Skip to main content

Songkran soaked



Songkran is the Thai new year characterized mainly by people celebrating it with water. According to Wikipedia, songkran is a term derived from Sanskrit, and may refer to new year celebrations in or parts of southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Lao, Thingyan in Myanmar, Yunnan in China and northern Vietnam.

Fifteen years in the kingdom and this recently concluded Songkran on April 13-15 was only my second time participating and really having fun - in Huahin, Thailand's summer capital last year and in Silom, the country's financial district this year.

This is the Songkran 'make-up,' or that's how I call fragrant talcum powder mixed in water and rubbed gently on people's cheeks -



Originally, water in bowls is poured on the wrists only. People exchange good wishes and go their way -



Nowadays a huge fire hose spews water on revelers. In some instances it's not even water in the dippers, but whiskey.  Silom is closed to traffic. No one in this formidable crowd is dry. Not the cops, not the food or booze vendors, not even the journalists covering this event. In one corner people danced to Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive -



Songkran ammo - the red and blue water gun behind the ever present somtam (papaya salad), fried chicken and sticky rice in every Thai celebration -  


The Thai government provides mats for people having their Songkran dinner in parks. A nephew and a niece who flew in from Cebu in time for the frolic would have made perfect mat models but discretion had better be the order of the day if their aunt do not want to get murdered this early in her blogging past time.


Our World  ABC Wednesday

Comments

  1. I recently retired from my job teaching at an international high school, and learned about this celebration from one of my Thai students. Now I see that he didn't exaggerate! It was great to see these pictures and learn some more details about Songkran.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful shots of unique celebrations.

    ReplyDelete
  3. An interesting celebration. The government providing mats is so unlike the US. It appears you had a wonderful time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like fun fun fun!

    Leslie
    abcw team

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm guessing being splashed with water during this festivity is welcomed not only for the reasons you provided but also to cool off. I'd love to see Thailand some day.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy New Year! belated...

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great word and fascinating post. I enjoyed the shots and narrative. Carver, ABC-Wed. Team

    ReplyDelete
  8. LOL i'd love to see the mat models! but if it poses a danger to you, ok, i'll settle with these photos.:p

    i like the talc mixed with water--much better than the charcoal we have during ati-atihan. this festival sounds like the Feast of St. John the Baptist every June 24th.:p

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

Tacloban . It's where I spent two months of great adventure with college buddies at about the same age as the young adult artists in this video  We Are The World for Philippines ( Cover by Filipino Artsts ) This is the church where I served as piano accompanist for the 1990 summer student choir, and some of the services. According to reports it was filled with dead bodies when this shot was taken. Photo Courtesy: AUP Network on FB On Saturday, November 24th, Central World management (the former WTC Bangkok) lent space for a Haiyan fundraiser without charge. I'd like to commemorate the highlights:   One Voice: Help Haiyan Victims was a serendipity. Organizing events is something I had to pay money to study in grad school. But it was live learning right there that night and observing the process was free. Skywatch : Mission Tacloban The Bangkok Charity Orchestra   reflected tranquility in their music. Poor typhoon victims would benef

Honor, Awards and a Game

Tuesday Couch Potatoes: Made of Honor Awards and a Game/Meme follow. Please scroll down a bit. My pick for this week's TCP theme (wedding movie) is Made of Honor. I like the humor in it. We've all been to several weddings but how many of us can say I've been to one in which the maid of honor was a he? The scene which particularly cracked me up is when the priest mistook the maid of honor for a gay man =) If you're familiar with some of my likes, you'd know why I also love the Scotland location of the wedding. For more of the synopsis click here ; and here's the trailer: Head over to Just About Anything for more wedding movies. ************ My super duper bloggy friend Thom of Thom's Place for Well Whatever and fellow Mom Tetcha of Pensive Thoughts awarded me this Beautiful Blogger award. I have to list seven things about me so here they are: 1. I love wearing jeans more than skirts. 2. One of my favorite colors is purple. 3. I don't mind spending su

October charm

It's weekend! Time to share joys and faves: i . How I love autumn! I had so much fun putting together autumn scenes and quotes despite never actually having seen the season for real. ii . Check out my ABC chocolate - a gift from a girl friend on my birthday. It's too pretty to eat, which is good so then I avoid too much sugar. iii . Would you believe I got the ceramic plate for only 32 cents ? I imagine it would look fab with a slice of Black Forest or Red Velvet on it. Blue Monday iv . And here's Agalico - a quiet English tea room not far from where I live. It was wonderful savoring the charm while waiting for someone who joined me for tea. Weekend Reflection   v. As a fan of Japanese cuisine, I explore restaurants from time to time. It's Honmoni Sushi this week where I tried their saba in teriyake sauce . The set includes miso soup, vegetable salad, egg and tofu, and pickled zucchini. Delicious. Linking to - Fave Five , Pic