Happy New Year Thai Style

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The Songkran Festival, Happy New Year, Thai style. It’s April 13, 2552 (Thai calendar) and today is the day they celebrate their New Year. This really can’t be described, at least not by me. We all join in with the locals and proceed to throw massive amounts of water on each other and everyone else. Over the past couple of days, you could feel the excitement building, with small buckets and tons of water guns for sale. The Thais have been telling us for days to be ready to get soaking wet. I had no idea how wet. It’s like running a gauntlet, they see you coming, the big grin hits their faces and then the water hits your face. It comes from buckets, water guns and hoses. The water is ice cold, it’s hot, it’s salty, and it has food coloring in it. Another thing they do is mix up a paste and put it on your face to wish you good luck in the coming year.

There are also the usual parades, fire shows, beauty pageants, for all ages of girls, and of course the ladyboys. There was also a fire show competition, fireworks and beach parties late into the night. It reminded us of being in NOLA with the partying beginning in the morning and lasting all night. What a blast! Wish we did this back home.

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