Public holiday. even if the traditi

Public holiday. even if the traditional new year is celebrated in April (songkran festival) the year changes on January 1 Thai people start counting the years from buddha's birth,543 year before jesus christ, but they also use the western calendar. So year 2008 is more commonly referred to as year 2551. If you are in bangkok the countdown usually takes place at the World Trade Center (chidlom BTS station)