Getting Wet at the Songkran Festival!

Happy New Year Thai Style!

‘Songkran’ is the name given to the New Year period in Thailand, celebrated from the 13th - 15th April. This Thai New Year I was in Chiang Mai - home of the most famous ‘Songkran Festival’ to get a gist of the celebration. It falls at the hottest time of the year which also marks the end of the dry season, and though the 1st of January is the mark of the new calendar year in Thailand, Songkran is still a big occasion. Its marked by a national holiday and called ‘new year’; students are on holiday from school at this time, and when they return, it will be to a new school year.

Standing with water pistols ready!

Songkran is most famous in the province of Chiang Mai - where celebrations can extend for up to six days or longer. It was here in the North that the Chinese New Year was originally celebrated. It is believed the Burmese bought the tradition over the border, and during the 20th century, the festivities made their way south to include the rest of the country.

Traditionally, Songkran was a time to visit and pay respects to elders, friends, neighbours and family members and, being a Buddhist country, a time to visit a monastery to pray and give offerings to monks. The pouring of fragranced water over Buddha images - at home and in monasteries, is believed to bring good luck and prosperity for the new year. In many cities including Chiang Mai, images of Buddha from local monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at them, bathing the images as they pass by on decorated floats. Traditionally the run-off was collected and used as ‘blessed water’ to give good fortune and luck to elders and family by pouring it over their shoulders. It’s this tradition which has given rise to what Songkran is today - a traditional celebration, plus lots of water! The streets are lined with revelers armed and ready to wish a watery new year to others, be they beside them, passing by, on foot, by bike or in vehicles, which can also make for a very welcome respite from the unrelenting heat (which can get up into the 40s at this time of year)!

I arrived in Chiang Mai on Monday the 12th, and was staying just outside of town - I reasoned that if it was a super crazy week, I’d still get some sleep when I needed to! On my way into the town that night, I had my first taste of Songkran - small groups of people, clustered on the roadside and armed with water hoses, water pistols and 44 gallon drums, with containers they could scoop out the water with and lob at passersby. I could safely witness this from the interior of my air-conditioned without getting a drop on us. The ones getting wet were those on scooters or in the back of 4x wheel drive utes who seemed to be everywhere, refueling and firing whatever water propellant devices they could lay their hands on! Those in the back of the tuk-tuks and open taxis were also targets. The night market however was safe! I can guarantee that anywhere with stalls means no water!

From the safety of my taxi I get a close up look at all that water!

So I was under an impression that maybe Songkran wasn’t as big of a deal as I’d thought - it seemed to be the youths targeting each other. Two days later I went into town to do a spot of shopping in the old city. Forget it, very little is actually open! It didn’t even enter my head as to what may be happening in town (and obviously the staff where I was staying didn’t think to warn me either!). So off I went towards the old town for some site-seeing and spending….

For those who haven’t been to Chiang Mai, the old town is bordered by a moat, and, in some places, remnants of a brick wall. And as we made our way down one of the streets that borders the outside of the old city, we were right in the thick of ‘Songkran’. Traffic was at a standstill, and on the river side of the street, party-goers were using buckets, tied to string, to scoop water straight out of the river and no-one was safe! In parts there was flooding starting to happen as drains struggled with run-off. I bravely opened the window to get some photos in-between ‘rounds’ of water. It was game on for young and old, with locals and tourists alike, all in for the fun. Eventually our taxi driver gave up on trying to enter the old city and we were dropped off just outside, to make our own way in. Well… we didn’t quite do that. We decided instead on checking out a market merely because it right there and was open. It was there, waiting to cross the road at a busy intersection where I received my biggest splash of ‘good luck’ - and I opened my arms up to receive! It was a welcome break from the heat, and was all done in such a fun and good natured way.

While many of the smaller local shops are closed during the week, the night markets still run late into each night; food stalls operate, taxis are easy to get (and they don’t charge more for new year like some places) and day trips and tours are all still happening.

I reached the conclusion that if I came back again for New Year, the way to celebrate would be to hire a scooter and ride through the masses and just get really wet! Or, take a tuk-tuk and your own stash of water so you can throw it back. The drivers of the tuk-tuks we saw were well set up for it, covered from head to toe in plastic protection.

Residents really get into the festival atmosphere

The next day, the13th, is the day to see the street parade of Buddha statues and floats, making their way down the main street in the old city - passing through the main gate and coming to a stop about another kilometer down from the gate. Later in the evening there is a beauty pageant at the old gate which traditionally celebrated beauty in general, but which has now taken a step or two further with girls lining up to show themselves off. While I didn’t actually see this myself, I’m told that the winner is picked by how many ‘admirers’ she has. You can buy a necklace to show your support for the girl you want to win - whoever has the most ‘necklaces’ worn in her support, is the winner.

The last weekend of that New Year week is watery – it seems the weekend players come out for the last go at wetting others.

So New Years Thai style has been and gone for another year. It was definitely worth the experience and I’ve happily stayed on in Chiang Mai but have ventured out to the hills to explore some more.

‘Sa wat dee pee mai’ - Happy New Year!!

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