Songkran Festival Phuket happens on April 13, 2023. The dates vary depending on Thailand’s regions, and the festival can last several days in the north.

Songkran festival on a normal year

If you choose to come to Phuket or Thailand in April in a ‘normal year’, you’d better know what this event is about. Songkran is the Thai New Year, which occurs when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries. According to the Thai calendar, we are already in the year 2565. The country gets many days off, and most Thai people will go back home to celebrate Songkran with their families.

Where is the Best Place?

You can join Songkran wet street parties from early morning if you are of the first kind. It starts rather gently in Phuket Town around 10 am, turns to water dogfights in the afternoon in Patong, Kata and Karon, and ends in a hectic, full-scale wet war zone in Bangla Road until late night.

Shops and supermarkets make fortunes selling all kinds of colourful and humongous water guns. But the best weapon remains the good old plastic bowl and a big tank of icy cold water! Everybody will join the Songkran festivities, kids, teens, adults and tourists, divided into two camps: the ‘Strategically Ambushed‘ by the roadside with plenty of water ammunition and the ‘Mobile Units‘ fully loaded at the back of pickup trucks.

Cops doing traffic and security on the road are always the favourite targets for everyone, but they are used to this and keep a smile all day or even play along.

Survival Tips for Songkran Day

• Don’t drive a bike if you can avoid it: it’s slippery, and the tendency to close your eyes when people throw water at you might lead to a crash with the car in front of you. And many drunk people will be out there partying, including you :D.
• Get a waterproof camera; the chance of ruining yours is pretty high!
• If you are unfortunate enough to go to Phuket airport on that day, go as early as possible, preferably in the morning. Beware of major traffic jams in towns, mostly in Patong Beach. It might take you several hours to cross it.
• Don’t carry anything that is not water-resistant.
• Don’t wear expensive clothing; I’m not sure how easy it would be to wash some teens’ colour powder thrown at you.
• Beware of the Sun! If you are on the back of a pickup truck, get a cap and water-resistant sunscreen, or you will pay a painful price the days after!
• Have fun! Don’t take it too seriously; it’s good fun (if you choose to go out there).

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There are many places to celebrate the New Year in Phuket – too many to individually list. Fortunately, they can be broken down into general areas, based on the types of parties they provide. There’s a certain amount of variety available, but they all offer a fun and friendly atmosphere, making for a memorable evening.

There’s no special significance about New Year in Thai culture. This is mostly because Thai and Buddhist New Year is Songkran, which comes around in April. However, the local people love any excuse to have a party, meaning that there are sure to be plenty of special events organised all over Phuket for the New Year. Being the heart of the island’s nightlife, most will be in and around Patong. Even so, that doesn’t necessarily mean anyone staying on other beaches needs to miss out, as you’ll see below.

1. Phuket’s beaches

Each December, the more popular beaches around Phuket become effectively giant parties. Hundreds gather on the sand to see in the new year. Patong Beach usually has organised music and entertainments, but most of the others don’t. However, with people bringing their own fireworks, floating lanterns, drinks and more, it creates a very festive atmosphere and a fun place to be. 

Patong Beach is definitely the most popular choice, but you’ll also find celebrations on Karon, Kata, Kamala and Bangtao beaches, among others

2. Phuket beach clubs

For those who want the beach party atmosphere with a little more coordination, a beach club is a great place to celebrate New Years in Phuket. The beach clubs around Phuket are already great places to party, so they naturally make excellent places to be on 31st December, with first-class DJ sets, fine food and fancy cocktails. Among the best are Catch Beach Club, Café Del Mar Phuket and Paradise Beach Club.

3. Bangla Road

Phuket’s party central comes to life for New Year celebrations in a way you won’t see at any other time, except possibly for Songkran. While Patong’s popular nightlife street is busy most evenings, it’s absolutely packed on the last one of the year. Every bar is busy and the atmosphere is one of rowdy exuberance. Expect loud music, drinks flowing and big crowds. Spots like Red Hot and Aussie Bar are likely to be among the more popular choices.

4. Nightclubs in Phuket

Arguably the highlight of Bangla Road – and worthy of a separate mention – are the nightclubs. The main ones each have special events for New Year, featuring great guest DJs and drinks offers. They’ll often have some kind of theme for the night, so check out their Facebook pages to properly prepare yourself. The best places to party are likely to be Illuzion and White Room.

5. Paradise Plaza

The heart of the gay nightlife in Patong, Paradise Plaza is a lively place on any evening of the year. Just like Bangla Road, it’s especially fun on 31 December. It’s a fun place to party, whatever your orientation (so long as you’re open-minded and have a robust sense of humour), and a great place to celebrate the New Year in Phuket. Among the most popular venues are Boat Bar and Zag Club.

6. Hotels in Phuket

Many hotels around Phuket will have special gala dinners and parties for the New Year celebrations. In some cases, this requires a mandatory additional cost, which can come as an unpleasant shock. Be sure to check what your hotel is planning in advance. In some cases, the cost is entirely justified by an exceptional meal, fireworks, music and dancing. This is certainly the most family-friendly way to celebrate the event.

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How effective are the RT-PCR tests when screening for COVID-19?

Most importantly, the only recognized Covid19 testing method by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing through Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR test). This test is the most effective test to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The ability of PCR to produce millions of copies of a target sequence from a trace amount of DNA allows for a very small sample of DNA to be amplified to a large enough amount to study in detail. Hence, PCR is an extremely powerful diagnostic tool.

A RT-PCR is the test of choice in these situations because it is more accurate at diagnosing an infection.
Consider a rapid antigen test if you:
1. Are planning to visit a sensitive site (for example, an aged care facility)
2. Are planning to have contact with someone at high risk from COVID (for example, an elderly person or someone on immunosuppressive treatment), and you want to protect them.
3. Have COVID symptoms but can’t get to a PCR testing site.

How often should I take a rapid antigen test?
It depends on the reason you are taking the test. If you’re part of a surveillance program, take the test when you are asked to.

Ordinarily, a RT-PCR test indicates whether or not you have a SARS-COV-2 infection but not which variant you have. Genome sequencing is needed to find that out.

However, some PCR tests look for a specific genetic sequence that is missing in the Omicron variant (called S gene target failure). Those particular RT-PCR tests can not only detect a positive result but also whether it’s likely to be the Omicron variant.

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