Chiang Mai Songkran 2026: Inside Thailand’s CRAZIEST Water Festival

Welcome to Songkran! Sawadee Pee Mai! Thailand! That's right. Happy New Year! And Songkran from Chiang Mai in Thailand. It is that magical time of the year again when Thailand transforms into a wet and wild water war across the kingdom. And it is amazing. And it's happening today! Now this is my 10th Songkran and I am so happy to say that I have the very special Ann with me for her first Songkran. It's my first time! Are you excited? Very excited! Me too. And we are going to actually be going down to the moat in the Old City today where we're going to be getting into this joyous, wet and wild water fight that is going to blow your mind. But there is so much more to it than just that. This comes from a Buddhist tradition that's asking for rain for the upcoming rice planting season. So this morning we went down to the local temple Wat Phra Seng and witnessed this amazing ceremony. We started out by doing the Samnam Phra where we poured the fragrant water over the Buddha. Then we went down into the temple where they paraded out the Buddha from his usual seating place, put him up on the top of this beautiful float. There was dancing, there was music, they were throwing water and these beautiful bouquets of flowers at the Buddha and then they paraded him out into the city where people could pay respect to him. And this holiday is about renewal as well as a new beginning. So it was just such a great way to start the day. It was so holy and it's my first time witnessing it. It was nice. It was nice to wake up very early as well. Now let's go head over to the moat and get the fun started because what are we waiting for? Let's go! Alright, we've gone 10 feet and we are already fully soaked. How does that feel? Can we do a tuk-tuk? Yeah! Okay, let's do it. Alright, so we are down here having such a good time and we met this tuk-tuk driver who offered to take us around for one hour around the moat in the back of the tuk-tuk. I've never done that before, so let's hop in and have a good time, baby! It's not full! More water? Yeah. You okay? More water? Water in the moat? Yeah. Water in the river? Yeah. Is that okay? Yeah, it's okay. I'm guessing the water in there is from the river already. Free water? Free water. Is it okay? Do you feel cleansed and refreshed? Yeah! So when Thai people put this powder on you, how are you feeling? Appreciate it! Thank you! Sawadee Pee Mai! This is so much fun! And that tuk-tuk ride was amazing! I was about to say, tuk-tuk's unbelievable! Tuk-tuk's unbelievable, I'll take it, I'll take it! And right now, we were going to go over to the top of the gate right here, but the Buddha parade has been going on for the last 30 minutes, and it's been really loud, so we decided to go up to Starbucks, where we could get a full view of everything from the third floor, and it's been so beautiful. There's been people dressed in the traditional clothes, music, the Buddhas are being brought through and sprayed with water. There is some really nice dancing, and we decided to come up to the third floor of Starbucks. I know, it's Starbucks, it's not Thai, but look at this view that you get. You can see everything. Also, the top of the gate, which is just across from us, is like the cultural epicenter of the celebration. There's lots of things going on there throughout the week, leading up to Songkran. So, if you go down there right now, you'll actually find these huge sand pagodas, as well as these long prayer flags that are so colorful. The prayer flags are called tung, and it's like your prayer is going up into heaven, and the sand pagodas are part of the Buddhist tradition, where throughout the year, they believe that we take sand with us when we leave the temple on our shoes, so at this time of the year, we bring it back to the temple. We got to go over to Wat Phra Sing the other day, and actually experience it firsthand, and it was just such a beautiful tradition. Well, we are just having a coffee and snack, and then we are going to go back down and hit the road, because while I love being in the tuk-tuk, I think that being out on the road, and really being in it with the people, is the best way to experience Songkran. Happy Songkran! Wow, now that was a Songkran party right there. Yeah, of course! And she is shaking. There is so much ice water out there, and I think that where we are right now in Chiang Mai is more of like a traditional spot. I mean, it's traditional-ish, but they do have another option here. You can head over to the Maya Mall, or the Nyaman area, and it's absolutely crazy. We went there last night. Yeah, we did, and it's party everywhere! It is party everywhere. There are water cannons, people dancing, DJs, live music. I mean, when you go inside, it's just water from every direction, and people shooting guns just coming down from the sky. People are on platforms shooting down on you, and you can get a beer, hang out. It was just so crazy, and I'm pretty sure it goes from like 4 until midnight. So, definitely check that out if you're looking for a little bit more of a party scene. The good thing about there is like the water, when during the daytime, it was cold, but during the nighttime, like almost 6, 7, it's getting warm. So, you want to stay in the water. You definitely do, and it was such a good time. I mean, this has been such a fun song, and I'm so grateful that Ann was here to share with me. I'm very grateful. And Thailand, you have a very, very nice country. Sawasdee kee mai. Yeah, I mean, one of the greatest celebrations in the world that I've ever been to, and like Ann said before, this might be the most she's ever laughed in her entire life. Well, I think we might go back and party a little bit or head back and warm up because my little Filipina is shaking like a leaf. So, thank you so much for coming to Songkran with us. It was such an amazing experience to share with you, and we still have some more time in Thailand, so we're going to be sharing some more videos, but if you enjoyed this video, please give us a big thumbs up, comment, subscribe, and don't forget to Ling-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling the Songkran. And remember, this is a celebration about cleansing yourself, about starting new. So, just be the best version of you. Enjoy, travel, even if it's just at home. Life is so short and so precious. So, this is one of those celebrations that really reminds you of that. We'll see you next time.