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Wan Lai Pattaya Songkran Festival.
Songkran Festival is the traditional Thai New Year, it is the time when Thais go the Temples offering food to the Buddhist monks, freeing birds or turtles back into the wild (It is believed if you free a turtle it will give you a longer life), houses are spring-cleaned, scented water is sprinkled on their elders as a sign of respect!
Songkran is internationally famous and well known from the water dousing that goes on throughout Thailand. Children and adults alike stand along the roadside to douse passers by with water and talcum powder. The backs of the trucks are filled with large barrels of water which is promptly dispatched over everyone they pass by as they drive slowly along the streets. Those that venture out will not escape a very thorough soaking, but its great fun and very refreshing as it's the peak of the hot season.
World’s Durian Festival.
Songkran days are also without a doubt family days and where possible the families leave the big cities to spend time with their families and pay respect in recognition of everything they did for them. The traditional greeting is 'Sawadee Pi Mai', which means "Happy New Year".
Held at a time of the year when the fruit crops are at their best, visitors can enjoy a great range of succulent fruit that have been grown in Thailand’s eastern provinces which have collectively earned the nickname as the 'fruit bowl of Thailand'.
The annual Chanthaburi Fruit Festival held at the Chanthaburi Sports Stadium offers a fantastic selection of fruits to try with favourites including sweet rambutans, pomelos and the unusual durian fruit. There are prizes for such things as the best fruit display and the best tasting fruit and there is a full entertainment programme on offer too.
Chanthaburi is the durian capital of the world in terms of production, with the largest concentration of durian orchards on the planet — over 137,000 hectares, producing about half of Thailand's entire durian crop.
Each year at harvest time Chanthaburi town has a colorful 10-day fruit fair and celebration at the time of peak fruit harvest season. There are traditional fruit competitions among farmers, arts and crafts displays, entertainers, sporting events, a temporary marketplace of all kinds of things (including of course much fine tropical fruit), and much more, but the highlight - is always the fantastic parade on the opening morning.
If you've been to or seen photos of Thai temples or the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thai people love to make colossally intricate and flamboyant monuments of creative artistic genius. These vibrantly colorful parade floats are perishable wonders of the world, awesome scenes and statues and designs all decorated almost entirely with thousands of tropical fruits and many vegetables too. Seeing these parade floats alone would be worth a trip to Thailand!
Pattaya International Music Festival.
One of the momentous events of Pattaya is the Pattaya Music Festival. Music lovers all over the country throng to Pattaya and dance at gay on the white sands of the sprawling beaches of Pattatya.
During the festival young and old, dance to the beats of the rock bands. Pop music is also a part of the music festival’s agenda. Many enjoy the beautiful jazz being played in the evening.
Held generally in the month of March every year, Pattaya Music Festival is held in the evenings. Tourists also enjoy the gala bonanza and participate actively in the hip-hop dances of the crowd. This annual event emphasizes the love for music by the city dwellers who make most of the event.
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