July 16-20 is officially a long weekend. These are some of the days many locals and foreign employees look forward to travel and rest. Some even go abroad or in far-flung provinces to celebrate and explore.
What are these holidays and what do they mean?
July 18 (Bridge holiday before Asanha Bucha)
July 19 (Asanha Bucha)
This public holiday in Thailand marks the day when the Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon at Benares in India over 2,500 years ago. Asanha Bucha Day is traditionally a popular day for young Thai men to enter the monkhood.
July 20 (Buddhist Lent)
The day following Asanha Bucha is known as Khao Phansa or ‘Buddhist Lent’. It marks the beginning of the three-month ‘Phansa’ period, during which all monks should stay in their temples and not travel.
Buddhist Lent Day is also a public holiday in Thailand, though banks are not closed.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Thailand will also be closed from July 18-20, 2016.
