Tales of a restless suitcase #4: Splash your way through Songkran

It is a given fact that 13th April is the wettest day in Thailand. This happens every year. Not because of the amount of rainfall (it is summer that month) but for an entirely different reason. The whole of Thailand goes to the streets, armed with waterguns and buckets of water to celebrate Songkran Festival. Also referred to as the Water Festival, this is jovial event is the Thai way to ring in the start of a New Year.

^{⇓ this photo is my entry to #streetphotography contest hosted by @juliank ⇓}

^{Be sure to click the image to view fullscreen! ♥ Nikon D7000 | f/5.6 | 1/160sec |ISO-125 | 26mm}

Fun Fact: Did you know that the Gregorian Calendar is not mainly used in Thailand? It is common to see the Buddhist Calendar year in official documents, being formatted as DD/MM/YYYY. This calendar counts years based on the Buddhist Era, which is 543 years older than the Gregorian Calendar . Here, we use 2561 instead of 2018, writing the date today as 26/01/2561.

^{Be sure to click the image to view fullscreen! ♥ Nikon D7000 | f/5.6 | 1/160sec |ISO-125 | 105mm}

When most of the world would celebrate New Year on the 1st of January, Thailand would be relatively quiet that night but goes all out on the 13th of April. Although, in some tourist areas like Patong, NYE on the 31st of December is still a blast and fireworks do light up the night sky. I wrote about it in my previous blog, please check it out. :)

^{Be sure to click the image to view fullscreen! ♥ Nikon D7000 | f/4.5 | 1/640sec |ISO-250 | 18mm}

Songkran is an experience to behold! The morning would start out with a solemn merit-making at temples and offering of alms to the monks. Despite the craziness that takes place later on the day, this celebration is deeply rooted to Thai traditions. This water festival is a significant holiday, and as observance, most Thais travel back to their hometowns to celebrate it with family. The water splashing represents purification and cleansing from one's iniquities.

^{Be sure to click the image to view fullscreen! ♥ Nikon D7000 | f/5 | 1/640sec |ISO-250 | 58mm}

Speaking of splashing, in bigger cities like Bangkok, there are actually designated battlegrounds for water fights. I learned this the hard way when I was on my way to Siam Paragon. Man! It's really cold to wear wet clothes inside the mall. I had to buy a new shirt!

Now, to the craziness that I was talking about. So picture this, streets lined up with people splashing motorists non-stop(so close your car window!) and pick up trucks driving around soaking all pedestrians they pass. There is no escape. The fun chaos is everywhere!

^{Be sure to click the image to view fullscreen! ♥ Nikon D7000 | f/5 | 1/640sec |ISO-250 | 58mm}

Here are some self-learned tips I gathered for this festival:

1. Do not be a party pooper. People will be splashing you with water. Do not get mad if you get wet.
2. Buy yourself a water gun and get revenge!
3. Prepare to get wet, wetter, and wettest as all the streets will be lined up with buckets of water. There will be a 100% probability of getting soaked.
4. Keep your valuables and mobile phones in a ziplock bag. People will not care whether it gets damage.
5. Stay indoor if you cannot take cold water. To add more fun, people will actually add ice to their water buckets! There are also some who would add powder to the water to make sure you will look like shit after. LOL

^{Be sure to click the image to view fullscreen! ♥ Nikon D7000 | f/5.3 | 1/640sec |ISO-250 | 80mm}

I took all these photos in Old Phuket Town. In some cities, water fights continue for 3 days (13-15 April). However, in Phuket, it is only on the 13th of April.

It is a wild day. So gather your gears and prepare for the water fight! I can't wait for Songkran this April. :)