Songkran... Only in Thailand

There is one holiday which is so completely outrageous, so entirely outlandish, and so incredibly AMAZING that only one country could harbor such epicness... Thailand- home to the best holiday on the face of the planet: Songkran. A little history first: Songkran is the Thai New Year and is held in April of each year when the weather begins feeling the hottest. The whole country stops for 3 days and an all our water war rages. From trucks filled with ice water to people plastering you with white powder which is a mark to ward off evil spirits, this festival is unlike anything you will ever experience. This year, the holiday spans a 3 day weekend Friday-Sunday and its craziness is in full force. Here's a few experiences I had yesterday whilst driving down the streets of Samakii Road in a golf cart with Alex, Katie, and Tom (The golf cart is Nichada's preferred method of transport).

1. The Gas station... within a few moments of being out of Nichada, we were drenched. We drove past a gas station only to have a few unwanted visitors board the golf cart while we were stuck in traffic and cover our faces with powder. They doused us with frigid water too. I'm telling you, the Thais might seem loving, but they are pretty sneaky on these 3 days as they might add special ingredients to the powder such as Tiger Balm which certainly stings your eyes which is precisely what these gas stationers did. They also added huge blocks of ice to their water source to make it ever colder. It's all in good fun though!!  The same situation happened a bit later as a truck full of guys jumped off in a moment of traffic and proceeded to rock the golf cart while soaking us with water. so. much. fun.

2. The 'high' guy. Now I'm not entirely positive about this, but I'm pretty sure one of the guys I saw yesterday was tripped up on something. His red eyes were a pretty good sign (but that could have been from the powder). He stopped out golf cart and put some powder on our face and proceeded to dance around it. While this may seem strange it's actually an entirely common site during Songkran. People stop vehicals all the time to be able to have mini-fights with whomever is aboard. Trucks are certainly the most common mode of transport during this time as huge amounts of people can fit on them and huge tanks of water allow for the maximum amount of fun to be had.

3. The number one Songkraner!   As we drove, an older lady was yelling at us in Thai but the only audible thing we understood was "Number 1!!!!". Thus, we established that she must be saying she is the number one songkraner. Good times.

These are a few pics of this amazing holiday (They aren't mine, but I'm not quite willing to take out my camera during such a wet and hazardous time.)

                           An example of several guys crammed into a truck and ready for the fights.

                          This kid in a truck seems to be warding off the gun fighters. I'm telling you, it's impossible to escape the water during these three days- so if you come, be prepared to get soaked, and just enjoy it.

Some are well prepared. These backpack/waterguns are a commons item for little kids. 

As I posted my appreciation for Songkran on my Facebook status, a friend of mine said how jealous they are that America has no such holiday. How right they are. America would never be able to host such a crazy holiday- too many would get sued and too many uptight people would be outraged. If I tried drenching a buisiness man on his way to work, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't live to see another drop of water. Thus, to experience this amazingly fun three days, you gotta come where it happens, one of the best countries on this planet: Thailand.