Thailand Festivals

Thailand Festivals
By Pauline Go

Are you game for a little bit of sport and a spark of adventure? Are you ready to backpack and set off some place where you can relax in your own way; be it visiting temples, sightseeing, or indulging in festivals?

Well, then get ready to set off and experience the beautiful and the magical Land of Smiles, as Thailand is fondly called.

If your are in the mood for fun and frolic, then you can choose the month of April or May to visit Thailand. The Thai joyously celebrate the New Year or the Songkran festival by splaying and splashing water at each other. It is considered to be an auspicious festival and water is poured on images of Buddha. It is believed by doing so water will continue to flow even during the summers and the dry season.

In the month of May, the harvesting and the sowing festival is celebrated and marks the beginning of the rice-planting season. Such is the fervor of the festival, that to commemorate the rice-planting season, the Rocket Festival is held. Here bamboo and gunpowder are blended to make a volatile mixture. This is done to send a message to the sky to send rain during the rice seasons.

If you are a vegetarian or love vegetarian food, then September and October is the ideal month to visit Thailand. During this time, the Buddhists eat an array of vegetarian food for nine days. Another interesting festival that is held in November is the Elephant Roundup where people watch elephants playing football or participating in tug-of-war. In the month of November candle-lit floats are cast into the water to herald good fortune in the coming year. It is a beautiful sight to see thousands of candle-lit floats bobbing up and down in the water.

Check Out More Articles:

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The Best Time to Travel to Thailand.

The Best Time to Travel to Thailand
By Chris Sanderson

Probably the most common question any foreigner living in Thailand will hear from people planning to visit the Kingdom is "When is the best time to come to Thailand"...not an easy question to answer without knowing "why" a person wants to come to Thailand.

There are basically three seasons in Thailand (though of late the cold season seems to have gone missing), the seasons are, The Hot, The Wet and The Cold. Cold being a rather subjective description though, the shots of emergency blankets being handed out in the northern provinces when it drops to a chilly 10 degrees...that's 10 degrees Celsius. So what does each season offer.

The Hot
March to June : The hottest month is April when even the geckos stay inside and most expats look outside at lunch time and decide to not eat rather than melt on the walk to a food stall. The Hot season is beach season, if that's your thing then this is the time to come to Thailand, guaranteed sun sun sun all day long day after day. For Trekkers you might find this to be a tad hot to go trudging up hills unless mounted on an elephant, sun stroke and dehydration are high up on the list of things to beware of. Bangkok turns into a molten vat of pollution as the winds die and the smog just hangs around choking up the oxygen. Hotels are at their most expensive during the hot season and weekends will see many of the mid range ones fully booked.

The Wet
July to November : The change over from hot to wet is the worst time to be in Thailand regardless of what you're into. It's Hot, it's wet and the humidity is ruthless. You'll be desperate to take three showers a day at a minimum...living in a shower for a month might not be a bad plan. If you can imagine living in a sauna for a month then you get the right picture of Thailand at the start of the wet season...unless you're in Bangkok, then get in a sauna and pipe your car exhaust into the sauna to get the right idea...hmmm yummy. Then thankfully the skies really open up, the wind blows and things freshen up . Rain is pretty much a guaranteed feature on a daily basis and usually kicks off in the afternoon, sometimes lasting all night, Floods are common along with power cuts. So why come to Thailand now...the cost.... hotels are empty, tourists are away, it's a great time to see Thailand with fewer tourists than usual and get the best prices as even the Thai people stay home at the weekends.

The Cold
December to February : Thailand freezes over, snow falls from the sky and ice-skating is the nations most popular sport...well if you watched the TV or the Thai people running around dressed in winter jackets, boots, gloves and scarves you may start to think it's true.. in Bangkok it can drop to a bone chilling 15 degrees Celsius at night, and up north it has on occasions dropped down to 2 degrees, the south gets off much lighter and you can escape with a body warmer and a bobble hat. Thailand again is swarming with tourists who have come to take advantage of the cool weather to do see Thailand without burning up. This is the best time of the year to actually "see" Thailand, you'll enjoy seeing the sights and touring the cities and trekking will be at its best. Again prices will be up and hotels fairly full.

So in a nutshell the best time to come to Thailand is the time that suits what you want to do, Trekkers and Tanners will have different needs, those looking for bargains will have different needs. Just add that there are occasional down pours even in the hottest parts of the year and even the wet season can be dry for a week or more.....but leave your skis at home...there will be no snow.....guaranteed.

Article can be used with permission of Chris Sanderson as long as the signature and in place links are left unchanged. Chris Sanderson is an Affiliate Marketing Manager based in Bangkok Thailand with AMWSO.com and the owner of Xaap.com.

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Thailand - The Land of Smiles and Cheap Travel

Thailand - The Land of Smiles and Cheap Travel
By Richard Chapo

Thailand is known as the land of smiles, which is amazing considering the traffic jams in Bangkok. For budget travelers, Thailand simply can’t beat on price alone.

Thailand

Thailand is an odd mix of contrasts. It can be extremely stressful while trying to get around in Bangkok and gloriously relaxing while laying on practically any of the beaches that populate the coast of the country. Regardless of the situation, the Thais have a habit and custom or smiling regardless of what you ask or how you ask it.

Beaches

The beaches of Thailand need no introduction. Used as the setting for hundreds of movies, they come in a variety of styles. The beaches of Phuket and Phi Phi fall along the lines of traditional beach resort areas like you might find in a place such as Cancun, Mexico or Tamarindo, Costa Rica. On the other end of the scale, you can find more rustic beach areas in places like the island of Ko Chang where you’ll have a few beach bungalows, a couple of bars and one or two stores. If you’re looking for a little of both styles, just ask around.

Da North

Infatuated with the beach life, many people fail to head up country when in Thailand. This is a mistake as the north is the host to such locations as the city of Chang Mai, the Summer Palace of the King of Thailand and interesting little villages. For the outdoor enthusiasts, rafting, hiking and mountain biking are very popular and widely available.

Prices

If you’re on a budget, Thailand is a perfect travel destination. For some reason, flights to Thailand are particularly cheap with my recent flight on Korean Airlines running roughly $650 round trip. Once in country, your money will go a long, long way.

I think a note of caution is need at this point. Please beware. If you decide to take a trip to Thailand, you won’t want to come back to your native country. You will, however, definitely come back to Thailand!

Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of travel journals. Visit NomadJournalTrips.com to read more articles about Thailand travel and Adventure Travel.

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