We Get Wet and Wild at Thailand’s Water Festival

Over the years, Thailand has gone by many names. Until 1939 it was Siam, and the country’s friendly citizens have earned it the nickname “The Land of Smiles.”

For a few days each year though, Thailand is also “The Land of the City-Wide Splash Fights.”

Few festivals can top Songkran, also known as the Water Festival, for pure fun. Held every year from April 13-15, it marks the traditional Thai New Year. It’s customary for temples to wash their statues of the Buddha at this time, and belief held that catching the water that runs off, then pouring it gently onto a friend or family member’s shoulder would convey a blessing.

It just so happens that Songkran also coincides with the hottest time in an already hot country. The Thai people put two and two together and figured pouring water on each other was a great way to cool off during this period. They took this one step further and decided that any water would do, and instead of just friends and family, to shower water on virtually everyone they see.

Our reporters were on hand for this year’s festival, held from April 13 to 15. We knew they were going to get thoroughly soaked, but would they live to tell their tale, or would they be washed away, never to be heard from again?

In recent years, Songkram festivities have taken a serious turn for the intense. Our field reporters, including the legendary Mr. Sato, also took part in the Water Festival 10 years ago, and at that time the preferred method was to cup some water in your hand and loft it at your target. Squirt guns were strictly for kids, and people using buckets were a rare sight.

But now it’s not so much that people are using squirt guns as they are squirt bazookas. Having a bucket seems to be the bare minimum, and no one will look twice if you decide to grab a hose and blast away. We even spotted a truck jury-rigged into a fire engine getting in on the action, along with people raining cascades of water down from their rooftops! These days, the Songkran festivities also attract droves of overseas visitors, adding even more chaotic energy to the fun.

You’re free to splash just about anyone you feel like, and no one gets bent out of shape. That said, there are some commonly understood ground rules to this running water battle. No matter how tranquil and good-natured they may be, the Thai monks are strictly off-limits as targets. The same generally goes for police officers, although this guideline seems to be becoming more relaxed, as we spotted a few of Thailand’s finest with drenched uniforms.

Our first stop was Bangkok’s Khaosan Road. We expected the well-known backpacking mecca to be lively, and it did not disappoint us. Waiting for us there was not the reserved Water Festival we saw a decade ago, but a sopping mass of humanity! It was apparently too much trouble for one of our fellow revelers to splash us one at a time, as he whipped out a hose to spray en masse. It seemed a little like cheating, but we had to respect the guy’s ingenuity.

Next, we wondered what Songkran was like in the high-rent district. We sauntered off to the city center, near the Bangkok branch of upmarket Japanese department store Isetan, where various businesses were holding their own special events. These were no button-down corporate affairs, though, especially the ones with giant foam machines! The sudsy solution left no residue when it dried, so even people in their most stylish threads had no qualms getting covered in bubbles.

Even if you’re not actively participating in the festivities, during Songkran, you’ll get doused with water just minding your own business trying to go from point A to point B. Wearing a designer dress? Just catching a lift on the back of a motorcycle taxi or inside one of Thailand’s famous three-wheeled tuk-tuks? It doesn’t matter, because Songkran partiers give no quarter! You’ve got zero chance of making it to your destination in a dry state. You’re not even safe inside a bus. As long the windows are cracked, someone else on the road will find a way to power a deluge at you.

Squirt guns seem to be especially popular with the Europeans and Americans at the Water Festival. Not to be outdone, Bangkok’s gay community got really into things with water-spraying bazookas and buckets. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the sidewalk or in the middle of the street; you’re going to get soaked. Really though, that’s what Songkran is all about.

If you’ll forgive us for being wet blankets for just a moment, we have heard stories of people getting infections or irritations by being hit with dirty water in the eyes, mouth, or open wounds. That said, our reporters came back with no side effects other than enormous grins. Songkran is a once-a-year opportunity to let your hair down, then let that hair get sopping wet, and it’s something we think everyone should experience at least once.