Bangkok in Songkran

[sydneyboy]

I did a search about the wisdom or otherwise of being in Bangkok (and only Bangkok) during Songkran and there appear to be mixed opinions. Leaving all other considerations aside such as April many consider an undesirable month weather wise are there any major problems about being in Bangkok at this time? Does the water throwing only last 3 days or less? Opinions please.

[Mancs]

I've been in Bangkok for Songkran for the last four years. The water lasts the full 3 days and starts the night before the official day. I enjoy it and do the whole water pistol thing so I am a fan. Silom Soi 4 in the afternoon is fun. Silom has got more crowded and can very uncomfortable (some might say a dangerous crush) from about 2pm to 9pm. It can take 30 minutes to move 100 metres in that period. Last year I got an eye infection on the first night from dirty water so had to go to the hospital and no more water play for me. If you go out again at night the only way to stay dryish may be to cab it to the venue. Buying a plastic wallet in advance from a street seller to keep phone and money in is essential. Passengers on tuk tuks and motorbikes will get wet so maybe best not to use them. I will take part again despite all these downsides but advance planning can reduce the worst horrors.

[ddsfo]

if you are motivated to be in the kingdom for songkran, i think the place to be is chiang mai.
there are enough farangs here so one does not feel out of place.
it is a city but never as crowded as the big mango so there is no danger from dense crowds.
the moat makes a natural stage for a a daylong water fight.
several music stages continue into the evening.

[Dalewood]

Is Cambodia just as bad for water-throwing? I want to see Angkor Wat during my visit and Thai Songkran seems a decent time to go.

[catawampuscat]

April is the worst month to go to Ankor Wat. It's very hot and everything is outside. No shade, no A/C, no breeze.
Lots of climbing steps and
blazing sun. I did it on my first trip to SE Asia. I was also miserably hot in Bangkok and never stopped sweating.
Pattaya was a respite from the sweltering heat but midday still hellish. April is spring time in the West but the
hottest time of year in SE Asia. No clouds, no rain.
Perhaps, for those acclimated to the heat, it won't be so rough but if not and if you are typical older fat farang,
forget about Ankor in April. :-o

[Dalewood]

Cat, I appreciate the weather advice--this will be my third or fourth Songkran. In those days it was one day except in Pattaya, as I recall. Three days of water is too much for me====but the tickets have already been purchased. Is it celebrated the same way in Cambodia? I can not find a clear answer online.

[BonTong]

My last Songkran in BKK was around fifteen years ago so some things may have changed. As I recall there wasn't much happening on Silom then. The thing I didn't like was going out in the evening, the water play continued into the night yet a lot of places we went (including the sky train) are air conditioned. Not pleasant. The traffic was also terrible , I recall taking an hour to do a couple of hundred Metres on Intamara, and Khao San was horrendous. Also, they slapped talc all over your face and it got in the eyes too. I wouldn't be in a hurry to repeat.

[attachment=0:3saoapnc]AB_1001_B04.JPG[/attachment:3saoapnc]
I have enjoyed many a Songkran in Chiang Mai, but it is now over frequented and not as good as it used to be. One advantage is, in theory, they stop the water at sunset although it seems to get later every year. There is also no talc here. However, at least here much of the restaurants and entertainment is outdoor style so even if you are still damp in the evening its not too bad. Evenings are usually quiet anyway as people used to drink too much during the day. The moat is the centre of celebrations and a non-stop traffic jam where its quicker to walk. Unfortunately, there are now too many idiot Farangs here who don't get the festival etiquette who spoil it for everyone. I disagree with ddsfo about crowd safety, last couple of years the area around Thapae Gate was so packed it was positively dangerous.

First-timers will always enjoy Songkran in Chiang Mai, especially round the moat, or at Soho Bar where the gay crowd hang out. But, for me its now more fun to party with some Thais in the back streets (especially cute boys ;) ), stock up with beer, fire up the barbecue, and soak willing passers by [N.B. contrary to popular belief, outside the moat area Thais usually respect peoples wishes if they don't want to get wet. Not so for the occasional idiot farangs unfortunately]

[Smiles]

Here's a suggestion for Songkran. Grab a bus (and a boy, not a bad idea) and go hang in Isaan somewhere off the beaten track in some reasonably small town for the festivities. The folks there keep it sweet and short ~ often just one day ~ and the soakings and the fun are somewhat more gentle than the orgy of Khao Sorn Rd or Boyztown, though the nights are more boozed up and it can get a tad more enthusiastic :)) .
In the countryside you'll have fend off the talcum powder thing, and it really stings the eyes if you let it run all over your face. The crowds are fewer and smaller, and there are many who will just let you off the hook with a cup of water straight in the chest. Of course, then there are the fucking teenagers!

