Songkran

Thailand celebrated its New Year, known as Songkran, from April 13th-15th so Meg and I went North to the city of Chiang Mai, supposedly the best place to go to celebrate. We were not disappointed. The city had practically doubled in size due to the festivities. There is a lot of tradition associated with Songkran but primary among them is the water splashing. Since the New Year occurs during the hottest time of the year when it can be as hot as 40°C, it is custom for everyone to douse everyone with water. It's definitely the largest water fight I've ever been involved in. From dusk til dawn for 3 days, people are armed with water guns and buckets, stationed on the side of the road with hoses, or driving around in pickup trucks with barrels of ice cold water, drenching everyone who crosses their path. I was in my glee and it did not take us long to join in the fun. Meg and I had our doubts about the cleanliness of the water since most of it came from a huge moat surrounding the old city - we tried not to think about it. Here is a picture of some kids swimming in the moat - you can see in the background the pickup trucks performing drive-bys.



We stayed at a guest house appropriately called "Riverview Lodge" because it is positioned next to the Mae Ping River. Despite the nice garden, pool, and decent accommodations, neither Meg nor I were impressed with the service so we were on the look out for other places to stay for future visits. It was located next to a massage studio where Meg and I got daily foot and Thai massages. :) Here's a shot of the back of the lodge with Meg sporting her traditional Songkran pants (a gift from our friend Oh):



During the evenings, we'd go to the night markets and bazaars which are better than those in Bangkok. Well, I guess that depends on what you're looking for. If you want fake goods, Bangkok is where you wanna be. However, if you're looking for locally made crafts than Chiang Mai seems to have a lot more of it. With Songkran going on, the streets were packed with hoards of people each night. Here is a typical scene when walking around any of the streets within Old Town:



We did our best to explore Chiang Mai but it was difficult with all the people. The temples were very busy, as Thais visited them to perform traditional Songkran rituals - I won't try to explain them as I don't fully understand the history or significance but it was interesting to observe.



And, of course, we dined at various locations around the city. Our favorite place for food was a Thai/Indian place called "Whole Earth". I had an Indian chicken curry-like dish with garlic naan which was one of the best meals I've had since being here. As for entertainment, "The Riverside" restaurant had live music and was in an open setting on the river which was very relaxing. Our last day there, we went to the Chiang Mai Zoo. None of the animals were particularly active, most likely due to the heat. As cool as they are, the leopards gave me the creeps as they eyed me with the same longing I gave to my delicious "Whole Earth" meal. The Giant Pandas were a treat to see and were very playful.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed Chiang Mai, especially the Songkran festival portion of it. We hope to return soon so we can explore more of the city and surrounding area...maybe when it's a little cooler though.