4/11 Prepping for Songkran

4/11/2013: OMG I saw Pancake. "She is Thai superstar." Oh. Cool. She is "Miss Songkran" in Chiang Mai this year - the guest of honor for the annual Thai New Year's celebration. I was about 20 feet away from her and had no idea I was so close to such a celebrity. I was like "hey, who's that babe on the float in that parade?" So I took a picture, then showed the security guy (Tony) at my apartment and he said I was very lucky to have seen Pancake. He said he thinks she goes by Pancake because her face is flat. Her real name is Khemanit Jamikorn.

Pancake in purple

People going nuts over Pancake

Pancake on the float

Anyway, Songkran is (so I've heard) a huge celebration in Chiang Mai. Rather than re-write stuff, I'll pull out the good parts from Wikipedia. It's funny that the holiday has gone from solemn and respectful to a water-fight. I suppose you could say similar things about American holidays (replace "water-fight" with "heavy drinking" or "excessive gift exchange").

• Songkran is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 16 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia.
• The most famous Songkran celebrations are still in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six days and even longer. It has also become a party for foreigners and an additional reason for many to visit Thailand for immersion in another culture.
• The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors, and monks. The songkran festival is counted as a new life.
• The throwing of water originated as a way to pay respect to people, by capturing the water after it had been poured over the Buddhas for cleansing and then using this "blessed" water to give good fortune to elders and family by gently pouring it on the shoulder. Among young people the holiday evolved to include dousing strangers with water to relieve the heat, since April is the hottest month in Thailand (temperatures can rise to over 100°F or 40°C on some days). This has further evolved into water fights and splashing water over people riding in vehicles. Nowadays, the emphasis is on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival's spiritual and religious aspects, which sometimes prompts complaints from traditionalists. In recent years there have been calls to moderate the festival to lessen the many alcohol-related road accidents as well as injuries attributed to extreme behavior such as water being thrown in the faces of traveling motorcyclists.

 I was told that I should get a water gun. I have not done that yet. It's probably too late now. I guess we'll find out soon.