Songkran (Thai New Year)

Well if you read my last post you would of learnt that I had no clue what Songkran was or that it was happening whilst I was out in Thailand until my flight, when i was sat next to a guy who started tell me all about it, from what he told me I was not expecting what we were faced with. So at Songkran, its basically a three day on going water festival, or a water fight seems more appropriate, because they are in the dry season they have the water fight to welcome the monsoon season, which starts normally about a week after Songkran. 

So we were in Chiang Mai for Songkran, and it was mad, people actually fly out to Thailand just to take part in Songkran, it brings a lot of visitors. We got kitted out, with waterproof pouches for phones and money, and bought water guns which came in pretty useful! ... Stages were being set up for the day, where performers would be playing through out the day and stalls and bars would set up barrels of water for people to fill up their water guns, to use the ones at bars which normally had ice in them you'd have to buy a drink, but families were sat at the side of the roads with a barrel or even just a bucket of water which if you asked they would let you fill up from it, it normally consisted of you getting wet by them whilst you were trying to top up the water gun, but it was in good humor. On the main day of Songkran we set off to head to the buzz of it all, where the stages were, with water guns in hand we were set, you could tell we were getting closer not just by the thousands of people but by the warm puddles we were trying to wade through, it was like a stream. The crowds were huge and there were normal traffic trying to get through too. It was great fun though, the smiles and joy it brought to peoples faces was amazing, and the quick connection you  get with people when you are shooting them in the face with ice cold water is hilarious, that day I never saw one unhappy face!

The water throwing was supposed to stop in the evening, so we headed out to find somewhere to eat, still had our plastic pouches but were dressed up a bit, yet we were greeted with people still out enjoying the celebrations, so by the time we got to the bar we were going to we were well and truly soaked! 

Then the most ironic event happened, on the last day of Songkran, I was having a nap, when I could hear water running, at first I just thought it was my room mate Lexi, having a shower, but when I opened my eyes the bathroom door was open and she was not there, so I opened our front door, too see a down poor of rain. I could see two of the girls of my trip were stood at their door in complete awe, it was the strangely beautiful.