Southeast Asia Celebrates the New Year With Huge Water Fights

It's the neighborhood water fight your 10-year-old self could only dream of.

From Sunday to Tuesday, people across Southeast Asia participated in their respective country's water festivals to celebrate the New Year. In Thailand, it's called Songkran; in Myanmar, it's called Thingyan. But whatever you call it, the end result is always the same: water-soaked clothes and smiling faces.

The festival last three days, and aside from the water fights, each country's celebrations differ. Thingyan, for instance, stems from Buddhist tradition. It emphasizes kindness, with locals performing good deeds for others (at least in between splashing bypassers in the face with water) Read more...