Songkran Before Noon
Mornings begin with the religious rituals such as visiting local temples, offering food to the Buddhist monks and performing water pouring on Buddha statues. It represents purification and washing away one’s sins and bad luck.
Flower crowns and small balls of sticky rice as offerings
In the streets, parades of the city’s cultural and religious groups take over the main street and people gather to see traditional Thai costumes, dances and loved ones.
Thai Princesses
Parades and dances
Songkran After Noon
But from 12pm to night time the holiday is best known for its water festival, where major streets are closed for traffic and become arenas, pick up trucks turned into mobile water tanks and the bright colors of the water guns light up the city.
During the day, the streets are full of cheap water guns stands.
Our weapons of choice
Following the crowds early afternoon in the closed streets.
First encounters set the tone: it’s gonna be wet!
Some try their luck on 2 or 3 wheels!
We quickly realize that it’s serious. Water buckets and fire hoses pour ice-cold water as we walk by!
An eye for an eye..
.. and a tooth for a tooth.
it’s not the size of the hammer, it’s how you swing it. Super Splash!
Some sneaky technics…
Gaining access to the refill barrels along the streets is no easy task.
and people don’t hesitate to use ALL sources of water to keep fighting.. this one was warm and stinky.
Sometimes you have to take it with a smile
By mid-afternoon, Young people have taken over the streets and music is blasting. The Festival is turning into a giant party!
Bad timing to try a tuk-tuk ride.
The end is near but we are nowhere close to be dry.
Sun down, guns down. Finally!
At the local bars for some drinks (and splashing if you really want it)
It was fun. Really. But 4 days of water splashing (and party) is more exhausting than you’d think!
And as you can imagine, the little ones are the most excited about this holiday!
