Through the Lens: Thailand's Songkran festival draws record crowds
A selection of striking photos from across Asia
APRIL 17, 2026
Songkran, Thailand’s traditional New Year festival, began on April 13 and ran through April 15. The celebrations featuring participants being doused with water drew unusually large crowds in Bangkok this year, with a record 160,000 people gathering on Silom Road on the first day, up from 100,000 last year.
The jump in attendance is partly due to rising fuel prices. Higher gasoline and diesel costs discouraged many Bangkok residents from traveling to their hometown, leading them to stay in the capital instead. As a result, the city’s festivities became even more crowded despite the economic strain.
Passengers wait at the Mo Chit bus terminal in Bangkok with their belongings to travel to their hometown for the Songkran holiday on April 10. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)
Passengers wait at the Mo Chit bus terminal in Bangkok with their belongings to travel to their hometown for the Songkran holiday on April 10. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)
A passenger carries his belongings as people wait to board buses at Mo Chit bus terminal in Bangkok on April 10. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)
A passenger carries his belongings as people wait to board buses at Mo Chit bus terminal in Bangkok on April 10. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)
A couple with an infant wait to board a bus at Mo Chit bus terminal in Bangkok on April 10. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)
A couple with an infant wait to board a bus at Mo Chit bus terminal in Bangkok on April 10. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)
Revelers play with water as they celebrate the Songkran holiday, which marks the Thai New Year, on Khaosan Road, a popular tourist spot in Bangkok, on April 13. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
Revelers play with water as they celebrate the Songkran holiday, which marks the Thai New Year, on Khaosan Road, a popular tourist spot in Bangkok, on April 13. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
A security guard stands next to a sign on Silom Road and monitors the emptying of water pistols before entering a building in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Carola Frentzen/AP)
A security guard stands next to a sign on Silom Road and monitors the emptying of water pistols before entering a building in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Carola Frentzen/AP)
Revelers play with water as they celebrate the Songkran holiday, which marks the Thai New Year, in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
Revelers play with water as they celebrate the Songkran holiday, which marks the Thai New Year, in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
Revellers play with water as they celebrate the Songkran holiday on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
Revellers play with water as they celebrate the Songkran holiday on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
Revelers participate in a water battle to celebrate the annual Songkran festival on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
Revelers participate in a water battle to celebrate the annual Songkran festival on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
Water pistol fights feature in celebrations on Khaosan Road during Songkran in Bangkok on April 14. (Photo by Teera Noisakran/AP)
Water pistol fights feature in celebrations on Khaosan Road during Songkran in Bangkok on April 14. (Photo by Teera Noisakran/AP)
Thai police officers join the public in water pistol fights during the Songkran festival on Silom Road in Bangkok on April 13. (Photo by Teera Noisakran/AP)
Thai police officers join the public in water pistol fights during the Songkran festival on Silom Road in Bangkok on April 13. (Photo by Teera Noisakran/AP)
A tourist bathes a Buddha statue to mark the annual Songkran festival at Wat Pho Temple, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
A tourist bathes a Buddha statue to mark the annual Songkran festival at Wat Pho Temple, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
Small stupas built with sand mark the annual Songkran festival at Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
Small stupas built with sand mark the annual Songkran festival at Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
Revelers participate in a water battle to celebrate the annual Songkran festival on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
Revelers participate in a water battle to celebrate the annual Songkran festival on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
Revelers dance as they celebrate the Songkran holiday in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
Revelers dance as they celebrate the Songkran holiday in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
Revelers participate in a water pistol battle to celebrate the annual Songkran festival on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
Revelers participate in a water pistol battle to celebrate the annual Songkran festival on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 12. (Photo by Anusak Laowilas/Getty Images)
A woman sitting in the back seat of a motorbike carries an inflatable swimming pool in the Huai Khwang district of Bangkok on April 13. (Photo by Nathalie Jamois/AP)
A woman sitting in the back seat of a motorbike carries an inflatable swimming pool in the Huai Khwang district of Bangkok on April 13. (Photo by Nathalie Jamois/AP)
A Songkran reveller squirts a water pistol on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 13. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)
A Songkran reveller squirts a water pistol on Khaosan Road in Bangkok on April 13. (Photo by Patipat Janthong/Reuters)