songkran 2013 part 1

Happy Songkran everyone! This amazing festival is considered to be the Thai New Year and annually falls on April 13-15.  It is celebrated in many ways including visits to the wats (temples), giving food to monks, and of course throwing water on people.  That's right, you read the last bit right.  This is a festival that actually permits and encourages you to THROW WATER on others...as in a city-wide WATER FIGHT! I love this festival for this reason and enjoy getting out and participating in the fun.

If you are in Thailand during Songkran, Chiang Mai does it THE BEST.  We have a moat around the inner city and this is where a lot of the fun happens.  People all over town (and many from out of town) come to the moat and participate in the water fight.  Young and old, local and foreign, we all come together and celebrate.  Participation in the water fight can be done in several ways.  Some people sit in the back of trucks with barrels of water on hand, others stand along the street and use the moat water or city water, and then there are those who sit in tuk tuks or on motorbikes.  People use water-guns, homemade water sprayers, or simple buckets.  You can use clean city water, dirty moat water (the only time in the year that one would even consider touching the moat water), and still others even use ice water.  Everything and anything goes on these days and if you are out and about, you better be prepared to get wet!

Enjoy the photos I took while staying dry inside the truck!

Don't worry...we left C at home and did get out to play for a couple of hours one day too! 

Tuk Tuk

Getting splashed!

So many modes of transportation...

So many buckets to purchase and bags to keep your things dry!

Anxiously waiting for his next target...

 

Getting drenched on a Tuk Tuk!

Water-guns galore!

Kids climbing on the old city walls and playing in the nasty moat water!

Chaos on the streets...only during Songkran would a man wear a bra to try to sell ice!

SOAKED!

There's no hiding!


Oh so happy!

Please check out Part 2 and Part 3 for more Songkran pictures.

(Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, Che and Fidel, Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Sunday Snapshot, Simple Things Sunday, and Give Me Your Best Shot.)