2008 Phuket King's Cup Regatta 

(29th November - 6th December, 2008: )

The Phuket King's Cup Regatta, Asia's biggest and most popular regatta, is the jewel in the crown of the Asian Yachting Circuit, a circuit of the leading regattas in Asia including the Raja Muda International Regatta, the Singapore Straits Regatta and the China Sea Race. More than a regatta, the week long event consists of great parties, great sailing and lots of fun.

Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the sixtieth birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event has been held during the first week of December every year since. With the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, the Regatta is organized by the Phuket King's Cup Regatta Organizing Committee under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, in conjunction with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy and the Province of Phuket.

For more information, please visit www.kingscup.com

Note: Event dates and programme details may be subject to change. To ensure you have the most updated information, please reconfirm details prior to travel.

Songkran Festival

The traditional rites of Songkran involve dousing everyone around you in water as a symbol of cleansing and purification at the start of the Thai New Year. Songkran is celebrated nation-wide around Thailand with great gusto, and equally enthusiastically in the capital city, Bangkok. The fun-filled festival is held for about three days, centred on wats and temples where images of Buddha are bathed and the elderly in the community are symbolically washed by the youngsters. After the ceremonials, most people take to the baking hot streets for a merry, wet free-for-all. In Bangkok the best places to experience the festivities are on the square in front of the Grand Palace where the Phra Buddha Sihing is bathed; the Wisutkasat, where a Miss Songkran Beauty pageant is held; and Khao San Road in Banglampoo where jovial water-throwing reaches new heights in battles between locals and tourists.

Venue: Citywide in the streets, temples and wats
Date: 13 - 16 April 2009
Website: www.songkran.net