Having a bucket of ice-cold water whipped over me by a child so tiny that I didn’t see her coming is really not how I thought my day was going to go. Water pistols, yes. Roadside hoses, sure. But truck upon truck driving past like Mardi Gras floats, loaded with vats of water that families and their dangerously small, bucket-wielding offspring throw as they pass by – well, that was a surprise.
I suppose I should’ve thanked the infant; the temperature was 40C. Thailand’s new year celebration, Songkran, takes place in the middle of April, one of the hottest months of the year up in Chiang Mai, where I live. But despite residing here for a few years, this was my first Songkran in the north, and blimey, I had a lot to learn.
“Songkran brings out everyone’s inner child” beams Patrick Tunhapong, a local blogger and historian. “It is traditionally a time that families get together, as elders and ancestors are honoured, but people in Chiang Mai are so nice, you’ll be part of the family here.”
He’s not wrong. Chiang Mai residents are known for being incredibly kind and polite, while usually pretty reserved – but not this weekend. It’s easy to hop on a float and get adopted by a passing family, then drive around on their truck (particularly if your water-launching arm is strong enough). A firm fan of spending the festival here in the north, Patrick says: “Songkran is special in Chiang Mai as the circulation and movement of people around the square moat that lines the old city means you can see everything and everyone. Water and people flow.”
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It’s the first Songkran since it was added to Unesco’s ‘Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage’, and Thailand has not held back: consequently, the celebrations are extra-long, lasting 10 days in Chiang Mai and 21 down in the capital, Bangkok. Usually occurring for four days in mid-April after the rice harvest, pouring water during Songkran is a symbolic act, representing cleansing, reverence of older family members and of course, optimistically hoping for good fortune for the year ahead.
It’s not all water fights and street parties, although they certainly are the most apparent and unavoidable element. Before I’d been blasted with super-soakers and…
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