The Thai sense of ‘sanook’ (fun) is legendary and it comes to the fore especially during the country’s New Year (Songkran) celebrations. During this period, the country practically shuts down as cities such as Chiang Mai become the staging point for raucous celebrations – with the streets filled with revellers squirting each other with elaborate water guns and pouring buckets of icy water on one another.

It is all good clean fun, and is balanced by a more ancient, spiritual element to the festival. These cultural activities include blessings with scented water over Buddha images and serene Buddhist processions where dozens of monks walk barefoot through the street collecting food and everyday items.

With family time to the fore, Songkran is also a great time to discover traditional Thai culture. On this journey, guests will also spend time with a local family, dining and chatting to them as they see in the turn of another year.

For further information, get in touch with one of our expert travel consultants at [email protected] or view the full itinerary here.