Get Inspired / Japan / Thailand / India Festival Fever In Asia Share on email Print this article Share on Facebook Get Inspired / Japan / Thailand / India Festival Fever In Asia story by: Anna Sarjeant Asia is home to some of the strangest and most amazing festivals in the world. Here's just three of the many you can enjoy... JAPAN'S FERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL LATE MARCH-MID APRIL // NATIONWIDE A feast for the eyes as well as the stomach, Japan’s Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the beginning of spring and the arrival of beautiful Sakura – Japanese cherry blossom. It is also a time for eating and drinking, with locals descending on the neighbourhood’s prettiest parks to sit under the candy-coloured trees with a picnic. The blossom can be anything from ice-white and bubble gum pink to a deep magenta or mauve, with the sweet scent always remaining the same; fresh, uplifting and symbolic of spring. Popular festival activities include tea ceremonies and food hampers packed-out with onigiri rice balls, Yakiniku (grilled meats) and steaming miso soup. Or for those really embracing the celebrations, last year McDonalds cooked-up a limited edition ‘Cherry Blossom Burger’, complete with pink buns. INDIA'S HOLI FESTIVAL 24 MARCH // NATIONWIDE Beware, if you’re a visitor the revellers will target you first! The annual Lathmar Holi is the world-famous Indian colour-throwing festival – and the locals take particular glee in colour-coating the out-of-towners. Predominantly celebrated in the north to commemorate the Hindu festival of Holi, it’s the penultimate celebration of a 16-day event. Merrymakers take to the street and sling-shot an assortment of colourful gulal (powder) at one another, with innocent passers-by targeted whether they’re partaking or not. Launch methods have become quite inventive over the years, anything from buckets and balloons to water shot from syringes and the traditional flour-bomb, anything goes. Not an occasion for your best white attire, it’s riotous, boisterous and the perfect opportunity for dancing, singing and mischief. THAILAND'S SONGKRAN FESTIVAL 13 APRIL // NATIONWIDE If you’re in Thailand and it’s April, your biggest threat – apart from the soaring heat – is a Thai toddler. Especially if they’re in possession of a water gun. April marks the Thai New Year and the Buddhist festival of Songkran; the end of the dry season and the beginning of the annual rains. To wash away sins from the old year, locals take to the street for a colossal water fight. And toddlers, on spotting a non-suspecting tourist, take little mercy. Not so much a water fight, but a full-scale war, the entire city heaves with aqua-fuelled commotion; water erupts from coloured buckets and bazooka-sized water guns; soggy squelches and surprised screams fill the air, and the odd lost jandal floats down the street on its own lone tide. First name* Required Invalid Last name* Required Invalid Email* Required Please enter a valid email address Phone Invalid How can we help?Invalid My preferred House of Travel Store* Required Select Outlet Auckland Auckland Central: Ellerslie Auckland Central: Parnell Auckland Central: Ponsonby Road Auckland East: Howick Auckland East: St Heliers Auckland North: Albany Auckland North: Browns Bay Auckland North: Devonport Auckland North: Milford Auckland North: Orewa Auckland North: Takapuna Auckland North: Whangaparaoa Auckland South: Botany Junction Auckland South: Takanini Auckland West: Hobsonville Bay of Plenty Mt Maunganui Papamoa Rotorua Taupo Tauranga CBD Tauranga: The Crossing Canterbury Ashburton Timaru Christchurch Barrington Christchurch City Church Corner - Upper Riccarton Ferrymead High St Lanes Hornby Merivale-Shirley Northlink: formerly Northlands Prestons Rangiora Riccarton Hawke's Bay Hastings: Jenny Nilsson Havelock North Manawatu Palmerston Nth: Broadway Palmerston Nth: The Square Nelson / Marlborough Blenheim Motueka Nelson Richmond Northland Whangarei Otago / Southland Alexandra Dunedin Invercargill Wanaka Taranaki New Plymouth Waikato Calder & Lawson: Hamilton East Coromandel: Whangamata Hamilton City: 299 Barton Street Morrinsville Taupo Te Awamutu Wairarapa Masterton Wellington Johnsonville Kapiti Coast Lower Hutt Wellington CBD: Formerly on Hunter West Coast Greymouth Westport Whanganui Whanganui I would like to receive email updates on the latest HOT holiday deals Tick the box to prove you're not a robot * required fields Your privacy is very important to us. By proceeding, you confirm you have read and agree on behalf of all travellers to our Privacy Policy, and consent to the transfer of personal information to overseas travel providers and other supporting entities for the quote and any travel services to be facilitated and processed (acknowledging that they may not be subject to the same standards of privacy protection as applicable in New Zealand). Done this? Tell your friends about it.
