After three years of Songkran lockdown, thanks to coronavirus, the first day of the water-chucking festival had few takers. Water pistol and raincoat street sellers sat forlornly outside Pattaya’s beach road police station waiting for business to pick up. “We expected a busy morning on day one (April 13) as Pattaya is very busy. But so far I have sold only one plastic gun and a waterproof hat,” said Nam who has been a saleslady for 30 years.
Pattaya police station’s frontage has traditionally been a center point for Songkran water excess, if only because officers had to grin and bear the drenched uniforms and powder-doused powder. But not this year. The rumor is that senior police have warned that anyone attempting to force motorbike drivers off their machines by hurling buckets of cold water over them will receive a taste of Thai holding-cell hospitality. Meanwhile, high-pressure water guns are not for sale publicly this year.
Other watery locations told a similar story. Notorious spots on Second Road were as dry as dust, whilst the Hanuman statue intersection on Jomtien Two road could only muster two teens with an icy bucket standing in front of a restaurant sign saying, “Water throwers will be punished”. In pre-pandemic Pattaya, there were several unsuccessful attempts by the local authority to restrict the water armies to specific locations, such as a remote section of beach or the hilly park situated next to the tourist police base. But Pattaya city hall has been silent this year, except for traditional greetings and a reminder about booze and traffic accidents.
Of course, it’s early yet as Pattaya takes a full week for the festivities (April 13-19) culminating in the chaotic traffic day when Thais and foreigners fight it out aboard lorries and the backs of pickups. But some say the decline of Pattaya water mayhem is a sign Sin City has changed. “The heyday was 20 years ago when westerners came to Pattaya just to enjoy the festival. But tourism these days is more Asian and Russian orientated and they aren’t interested in rediscovering their lost youth by throwing water,” says tourism guide Porn Seemongkol. “That’s why the water games are now mostly confined to streets with nightclubs catering for westerners, such as Soi Buakhao or Soi Six.”
