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.

Traveller’s resolutions from Bangkok

To wear sunscreen
The Thais may live by the principle of ‘sanuk’ or ‘fun’ but being red-faced is all but being fun, except if you’re a reindeer.

To try not to judge others’ customs and cultures
That much chilli? How rude! You must be crazy.

To trust my instinct
If it doesn’t look like chicken or taste like chicken it probably isn’t chicken.

To do less shopping and more sightseeing
This time I traded the palaces in Bangkok for taxi hopping between Platinum Mall and Siam Square. The taxis are a sight in itself though, being as colourful as Smarties.

To stay true to myself no matter what influences are around me
A sex change operation, uhm, maybe not…

To be more grateful for the experiences and adventures that I accumulate
Even being dropped off at the wrong place twice by the tuk-tuk drivers in this city could have been an adventure if I faced it with a more open mind.

To learn how to say at least ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ in the native language of each place that I travel to
Starting today.
Hello: “sa-wa-dee-kaa”
Thank you: “ka-pong-gaap”
Happy New Year: “sa-wa-dee-pee-mai-kaa”