Saturday, April 19, 2008

Caught in the middle of a national water fight


If I needed an excuse for another beginning, Songkran is it. I arrive on the last day of the Thai New Year celebrations and by the time I reach my guesthouse just off Khao San Road (the famous market street), I am soaked and covered in chalk from head to toe.

The Thais celebrate New Year with a vigour characteristic of their sense of fun. A country wide water fight cools everyone down during the hottest time of year and the chalk paste that they enthusiastically plaster all over each other (and me) symbolises purification.

A few adolescent boys try to steal a kiss as they rub the chalk into my face but I manage to dodge them and when I enter the guesthouse I am in neutral territory.

My friends are sitting at a table having some drinks, but their giant water guns are still ready for battle. They look like Mr and Mrs Smith.

While I join them for a Thai curry I wonder if there is another reason for me to start over. I already celebrated Western New Year and Chinese New Year in 2008. So I think for Thai New Year I won’t make any resolutions or hope for good luck, but I will make a wish.

After realising that Latin charms have no substance, I will wish for love. I know that a relationship will be difficult to manage while travelling but life is just so much more fun when it is a shared experience.

For now, I am sharing the chalk laden sights of Thailand with some of my best friends. Starting with the excessively golden Grand Palace and the giant lying Buddha. My brain is just too small to absorb it all.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

sa-wa-dee-pee-mai-kaa! hapytha ne year. so glad you gotto experience it.