A Wet Welcome to Thailand

Our arrival into Thailand was via Chiang Mai, the country’s cultural capital and largest city in the north. Chiang Mai offers everything that an international city should, but with the feeling of a small town. There are many cultural sights (including over 120 temples), plenty of markets and street vendors, and a vibrant multi-national bar and restaurant scene… all with a contrast of new and old world. Rivers, lakes, and mountains are all within an easy drive of Chiang Mai, making it a popular destination to explore Thailand’s diverse natural landscape as well. The city is also known as one of the most popular places to celebrate Songkran – the Thai New Year. And, we were lucky to arrive just in time for Thailand’s biggest festival, which could be considered the world’s largest, craziest, and most ridiculous water fight.

Let me take a minute to explain what the holiday actually represents. According to the Thai calendar, the New Year occurs from April 13-15th every year. After switching away from the Thai calendar and following the world calendar in 1940, the traditional dates have become an even greater celebration of local Thai heritage. Spiritually, Songkran gives people the opportunity to cleanse anything from the previous year and provide a bit of fortune for the year to come. Thai people will use the time to do a thorough cleaning of their home as well. But, the real celebration and blessing comes with the throwing of water on others. What started as gently pouring water over a Buddha image or statue has evolved. Little handfuls of water have been replaced by giant super soakers and buckets of water. In addition to water, some will give blessings by smearing talc on one’s face. It’s a happy, friendly time when people of all ages are excited to get soaked. 

Leading up to our entry into Thailand, we were both a little unsure of what the festival would entail. We had heard stories and seen pictures, but neither of these would even hint at what we would experience over the next two days. Part of me thought that we wouldn’t even make it out of the airport with at least getting a little spray. But I was prepared for that. I considered putting my poncho over my backpack just in case we were taken by surprise in baggage claim or our taxi was carjacked in an effort to not let any new visitors make it to their hotel without a proper welcome. We arrived safe and sound sometime after 11:00pm to what seemed like a tame nightlife scene. In a little over 12 hours, we would quickly learn that this wasn’t a good representation of what was to come.

After an abbreviated orientation to our volunteer program early the next morning (we later realized this was so the staff could get the heck out of dodge before the water started around noon) and a few hours to rest from the previous day’s long travel, we finally ventured into Songkran. After purchasing two small buckets as our weapons of choice for the next few days and turning onto one of Chiang Mai’s main thoroughfare, we were greeted with a sight of astonishment. Adults and children alike, fully armed with various water-expelling gadgets – shooting, throwing, and dousing water on their fellow Songkran partiers. Before we even had a chance to look at one another, water was coming at us from every angle. Being totally new to the celebration, it was somewhat of a shock to the system. But, after multiple attacks and our first few offensive moves, we were totally in. We were soaked all the way through, but it was a nice relief from the 100 degree weather. Wet, laughing and deeply invested in one of the coolest cultural experiences of our lives, our first encounter with Thailand and its people could not have been better.

Chiang Mai’s setting is ideal for Songkran. A moat surrounds the gate into the old town so water and bucket refills are always readily available. Bars and restaurants offer their own “splash parties” away from the moat so it’s easy to experience it a number of ways.  Everything is close in Chiang Mai so we were able to experience different areas, different types of water throwing, but ultimately all to the same effect. The water fights decrease as the sun sets, but we always had to be prepared for even just a little splash late at night or even early in the morning. 

The crazy thing about Songkran is how everyone gets involved. If someone could walk, they were out for the water-throwing insanity. There were smiling children, no more than two or three years old, and grandparents that were just as happy to give a little squirt or apply some blessed talc to your face. And to our delight, we were welcomed into this festival with open arms. There’s no discriminating here. If you’re on the street, you’re part of the fun. Pick-up trucks jam-packed with family and friends crowd the roadways around the moat. These make for bigger targets, but would typically be the ones with giant buckets filled with ice-cold water ready to return the favor. One noteable highlight is how happy everyone was. There was never any malicious intent. In fact, some Thai people seemed excited and grateful that foreigners were there to celebrate their special holiday with them. Super-soaker shots to the head, neck and arms or frigid bucket dousings were always accompanied with a grinning local wanting us to get them back. As fun and crazy as the whole event was, Kat and I were amazed at how tame it seemed. There were no fights. There were no drunk idiots. There were barely any police around. The Thais showed us that they know how to celebrate and have a good time. A number of times we mentioned how unruly and out of control this type of party would be back home.

Celebrating Songkran is easily one of the most memorable experiences in my lifetime. I’ve never had so much fun as an adult acting like a little kid. I hope that someday I can go back and experience it again.

 

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