Songkran in Chiang Mai

View this post on Instagram

As the sun passes from Pieces into Aries, so the new solar year begins, and so does the celebration of the New Year in Thailand. Songkran derives from a Sanskrit word meaning “to pass or move into.” The ritual of sprinkling water on statues of Buddha during this holiday as well as pouring water on the elderly and young to wash away the bad luck of the year is what gave way to the largest water fight on planet earth— the Songkran Festival in Chiang Mai. For three days (April 13-15) from noon til dusk restaurants set out large tubs and coolers full of water and city dwellers and tourists arm themselves with buckets and water guns. Others climb into the bed of a truck with a tub of water and splash anyone passing by. Woe to those who do not have their phones and wallets wrapped in watertight containers. There is little chance of not getting drenched, even in the back of a passing Tuk Tuk (poor souls, they were utterly defenseless). And why not? It’s also the hottest time of year. A splash or ten on your back is more than welcome. The tradition is not without controversy. Traffic fatalities double during this holiday. Public drunkenness is rampant. And I’m not sure where all these thousands of newly bought plastic water guns will end up in several days. But it was hard to not feel a joyous shout from the echoes of my twelve year old self as I stood my post on Rajvithi Road with new friends who greeted me with an ice cold hosing and as I sprayed my water gun and threw buckets of water at hundreds of passing strangers. And when dusk fell and the last drops dripped from my hair, you could see all the bad luck on the stones of Old City Chiang Mai streets, newly clean, glistening.

A post shared by christiandurso (@christiandurso) on Apr 16, 2019 at 1:28am PDT