Chiang Mai Travel Guide And Map

Songkran Festival:

Songkran is Thai New Year celebration also known as "water festival". It runs official from 13-15 April of every year. April is supposed to be the hottest month in Thailand, so it's a perfect wet holiday that everyone can enjoy. The festival is known all over the world for its characteristic tradition of throwing water to each other.
Sometimes it will be a courteous sprinkle or a polite splash, to water pistols and showers from garden hoses or a well-aimed bucket or water cannon. Songkran is a refreshing solution to "beating the heat" in the hottest season of the year
"Songkran" means in the Sanskrit language "move into" and refers to the position of the sun as it enters Aries. It marks the end of a 12-month cycle and the beginning of a new solar year. Songkran is therefore a New Year celebration, even though the water fight seems to be the only thing people like. Who can blame them for this is the season you can give women wet T-shirt without getting smack!

Loi Krathong Festival:

Loi Krathong dates back to the time of the Sukhothai Kingdom, about 700 years ago. It is based on a Hindu tradition of thanking the water god for the waters. 'Loi' means to float and 'Krathong' is a leaf cup normally made of banana leaf, which is lotus-shaped. It marks the end of the rainy season and the main rice harvest.
The night of the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (usually in mid-November) is the time of Loi Krathong. In the evening, when the full moon begins to rise, people carry their Krathongs to the banks of waterways. After the candle and incense sticks are lighted, the Krathong is pushed gently out onto the surface of the placid water. A few people will raise hands in worship. They watch the Krathong as it floats sluggishly along until it is out of sight.

Chiang Mai Flower Festival:

Every year during the first weekend in February is the Chiangmai Flower Festival. The city is awash with vibrant colors ranging from the electric orange and lilac colors of the bougainvillea to the velvety blossoms of petunias in all shades of pink, white and purple. The strident red of the poinsettias, bought by many at Christmas and New Years, is echoed by beds of scarlet salvias.
The sheer profusion of color that the flower festival and carnival brings to Chiangmai aptly gives the city its name “Rose of the North”. The best part of the flower festival is on Saturday. Hill Tribes and Thais in their traditional dress, all join the parade. The people in the parade hand out roses and there are plenty of food stalls located in the park and in late afternoon the Miss Chiangmai Flower festival starts. The party goes on until the new Flower Festival Queen is chosen. This is a great time to visit Chiangmai, as the air is cool and the evenings fresh and clear.