Songkran

Let me start by saying Songkran is the best festival ever celebrated by man. It's the celebration of the Thai New Year and lasts for days. Officially it was from April 13-15, but celebration starts 2 days early in some places.
What makes it so amazing...
The tradition is to splash water on each other, which is said to wash away sins to start the New Year fresh. Well, 'splash' is really an understatement. A more accurate word would be 'spray,' 'throw,' 'pour,' or even 'dump' buckets of water on each other. Since its the height of the hot season, water is the best way to stay cool and is usually welcomed.
On Saturday the 11th, we went to Maprang's house in Ngao. Margo had left the night before, but Apple & I joined her on Saturday. Sunday we got up early to "len Songkran" (play Songkran) in town. We spent some time stationed on a not-so-busy road with a garbage pail filled with water and a hose...pouring buckets on whoever drove by on a bicycle or motorbike. We would flag them down and make them slow down and then take buckets. For trucks full of people, we used the hose. The rest of the time Margo & I rode around on a motorbike looking for kids to pour water on us. That afternoon we went back to Lampang. Even at night, the streets of a few parts of the city were packed...people throwing water, drinking, and dancing.
Monday the 13th was the main day of the celebration. Margo & I spent the early part of the day on the back of a truck with 2 of Apple's friends and a bunch of other Thais. Traffic was crazy! Trucks filled the street of Lampang, each with a garbage pail full of water (and sometimes ice!) and packed with passengers each with water-guns or buckets, and beers in hand. The traffic got so bad, even motorbikes were at a stand-still. Besides throwing water, people mixed powder and water to make a paste that they smeared on each others faces. People passed us on the street putting powder on our face saying "Welcome to Lampang," "Welcome to Songkran," "Happy New Year," or sometimes the occasional jokester would say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Birthday." Since people are drinking all day and on trucks all day, their tradition is to just pee on the end of the truck and just wash it away with buckets of water, or wherever you are standing, and just wash it away. I couldn't bring myself to take part in this, so Margo & I left the truck in search of a bathroom. Afterwards, we couldn't find the truck, so we walked around for the next few hours hoping we'd find them. We never did, but we came across plenty of students.
The best part, for me, was seeing my students and either pouring water on them or putting powder on their faces, or both. I got a huge bucket-full to the face on my way into the school (where I lived after I got kicked out of my apartment). One of my students yelled "Becca!" and bam! soaked from head to toe, in jeans.
The 14th and 15th isn't celebrated in Lampang, so Margo & I went to Chiang Mai to celebrate even more on the 15th. Chiang Mai was a completely different Songkran experience. The streets around the moat were packed and there was traffic like in Lampang, but there was no (or very little) face powder. They all got their water from the moat, so by the end of the day we smelled of gross moat water. We were with Margo's friend Ay, who is gorgeous. She got buckets and buckets dumped on her from every guy we passed.
One section of Chiang Mai, where all the clubs are, was closed off and resembled a version of the typical "spring break" for American college students: a bunch of drunk people dancing and watching a band, girls on stage dancing, and barely enough room to breathe. The only things missing were the beach and the bikinis.
We got to experience Songkran in 3 completely different places- a small town, a small city, and a big city. Maybe it was because it was on the biggest day of the festival, or maybe because we have friends there, or maybe because I have students there, but I thought Lampang was the most fun. I wish I can come back every year for Songkran.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures. I didn't want to take the risk of breaking my camera with all the water splashing and all.
I left Lampang only a few days ago, but I miss it already.
Next stop, Laos :)