Unique-Vacation-Ideas.com

Contributed By Elizabeth Coughlan

If you don't mind a thorough soaking, Chiang Mai, Thailand is a great place to visit in the spring. Thailand celebrates Songkran, the Buddhist New Year festival, between the 13 to 15 of April each year. This is a time for cleaning out the old and bringing in the new. Traditionally, the cleansing was symbolized by a splash of water on the forehead, but it has grown into a complete drenching for everyone, from head to toe.

The 700-year-old city of Chiang Mai is the best place to join in the fun of this ancient rite. Everyone is awakened at dawn on the 13 of April by the noise of hundreds of firecrackers being set off to drive the evil spirits away. On this day, there is a procession of beautifully decorated floats through Chiang Mai. Each float has an image of the Lord Buddha, accompanied by dancers and musicians in colorful national dress. The procession begins at the Nawarat Bridge on the Mae Ping River and winds through the town, before finishing at Wat Prasingh (a Buddhist temple).

On Songkran, everyone takes to the streets with anything that holds water; cans, jugs, high-powered water pistols, and even hose-pipes. The square moat that surrounds the old city is usually the focus of the mayhem as it has an abundance of water from which to fill a weapon. No one escapes, not even the police officers on duty. No matter how wet you get, you are expected to receive the blessing of the water with good grace and a sense of humor.

It's important to go prepared with old clothes and make sure your camera is wrapped in plastic because, no matter how much you protest, you won't be spared a drenching. If you want to see what's going on, but want to stay out of the action, there are tourist buses that tour the city, as long as you remember to keep your windows closed. But, the very best option is to get yourself an enormous water cannon and take to the streets, firing as you go!

Water throwing stops in the evening, giving you time to go back to your hotel and change, before shopping in the night market, then eating delicious Thai food in any of the hundreds of restaurants on offer. The night market is an experience of its own and everyone is bound to find a bargain there. Just walking through it is an amazing feast for the eyes, and a photographer's delight.

Outside of the festival, Chiang Mai has so many other activities on offer
that it would be difficult to fit them all into one vacation. Nevertheless, the Buddhist New Year Festival is a good, fun place to start.