Business owners on Bangkok’s Khao San Road are pushing for government officials to allow the gritty nightlife district to host activities for Songkran, the Thai New Year which is celebrated with massive water fights.
Khao San Road has been known as a top destination for backpackers on a budget with cheap beer, buckets of alcohol, laughing gas balloons, and scorpion-on-a-stick. Bars and nightclubs have faced numerous closures since the start of the pandemic, but Khao San was one of the first nightlife areas in Bangkok to reopen, first requiring those entering the street to show proof of vaccination or a negative rapid antigen Covid-19 test. Since then, the bars on Khao San have been crawling with people.
On Friday, the government’s Covid-19 task force – the CCSA – announced that massive water fights would be banned during this year’s Songkran holiday from April 13 to 15….
