day. Takes place late November running into December.

 

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For more details, pse see;-

Death Railway Sound and Light Show

 

 

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- Sa Kaeo Bike Week

 

 

- Hua Hin Bike Week

• 28 to 29 Nov 2008

[Kushinagar]

December

 

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Chiangmai Bike Week.

The Chiangmai Bike Week project was first held in Phitsanulok in 1999, organized by the North Comets Motorcycle Club (Chiangmai), a club for motorcycle lovers and the organizers of motorcycling activities in Chiang Mai.

 

The focus of this project is a Travel and Tourism based activity for members of large Motorcycle Clubs both within and outside of Thailand. Proceeds from the project will be added to the funds of the Region 5 Provincial Police’s Anti-Drug (methamphetamines) campaign as well as to aid the Tourism Police along with other charity organizations.

 

In addition, the project also encompasses the promotion of Tourism in Chiang Mai and other Provinces in Northern Thailand, the use of helmets in accordance with Thai Regulations and Traffic Laws, the exhibition of motorcycles, competitive games in order to establish and strengthen relationships between all motorcycle enthusiasts. This North Thailand premiere motorcycling event is held every year during the 1st long weekend of December.

 

Schedule

 

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Date : 6 to 7 Dec 2008

 

 

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- Tak Big Bike Party Night

• 3 Dec 2008

 

- Lampang Big Bike Party Night

• 4 Dec 2008

 

- Chiangrai Big Bike Party

• 8 Dec 2008

[Guest alonzamiller]

Nice Post! Thanks for sharing lots of information regarding Thailand culture events & activities. Really feel glad i visited here.

 

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[tatsuyuki]

Even though these post states in 2008, are we right to assume that the dates are the same regardless of which year?

 

Please clarify ~

 

Thanks ~