A dated calendar of Southeast Asia travel experiences
This guide
About this calendar and how we check it
Tourist Bucket is an independent, English-language calendar of travel experiences in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. This page explains who writes it, where the dates come from, how the lunar calculations are done, what we do not do, how advertising is kept apart from the text, and how to correct us.
Who writes it
The pages are researched and written by the Tourist Bucket editors, who are named as the author on every page. The guide covers events that happen at a particular time: festivals tied to a lunar or solar date, seasons set by nature such as harvests and flowering, and the conditions that make a month good or bad for a place. It is written for travellers who want to plan a trip around one of those moments, or avoid one.
The guide is published in English only. It does not cover visas, transport between countries or single-city sightseeing in depth; where those matter to a dated event, the page says what you need to check and points to the official source.
Where the facts come from
We use sources in this order of preference:
- Official notices and portals: government holiday decrees and announcements, ministry notices, provincial and city portals, national tourism authorities and the official sellers of site tickets, such as the Angkor Pass.
- Government travel advice, in particular the UK Foreign Office pages, which state their own revision dates.
- National and regional news outlets reporting an announcement or a season, such as the opening date of a festival.
- Travel guides, travel companies' published information and travel blogs, labelled as such in the source line, used only where nothing official answers the question.
When two sources disagree, the page shows both and says which we rely on. The Loi Krathong date for 2026 and the opening of the 2026 buckwheat festival are examples. Where we cannot confirm a point, we say so: the Bagan page states plainly that we could not confirm whether balloons are flying this season.
How the lunar dates are calculated
Many dates in this region follow the moon. We calculate new moons and full moons with an astronomical library and convert them to Indochina time (UTC+7). For Vietnamese festivals, the lunar month begins on the local day of the new moon, and we derive the 14th and 15th days from that. We then cross-check the results against a published Chinese-calendar table, because the two calendars agree in most months; for 2026 and 2027 every month starts on the same day in both.
For the Thai, Lao and Khmer calendars, an astronomical full moon is only a guide: these calendars have their own month-length and leap rules, and the official day can differ by one. In those cases we show the calculated full moon and the published date side by side, and we label the date "calculated" until an authority publishes it.
Sunrise times are calculated for the site itself, such as Angkor Wat, for the middle of each month.
What the dates on the page mean
Each page shows when it was published and when it was last reviewed. Each block that contains a fact that can change, such as a festival date, a fee, an opening time or a travel advisory, has a source line underneath with a date marked "last checked". That is the day an editor read the source and compared it with the page.
A "last checked" date is a statement about our work, not a promise about the event. Organisers move dates, weather cancels evenings, and holiday lists are published late. Before you commit money you cannot recover, open the source in the line under the section and read it yourself.
What we do not do
- We do not sell tours, tickets, lantern releases, balloon flights or accommodation, and we take no bookings.
- We do not rank destinations, festivals or businesses, and we do not publish lists of favourites.
- We do not name or recommend tour companies, hotels, guides or event venues in the text. Where an operator's own website was a source, it is cited in the source line only.
- We do not accept payment for mentions, links or coverage, and there are no paid placements in the text.
- We do not publish reader reviews or testimonials.
What we do badly
- Last-minute changes. A lantern night cancelled by a flood the same afternoon will not show here in time.
- Small local festivals. We cover events that travellers plan trips around, not every village festival.
- Myanmar. Current travel advice limits what we can responsibly cover, and on-the-ground checks are not possible.
- Languages other than English, and nationality-specific rules for entry.
Advertising
Some pages carry advertising spaces. They are labelled "Advertisement" and are placed in separate boxes, away from the editorial text. Advertisers have no say over what we write, which events we cover or which dates we publish, and an advertisement is not a recommendation.
Advertising enquiries can be sent through the form on the contact page, choosing "Advertising enquiry" as the subject, or by email to info@touristbucket.com. We do not accept advertising that imitates editorial pages or that sells something on the basis of a festival date we have not confirmed.
Corrections
If a page is wrong, out of date or unclear, tell us through the form on the contact page or by email. The most useful reports say which page and which line, what you found instead, when you found it, and where: a link to an official announcement, or what you saw on the day.
Every report is read by an editor. Where a correction is confirmed, we change the page, update its "last reviewed" date and the "last checked" date of the section concerned, and record significant changes in the log below. Where we cannot confirm a report but it is credible, we may add it to the page as a reader report, labelled as such.
Corrections log
First edition published on 26 October 2026. No corrections recorded yet.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Who is behind Tourist Bucket?
The pages are written and checked by the Tourist Bucket editors, named as the author on every page.
Do you accept payment to cover an event or a business?
There are no paid placements in the text. Advertising, where it appears, is labelled and kept separate.
Why do some dates say "calculated"?
Because no authority had published them when we checked. We work them out from the moon and replace them with the official date when it appears.
How do I report a wrong date?
Use the form on the contact page or email the editors. Say which page and which date, and how you know.
Related
Read next
This guide
Contact
Send corrections, questions and advertising enquiries to the editors by form or email.
Read more
Independent travel calendar
Home
Start here: the calendar of festivals, harvests and seasons across five countries, with dates and check dates.
Read more
Festivals
Festival calendar
Dates for 2026 and 2027 with a label for each: official, announced or calculated, and how the lunar calendars work.
Read more
Planning
Planning around a date
How to plan around an official, announced or calculated date: booking windows, price spikes and spare days.
Read more
Planning
When not to go
Smoke season, typhoons, central Vietnam floods, extreme heat, holiday closures and advisories, with months.
Read moreStart planning
Send a correction or a question
Tell us which page and which date you are writing about, what you found instead, and where you found it. A link to an official announcement helps us check it quickly.