Crazy Border Crossing and SONGKRAN (water festival)

one of the boats we all had to climb into with our bags to cross
the Mekong

Every border crossing has been memorable (except for Cambodia to Vietnam, which was unbelievably organized, which may actually make it memorable among the chaos of the others), and Laos to Thailand was no exception. Our 22 hour journey involved us taking 2 different buses (Laotians drive on the right side of the road, Thais on the right), crossing the Mekong River in a small longtail boat with all of our luggage, and getting soaked in our tuk tuk on the way to Kate's house in Chiang Mai.

armed and ready!

Before even getting into Chiang Mai I couldn’t believe that a holiday like Songkran existed. A nation-wide water fight? Complete strangers dousing each other in water for a 3 day new years celebration? It didn’t seem real to me. But it was. And God was it fun. Everyone reverts back to their 8 year old selves. It is officially my favorite holiday and 3 day festival.

buckets: good as weapons and fashion accessories

We were greeted into Chiang Mai the day before Songkran by getting absolutely drenched on our way to Kate’s house in our tuk tuk. Thais get extremely excited about Songkran and often start days in advance, meaning that even if you’re walking around before the actual festivities start, you’re never safe. After arriving to Kate’s house, we promptly changed into our bathing suits and headed out. The first person who got us was a security guard for a building. We were about to ask him for directions when we suddenly realized the sly smirk on his face and the Sprite bottle that had been cut and was filled with water. It was at this moment we realized that everyone was a target—and everyone was also a water assassin. No one is safe during Songkran.

garbage cans filled with water for anyone who needs ammo

We promptly bought buckets, which conveniently came with long strings of plastic so that we could easily dump our buckets into the canal that surrounds the old city and fill them up for maximum drenching of anyone passing by. Some people were ruthless and dumped entire buckets of ice cold water on us, while others playfully splashed tiny bits of water. No matter what though, everyone was having a great time. My favorite people to get were the ones in the backs of pickup trucks stuck in traffic, who had huge trash bins filled with water and mercilessly sprayed any passerby.

day 1: pouring rain mid-water fight

Though the first and third days of Songkran were amazing, the second was by far my favorite. The first day we saw a religious parade, since Songkran is about the new year and the water fight represents washing away the sins and bad luck from the year before and getting a new, clean (though the water in Thailand is not exactly clean) start. But the religious experience was nothing compared to the scene we saw the next day: a main road filled with traffic and lined with stages and live performances. Everyone had a water gun, and everyone was part of the fight. After stopping and dancing to a few of the performances, we posted up at a bar with a great dj and a bath tub with a hose in it so we had a continuous supply of water.

outside a temple of Doi Suthep

The next day, and sadly the last, was also a memorable one. We started our day off at a bar that had a huge cooler filled with ice water that was being manned by a couple of middle-aged men and their children. When I asked if I could join them, they told me they had one rule: no buckets because the water goes too quickly. But I didn’t miss out on their freezing fun, because they had extra guns that I could share with them. I thought that this was the perfect example of how much fun everyone has during Songkran: it’s not just for the drunk and young, it’s for everyone that’s a child at heart.

driving away from the mountain
Doi Suthep resides on

As sad as I was that Songkran was over after 3 days, my liver was quite grateful as I had not partied that hard in a while. It is definitely my new favorite holiday, and as a woman on my plane from Chiang Mai to Bangkok suggested, instead of completely missing it next year, I should gather the Thai community wherever I am and celebrate Songkran with them.

I hung around Chiang Mai a couple of days after Songkran, but didn't do as much sightseeing as I should have. I felt that I got a good feel for the city as we covered some serious ground during Songkran. I visited two of the famous temples, which are really beautiful, but the city is just so freaking hot it's hard to be motivated to do anything, especially since we were so used to staying cool with a constant flow of water being poured over our heads. Chiang Mai is known as being the cultural center of Thailand though, as it is one of the first capitals of the country and has an abundant amount of temples. My favorite one was Doi Suthep, which is on the top of a mountain just outside of Chiang Mai. It's the original site of the Emerald Buddha, which was stolen by the Thais from Burma, and now sits in the temple next to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The temple has many different buildings, with several monks blessing people who come in--and they don't discriminate, even I got blessed! 

I wish I had more time in Chiang Mai, as it is usually people's favorite place in Thailand, but I know I'll be back to get a full experience minus the water!