Nathan's First Songkran

Nathan Motylinski is a project manager in Laos with North by North-East. He spent the Songkran Thai New Year's festival with us in Nakorn Phanom. Enjoy Nate's account!

Songkran - Chilling Out by the Mekong

The Origin of Songkran: Observed in Thailand, Burma, Laos and Cambodia, Songkran is the most important festival of the year, and although it has religious significance, is generally a 3-day party. Everyone gets soaking wet, but as it occurs during the height of the hot season, the custom is most refreshing. The word Songkran is from Sanskrit, meaning the beginning of a new solar year. The term itself means, ‘‘A move or change in the position of the sun from Aries to Taurus,'' and falls between April 10 and April 18. The tradition of this celebration involves paying respect to elders by essentially ‘washing' away old sins and welcoming in the New Year.

On the eve of Songkran, homes are given a thorough cleaning. Worn-out clothing, household effects and rubbish are burned, supported by the religious belief that anything old and useless must be thrown away lest it bring ill fortune to the owner.

During the afternoon of the 13th, Buddha images are bathed as part of the ceremony. Young people pour scented water into the hands of elders and parents as a mark of respect while seeking the blessing of the older people.

Another unique Songkran custom is the releasing of caged birds and live fish. It is believed that great merit is gained through this kind act. The origin of the custom is thus: The central plains of Thailand flood during the rainy season. When the water subsides, pools in which baby fish are trapped gradually dry up. Farmers in ancient times days caught small fish and kept them at home until Songkran Day when they were released into rivers and canals, thereby gaining merit as well as preserving one of their main sources of food.

According to ancient legend, Nagas (mythical serpents) created rain by spouting water from the seas into the sky; The more they spouted, the more rain there would be. So the custom of throwing water can be interpreted as an attempt at rainmaking.

However, the once organized and modest traditions have since evolved into a countrywide, three-day, free-for-all water fight accompanied by enormous fun, a great deal of noise, more than normal consumption of spirits and an unusually high accident rate.

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Thai New Year - Nathan and Nok

Between my trance-like gazes at the 14.1 inch square that occupies so much of my attention each working day, I watched Pi Kaew strategically place fresh violet and white orchids, orange carnations, ripe bananas, fresh tamarind, sandalwood incense and various other symbolic offerings around the office. One under the giant elephant skull, one by the Buddha statue, another by the statue of a famous monk – and after each arrangement was carefully laid out to her exacting specifications, she would kneel down to make her prayers and pay her respects behind a thin curtain of twisting incense smoke.

I was aurally oblivious to Pi Kaew's quiet approach to my desk afterwards, lost in a world of electronic music provided by my airport-runway-size headphones. I saw her out of the corner of my eye, removed the thumping headset from my beet-red ears, and greeted her with a traditional ‘wai'. She wished me a happy new year while placing a jasmine garland around my neck and sprinkling jasmine water on my back. She then smeared a white paste over my face and neck, and this same ritual was performed at each of our desks, proving, by far, to be the tamest example of the events to take place over the next three days.

Pi Kaew

Before the celebration began, I was told - or I guess you could say warned - about the imminent festivities. The country would all but shut down and the three day period would be marked by a non-stop, man-made shower of water and powder strewn towards any and all people. I was told not to ride on a motorbike, as the residual impact of getting a gallon of water thrown on you at 50 km/hr is a bit like a body punch from the heavyweight champ. I was told not to travel, as most forms of transportation would be already fully booked by the frantic mass of people, pets, and packages trying to return to and from their respective villages. I was told to forget making any kind of progress with work for the entire week – and most people would be on vacation, or on the bottle, or both. I was told to prepare for a lot of fun. They were all right.

Cruising for a Splash

My first interaction with the festivities was on my usual bike ride home from the office the next day. After a couple hours of work in a quiet office that is normally bustling, I climbed aboard my silver and red bike to make the short ride home. But today's one kilometer bike ride would soon seem like my own Tour de Talcum, through the twists and turns of dripping crowds armed with buckets, hoses, and guns, where the only prize you take home is a wet body, stinging eyes, and a big-ass smile.

Feeling the need for some sustenance on my record-setting homeward pace, I stopped at small shop along the way to pick up some Singha beers for my roommate and I to enjoy in the thick afternoon heat. Armed with a bag of ice and two large brown bottles, I set off, and made it a whole five feet before my ride came to an abrupt stop, when a group of fifteen people surrounded my bike.

Before I could speak, buckets of water, some tepid and some ice-cold were being poured all over me. Countless hands were rubbing powder into a thick paste on my face. Unable to open my eyes, I could only taste the menthol of ‘cooling' talcum powder in my mouth and hear the slew of questions being thrown at me in thick Thai accents. ‘Where are you from?' ‘You like Thailand ?' ‘How long you stay?' One girl tells me she loves me. But at this point, I consider myself lucky to still be able and draw air into my burning lungs, let alone answer the barrage of questions that should be reserved for the immigration line.

I laugh and cough and try to rub the sting out of my eyes before navigating my way through the remaining mobs to reach my street. And the only thing I could do the whole time was smile and know that this really was going to be a great time.

Be Cool - Get Wet!!

Most of the next three days are spent in the same fashion - getting wet, getting others wet, or both. Pick-up trucks are filled to the brim with people and any container capable of holding or dispersing liquid, including discarded 50 gallon oil drums and assault style sub-machine water guns that come with backpack reserve tanks that look like 50's-era UFO jet packs. The highest count that I heard of was 17 people in the back of a single truck. Some people ice their water; some give it hints of jasmine, some use food coloring to dye it. Some of the water is tossed, some is shot, some is dumped and some is sprayed. Some water stings, some feels good, some makes you laugh, and some makes you wonder why you didn't decide to explore the town in a deep-sea submersible instead. But the whole thing is more fun than you can imagine.

Some Just Prefer to Play in the Mekong

The second day, I spent most of my time on a stoop in what you could call ‘downtown' Nakorn Phanom. The stereo was blasting Isan pop music by 11:00 in the morning, and after lunch, the drinking began. By two o'clock, the streets are filled to capacity with drenched dancing people, all looking as if they've just played a game of touch football with white finger-paint. One section of road in Nakorn Phanom has been shut down and transformed into a pick-up truck gauntlet, where the streets are lined with hundreds of inebriated people ready to drench and smear you. The section itself is only about 300 meters long, but nonetheless, we never made it through in less than a half hour.

Happy Songkran

There is beer, whiskey, laughter, dancing, music, and fun for three days, and I can't help but think to myself after it's all over that this sure beats getting drunk in freezing cold weather to count down to a giant clock and a falling ball of lights. Happy Songkran and I wish you the best in this New Year!!!!