13 APRIL 2013 - BANGKOK, THAILAND: Thais and foreign tourists participate in water fights up and down Khao San Road, which is Bangkok's "backpacker" district, during Songkran celebrations in the Thai capital. Songkran is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 16 April. The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If the days fall on a weekend, the missed days are taken on the weekdays immediately following. Songkran is in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season and provides an excuse for people to cool off in friendly water fights that take place throughout the country. Songkran has been a national holiday since 1940, when Thailand moved the first day of the year to January 1. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