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Songkran: Thai water fest goes global, Chiang Mai attracts loads of tourists

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Updated 26 May 2013
KT Abdurabb
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Songkran: Thai water fest goes global, Chiang Mai attracts loads of tourists

Updated 26 May 2013
KT Abdurabb

Songkran, the Thai Water Festival, has become an international event as it attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world. During Songkran, Thai people splash water on each other as a symbol of good luck and a celebration of new beginnings. Tourists are hardly exempt from the wet antics and in fact it’s often the reason people travel to Thailand during mid-April.
The most culturally significant old city in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai, has become one of the most popular locations to visit for this festival. A variety of religious and fun-related activities take place each year, along with parades and the Miss Songkran beauty competition.
Chiang Mai, the cultural capital of Thailand, which is 700km north from Bangkok is a place where the festival extends beyond the usual three-day festivities.
From April. 13 onwards, the public go to the streets with hoses, buckets, and water guns as they prepare to partake in the nation-wide water fight. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the sidewalk or in the middle of the street; you’re going to get soaked. Really though, that’s what Songkran is all about.
Chiang Mai has become an increasingly modern city and has been attracting over 5 million visitors each year, of which between 1.4 million and 2 million are foreign tourists.
“Chiang Mai is one of the most interesting cultural and historical cities in the world,” Wisoot Buachoom, northern region director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) told Arab News.
The large population of artists, writers, and creative types, both Thai and foreign, who have settled in Chiang Mai have bestowed upon the city the title UNESCO Creative City. The ambience and pace of life in Chiang Mai is far slower and more relaxed than that of Bangkok.
“Chiang Mai attracts nearly 2 million foreign tourists a year,” Wisoot added.
In addition to water festival, Chiang Mai Flower Festival is also well known to tourists. The three-day event is held during the first weekend in February each year, and coincides with the season in which Chiang Mai’s temperate and tropical flowers are in full bloom.
Chiang Mai has a number of attractions like elephant rides, a tiger kingdom, elephant camps, the Rajpruk Park, the Wachirathan Waterfall, a spicy Thai cuisine and a bargain shopping center.
Attractions range from ruins of ancient settlements and Buddhist shrines to magnificent mountain scenery and hill tribe villages. In addition, the city boasts diverse ethnic tribes, many cooking and massage schools, numerous outdoor activities, a variety of handicrafts workshops, various cultural performances, and exotic wildlife and yoga centers.

Chiang Mai Attractions
Trekking and visiting hill tribe villages are popular activities to do in Chiang Mai; treks into the mountains can range from easy, one-night trips to longer adventures.
The Royal Park Rajapruek located in the Hang Dong district has millions of plants from different species. The garden is a symbol of beauty and is a great place to calm your mind. If you extend the trip a bit further, you can enjoy the beauty of Wachirathan Waterfall on the way to Doi Inthanon summit. Relax here and inhale the fresh aroma of nature. The scenery will render you speechless, as a unique landscape enfolds right before you with lush greenery and a cascading waterfall.
A night safari will be another life-long memory. Chiang Mai night safari is 10 kilometers away from the city. It is the largest night zoo in the world with over 300 acres of natural land, offering an exciting chance to interact with wild animals. The safari offers tours featuring rhinoceros, giraffes, zebras and deer, co-existing in the open plains, watched closely by a pride legion of lions. In addition, the safari offers a series of trails over three main zones.
Maesa Elephant camp, home to one of the largest assemblies of elephants in the north of Thailand, is another attraction. In this center, elephants show off their many amusing skills, such as playing football and even painting in this center.
In addition to Maesa Elephant camp, Patara Elephant Farm is another attraction. The farm provides a hands-on experience on how to nurture and take care of elephants.
Another place for elephant lovers is the Elephant Nature Park, a unique conservation project established with the aim of providing a sanctuary and rescue center for these creatures.
Tiger Kingdom also located in the Mae Sa Valley, has a number of tigers and visitors are given the opportunity to play with cubs. You can also pose for a photo with tigers.
While going back from Chiang Mai, don’t forget to make a stopover in Bangkok for a shopping experience like no other. Assign a special day to enjoy the traditional Floating Market.

Chiang Mai Accommodation
The Siripanna Villa Resort & Spa, is a special resort in the midst of the city, where more than 200 seedlings and 20,000 trees are well nurtured. Located 10 minutes away from railway station and 15 minutes away from Chiang Mai International Airport, the hotel is listed amongst the top three hotels in Thailand. Apart from the beautiful scenery and serene ambience, the hotel provides modern facilities and a special package for golf lovers and honeymooners.

Accommodation in Bangkok
The Oriental Residence in Bangkok is in a strategic diplomatic area, fortified with high security and takes pride in being family friendly. The property consists of 41 executive deluxe rooms, 70 one-bedroom suites, 30 two-bedroom suites and 4 three-bed room suites. The facilities are all five star graded.

Restaurants in Chiang Mai
Khum Khantoke, which is known as the reception room of Chiang Mai province, offers the traditional Thai lifestyle, atmosphere and food. If you want to enjoy a panoramic view, delicious food and lively music visit Palaad Tawan Restaurant on the hilltop.
For those of you craving Middle Eastern food go to Sahara restaurant on Nimahemin Road.

