In mid-April each year, Thailand celebrates the Songkran Festival, Thai New Year. While festivities occur all over the country, the most lavish celebrations occur in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Held over a four or five day period, Songkran begins with a monk blessing and alms-giving ceremony, followed by the presentation of Songkran queens and a full program of cultural performances.
The pomp and circumstance of the Songkran Festival are appreciated by all, what everyone really looks forward to are the water fights.
Locals and tourists alike arm themselves with water guns, water canons, and even barrels of water. Everyone get soaked and it’s all in great fun.
We were in Mandalay, Myanmar, for Thingyan (same water festival, different country) and had a little different experience. I hope you don’t mind me sharing a link. This was in front of the palace and went on for blocks. The scenes where I’m behind the hose are the water station our hotel set up on a main street. We couldn’t even walk back from lunch without a kid spraying us from somewhere. 🙂
I used a cheap, waterproof GoPro knock-off that I bought at a 7-11 in Thailand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYtoVqHf6v8
Thanks for your comment – it’s all in good fun and as long as you wear old clothes and put your phone in a plastic bag, there’s no harm 🙂
How did you manage to keep your camera/video dry?
LOL – I put it in a plastic bag and only took it out to shoot when I thought it was safe. Actually, everyone was pretty careful not to throw water at people who were taking photos or filming.
LOL, I had the same question.
Great video Barbara! Very informative and I love the mix of photos, videos, and commentary. It’s on my to-do list to binge watch your YouTube channel one day hehe.
OMG – you better have a lot of spare time to do that, Nancy – LOL!
I recall walking around with a super soaker in Pong Noi a short year ago Barbara 😉 SO much fun! Songkran is when all folks in Thailand let go, relax and act like kids for a few days. Absolute blast. Cleansing for the mind and body too, letting go serious, self-conscious, fear-based energies plaguing most adults. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ryan
You’re very welcome Ryan. It’s the most time I’ve ever spent out in Songkran. Did it this year because friends from Australia were visiting and they wanted to experience it. I’m so glad they were here, because it forced me to go out into the fracas and have some fun.