Hong Kong’s Thai community gives wet welcome to new year with Songkran festival
- Revellers celebrate Songkran in Kowloon City neighbourhood, but some participants complain of watered-down version due to newly added restrictions
- Special bazaar set up for first time as part of government’s ‘night vibes’ campaign to boost evening economy
Hong Kong’s Thai community marked the traditional start of their new year by celebrating the Songkran festival on Saturday, although some participants complained of a watered-down version due to newly added restrictions.
A special bazaar set up for the first time as part of the government’s “night vibes” campaign to boost the evening economy, and some merchants in the Kowloon City neighbourhood where the festivities were being held said they hoped the event could help drive up consumption by as much as 20 per cent before it ended on Sunday.
Revellers celebrate Songkran by throwing and spraying water as a way to symbolically send luck and happiness. But instead of a neighbourhood-wide celebration as seen in the past, the water splashing with buckets and water guns has been confined to basketball courts in Carpenter Road Park after three men were arrested for soaking police officers and reporters last year.
Kowloon City resident Louis Wong, 39, joined the water-splashing celebrations with his nine-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter for the first time after moving to the neighbourhood several years ago.
“The scale used to be bigger,” he said. “The ambience was better because everyone on the street would be drawn into the festivity. There was no way they could avoid getting wet.”
Participants needed to book a slot before they were granted entry to the basketball courts. Eight rounds, limited to 300 participants each, were open for registration online or on the spot.