Indians can travel to Thailand without a visa from
November 10 this year to May 10, 2024 as the Southeast Asian country looks to
boost tourism. Bharat is one of the major tourism sources for Thailand.
On one entry, a person can stay for up to 30 days, said
Siriges-A-Nong Trirattanasongpol, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand at
New Delhi Office.
Thailand is typically warm all year round. However,
the winter months from November through March are the peak dry season and are
considered the best time to travel to the majority of the country.
April is the hottest month in Thailand before the
country moves into the wetter season from May through October.
The move comes at a best time when Thailand’s many
festivals, which celebrate everything from flowers and fruit to monkeys and
elephants, are lined up.
Two most popular are the late-November lantern
festivals: Yi Peng, during which participants release thousands of rice-paper
lanterns into the sky; and Loy Krathong, when banana-leaf baskets are filled
with flowers and burning candles and released onto lakes, rivers, and canals.
Chiang Mai is the Yi Peng epicenter, and Loy Krathong
is celebrated across the country.
The Chinese New Year in January or February turns
Bangkok’s Chinatown into a sea of dragons, drummers, worshippers, and visitors,
all under the glow of firecrackers and red lanterns.
Also in February is the three-day Flower Festival in
Chiang Mai, which features a parade of elaborately decorated floats.
Songkran (aka the Water Splashing Festival) ushers in
the Thai New Year in mid-April with parades, parties, and performances across
the country. Songkran turns Thailand into one big water fight. It also
coincides with the hottest month of the year, so it’s a perfect excuse to get
wet.
A week earlier, Sri Lanka announced free visas for
Indians as part of their pilot programme extending till March 31, 2024.
In addition to these destinations, there are other
countries too that welcome Indian visitors without a visa. Based on the Henley
Passport Index 2023, these include Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Bhutan, Jamaica, and
Nepal.
NE Watch Desk
