Tag Archives: Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villas

Thai Festivals To Experience On Your Holiday – Cultural Adventures Around The Country 

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Thailand is a country of vibrant traditions, colourful celebrations, and warm hospitality. If you’re planning a trip, experiencing these iconic festivals will immerse you in the heart of Thai culture.

Songkran Water Festival 

Thailand welcomes the New Year with style. Following the Theravada Buddhist calendar, Thai New Year celebrations revolve around symbolic cleansing, featuring elaborate parades, temple visits, and most famously, city-wide water fights. Residents armed with water guns and water balloons turn the streets into arenas—one of the best ways to cool down from the April heat.

Image via freepik

Full Moon Parties (Koh Phangan) 

Although not a traditional event, the beaches of Koh Phangan celebrate the monthly full moon with a bang. These parties are some of the biggest in the country, famously held on Haad Rin Beach due to the stunning view of the moon from its shores. Considered one of the best things to do on Koh Phangan, venture outside your beach resort and join in on the revelry along Haad Rin, located a scenic drive south from Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villas.

Yee Peng Festival (Northern Thailand) 

Towards the end of the year, Loy Krathong lights up the rivers and streams of Thailand, with water lanterns decorated in colourful offerings and candles. However, in the North of Thailand, this festival becomes a grand celebration that reaches the skies. The Yee Peng Festival brings Tangled to life, featuring illuminated paper lanterns released into the air, with hundreds of floats promising good fortune.

Vegetarian Festival (Phuket) 

Every October, Phuket celebrates the Vegetarian Festival with colourful processions and unique rituals. Devotees adhere to a vegetarian diet and participate in extraordinary displays of spiritual devotion, such as firewalking and body piercings.

Songkran: The Thailand Water Festival – The Wettest Festival in Asia

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The culture of Thailand is just as renowned as her lush natural beauty. Anyone who is familiar with Thailand or even Asia in general will be aware of the legendary Songkran festival.

File:Huai Yai, Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri 20150, Thailand - panoramio (5).jpg

song songroov, Huai Yai, Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri 20150, Thailand – panoramio (5), CC BY 3.0

What is Songkran?

This festival is associated with new beginnings and purification, which is why the country turns into a massive water-fight. During Songkran, Thai people also gently and respectfully wash the hands of their elders, and even wash Buddha statues with water scented with flowers. In the modern day, things are taken to the extreme with people taking to the streets with water guns.

File:Songkran 012.jpg

Takeaway, Songkran 012, CC BY-SA 3.0

 

When is it?

This iconic festival officially takes place over the course of three days starting on the 13th of April and concluding on the 15th. Many people take leave from work during this time and the duration of the festival usually ends up being extended to around six days.

The Best Places to Be

Extended festival celebrations usually take place in the more tourist-oriented areas such as Phangan. Resorts are aplenty in this region with many to choose from such as Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villas, which means Songkran is particularly intriguing here.

Tips to Remember

Everyone excluding religious figures, royalty and pregnant women will be splashed. Since you’re guaranteed to get very wet, leave any electronic belongings at your place of residence/accommodation. Due to increased accidents during this time, it is recommended you do not ride a bike when Songkran happens.

Auburn Silver is a travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.

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Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan

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File:Full-Moon-Party-2015 wDSC03089.jpg

Per Meistrup, Full-Moon-Party-2015 wDSC03089, CC BY-SA 4.0

The phenomenon of the full moon has become an integral aspect of folklore and tradition in many cultures for a multitude of reasons. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that there are a number of celebrations, events and parties that take place commemorating the full moon. While the full moon is of special religious significance to Buddhists, who engage in meritorious deeds and visit the temple during this time, the Feast of the Hunters’ Moon is another event of significance that takes place in Indiana in the United States of America. The Farmer’s Almanac also give different names to the various full moons that occur each month while the ‘Long Night’s Moon’ is considered to be the last full moon of the year. There are also a number of Hindu Festivals that are celebrated during the full moon.

Tourists who visit Koh Phangan during the full moon will be able to witness the vibrant celebration called the Full Moon Party. Having its origins in Haad Rin in Koh Phangan, this particular party takes place on the day of the full moon and lasts through the night. Its popularity is so great that nearby resorts such as Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villas even have transport packages that allow guests to partake in the festivities. Tourists who opt for such packages often leave their accommodation early, grab a bite to eat at a Koh Phangan restaurant and make their way to Haad Rin.

On the eve of every full moon, anywhere between five thousand to thirty thousand tourists come together to celebrate the event until the rays of the sun make an appearance in the wee hours of the morning. It has become so popular that many tourists consider it a ‘must-do’ activity when in Thailand. Previously, other editions of the party, such as the ‘Half Moon’ or the ‘Quarter Moon’ party also existed but all these versions were banned by the Government in 2014. At present, only the Full Moon Party takes place.

Fritzjames Stephen is a travel writer, who writes content based on the myriad of experiences and indulgences that the world has to offer travellers across all walks of life.

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