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The 22nd Southeast Asian Games were held in Viet Nam from the 5th to 13th December, 2003. Although it was the first time Viet Nam hosted such a big sports event, the Games were a great success. The Games really became a festival that impressed sports enthusiasts with its spirit: solidarity, co-operation for peace and development.
Athletes from 11 participating countries competed in 32 sports, and 444 gold medals were won. Some teams such as table tennis, badminton, karate, volleyball, basketball and wrestling were composed of top competitors in the region. Many Games records were close to international levels. Viet Nam won 158 gold medals to finish at the top of the Southeast Asian Games medal standings. Thailand ranked second with 90 golds, and Indonesia was third with only 55 golds. Singapore and Viet Nam were the two nations which had participants who were presented with the Most Outstanding Athlete titles in the Swimming and Shooting events. The Vietnamese Women's Football team successfully defended the SEA Games title. Viet Nam and Thailand played in the Men's Football Final. The Thai Team won the gold medal. In other sports such as karate, athletics, bodybuilding and wushu, the young and energetic Vietnamese athletes performed excellently and won a lot of gold medals.
Viet Nam's first place finish was not surprising. Firstly, to prepare for the 22nd SEA Games, Viet Nam carried out an intensive programme for its athletes, which included training in facilities, both home and abroad. Secondly, with the strong support of their countrymen, the Vietnamese athletes competed in high spirits. The country's success has proved that Viet Nam can organise sporting events on an international level. A plan has been proposed for Viet Nam to host the Asia Sports Games at some point in the future.

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Singapore was one of the five original member countries that founded ASEAN in 1967. Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has become one of the world’s most prosperous countries, with per capita GDP equalling that of the leading nations of Western Europe. Singapore is highly ranked for its economic competitiveness, and it was the world’s most competitive country from 1997 to 1999 as ranked by the World Economic Forum.
Singapore’s strategic location at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca has helped it to become one of the most important shipping centres in Asia. The Port of Singapore, the world’s busiest in terms of shipping tonnage, is a key component of Singapore’s prosperity and economic health. Singapore is a leader in manufacturing of computer components, petroleum refining, and business services.
Singapore has made an impressive recovery after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998. The government is currently restructuring the economy by promoting higher-value-added activities in line with a “knowledge-based” economy, and by opening up protected sectors such as financial services to increase overall efficiency. Various bilateral free-trade agreements are also being negotiated to improve market access and encourage foreign investment inflows.

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Thailand's most celebrated festival is the Songkran Festival. It starts on April 13 and lasts between three to ten days, depending on where you are in Thailand. The word Songkran is from Sanskrit, meaning the beginning of a new solar year.
The festival begins on April 13 and everyone is awakened at dawn to the sound of firecrackers used to drive away evil spirits. This is the day when everything is scrupulously cleaned from the self, clothes, Buddha images, to houses, shops and streets in preparation for the New Year.
April 14 is the day between the old year and the new year. It is customary not to quarrel or use harsh words on one another. The morning is spent shopping and preparing food for the following day, while the afternoon is reserved for visiting a temple in the neighborhood. It is imperative that they carry a fistful of sand with them to compensate for the dirt that they have carried away from the temple during their visits throughout the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles.
April 15 marks the New Year's Day called Wan Phya Wan. It is a day of great importance. It is customary to visit the temple early in the morning to take food to the monks, as a form of merit making and later in the afternoon to return to place small banners, known as Thung, on the top of the stupas built the day before.
After that, visits to family and relatives are carried out. The gifts during the visit include areca nuts, clove leaves, turmeric water and acacia oil. Family members ask for forgiveness from their respected elders for any wrong doings they may have committed throughout the year and to receive their blessings for the year to come. At the end of this ceremony, a little water is sprinkled onto the hands and heads of the old people as a blessing and then quite a lot is thrown at the rest of the family in anticipation of the water wars that are to follow.