Songkran
Thai New Year The Best Thai Tradition
Most New Year celebrations have something to do with staying up until the new year, having a few overpriced drinks and meeting up with friends. I’m not saying that this isn’t fun or enjoyable, but it can get a bit repetitive and a bit boring.
I do understand the tradition of going into the new year with your special ones and watching the new year come in, but it is all a bit tame. The big companies also big it up more than it is to try to con you into buying their goods, and then inevitably are overpriced. And don’t get me started if you want to go to the pub, which is £10 entry, hideously busy and then can’t get a taxi back, or is again double the price than normal.
This is why I found Songkran to be such a unique and special occasion because it really is something that only happens once a year, rather than just going to the pub, which happens every week. Don’t get me wrong, there can be drinking involved but a national water fight is something that releases an inner child and is much more wholesome.
Another reason why Songkran is unique is although it brings in the new year, it also celebrates water. It does seem a bit odd that the way they celebrate water is to throw it on top of each other but that’s the way it is. The act of throwing water over people symbolises the cleansing of sins of the previous year, but sometimes other things are used like flour, which destroys the clothes.
It is also the time of year when people choose to visit temples, which is again proving how religion is built into their very being. This goes hand in hand with people often donating money and time to good causes and charity. It did feel like everyone was truly happy to celebrate the festival, if in reality much didn’t change.
My experience of Songkran was great. I knew that Songkran was right around the corner but had no idea what it was about. I had sort of heard that there would be a water fight but didn’t really believe it cause I just thought it was too good to be true! I was on the island of Koh Lanta, which is a pretty relaxed, honeymoon-type of place, and not the typical place for a national water fight. I first realised that it wasn’t just folk law when I nipped to 7-Eleven to grab a couple of bits, but on the way back, I was drenched in water. This was one hell of a shock comparing 1, I forgot that Songkran was on that day, and 2, I WAS RIDING ON A MOPED AND SOMEONE RAN IN FRONT OF ME TO DRENCH ME. Shook was an understatement.
After this, I knew that Songkran was the real deal. I got back at told the people I was travelling with and they couldn’t really believe it, so we had our day sorted, WATER FIGHTTTTTT.
We got on the bikes and drove up the busy road that our hostel was on and it wasn’t long till we found a shop selling water guns and buckets. We quickly bought them and situated ourselves at a bar that had a water tanker for people to use as ammunition. we grabbed a beer and got to work spraying anything that moved. Children, drivers, bar staff — everyone, nobody was safe. We spent all day just pouring water over everyone and almost everyone loved it — almost.
Due to the water being thrown at drivers, there were plenty of low-speed road accidents. I made sure not to drive anywhere after I had seen about the 5th crash of the day. locals and tourists were simply not prepared for how slippy the road would be would skid over. A couple of people also didn’t find the funny side of being drenched. In fairness, they had indicated they didn’t want to partake in the festivities and people would throw water over them anyway. Yes, they were not happy and no they didn’t see the funny side of it.
We headed back to the hostel when it started to get dark for some food and a shower. Now, this is the part of the day which is similar to any other country's new year. It was time for drinks — well kind of. There were plenty of advertisements around telling people about certain parties happening in places, but the other 2 were not keen on going out, so we had a couple of drinks in the hostel and played some Uno.
The couple of drinks turned into a few and I just thought ‘screw it, ill go on my own.’ So I wandered to a bar where I knew there would be some sort of event happening, which was pretty lively. So I grabbed a drink and just sort of people-watched all the shenanigans that would unfold when loads of wet, drunk people celebrate a festival. People were having a great time but by the time I got there, I wanted to go back to the other 2 I was travelling with. If they had come, it would have been great fun. I did feel for the staff, as it was just a completely wet drunk mess.
Because we were not in a really busy part of the country, Songkran only lasted for a couple of days, but in other parts like Bangkok, it lasts for a week. We did get a surprise as a couple of days later we stayed a night in Surat Thani where Songkran had finished and by that time, we were over it and didn’t get involved in any of the shenanigans. A couple of people put flour on my face which I wasn’t too happy about but had to get involved, didn’t I?