Restaurants in Bangkok
The Asiatic River Front and Sampran Riverside both offer authentic Thai cuisine in the heart of the city.
During the night time, dine on a luxurious cruise with a superb view of the historical landmarks on a river cruise along the Chao Phraya River. Dinner starts at 7.30 p.m. and ends at 9.30pm.

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As an uncertain 2026 begins, virtual journeys back to 2016 become a trend

Updated 30 January 2026
AP
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As an uncertain 2026 begins, virtual journeys back to 2016 become a trend

  • Over the past few weeks, millions have been sharing throwback photos to that time on social media, kicking off one of the first viral trends of the year
Updated 30 January 2026
AP

LONDON: The year is 2016. Somehow it feels carefree, driven by Internet culture. Everyone is wearing over-the-top makeup.
At least, that’s how Maren Nævdal, 27, remembers it — and has seen it on her social feeds in recent days.
For Njeri Allen, also 27, the year was defined by the artists topping the charts that year, from Beyonce to Drake to Rihanna’s last music releases. She also remembers the Snapchat stories and an unforgettable summer with her loved ones. “Everything felt new, different, interesting and fun,” Allen says.
Many people, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, are thinking about 2016 these days. Over the past few weeks, millions have been sharing throwback photos to that time on social media, kicking off one of the first viral trends of the year — the year 2026, that is.
With it have come the memes about how various factors — the sepia hues over Instagram photos, the dog filters on Snapchat and the music — made even 2016’s worst day feel like the best of times.
Part of the look-back trend’s popularity has come from the realization that 2016 was already a decade ago – a time when Nævdal says she felt like people were doing “fun, unserious things” before having to grow up.
But experts point to 2016 as a year when the world was on the edge of the social, political and technological developments that make up our lives today. Those same advances — such as developments under US President Donald Trump and the rise of AI — have increased a yearning for even the recent past, and made it easier to get there.
2016 marked a year of transition
Nostalgia is often driven by a generation coming of age — and its members realizing they miss what childhood and adolescence felt like. That’s certainly true here. But some of those indulging in the online journeys through time say something more is at play as well.
It has to do with the state of the world — then and now.
By the end of 2016, people would be looking ahead to moments like Trump’s first presidential term and repercussions of the United Kingdom leaving the EU after the Brexit referendum. A few years after that, the COVID-19 pandemic would send most of the world into lockdown and upend life for nearly two years.
Janelle Wilson, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, says the world was “on the cusp of things, but not fully thrown into the dark days that were to come.”
“The nostalgia being expressed now, for 2016, is due in large part to what has transpired since then,” she says, also referencing the rise of populism and increased polarization. “For there to be nostalgia for 2016 in the present,” she added, “I still think those kinds of transitions are significant.”
For Nævdal, 2016 “was before a lot of the things we’re dealing with now.” She loved seeing “how embarrassing everyone was, not just me,” in the photos people have shared.
“It felt more authentic in some ways,” she says. Today, Nævdal says, “the world is going downhill.”
Nina van Volkinburg, a professor of strategic fashion marketing at University of the Arts, London, says 2016 marked the beginning of “a new world order” and of “fractured trust in institutions and the establishment.” She says it also represented a time of possibility — and, on social media, “the maximalism of it all.”
This was represented in the bohemian fashion popularized in Coachella that year, the “cut crease” makeup Nævdal loved and the dance music Allen remembers.
“People were new to platforms and online trends, so were having fun with their identity,” van Volkinburg says. “There was authenticity around that.”
And 2016 was also the year of the “boss babe” and the popularity of millennial pink, van Volkinburg says, indications of young people coming into adulthood in a year that felt hopeful.
Allen remembers that as the summer she and her friends came of age as high school graduates. She says they all knew then that they would remember 2016 forever.
Ten years on, having moved again to Taiwan, she said “unprecedented things are happening” in the world. “Both of my homes are not safe,” she said of the US and Taiwan, “it’s easier to go back to a time that’s more comfortable and that you felt safe in.”
Feelings of nostalgia are speeding up
In the last few days, Nævdal decided to hide the social media apps on her phone. AI was a big part of that decision. “It freaks me out that you can’t tell what’s real anymore,” she said.
“When I’ve come off of social media, I feel that at least now I know the things I’m seeing are real,” she added, “which is quite terrifying.”
The revival of vinyl record collections, letter writing and a fresh focus on the aesthetics of yesterday point to nostalgia continuing to dominate trends and culture. Wilson says the feeling has increased as technology makes nostalgia more accessible.
“We can so readily access the past or, at least, versions of it,” she said. “We’re to the point where we can say, ‘Remember last week when we were doing XYZ? That was such a good time!’”
Both Nævdal and Allen described themselves as nostalgic people. Nævdal said she enjoys looking back to old photos – especially when they show up as “On This Day” updates on her phone, She sends them to friends and family when their photos come up.
Allen wished that she documented more of her 2016 and younger years overall, to reflect on how much she has evolved and experienced since.
“I didn’t know what life could be,” she said of that time. “I would love to be able to capture my thought process and my feelings, just to know how much I have grown.”

Topics: 2016 2026 trend Kylie Jenner

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