Source: CCTV.com 04-14-2009 11:22

Thailand 's SongKran Festival is normally celebrated between April 13th and 15th. But this year, the Thai capital of Bangkok has become two cities. One has been paralyzed by antigovernment riots, and the other is raucously celebrating the traditional water festival.

The SongKran Festival has traditionally been one of the most popular tourism seasons in Thailand. It was hoped the festival would help to create more than 1.8 million employment opportunities, contributing as much as 6 percent to the country's GDP. But capacity at major hotels has now fallen below 20 percent. Thailand's tourism revenues are expected to drop by more than 40 percent this year.