Soaking it with Songkran

Imagine the majority of a country’s population hopping in the back of a pickup truck or standing by the side of a road waiting to douse everyone who comes near. That is Thailand's New Year’s holiday of Songkran summed up: one big water fight, one big wet party.

Admittedly, I wondered why the Thai people look forward to Songkran so much? To me it seemed a lot of hassle to avoid walking the streets and getting wet. But these were my thoughts before I was asked by some Thai friends to join them cruising the streets of Chiang Mai one afternoon during the holiday weekend. I could sense the excitement and wanted to be part of it as Dang soaped up his black pickup (in anticipating of it being washed) and prepared a tank full of water for dousing purposes.

Bring along anything that carries water from buckets to water guns and don't forget to dress in your Songkran clothes. Shoot, even bring your elephant if you have one... now there's a volume of water that can effectively spray the crowds! Only in Thailand.

Riding in the back of the pickup during Songkran was truly one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in a crowd. Now I understand this is a time when a country comes together, from Bangkok to the remote villages, to share in some laughs with friends and strangers. You quickly make connections when you ‘eye’ someone in the next pickup or on an upcoming motorbike. Often they will smile at you at which point you commence with the dunking.

There is no way of remaining dry when going through the streets of Thailand on this holiday. It isn’t so bad when you’re expecting it or getting pummeled by warm water but the ICE water is another story. Wow, can that be a rude awakening! For days all you see is a maze of people milling about in good fun – some running around with HUGE blocks of ice to put in their supply of water and others just waiting for the next victim to step into their zone.

It took a couple days for me to dry out but boy was it worth it!