total:spec - Songkran

On New Year’s Eve in Bangkok revellers spent much of the evening, as one unfortunate friend of mine put it, “running around the city trying not to get blown up”. Not by rogue fireworks, of course, but by the eight bombs that went off in the city and the nearby Nonthaburi Province. That’s going to ruin anyone’s evening.

So it’s lucky then that the Thais save their real New Year celebrations for a whole three and a half months later, in mid-April when they celebrate what they lovingly call Songkran.
Taking place every year between April 13th and 15th, Thai New Year was the official start to the new year up until 1888, after which they used April 1st. It wasn’t until 1940 that they joined Western society with January 1st.

But Thai New Year is still celebrated much more whole-heartedly here than the Western New Year’s Eve. And like much of Thai culture, it’s a seemingly contradictory weekend. These devout Buddhists not only take the time to ‘make merit’ (bring good karma) by pouring scented water on Buddha images and paying respect to their elders, they also go all out in what must be the biggest water fight to take place on the planet… ever!

The water fight aspect originates from the New Year tradition of pouring a small amount of lustral (cleansing) water on other people’s hands as a sign of respect. New Year in Thailand, like the rest of the world, is seen as a time for cleansing, renewal and starting anew. But this gentle practice was given a new spin by the Thai youth and now a bucket of water over your head is more common.

The festival takes place all over the country and, while it’s officially only three days, in some rural areas the water-fighting can go on for a few weeks. I head to Chiang Mai – Thailand’s big city in the north (its Manchester, if you will) – where I’m told by the locals in Bangkok the festival is embraced the most whole-heartedly.

They’re not kidding. The centre of the city is surrounded by a square moat, around which Songkran revellers line up with buckets, bins and water guns and continually spray water at every human being that walks anywhere near them (including and especially those friends and loved ones they are stood next to).

I buy myself a five nozzle water gun which is able to cover ten people in water at a time. I take my top off in order to catch some sun. Although I feel like Rambo, I look ridiculous. But it doesn’t matter. The term ‘drowned rat’ could apply to anyone in the city of Chiang Mai during the five days (five days!) of water fighting that occurs over Songkran.

Nowhere is safe (unless, of course, you’re one of the revered monks). I take a minute at one point to sit on a bank by the moat, away from all the water-fighting, so I can take some pictures. As I’m doing so a Thai man comes up behind me, says “Excuse me” in my ear and politely pours a bucket of water down my back. My reaction? Why, I thank him of course, and wish him Happy New Year – “Sawadee bee mai.”

Songkran is a fertility festival, the throwing of water done with a view to bringing on the rains for a good harvest of rice and other foods - though you do wonder about the logic of such a massive waste of water at such a dry time of year. But it’s this dry and sweltering hot time of year that has influenced the growth of the festival into one big water fight as well. Normally in April the sun is at its hottest and a bucket of ice cold water in the face comes as blessed relief.

For my first Songkran, however, global warming deals me some bad luck. The rains have anticipated the Buddhists’ sacrificing of so much water and come early. Much of the weekend is overcast and drizzly, with the sun only making rare guest appearances. Not that we notice the rain. It makes no difference when you’re soaked to the bone by buckets and water guns every other second. For the comparatively cold weather makes no difference to the Songkran revellers and I get squirted with so much ice water I have to go back to my guesthouse and put more clothes on. (They’re soaked in a matter of minutes, of course, but at least I’m warmer.)

I see the gentler side of Songkran as well, when on the second day a parade of golden Buddha images is marched down the street in the middle of Chiang Mai and people approach the statues to pour scented water over them to bring good luck. People paint each other with flour mixed with water as well, a practice that originates from Buddhist monks doing the same thing to mark blessings.

I get the odd bit of scented water poured over me, which is apparently even luckier than normal water, so again I’m very thankful to the Thais responsible, and I emerge from the street with a few white stripes on my face as well. They don’t last, of course, as I head back into the throng.
The religious aspect does pale into insignificance next to the crazy water war going on around it, however, and you really have to get on board with it, otherwise you’ll just suffer.

One European woman who stormed past me at one point had obviously missed this point. I saw a Thai woman reach out to her to paint a white stripe on her cheek with some flour. The European wiped it off angrily and smeared it on the t-shirt of another Thai woman. I got the feeling she wasn’t enjoying the festival. But then she didn’t have a five nozzle water gun and an inspiring motto to follow – don’t get mad, get even.