Songkran

Sawatdee Pi Mai - or - Happy New Year
I've got to say, the Thai's really know how to welcome in the New Year.  Before I even begin to tell you about the most amazing weekend we've had here in Thailand, I just know I won't be able to do it justice.  If you're ever planning a trip to Thailand then please consider being here in April.  It is the hottest month of the year, but this festival has to be experienced to be believed.  You can get a flavour of it here on my new YouTube channel.

For history buffs, the Thai calendar was aligned to the Gregorian calendar in 1941, though the Thai's consider that year to be 2484 (being based on Buddha) thererfore this year (2014) is 2557.  Anyway, it's mid April and we've just had our third New Year.  The western January 1, Chinese January 31 and now the traditional Thai New Year.

I've mentioned before how Chan is quite a sleepy town and Thai's are quite reserved as far as touching people goes.  For instance, hands are not shaken on being introduced but instead you "wai".  Another example is that some touching is OK but only if the person is younger than you - for instance you can pat a child on the head.  Well, that whole thing goes right out the window at Songkran.  Everyone is touchy feely, Chan is no longer sleepy and everyone is smiling even more than normal.  To coin a phrase - letting your hair down - just isn't descriptive enough.



















It seemed like half the town was on foot and the other half on the back of utes/pick-ups or motorbikes we chose the foot method.  The music from the vehicles was blaring, people dancing and throwing water.  Everyone had at least one drum of water with them and being on the back of a ute, had a good vantage point when throwing water.  Some of them had ice in the drums so the water was absolutely freezing.  Add this to the fact that nearly everyone had a water gun and you can imagine the chaos.  We're glad we stayed in Chan as we've seen coverage of other cities and people couldn't move the crowds were that big. 

It's not just about water fights though.  The water is actually to cleanse away the old and bring good luck for the new year so people will approach you with a bowl of water, smile and proceed to tip it all over you.  It's also about temple visits and giving alms to monks.  Of course a new year means it's also time for a thorough house cleaning and in particular the bathing of buddha statues with scented water. 

Another custom is to spread chalk / clay onto peoples faces. This is supposed to mirror the act of monks blessing objects and is done with a polite bow before being applied.



















We must have walked 10 miles over the weekend and it's much easier to do that when you're drenched with water, it hardly seemed hot at all!  On Saturday night we walked from our house to the park  (aka lake) up to Hang Out and back round to the park before heading home.  Sunday saw us head back to the park and do the full circuit, with a stop off at Doi Chaang for coffee and a ham and cheese toastie - which was much needed.

Mr John said it was a little like Christmas, you really look forward to it coming, you are excited when it's arrived but also glad when it's over - it's pretty exhausting partying that hard.

TOP TIPS

1. Don't wear your best clothes as the chalk /clay soon covers everything
2. Check that your clothes don't become see-through when wet and make sure you have enough of them for the number of days you're celebrating
3. Buy clip seal plastic bags (from any supermarket) for anything that you don't want to get wet
4. Leave all your valuables at home
5. Don't ride a motorbike unless you've been doing it since you were nine years old - you'll never cope
6. Buy a waterproof camera or a bag designed to go underwater for your camera if you want lasting memories