Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 707

FESTIVALS
hais use both the Western Gregorian
calendar and a Buddhist calendar - the
Buddha is said to have died (or entered
Nirvana) in the year 543 BC, so hai
dates start from that point: thus 2014
AD becomes 2557 BE (Buddhist Era).
he most spectacular festivals include:
Songkhran (usually April 13-15) Thai New Year is
welcomed in with massive public water fights in the
street, at their most exuberant in Chiang Mai and on
Bangkok's Th Khao San.
Candle Festival (July/Aug) For three days around the full
moon, enormous wax sculptures are paraded through
Ubon Ratchathani to mark the beginning of the annual
Buddhist retreat period.
Vegetarian Festival (Oct/Nov) Chinese devotees in
Phuket and Trang become vegetarian for a nine-day
period and then parade through town performing acts
of self-mortification.
Loy Krathong (late Oct or early Nov) Baskets of flowers
and lighted candles are floated on rivers and ponds to
celebrate the end of the rainy season. Best in Sukhothai
and Chiang Mai.
Elephant Roundup (third weekend of Nov) The main
tourist-oriented festival is in Surin: two hundred elephants
play team games, and parade in battle dress.

into 100 satang. Notes come in B20, B50,
B100, B500 and B1000 denominations.
At the time of writing, the exchange rate
was B54 to £1 and B33 to US$1. You
should be able to withdraw cash from
hundreds of ATMs , though you'll be
charged a fee of B150 at most of them.

10

OPENING HOURS AND HOLIDAYS
Most shops open at least Monday to
Saturday from about 8am to 8pm. Banking
hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am to
3.30 or 4.30pm, though bank exchange
booths in tourist areas will stay open much
later. Post o ces are generally open
Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm,
Saturday 9am to noon. Private o ce hours
are generally Monday to Friday 8am to
5pm and Saturday 8am to noon, though in
tourist areas these hours are longer, with
weekends worked like any other day.
Government o ces work Monday to
Friday 8.30am to noon and 1pm to
4.30pm, and national museums tend to
stick to these hours, too, but some close on
Mondays and Tuesdays rather than at
weekends. Most shops and tourist-oriented
businesses, including TAT, stay open on
national holidays. he only time an
inconvenient number of shops, restaurants
and hotels do close is during Chinese New
Year , which, though not marked as an
o cial national holiday, brings many
businesses to a standstill for several days in
late January or early February.

Bangkok and
around
Manic, thrilling, dynamic, exhausting,
overpowering, titillating - the one thing
BANGKOK (Krung hep in hai; the “City
of Angels”) is not, is boring. Whether you
spend two days here or two weeks you'll
always find something to invigorate your
senses, kick-start your enthusiasm and
drive you crazy: frenetic markets and
bustling temples, zinging curries and
cutting-edge clubs. Bring patience, a sense
of adventure and comfy shoes; leave your
Western expectation of aesthetics behind
and you'll not be disappointed.
Bangkok began life as a largely
amphibious city in 1782 after the
Burmese sacked the former capital of
Ayutthaya. he first king of the new
dynasty, Rama I, built his palace at
Ratanakosin, which remains the city's
spiritual heart. he capital was

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
January 1 International New Year's Day.
February/March (day of full moon) Maha Puja.
April 6 Chakri Day.
April (usually 13-15) Songkhran. Thai New Year.
May 1 Labour Day.
May 5 Coronation Day.
May/June (day of full moon) Visakha Puja. The holiest of
all Buddhist holidays, celebrating the birth, enlightenment
and death of the Buddha.
July/August (day of full moon) Asanha Puja.
August 12 Queen's Birthday/Mothers' Day
October 23 Chulalongkorn Day. The anniversary of
Rama V's death.
December 5 King's Birthday/National Day.
December 10 Constitution Day.
December 31 Western New Year's Eve.