Songkran Festival Chiang Mai Thailand - The big splash!
Every year, around the middle of April, a mayhem of water breaks out in Chiang Mai. Tools are downed, traffic grinds to a halt and everyone takes to the streets for the world's biggest water fight. And what a fight it is; vendors appear with their arsenals of brightly coloured water pistols, buckets and hoses, mass crowds descend on the city's moat, and the city gets drenched from head to toe.
This is Songkran, the mother of all excuses for Thais to party and enjoy themselves. And as the hot season reaches its zenith, with daytime temperatures into the 100s, Thailand beckons the rainy season with a cooling off celebration of water. What was once a symbolic tradition has now turned into a week-long commercial riot of water.
Of course it's a great time for tourists to be here too. Nowhere else in the world can you experience such an emphatic celebration which epitomises a country where fun ('sanook') is the operative word. It becomes impossible to go anywhere without getting wet. In fact, some people, those lacking a sense of fun, even have to leave town! On every street corner, in every suburb, lurks a mischievous bunch of kids with a large bucket and some spray pumps. If you're on a motorbike or in a tuk tuk, expect to be drenched before you even reach your destination. The only remedy is to join in the fun and get a water pistol of your own.
The centre of all the fun is the square mile of the old town, and Chiang Mai's ancient moat lends itself perfectly to the occasion. At once, it becomes a massive swimming pool, reservoir and water-fighting venue, as people line the streets and grassy banks that flank these pretty stretches of water. Water taps are installed all over the central area but you can also join a crowd outside one of the bars or restaurants that may have provided a larger bowser of water. In fact, Chiang Mai is probably the most popular place in Thailand for participating in Songkran and its layout is perfect, which is why so many Thais arrive from Bangkok and other regions to join the fun.
Songkran is the Thai celebration of New Year, a time when people return to their hometowns and families get together in a show of goodwill. Traditionally it's also an opportunity to spring clean the house thoroughly as the long, dusty dry season gives way to rain. And for a country where rain is essential for the rice crop, a festival to invite the rains is an important one indeed. The water element once started out with a lustrating of the Buddha at the local temple and the gentle pouring of a 'little' water onto the shoulders of family members, elders and villagers, but today it involves plenty of fun and sometimes goes on for weeks in the rural parts.
But there is more to Songkran than water. There are processions and traditional blessing ceremonies centred at the local temples. Sand chedis are made as symbolic gestures to the Buddha, and in the bigger towns, a host of events take place. In Chiang Mai, this includes a parade of floats, a beauty contest, religious rites, plenty of singing, traditional costume displays and, as always in Thailand, plenty of food. It's also a time to pay respect to the village elders and, typically, one representative from each family will do the rounds of the oldest and most respected people, offering them food hampers and receiving a blessing in return.
For Thai's, Songkran is also a chance to 'cool off' and let down their otherwise reserved demeanour. Cultural protocols are flushed down the drain as girls turn out in skimpy water-drenched outfits, boys go bare-chested, gay people 'come out' in a variety of outrageous costumes and ladyboys flaunt their 'too-perfect' waistlines. Everyone is game during Songkran regardless of the usual hierarchy of status, and you have a licence to drench anyone. When foreign guests join in, the locals are particularly pleased and you'll find yourself welcomed by a group, 'initiated' with a bucket of iced water down your back, and supplied with an unending supply of food, drink and...yes, water.
A final word of warning: all sense of organisation breaks down during Songkran in Chiang Mai. Traffic is gridlocked and travelling by motorcycle is likely to leave you soaked, so don't plan too much. Keep your camera and electronic gadgets in sealed waterproof bags and don't lose your sense of humour; expect to be endlessly pelted by jovial, sometimes drunken, but mostly harmless people. If you are riding a motorbike, proceed slowly as roadside pranksters have a dangerous habit of throwing buckets-full of water in the faces of oncoming riders. Luckily the water throwing ceases after nightfall.
Programme of events
Wednesday 11th: Ceremony honouring the Phra Singh Buddha - Wat Pra Singh (7pm).
Thursday 12th: Salutation ceremony - Three Kings' Monument (10am).
Friday 13th: Old Lanna Parade - from TAT office to Thapae Gate. (start 7:30am). Official opening of Chiang Mai Songkran - Thapae Gate (8am). Ladies with umbrellas on bicycles parade contest - Thapae Gate (8:30am). Procession and lustrating of the Buddha - Governor's residence/Thapae road (2pm). Cultural performances - Wat Phra Singh (7pm - midnight). Beginning of water fights - city wide (all day).
Saturday 14th: Sand carrying procession - Thapae road (1pm - 2pm). Water fights - city wide (all day).
Sunday 15th: Parade of traditional costume to pay respects to the governor - Thapae road (1pm). Water fights - city wide (all day).
Additional activities throughout the festival
Building the world's largest sand stupa - Wat Jet Lin (10am - 11am daily).
Lustrating the Buddha, traditional performances, costume contest for children - Buddhist Association Hall (1pm - 2pm daily).
Traditional drumming and dancing, stupa building - Wat Loke Molee (6pm - 11pm daily).
Merit making and performances by local artists, Lanna games - Wat Phra Singh (1pm - 9pm daily).
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