Dear Hillary,
You’ve just had Songkran, which I believe is the Thai New Year, but is the money that the tourists bring in the only important thing? Hundreds of people are killed, so it isn’t much of a New Year for many Thai families. It is advertised as the biggest water fight in the world, but nobody says anything about it being the celebration with the biggest road toll in the world. Has it always been like this?
Jeffery
Dear Jeffery,
No, it was not like this in the past. It was a sign of respect for one’s elders to pour sacred water, which had been blessed by the monks, over the hands of your relatives. That grew to a water fight between the little children and then the older children and finally the adults. And then the tourists joined in and it just grew from there. The official Songkran day this year was on the 13th, but with public holidays and a weekend after that, it went for over a week in Pattaya. You should also understand that Thai people do not “celebrate” Songkran, they say they “play” Songkran. I stay indoors for the week and order takeaway pizzas, which they can slide under the door.
