The Variations of Songkran

[Dodger]

Well...that time of the year is coming up fast and I can hardly wait.

I know that many, if not most farangs, dread the coming of Songkran and wish the holiday had never been invented in the first place. I am one of those deranged guys who enjoys it.

Last year I spent the entire Songkran period in the quiet and reserved province of Phrae where the ceremony took on a whole new face. There was no dumping of ice cold buckets of water on the unsuspecting, or blasting of high powered jet streams of water in the eyes of drunken motorbike drivers... nor did I witness any of the heated frenzy that is all too common in our lovely paradise of Pattaya. Just the gathering of friends and family who were having fun, and at the same time seemed more focused on the spiritual aspects of Songkran. Water was sprinkled slowly and methodically on the foreheads as if a prayer was being said in the process and you could just feel the joy and compassion in the air. After participating in 7 consecutive Songkrans in Pattaya, I came to realize that I never REALLY knew what it was all about.

This year, Boy Special and I will visit his home in Udorn Thani during their Songkran period which runs between 12-15 April, and I'm hoping the celebration will be similar to what I experienced in Phrae. We will be back in PTY in time to capture Songkran there as well, although I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy it this time around.

Splish...Splash...

Similar Threads:

• Songkran
• Songkran in BKK
• Songkran
• Songkran?