This is my favourite photo of Songkran in the deep rice fields of Surin Province. These dudes were just climbing up the front of the car looking for a farang to soak (I was saved by the little Buddha-under-glass), but it took on a rather surreal quality on film.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/forum%20photos%202/songkran1.jpg

[a447]

I was in Siem Reap for Songkrahn last year. It was very subdued - no drenchings in the street, although the locals and farang were throwing water Thai-style late at night outside the discos/bars in Pub Street. Much more civilised .....hehe

[christianpfc]

Of course, then there are the fucking teenagers!
If only that was meant literally! My Songkran 2013 started poorly (I was expecting all cute boys in my area outside, shirtless, in wet shorts - I was wrong!) and then it got worse, a nightmare! Details here: http://66.199.190.19/~sgt/forum/viewtop ... =9&t=28683 (http://66.199.190.19/~sgt/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=28683)

Water temperature can range from 0 to 40 degree Celsius, and there are people who aim at your eyes.
If you stay in you are fine (but you don't have to go to Bangkok to do that), once you go out you can (and probably will) get wet, and it's difficult to find transportation.

[Dalewood]

It has come back to me now. My three Songkrans were in the late 80's.

The first one was in Phuket and it was probably the most enjoyable day of my life. I stayed in a beachfront hotel---if the tsunami had come that day, I would have been killed. I left for breakfast with neither passport or copy (no one seemed to care in those days). I crossed the beach road in Patong to have breakfast and one of the waitresses threw a modest amount of water down my back. I was not expecting ice water!!! After breakfast I got on my motorbike and headed up the main road leading away from the beach. When I turned onto that road, it looked peaceful. Ha-ha. I found out how Pharoah's army felt when the waters rushed back in. I was soaked for the rest of the day.

Anyway I went here and there on the island. In Phuket town I got an old-fashioned blessing from an elderly woman---just a little bit of water. Her grandchildren had to help her stand up. I smiled and wai-ed. Somewhere along the way a man waived at me from his house. I turned around and spent an hour or two with his family and drank as much whiskey as my motorbike riding would allow.

On to some park several miles away. It was a bit nerve-wracking to get doused from passing trucks, as one could lose control of the motorbike, but disaster was averted. Every red light was a dousing. I had a ball at the park and was introduced to the talcum powder.

Back to Patong, where I hopped on a truck with perfect strangers and threw water with the best of them. At sunset, the water throwing stopped. Period. I dried off, walked across the street for dinner, and prepared for a fun evening.

Bangkok was OK--I only stayed out two or three hours. Pattaya was over the top even then.

So my trip will probably be two nights in Bangkok, three nights in Pattaya, a few nights in Siem Reap, and the rest in either Pattaya or Phuket after Songkran. My itinerary CAN be influenced by the right young man (or not so young :p ). I promise to give a blow by blow description of my trip.

[LoveThailand]

I have been during Songkran in BKK several years ago. Was tons of fun and I enjoyed it immensely.
Was hanging around Silom - the usual gay areas around. There was a lot of water throwing happening - but local guys will try to get into eye contact before they attempt to throw water at me. They were getting a ready consent from me :)
had TONS of fun.

[Dalewood]

The idea of Songkran in small-town Isarn sounds attractive but.....I remember the busses out of Bangkok being jammed. I remember the police ordering people off the roofs of outbound busses. I had to wait over two hours at Ekkamai to get a bus to Pattaya. I am willing to take my chances on the local train to the Cambodian border.

[Smiles]

The idea of Songkran in small-town Isarn sounds attractive but.....I remember the busses out of Bangkok being jammed. I remember the police ordering people off the roofs of outbound busses. I had to wait over two hours at Ekkamai to get a bus to Pattaya. I am willing to take my chances on the local train to the Cambodian border.
You're right there. Best idea is to go there (wherever) 3 or 4 days or so earlier than the actual piss up date.

[BonTong]

I concur with Smiles too. Though I haven't been to Isaan, on several Songkrans I have taken a trip with friends to rural Phayao, around 3 hours drive from Chiang Mai. Much more fun than in the city, driving around and stopping at various friends' houses, always with an exchange of Chang Beer or Lao Khao 8-| Plenty of water but soakings were much more polite affairs. In the afternoon we'd head out to a lake in the middle of nowhere with loads of Bamboo cabana style huts set up just for the party. Beer, barbecued fresh fish - literally straight out the lake - and some fun boys to take a swim with. And not a farang with a water pistol in sight! What more could you ask for? :-o

[attachment=0:1o8w9rtg]Phyao lake 3.jpg[/attachment:1o8w9rtg]
Also some ritual stuff, going round the houses of the family elders making merit, washing their hands and getting the good luck blessing with string.

Songkran on the lakeside in Phayao city is fun too, but the traffic is grid-locked. Its only a small town and people pour in from all the surrounding villages.