So I have been living here in Thailand a little over a year now and this morning was my "wake up call" with the realization that I know nothing about Thailand Holidays nor have I ever even looked at a Thailand National Holidays English Calendar!
My reality check actually began late last night when I kept trying to remind my step daughter (13 yo) that she needs to stop doing homework and get some sleep. She finally made it to bed at about 1:00 am as did I being that I was waiting for her to finish her homework. Just to explain a little further so that you may understand that this is nothing unusual for her. She is the number one student in her school and has two first place and one second place finish in Provincial academic competitions and currently has the number one rating in Buriram Province. In a few weeks she will move forward and compete in a National academic competition. So needless to say she is a very intelligent young lady and very dedicated to her studies and of course we are very proud of her dedication and accomplishments.
Now back to my need for a Holiday Calendar story! So I woke up this morning and to my surprise both my wife and step-daughter were still sound asleep at 6:40 am. So I frantically wake up my wife thinking that our daughter was going to be late for school. My wife rolls over and gives me the crazy look and says that today is a holiday and that there was no school. This was the first that I had heard about a holiday approaching let alone that this past weekend was a three day weekend! Why didn't we go somewhere? The wife just assumed that I knew!
I have made this life changing decision to live out my life here in Thailand. In doing so needless to say I have this need to try and assimilate into Thai culture and immerse myself into a Thai Lifestyle. Aside from all of the legal necessities of living in Thailand (or anywhere outside of your own country) a person really should become an interactive and functional part of society in your new home. In doing this I have taken on the challenge of learning the Thai language which has proved to be a pretty big challenge but I am slowly improving and in who knows how many years I might actually speak fluent Thai. Another part of integrating into a new culture is to know about and participate in their National Holidays. Today's Holiday (National Constitution Day) wasn't the first Holiday that has caught me by surprise but I am seeing to it that it will be the last. Today I have dedicated myself to create my own Thai Calendar (in English) that has links that explain each of the Holidays significance so that I actually know the reasons behind the celebrations.
This calendar will be beneficial to anyone interested in coming to Thailand as a tourist on vacation. Are you the kind of person that really wants to be here during the hottest month of the year and enjoys getting water thrown on you, or is the week of Songkran something you would rather avoid and opt for a cooler/calmer time of year to visit. Maybe you are here for a temporary work assignment or are an "expat" living here and simply want to know why are there people and bands marching through the downtown streets today or "will the bank be open today".
You can click on the calendar image above to be directed to the "active" calendar which is Google based. If you have your own Google calendar the information contained can easily be transferred to your own calendar, or of course you are welcome to return here anytime you need Thailand National Holiday Information.
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