Sonkranin

Songkran officially hits Pattaya tomorrow, for about a week now the festival has been preceeding the rainy season down pour as it crosses Thailand in two day bouts. Of course Pattaya though, being later on in the line up and holding the "extreme city" title has been practicing a lighter form since the 12th.

At it's roots the festival is the Thai new year and is a time for cleansing and renewal. Many people are let off work during the Songkran to visit family and head north to there home villages for celebrating. During this time they ceremonially wash elders and each other's hands while paying homage to Budda for the forgivness of sins. In the streets though the washing tradition manifests itself in a different and much more renowed way.

Taking on an almost crude metaphor for the approaching rainy season are two days of the Songkran festival reserved for all out water and talc powder fights in the streets. During these two days it's all out waterslinging, if you don't want to get wet you stay home because everyone is a target. In the anticipation though many get into it earlier and the whole week here in Pattaya has been filled with soakings. On the way home from church sunday, soaked, on the way to a movie the other day, soaked, and on the way back from an orphanage today, soaked by roadside campers with oversized plastic syringes and buckets.

The scope of what goes on started to reveal itself last Thursday as we headed out to Sirachi, about an hour away. We were heading up to see the premiere of a miracle channel show featuring Pattaya. While out there we were met with truck after truck carrying a barrel of water and a box full of water fighters. Everyone in the back of our truck-taxi arrived at the wet and slightly disgruntled. The craziest thing is that during the Songkran week there are deaths everywhere, though not just due to waterfighting. According to the newspapers already about 450 people have died in Thailand since the 12th and about 1500 have been seriously injured. Most of this they blame on drunk driving from New Year festivities. When you witness truck after truck with boxes filled of people throwing powder and water at each other while driving down a three lane highway you begin to suspect that it's not just drunk driving thats at fault though.

Even though it's been hard to travel around Pattaya the last while without being assulted, the real mayhem breaks out tomorrow as Pattaya's official water fighting days begin. From what I've learned the main streets shut down and it gets impossible to go anywhere because the streets fill up with water and powder projecting partyers. If I wasn't scared of getting my camera wet I'd have pictures for you soon. None the less, I'll be sure to follow this up in a day or two with festive tales of the event.

Adieu