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Travel Guide 2014
CHING MING FESTIVAL:
Also known as Tomb
Sweeping Day or Mourning
Day where Chinese families
visit their ancestors’ graves to
offer incense and flowers.
5 APRIL 2014
LAO NEW YEAR:
Laotians
shower one another with
water and white powder
as a blessing, and pray
at temples. Fun to watch,
though it is the hottest
time of the year.
12 APRIL 2014
FESTIVAL
CALENDAR
APRIL 2014 TO MARCH 2015
An eclectic selection of solemn, scary, fun, musical
and just plain weird festivals happening around
the region in the next 12 months.
SONGKRAN FESTIVAL,
THAILAND:
The Thai New
Year often attracts droves of
tourists and locals, where
people splash water on one
another as a blessing.
13 APRIL 2014
CHAUL CHNAM THMEY,
CAMBODIA:
Cambodian
New Year involves dressing
up, visiting temples and
cooking feasts with family.
Celebrations last three to four
days. The Angkor temples
will be packed.
14 TO 16 APRIL 2014
MYANMAR NEW YEAR:
Burmese visit their elderly to
pay respect, and visit the
temples. A religious tradition is
to release caged birds or fish
into lakes and rivers to gain
merit. The accompanying
Thingyan Water Festival is
great to watch.
17 APRIL 2014
HAMAMATSU FESTIVAL,
JAPAN:
For over 440 years,
the Japanese have fiercely
wielded their kites in kite
fights at this festival. Fliers
attempt to cut their opponents’
5mm hemp string by using
their own kite string to create
enough friction to break the
line. The last kite still flying is
the winner as it soars through
the leftover smoke created by
the friction.
3 TO 5 MAY 2014
VESAK DAY:
Buddhists bring
offerings of flowers, candles
and joss sticks to temples
where rituals are held to
commemorate the birth, the
Nirvana (enlightenment),
and the Parinirvana (death)
of Gautama Buddha. This is
the most significant day of
the Buddhist calendar. The
different dates are due to
variations in lunar calendars.
6 MAY 2014
(South Korea, China)
13 MAY 2014
(Singapore, Cambodia,
Thailand, Malaysia, Sri
Lanka, Indonesia and India)
NINGALOO WHALE SHARK
FESTIVAL, EXMOUTH, WESTERN
AUSTRALIA:
When the
world’s largest sharks visit in
hordes, what do you do?
Hold a festival, of course!
Fortunately, whale sharks
are completely harmless to
humans so everyone can
swim with these friendly
giants. Floating parades,
market stalls and plenty of
beach game stations will be
set up to celebrate the annual
arrival of the whale sharks.
23 TO 25 MAY 2014
DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL:
Crowds munching on sticky
rice dumplings (zongzi) will
be streaming to this exciting
event that originated in China
over two thousand years
ago and now takes place
in Chinese communities all
over the globe. A festival of
many names, it’s also known
as Duanwu, Tuen Ng and
Double Fifth Festival (falling on
the fifth day of the fifth month).
2 JUNE 2014
Songkran Festival
Chaul Chnam
Thmey