Songkran Super Soaker

After our first day of WATER!

 Who says you are too old for a water fight?!  

Songkran is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April - the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Songkran is the BIGGEST water fight I have ever witnessed – and was even voted one of Lonely Planet’s Top Ten Festivals in the World. 

We chose to go to Chiang Mai to celebrate due to the rumored hype we had heard from the small town in the north.  Sitting through 12 hours of traffic, eight of my classmates and I braved the bus ride up to the north to witness the largest water fight in the world.  

Chiang Mai is a unique city – in that there is one part – the old city, that is contained by a moat (yes – WATER) with which the surrounding city has overgrown.  Every year during Songkran, the moat is overflowed with water, and everyone comes out to play for the holiday.

And when I mean everyone, I mean EVERYONE - from toddlers to grandparents, every family member comes out to get a splash of the action.  As we anxiously awoke to our early morning alarms at 8am on our first day off in months, we squealed as we put on our waterproof shorts and swim suits – anticipating a sprinkling.  Our first priority was to buy water guns, and we had already staked out the place to buy some on the street just next to our hostel.  As we walked outside we began gleefully talking about what to expect, how wet do you think we would get, how crazy it was all going to be…within ten feet of our apartment, as we were babbling away – a hose went off.  Within seconds and steps from our apartment, we were head to toe soaked.  We all looked at each other, smiled and shrieked, “This is awesome.”  Running down the street to get to our water guns was like running through a pit of hungry alligators – everyone was desperate to get you.  And the worst part was it didn’t matter that we were completely drenched and couldn’t absorb one more bit of water – bucket after bucket kept coming.  As we picked out our neon water guns and filled up the canisters, we assessed the battle zone.

The chaos in Chiang Mai

The weaponry

On each side of the moat were one way streets – going in opposite directions.  Flatbed trucks were inching along in the traffic – with entire families piled in the back.  As we walked over towards the commotion, Suba screamed, “Incomingggg.”  The next thing I knew - Freezing cold water, from head to toe.  It was well over 39 C that day – and yet water had never felt so COLD.  As I looked up to see my attacker, I saw an old woman giving me a toothless grin.  She couldn’t have been younger than 85 and I looked at her shocked and puzzled trying to comprehend if this old lady really had been ‘the enemy.’  She answered my question shortly following and clarified my doubts that a woman her age would participate in such an ‘immature’ water fight – by soaking me again with another bucket.  Her aim was flawless and as I looked up and saw her smile again, I couldn’t help but laugh.  

The old people were by far the worst – they showed no mercy.  After spending nearly 6 hours out in the hot sun playing with the water, we went back to our hostel, showered, took naps, and got ready to go out for dinner.  As we peeked out of the corner of our hostel, our small alley street looked clear.  We tip-toed down the street, getting more and more confident that the water fights had stopped – it was nearly 7pm after all.  As we made it around the last corner, that same hose got us again.  We all screamed.  And with that, we announced our arrival onto the main road, where countless water guns and pails welcomed us on our way to dinner.  Suba and I questioned why we bothered changing and vowed next time to come more prepared – with water guns of our own.  This fighting, splashing, soaking and screaming went on…for three straight days.

 

Songkran was a great reminder for me, about the importance of family, and the enjoyment of light-hearted FUN.  It has been quite a while since I had a water fight, and never have I had one of that magnitude.  You found yourself smiling with total strangers, being ambushed by four year olds (incredible ambush if I might add), and being soaked by grandparents.  

Riding in the back of a pick up truck during Songkran...

On our last day of the festival, we even got our dream – our hostel manager was going out in his truck with his family and invited us to come along.  As we piled into the car with his dad, mom, sisters, nieces and nephews, we began to pump ourselves up for the fight.  As each pail hit our car – we squealed, screamed and shouted.  And as I sat in that truck, smiling and shivering next to one of his four-year old girls on the way home, I realized that fun transpires all translation, and Thailand sure knew how to have FUN.