Songkran Nichada style

Welcome to Songkran: Where water, baby powder, moving vehicles, and a whole lotta alcohol leads to hours of wholesome fun.


Today the cultural maelstrom known as Songkran descended on our peaceful little kingdom of Nichada. The day started out slow as Meg and her little friend Caudia sat by the security guard box and threw water at passing cars for a an hour. They victimized golf carts, joggers, and motorcycles. Most people were good natured about it, but the occasional pretentious doo-fuss got uptight about having water and powder on his Mercedes. I don't know why, since he can just have his driver wash it when he gets home. Of course they also soaked me everytime I came by to check on them.

In the afternoon I decided to take Meg and her friend outside the walls of Nichada so they could see what Songkran was like in real Thailand. As we passed the 7-11 there was a little three year old girl with a bucket of water. We passed her several times so she could throw water on us and each time she squealed with delight.

Out on Samakee road it was crazy - Italian televion crazy. We puttered down the shoulder of the road on our little safety-cycle with a bucket of water lodged between the girls. Even with this ammunition they were completely outgunned. Once we drove past a water-gun nest we were completely swarmed by people. For some reason its always difficult to get beverage below room temperature in this country, but the water they throw on you during Songkran is ice-cold. They surrounded us so we couldn't move and poured buckets of water all over us, then others would run up and pat our cheeks with powder, perfume, and who knows what else. It was like going through a car wash. The girls were in the back screaming and laughing. The Thais loved getting them wet, and since many had been drinking since early that morning, they were having a great time. We were easy targets since I had to go slowly to prevent the girls from falling out of safetycycle. There were also pickup trucks cruising by dousing people as well. We cruised around for a few minutes until there was not a dry spot on us before retreating back inside the walls of colonial city.

Later in the evening Meg went back out with her friends and established an ambush site on Nichada's main road. It was deplorable scene of carnage and destruction. They were like a party of drunken Bedouins, preying on the weary traveler, leaving nothing but series of soaking west carcasses in their wake. The video below is not for the faint of heart.