# Songkran



## Guest (Apr 17, 2010)

Missed it this year (was it fun in Chiang Mai Khwaamlaap?)...

Going by this video it looks as if the worries down in Bangkok were far from the minds of these revellers.






Great two minute clip, really conveys the atmosphere...


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## pinoy_expat (Apr 19, 2010)

It was a blast in Bangkok. haha. I should do songkran next year in Chiangmai.


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## Acid_Crow (May 11, 2009)

Here in the south it wasn't as much people on the streets as the last couple of years. Not sure if it has to do with the political situation, the lack of water due to a couple of dry months, or the poor economy..


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## anne_newcastle (Apr 20, 2010)

To be honest, there are so many deaths with Songkran. I think it's a pain in the harris! It would be fine if people splashed you with a little water, and used normal water guns, but they take it to another level.

Something like 500-700 people were killed in 2009, and officials said they wanted to reduce it by 5%...


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2010)

To clarify this for anyone reading who is unfamiliar with Songkran, it is a festival that is supposed to last three days or so (some stretch it out because of the heat)... but there are many people on the road returning home for the festivities, some of whom get drunk, hence the massive toll in road deaths over the Thai New Year week.

So long as people stay clear of the roads over that period they are pretty safe!


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## Acid_Crow (May 11, 2009)

"There were 3,516 road accidents during the 'seven dangerous days' of the Songkran holiday, resulting in 361 deaths and 3,802 injured, the Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported on Monday.

The 'seven dangerous days' of the Thai New Year were from April 12 to 18.

The road accident figures during this year's Songkran were lower than last year. There were 3,997 road accidents, 373 fatalities and 4,332 injured during last year's Songkran.

The southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat saw the most road accidents at 142 and had the highest number of injured people at 159. The northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima recorded the highest number of road fatalities at 18.

29.53 per cent of the accidents were caused by drunk driving, followed by speeding at 17.11 per cent.

Motorcycles were involved in 79.61 per cent of the accidents.

54.08% of people who died or were injured were in the working age group."





Sorry, not sure where the text is from, would guess its Bangkok Post..


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