Songkran is Thailand's traditional New Year festival, held on 13 April with the national holiday running from 14 to 15 April. It follows the Theravada Buddhist calendar, shared with New Year observances across South and Southeast Asia. Water fights are the best-known part of the celebration, and they symbolise ritual cleansing that washes away the old year. Thailand moved its official New Year to 1 January in 1940, but Songkran remains a national holiday. It is popular with visitors and is a major boost to tourism.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.