It’s a wet t-shirt contest gone spiritual. From April 9 to 15, join the locals as they welcome the Songkran Festival in Hat Yai, just an hour and 30 minutes by flight away. Celebrated across Thailand, the Songkran Festival commemorates the Thai New Year and His Majesty the King’s 84th birthday. Families get together to renew their ties and honour their elders by stocking up on some serious water artillery—sort of like a wetter version of our Chinese New Year and Hari Raya. Locals cleanse and purify themselves in Thailand’s south at midnight, with a beauty pageant to boot. Tiger Aiways flies daily to Hat Yai for around $120.