Thai Songkran festival draws crowds into water‑splashing celebrations

Thousands of revellers wearing colourful outfits packed Bangkok on Sunday (April 12) as Thailand marked Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year water festival.

Locals and foreign tourists wielded water guns and splashed one another along the crowded streets as music played during the festivities.

Some at the water festival said they found a temporary escape from the global fuel crisis and rising prices fueled by tensions in the Middle East.

German tourist Gerhardus Page said it was a celebration to "forget about the problems of the world,” whilst local resident Perraphat Onchoi said Songkran helped to "heal our minds while the world is so chaotic."

Expenditure during the festival, usually one of Thailand's biggest spending periods, is forecast to fall 3.7% to about 130 billion baht ($3.5 billion), a university survey showed, with 36% of respondents planning to spend less.

Spraying water on each other is an ancient ritual that symbolises cleansing, reverence and good fortune.

Production: Zaw Naing Oo, Tananchai Keawsowattana, Carla O'Connor/Reuters