happy songkran

Happy New Year and welcome to the year 2555! It's Songkran!

 If you're not familiar with Songkran (like us a few weeks ago) you should get familiar with it because it is, quite possibly, the best holiday ever. And that's not just because Rocky got two days off work for it. There are no wrapped presents needed and no large amount of money spent. The best gift you can give someone is a bucket of ice cold water to the face and all you'll need to buy is some water guns and alcohol should you choose to.

Songkran is the Thai new year. It happens every April 13-15 in Bankgok (the dates of celebration vary throughout Thailand). This is the hottest time of the year. The temp on Saturday was 38.5 C, in real numbers that's over 100. Factoring in the humidity, you might as well be walking around in a pot of boiling water. Hence, the awesomeness of Songkran, basically for three days the entire city shuts down. A lot of people go home to their families to honor their elders or pay their respects to monks and Buddha, the original intent of Songkran, I believe, I could google it and make sure, but lets just go with this. Everyone left in the city piles into the back of trucks, or lines the side of the road and a city wide water fight breaks out. No one is safe, just ask Violet.

With my brother, Derrick, and his wife, Julie, we decided to take to the streets to celebrate Songkran full out. No holding back--like keeping an eight week baby at home. We all piled into a tuk-tuk (basically a open truck) and told the driver to take us into the heart of Songkran, Khao San, or as a neighbor just referred to it, 'the heart of darkness.' We were all soaked (except Vi, we kept her dry for a while) before leaving our street. The tuk-tuk driver would pull over every time there was a gang of people on the side of the road and since we were stuck in the back, we would be sitting ducks as they chose to alternate between throwing water and talcum powder on us.

Elie took the brunt of all the attacks because the Thais seem to love her and on Songkran this translates into lots of water thrown at you. After about five minutes of feeling helpless, we pulled over to buy a couple super soaker knock-offs on the street. While we were stopped, the same two people kept coming back and dumping buckets of water on Elie. One would come over, and soak her, while the other one filled their bucket. All while E was curled up in the fetal position in the corner. After every bucket Elie would pop up and yell, "Happy Songkran!" and then laugh hysterically. Some of her quotes from the afternoon, "Me love Songkran!" "This best day ever!" "Me love water days!" and if we were starting to get dry, "Where more water people?"

It took us an hour in traffic to get to Khao San and by then we were wet and tired and I was worried about Vi, so we turned around and went to a mall (the only places in BKK open this week) to eat dinner. It was a afternoon to remember. Here are some of the highlights:

While Rocky was buying water guns, the same people selling him the guns kept dumping buckets of water on him, while he waited for his change.

While stopped in traffic a man came running up to our tuk tuk, informed us he was friends with our driver, and then gave the driver and full glass of whiskey, which our driver drained. Then the man shot Violet in the back with a water gun.

After running out of water, while stopped at a stoplight on Sukhumvit (the busiest road in Bangkok), Rocky jumped out and filled our water gun tanks from the fountains in the median--the water looked so gross.

At Khao San the people had traded talcom powder for clay and since I was sitting in the tuk tuk on the side closest to the waterfight, I was the most clayed. Including an entire ball of clay right in my ear, that was very expertly and safely cleaned out with a direct shot from Rocky and his soaker--full of fountain scum water. I went home and dumped half a bottle of rubbing alcohol in it.

Most of the water is warm, since it is flaming hot in the city, but every now and then you get hit by a burst of ice cold water. There are trucks delivering ice up and down the road, we hadn't seen so much ice since we left America. Most of the people would stop spraying us when they saw Violet, presumably to call some form of child services and report the worst parents ever, but towards the end of our trip she got hungry and I had to feed her. Under a blanket she doesn't look like a baby and was hit head on with a bucket of freezing cold water. She was FURIOUS. Luckily we had some dry clothes for her.

Needless to say we were all relieved when we finally made it to the mall, changed into dry clothes and drank hot chocolate, which I didn't know they sold in Bangkok. I will be keeping this holiday going when we move back to the states. (and so should you). I plan on waking my children up in the morning with a bucket of ice cold water to the face and yelling, "Happy Songkran!" and then I'm going to have someone drive me around in the back of the truck, shooting the neighborhood kids with a super soaker. Since snow and freezing temperatures are still highly likely in April in Utah, I think this Songkran thing could catch on. Like perhaps pneumonia or dysentery--both of which I'm praying we don't get.

I don't have any pictures--no way I was taking my camera out and it turns out phones don't take great pics when inside a plastic bag--so some pictures from a swimming Songkran party will have to suffice.

And Rocky and Eliot just walked in the door soaking wet. He'd gone over to pick her up from Dan and Amy's, next building over, and they had this conversation in the elevator.
Rocky: Do you know this is the last day of Songkran?
Elie: Oh No. Me hope me get wet.
So he threw her in the pool.
Happy Songkran. go spray someone with water.