An offical report for you, the people, from one of your own

Part 1 - General notes and misinformation

We've enjoyed the our second last week in Pattya, it's getting crazy to think seriously about Canada and the flight home that happens soon. Today was our last day at the orphanage we helped move when we arrived and have been working at since. Today I walked through the place before leaving and was amazed at how far the house has come, it was both a nastalgic and surreal experience. The amount of children they provide a home with keeps growing too which is really encouraging.

Aside from that we lose the second house to a ywam team that arrives in two days. We moved out yesterday and are gathered together once again under one roof. This will fortunatly last only one week and then we're off to Chang Rai for a final week-lengthed mission. Proceeding this trip we will drive to directly to Bangkok. There the team will spend a day or two or so selling our souls once and for all to materialism before boarding a plane for the flight home.

Part 2 - Song kranston

I'm going to start this one off by correcting a piece of misinformation from the last entry. Song kran is only one day, not two as I previously stated. Officially one day of waterfighting and well wishing to welcome the new year. Generally it's a relaxed and fun day across Thailand but in Pattaya it turns into a rather drunken city wide waterfight.

The team and myself met at the crossing youth center around noon and from there headed toward the beach and the core of Pattaya. The streets were claustrophobically jam packed with vehicles and water fighters camped out on the sides and runing about. Besides scooters, which are everywhere in Thailand at all times, every vehicle was a truck sporting a barrel or two of iced water surrounded by throwers. The trucks would drive slowely in the backed up traffic, the people in the back would throw water at the roadsiders and the people on the side of the road would throw back. Add to the mix people walking about on foot, people like us with small buckets who jump in and out of random trucks and steal water from barrels. Then add the roadside stands selling paste making substances and people putting paste on others faces while they declare happy new year and you've got a pretty good time, that is....until you add the drunk and horney ones, gay and straight, who are very excited to see a good looking young foriegners like us. We lasted about an hour or so and then decided it was in our best interest to turn back so we could avoid further attempts to be kissed and fondled.

After making a slow retreat through the clogged streets we arrived back at our soi(street) on the side of the six lane highway which runs from Bangkok and through Pattaya. There we agreed it would be safe to take part and just as much of a good time. Even though it was a the highway is usually host to quick speeds, on this day the 19th, the Sukamvit was one big wet traffic jam.


Standing on the side of the highway we would reach into barrels filled by ever running garden hoses. It was a normal sight and my mind reeled as I tried to comprehend the amount of water being used across the city. Almost all the outdoor taps were run consistantly from sun up to sun down, this was no small festival.

The next five hours were spent getting covered in paste and then cleaned off again by projected water, projecting water back and mixing you're own paste. There was also some dancing to the wall of speakers that had been set up along the side of the road, though we made sure to stay away from the large mass off drunken scurvy lads who had set up post infront of the speakers where they spilled haphazerdly into to the middle of the road(I think they were one of the main reasons traffic was backed up as bad as it was). This lasted most of the afternoon until at last the setting sun coaxed me to head home. I walked into the house exhausted and satisfied by the craziness life can sometimes bring, happy it was time to dry up and warm up.