Pachyderms from the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal were brought to show off their water-fighting skills and to demonstrate the fun that would take place this weekend in the former Thai capital.

<picture>
 <source srcset="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/98f176b2946a5a4c526256e247ef6b79.jpeg?x-image-process=style/md-webp" media="(max-width: 690px)" type="image/webp" />
 <img src="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/98f176b2946a5a4c526256e247ef6b79.jpeg?x-image-process=style/lg-webp" alt="Elephants prepare for Songkran antics" class="img-fluid w-100 showcaption-false" style="height:668px; width:1000px" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" />
 </picture>

To attend the festival along the road in front of the TAT office from 10am to 4.30pm on three days, people are also encouraged to wear Thai traditional clothing and partake in cultural activities such as pouring water over the Buddha images, building sand pagoda and watching traditional Thai dances.

<picture>
 <source srcset="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/d0eddf559f90eb21f44a47fe7007b554.jpeg?x-image-process=style/md-webp" media="(max-width: 690px)" type="image/webp" />
 <img src="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/d0eddf559f90eb21f44a47fe7007b554.jpeg?x-image-process=style/lg-webp" alt="Elephants prepare for Songkran antics" class="img-fluid w-100 showcaption-false" style="height:668px; width:1000px" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" />
 </picture>

<picture>
 <source srcset="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/fb4e138b527513a46bd90022fa3afefd.jpeg?x-image-process=style/md-webp" media="(max-width: 690px)" type="image/webp" />
 <img src="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/fb4e138b527513a46bd90022fa3afefd.jpeg?x-image-process=style/lg-webp" alt="Elephants prepare for Songkran antics" class="img-fluid w-100 showcaption-false" style="height:668px; width:1000px" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" />
 </picture>

<picture>
 <source srcset="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/4cf5242bd03e16596afe723664514334.jpeg?x-image-process=style/md-webp" media="(max-width: 690px)" type="image/webp" />
 <img src="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/4cf5242bd03e16596afe723664514334.jpeg?x-image-process=style/lg-webp" alt="Elephants prepare for Songkran antics" class="img-fluid w-100 showcaption-false" style="height:668px; width:1000px" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" />
 </picture>

<picture>
 <source srcset="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/0d7af59ce901d422a7bc87b8c716b046.jpeg?x-image-process=style/md-webp" media="(max-width: 690px)" type="image/webp" />
 <img src="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/0d7af59ce901d422a7bc87b8c716b046.jpeg?x-image-process=style/lg-webp" alt="Elephants prepare for Songkran antics" class="img-fluid w-100 showcaption-false" style="height:668px; width:1000px" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" />
 </picture>

<picture>
 <source srcset="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/b5d0dc25d6162a93dadb3687f91101fb.jpeg?x-image-process=style/md-webp" media="(max-width: 690px)" type="image/webp" />
 <img src="https://media.nationthailand.com/img/photos/2018/April/11/b5d0dc25d6162a93dadb3687f91101fb.jpeg?x-image-process=style/lg-webp" alt="Elephants prepare for Songkran antics" class="img-fluid w-100 showcaption-false" style="height:668px; width:1000px" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" />
 </picture>

Elephants prepare for Songkran antics

Ahead of the Songkran holiday, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Ayutthaya office invited the public to water fight with elephants against the backdrop of the Unesco World Heritage Ayutthaya Historical Park.