Songkran Festival starts in several Thai areas

BANGKOK, April 11 (TNA) - People in several Thai provinces have started their traditional Thai New Year or Songkran Festival. In the Thai North, a number of people gathered at Jet Lin Temple in inner Chiang Mai province Wednesday to attend ceremonies to bathe Buddha images and install a traditional umbrella on top of a 15-meter-tall sand pagoda which local people had built and decorated with flags of zodiac signs. In nearby Chiang Rai province, inbound passengers crowded the second bus terminal in Sansai area of Muang district, most of them are tourists who plan to celebrate the Songkran Festival in Chiang Rai. In the Thai South, students and local people in Surat Thani bathde the Phra Buddha Sothon Buddha image and extended their Thai New Year wishes to senior citizens at Suratthani Rajabhat University. In Satun Province, there is a fair for senior citizens and family reunion, including a variety of activities such as Thai New Year greetings for senior citizens and the presentation of awards to model families, aimed at allowing young and old people to join the activities and boosting family relations. In the Northeast, there is an over 200-metre-long water tunnel near the Mekong River in front of the Khong Chiam district office in Ubon Ratchathani, where people will celebrate the Songkran Festival from April 12-16. (TNA)