Songkran - Thai New Year

Publié le 7 mai 2008 par Gaelle, Aisyah, Socheata... what else ?

Yep, I am almost one month late. But better late than never, he ? ^^ So, hum... Happy New Year ! It's the 4th in 6 months, crazy.... So it was the Buddhist New Year, on April 13th, celebrated in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and the Yunnan province in China. Originally, it was a quiet but important celebration, based on the lunar calendar. People used to go to the temples to wash the statues with holy water, they used to pour some perfumed water on their relatives to bless them, you had games and processions.

Now... Oh, all the traditions still exist. Yes... You just have to try not to forget it, when you are busy hiding behind a car to avoir this guy with the gun on the other side of the street. Or this other one running towards you with war paintings on his face. People are screaming everywhere in the streets, most of them stay hidden at home. The police disappeared at some point, the whole city is in chaos. Some passer-bys even open car doors to attack drivers. It is war.

The best of all... From the 12th to the 15th, 4 countries are turned into a huge battle field. Water battle. It's totally impossible not to get wet during the Songkran festival. And I mean it. Unless, of course, you don't go out at all during 5 days.

The Frog Posture

Obviously... I went out. We bought 2 buckets with a German guy staying in my GH and we went to the moat surrounding the city. They form a square of 8km around the center and the road along it was totally, totally packed. We were going faster walking than people in their cars.
The avantage of being in a car is... you can turn the back of the pick-up into a fortified camp in which a huuuuuuge water tank is set so that the family can have water available (almost) most of the time. They use buckets, water guns, bowls, glasses... and throw water at everything which is moving. I had whole 5-liter buckets emptied on my head. But when it's 40 degrees outside, you don't complain about being wet...

The problem is... they add big ice blocks in the water tanks and they let it melt a little so that the water is deadly cold. When they throw this water at you, you're just frozen on the spot. Or you begin running screaming, forgetting about your dignity. Anyway... less than 5min around the moat, and you are ready to be wrought dry. Literally. I spent 4 hours every day with my trousers dragging along on the road, heavy with the weight of water. Drawing water from the moat and throwing it at the face of every Thai walking by.

You don't know anyone... and you don't care. You give them a shower, make a big smile, say "Happy New Year"and only then, you realize that this guy is one of those with ice floating in his bucket. And his smile has this sadistic edge on it. So you run away ^^ Sometimes, some of them draw war paintings on your face with plaster or root powder.

And some even treat you with a coca or a beer, make you join them in their pick-up and you can enjoy spraying from up there. And you do enjoy yourself a lot. And at 5pm, you are shocked to realise that you actually feel cold. And that's totally delirious, because it's still 35-40 degrees...

Along the moat - The road (no, the city) is a huge traffic jam...

The Japanese team from my Guest House.
The one in red with a white towel is awesome. Kazuyuki. I love him, he's totally crazy. We made weird faces every evening, trying to make a decent sound out of the didgeridoo. But we were pretty pathetic, actually. I practiced my Japanese, we play to be stupid in front of the cameras... he's cool. What's totally crazy is that at least 3 of them came every year to Chiang Mai for the Songkran. I saw the tee-shirts of last year O__o

So... Hurray for the guy who invented plastic bags ! My camera's still alive ^^

Blue tee-shirt is Aom, red cap is her sister Aimmy

Soaked ? Us ? Not at all....

The moat... endless reservoir, a formidable asset :)

The favorite Attack Move of the Songkran times : a bucket of water thrown at the face of the drivers. Pretty dangerous ? Yeah, totally. Don't forget to notice the river-road. Sometimes, it was 5-cm deep, just because of us... The moat invaded the road for some days...

Second move, more traditional : empty the bucket slowly on the shoulders of someone. Long ago, it was just a small glass of perfumed water. Actually, the worst is when it's icy water, because they make it laaaaaaaast...

But you also have a parade... They try to maintain the tradition, in the middle of the surrounding madness. But they don't escape from being soaked up to the bones either...

Former costumes of the Thai soldiers

Traditional dancer

Statues from the temples - people bless them by throwing perfumed holy water

They also build this kind of mini-chedi in sand, you can see them in every temple during Songkran and also in some streets sometimes. Don't forget to put your flag on it...

Okay, I don't know who is this guy in blue, on the right. But he's a star. I just don't know who.... Everyone kept on looking back at him, staring at him, going shily to ask for a picture with him. Grown-up, teenagers, boys and girls... So... a thai celebrity. You just have to look at the guy in the middle : "I can't believe it...." ^^

Aom and I