Songkran

Today, we joined the crowd in celebrating Songkran, a festival marking the Thai New Year. Traditionally, young and old take time out to rinse and wash Buddha’s statue, often by pouring water over his head. Water was also poured on the hands of elders in a similar ritual. This ritual symbolises purification and the washing away of one's sins and bad luck for the year ahead.

However, these days, the festival is better known for the water dowsing frenzy that takes place nationwide. In Bangkok, one of the largest Songkran events is a street party that shuts down Si Lom Road in the city’s nightlife district. Over four days, tens of thousands of partygoers transform a kilometre of roadway into a nonstop water fight.

Garry and I joined the thronging masses on Sunday for an insanely fun afternoon. Like everyone, we arrived dressed in our swimmers with pump action water guns at the ready. We then joined the crowd as it slowly circled, first down one side of the boulevard, then back up the other.

Along the way we were doused by vendors tossing buckets of icy water, water jets spraying from sound stages and fellow revealers wielding every water gun arsenal imaginable. The spectacle was unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. It was as much fun as Sydney Mardi Gras, but with water cannons and water pistols galore.

Highlights included a soundstage with a giant astronaut blasting revealers at random, a troupe of absailing astronauts firing water guns into the crowd and spontaneous water frenzies where everyone simultaneously blasted their guns into the air. Along the route vendors offered refills; 5 baht for a small gun, or 20 baht for a giant blaster. If you arrived without a gun, no worries, there were plenty on sale.

It took us 90 minutes to complete our first circuit. We kicked off a second run but gave up after half an hour as the crowd stalled. Everyone around us decided the only thing to do was empty their arsenal on each other. The novelty of endless full frontal water blasts ran thin after a while.

Dripping from head to toe, Garry and I decided to call time out. We caught the metro and headed to the Maha Songkran World Water Festival at Sanam Luang Park. We arrived in time to catch the festival’s evening parade filled with giant floats, colourful dancers, marching bands and dance party trucks. 

We then wandered the street food stalls sampling all manner of cuisine from different parts of Thailand, while watching Thai kickboxing displays. As darkness fell, a massive sound stage came to life with a DJ pumping out thumping beats.

Once again, the water guns came out, water jets shot out from the stage, and the crowd went wild, blasting each other and firing into the air whenever rows of giant flames rose from the stage. The Songkran festival was undoubtedly a day to remember. The blisters on my feet from walking in wet shoes all day were totally worth it.