New Years

Today was New Years in Thailand. Otherwise known as Songkran! How does one celebrate, you ask? Well....

Thais celebrate by having a city wide waterfight. Oh yes, you will get wet, there is no way out of it unless you skip town or lock yourself in all week. Thais believe that it is a cleansing festival and also that it will bring rains for the falling year. It is also a time where children will ask their parents for forgiveness for anything they have done throughout the year and in return the parents bless them.

Chiang Mai has a moat in the heart of the city. Inside the moat is what used to contain the whole city of Chiang Mai. Well, on New Years this is where you want to be for all the action. People pile into the back of trucks which have barrels of water in them and alot of times a HUGE block of ice in the water. People then procede to drive around the moat all day getting people wet...anyone, motorbikers, walkers, kids, old people, other people in trucks....really if you are there you will get soaked. They, Thais, especially like to target the "farangs" (aka foreingers). Not only are there people in the back of trucks but people stake out all around the moat using "moat water" (mind you it's pretty gross). Traffic moves very slowly and so when one does pull up to a truck loaded with people and ice water you really do wish you were somewhere else! Five minutes can become very painfully chilly. (Of course, there are those that get plastered drunk while out in the water fight. We didn't partake in this part of it and this is why we went earlier in the day versus later.)