According to popular belief, it also marks the time when the King of Nats, Thagyamin, descends to earth for a visit to check on the conduct of human mortals. He carries with him a book, one covered with dog-skin and the other bound with gold. He records the names of those who have committed sins into the dogskin book, while he enters the names of the do-gooders in the golden book.

For this reason, the Water Festival is a time when people try to make amends by entering monasteries or meditation centres or engaging in charitable deeds.

Water is a symbol of cleanliness and during Thinggyan, monasteries, pagodas and images of Buddha are bathed clean with water. Also, help is given to the elderly to wash their hair as the head is considered the most noble part of a person and must be kept clean.

As a form of merit-making, monks are also offered the choicest food as alms.

Apart from the spiritual benefits, the splashing of water during Thinggyan has a practical side, since April is a hot month and the water sprinkling actually brings welcome relief.

It's an occasion too for young men and women to strike up acquaintances, as it's customary for all-male groups to visit houses to wash the hair of elderly people and to throw water over the girls if there are any in the household. The girls, on the otherhand, already have their buckets of scented water ready to retaliates. The festival is thus a time for wet but clean fun. And no tourist is spared either!