A Peace of Pai

The duo began their holiday with a brief stint in Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) and accomplished everything from shopping to international relations. With their bags heavy from purchases at the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar after befriending a middle-aged Korean monk, the girls had seen most of what Chiang Mai had to offer. They opted for the quieter town of Pai to celebrate Songkran, the Thai New Year. Upon arrival, they met up with a gaggle of friends--Lucy and Katie (see archive "One Night in Bangkok"), Fook and Steve (neighbors in Sriracha), and Boz (one-man show and friend of Katie) to ring in the new year. They joined in the traditional festivities, which involved 'len nahm.' The holiday is a cleansing ceremony, and custom dictates that water is poured over hands and feet to bring blessings in the new year. Some argue that Songkran is the one time to see Thais show aggression, as it is dubbed "Thailand's Water War." Where there were once silver tins filled with jasmine-scented water (the same kind used today to 'wai phrat' at the temples) there are now water tanks and super-soakers used to douse anyone within range. Aggression? That's dubious. The holiday seems to epitomize the Thai way of making fun crucial to living. Example: our fun-loving pair spent time away from the river in Pai to ride around on a rented motorcycle, being stopped every five seconds at "water stations" to get drenched with water and smeared with powder paste. Sometimes they were invited to participate in 'hom gam,' to which they readily obliged. After a couple of days, the girls bid their adieus to the troop and made their way back to Sriracha to prepare for their last two weeks of Summer Camp.
Due to the holiday's water-packed celebrations, the girls made the wise decision to leave their cameras at home. If you want to see a few pictures that convey a bit of the experience, take a quick peek at this web page: www.phuketdir.com/songkran/index.htm