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Published: December 16th 2010
Hi All!
Sabadi Pii Mai Laos - Happy New Year Laos!
It's a jolly old Lunar New Year and the main theme of the celebration is a religious one. Throwing water out from all of the housesto wash away evil spirits, this also includes taking water to the temples and washing the Buddha statues (if you manage to visist a certain number (11??) of temples during Pii Mai you are given good luck for the year ahead. Without a doubt though, the real Pii Mai as a lot of you already know is just a huge hue countrywide waterfight with flowing Beerlao!
I am still travelling with Rick, Emma and Alex and arrived at our guesthouse on NY's eve. Of course for the English this is the big one (ny eve) so we all went out and had one or two too many beers without realising at the time it wasn't the big night.
We really didn't know what to expect from the next day in this old French colonial town though shortly after leaving our rooms we knew. From on the balcony we saw a group of children with little water pistols and some water balloons,
Savannakhet Monsoon
Serious rain, far more interesting than English drizzle!no problem with this! After a bit of splashing we hit the main strip road through the town and simply stopped. Pick-up trucks drove slowly down the road, the backs completely full of Laos people of all ages, all drenched, lots drinking, all smiling and all having a fantastic time.
Headed down the road being treated like celebrities, there aren't many Western visitors at New Years here, maybe 15 in the whole town. They gave us free Beerlao, covered our faces with talc and then threw monsoons of water at us! We went back to the bar we were at the previous night and after resting and getting used to the chaos we joined the Laos girls on the roadside armed with buckets of water and hosepipes, loving the whipping of a pail into the face of someone coming towards you on a moped.
Compared to the Western New Year, which seems primarily to consist of disappointment, excess and regrets the Laos New Year is fantastic! I have never seen such happiness and fun throughout a whole town (I say town, but its about twice the size of Hereford). If I can I'll bring it back with
me.
A few Beerlao's later in the day I joined the bargirls on the sidecart of a moped armed with our buckets and did the big chaotic loop around the town getting absolutely slaughtered by everyone who spots me as a felang.
As the evening came in and the monsoon hit the parties still carried on. Our bar ran out of water, so we walked down the street and were welcomed to join another group of locals.
Next, the parade started - a bonus as we only thought this happened in Louang Prabang (where I am now). This was standard but happy and fun to watch, music, floats and Miss Laos (who was in a reclining Buddha pose.
Second day in and much the same which was definitely a good thing! Myself, Emma, and Rick joined the locals from our bar on the pick-up truck. Unfortunately for me I sat balanced on the road side edge whilst they were on the inside edge. Basically all meaning I got savaged by the water and ravaged in terrifying and unexpected manner when the ladyboy bar threw their arms around me (was looking the other way) and pretty much
tried to pull my genitalia in half. Sore and scary. Not hugely helping is that these are not Thai ladyboys, for the most part they are terrifying Laos ladyboys with much less convincing ways about them!
3rd day I went on the pick-up with some random locals who told me to just jump in and so I did. More flowing free beer and new friends! Standing up and dancing in the back on the pick-up, whilst waving arms at the locals, doing high fives, shaking hands, telling everyone that I love them as they tell me the same and getting absolutely covered in talc, dyes of various colours, ice cold water and thankfully some warmer water too.
This was going fantastic... then I made fatal error and sat on the back of the pick-up. No no, I didn't fall off, if only. I turn round to see a wasted ladyboy with her plastic chest completely uncovered running towards me, throwing herself at me and kissing either cheek and then trying to kiss me on the lips, all the time whilst trying to rip off my babymaker. I resorted to trying to break free and fall into the back
Little Sod
Scaring me when I'm on the bog. of the truck whilst all the others trid to get her away, scary stuff!
On day 4, things were meant to all be over yet the enthusiasm hadn't died out completely and I managed to get soaked 3 times whilst trying to avoid it all and eventually got on our night bus still soggy.
Pii Mai is probably the most fun I have ever had in my life. So much happiness, every single person joining in, dancing in the streets mixed with the most chaotic waterfight I've ever had the pleasure of being involved with. We have it wrong in England, but then again - wouldn't want to be in a waterfight in English winter!
Below: Happy Laos locals enjoying the festival!
Will write up Vienttiane soon with a bit of luck, more ladyboy trouble and a disco night (not a nightclub, definitely a disco!).
Hope everyone is well and enjoys the pictures!
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