Happy New Year!
Today is Songkran, the Thai New Year, also known as the Water Festival. It is essentially the world’s biggest water fight, when the entire nation spends three days throwing water at each other (and some of them start early and throw water all week long).
For us it began yesterday when, like an ominous portent, a woman and her daughter hit us with a couple buckets of water as we sped past them on our scooter - our soggy clothes a foreshadowing of what the next day would bring. Last night people were setting off fireworks and we heard people partying nearby until late at night. God even sent a thunderstorm last night as if to say, “You want a water fight and fireworks? Let me show you how it’s done!” Then today, as we drove to our friend Stefan’s house and then to the old city, we were hit every few hundred meters by anyone with a bucket and a hose, and around the city walls the streets were as soaked as if it had been raining - all of this making it… exciting to be on a scooter.
We spent most of the day with our friends Stefan and Tina, whom we met on our trip last summer. We spent some time at the house of Stefan’s old neighbor drenching, and being drenched by, the neighborhood kids and also being sure to get anyone who passed by. Then we walked to the moat where the real celebration was happening.
People were packed all along the moat. On the inside, people had barrels filled with water from their homes and stores for anyone to use. On the outside, people drew water from the moat itself (which is not the cleanest water, but it does provide an unlimited supply). At the same time, groups of people drove by on pick-up trucks with barrels in the back soaking anyone they could find.
This went on all day, and it’s going to continue for the next two days as well. It was a lot of fun, and lucky for you I got some pictures (I was wary about bringing my camera, considering what happened to the last one, but it turned out okay). From what little I’ve learned, this holiday is religious (as most things are here, I guess). Sprinkling water on others is meant to bless them, like a baptism - I guess it got a little out of hand over the years, cuz we got blessed to the bone! Also, every so often somebody will have loaded their gun or bucket with ice water. You could never really know when it was coming - you’d get a few blasts in a row of mild water, then suddenly your back would go numb as somebody with ice water hit you from behind!
Here are the pictures of Songkran we took today. I also added some more pictures of our neighborhood. And finally, I played with the movie mode of our new camera. It doesn’t have sound, and it will only take a 16 second movie, but here’s one of a pedestrian and another of a woman on a scooter getting “blessed”. Downloads of those movies will probably be really slow - sorry about that, but there’s nothing I can do.
Hey guys…happy new year again. Please tell Pook that Nate from “baan Jai dio” said hi!! LOL I knew that girl from 7 years ago in Bkk…then she went to Pattaya to work with a YWAM ministry to prostitutes…I didn’t know she was in Chiang Mai now. Anyway, it’s a small world.
I’m glad to hear that you guys are having a blast! Be careful! I got into my first motorcycle accident during my first songkran…LOL
Love ya guys…
Nate
Ha! Bip’s your fileserver?! That’s hilarious! ;)
Well, it looks like it’s a fun time to be in Chiang Mai! Unless you’re on a scooter. Then it looks like a crazy-dangerous time to be in Chiang Mai.
-Matt
Now that makes Survival Camp water fights look sick. I think I would enjoy New Year celebrations. Having been in Camp water fights for almost 25 years I am well trained in superior water fighting tactics!!!
Hey — Loved the story and the pictures look great! Had to link to you. Hope you guys are doing well and not missing cheese *too* much. ;-)
You know, Trac, it turns out you can get pretty much anything you want here - even cheese, burgers, sushi, mexican food, etc - you just have to pay for it sometimes. Like a typical Thai meal will cost 20-50 Baht, KFC at the local mall costs 90-150 Baht, and a Pizza that would barely feed three people in the States costs over 400 Baht.
All that to say, we’ve had cheese and Western food, just not much :-). But when we get the craving, that craving can be satisfied.
Well, Happy Thai New Year to you too…I can’t splash you over the internet, though! =^)
Thought of you tonight as Krista and I went to a Vaggie Bon Voyage Concert.
Hey Adam,
Your pics are incredible. What a fun time! I love water fights, I am so jealous. One time when I was working at this christian camp in Washington, I was doing dishes in the camp kitchen and the kids snuck up on me by feeding a power hose through the window above the sink. I got blasted! It was so fun!
I am glad to see that Nate is in touch with you. I just met him on Sunday. He is friends with my friend Paul who is also moving to Thailand soon. I hope you can all hook up.
P.S. I like what you said about worship. Funny, we were just talking about that very thing at Matt & Courtney’s last night.
Nailing complete strangers with water for an entire day?!?!?!?! Most beautiful holiday…ever…*sniff* I think I’m starting to tear up a little… :)
I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.