Page 58 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2025 THAILAND

Happy Soggy New Year

At the time we booked, we didn’t realize
our OAT tour dates overlapped with Thai-
land’s famous Songkran Festival. This
three-day national holiday begins on April
13 annually and marks the start of the Thai
and Buddhist new years. Temple visits, fes-
tive family reunions and wet and wild water
fights mark this raucous good time. “You’re
going to get wet,” Joe told us. Boy was he
right.
Our unforgettable Songkran experiences
were clustered around Chiang Mai. They be-
gan with a visit to Wat Yai, the temple home
of a stunning seated bronze Buddha, one of
the most beautiful and revered in Thailand.
Worshipers flock here during Songkran to
pray in view of the serene statue with its
golden flame halo; and on the day of our
visit the complex was packed with families,
dressed up and bearing offerings. We joined
them in another ritual outside the temple:
One at a time, we poured scented water on
a Buddha, symbolically washing away the
old year’s troubles and seeking blessings in
the months ahead.

58 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2025