The Biggest Water Fight In The World!

Every year around April 13-15, Thailand celebrates its New Year. The Songkran festival is one of the most important holidays in this country, and we couldn’t miss out! The holiday is celebrated nationwide, but Chiang Mai is notorious for the biggest celebrations & we happen to live a short 3 hour bus ride away. It would have been a shame if we didn’t go. Living in Thailand, we just had to experience it firsthand before our 3 week adventure in China began.Traditionally, the cleansing of Buddha images with water has been central to the Songkran festival along with paying respects to elders & monks. It’s meant to bring good luck & prosperity for the coming year. While this tradition still occurs, it’s been upstaged by a new one. Over the years, Songkran has evolved into a huge water fight where everybody soaks one another with water & smears chalk-like talc on one another. Coincidentally, the holiday falls during the hottest part of the year so this water fight was just what the doctor ordered! We had a blast!

Weapons

We purchased some protection (Water Guns) and water-proof necklaces for our valuables & headed out. I can’t begin to describe the scene we witnessed in Chiang Mai. It was a full-on war-zone!!! Thousands of people lined the Old City inside & outside the moat. The second we bought our guns, we were sprayed by a drive-by shooting. A sign of things to come. We headed right to the center of the action.

Crazy!

It’s difficult to put into words the grand-scale of the experience. It was simply impossible to stay dry. Every single person we walked by either sprayed us with their guns, dumped buckets of water on us or smeared this talc substance on our faces. The festive atmosphere was addicting. Nearly every vehicle was a pick-up truck with Thais of all ages packed in the back reloading their guns with ice water while spraying, yelling and smiling at us. So much fun!

Our 'Gang'

Some people took it too far and got a little too aggressive. They’d fetch buckets of water from the moat and throw them directly at us at point blank range, or they’d invest in a powerful gun and aim for the eyes. (cheap shot for sure!) It hurt and caught us off guard. However, most people sprayed us in the midsection or gently poured ice water down our backs as a strange courtesy. In a sense, I felt camaraderie with the local people that I hadn’t yet felt. A sense of belonging. We really just enjoyed the few crazy days & soaked it all in. Get it?? I’ll never forget our Songkran experience.

Locked & Loaded!