Soaking It Up!

 The islands of Thailand do a great job of providing budget  travellers with beautiful sandy beaches, snorkeling spots and cheap cocktails..  They are full of young people with similar travel itineraries sharing stories and hanging in hammocks. You cant help but get stuck somewhere for a little longer than expected and have a great time catching a few too many rays. For us, what the islands lack is any kind of local culture, they're all so full of tourists! This is why Chris and I were absolutely floored that the final leg of our Thailand trip was spent on Khao San road in Bangkok, celebrating Songkran!

A few pics from island life in Thailand... so beautiful! Many a sunsets and always warm enough for a late-night swim!

In the background you see the massage table, not a bad location!

One of our favorite beaches, Mae Haad on Koh Phangan

Canadian buddies we've been meeting up with on the way.. they've gone home now *tear* but hopefully we'll cross paths again!

$6/day, not a bad way to get around! My knight in shining scooter :)

In theory, Songkran is the celebration of the New Year in Thailand, Cambodia and probably other surrounding countries too. It is a water festival, and locals will pour a cup of water over a Buddha statue in hopes of a fresh start and good luck in the New Year.

In reality, just as the religious premise of Easter is an excuse to hide chocolate bunnies around the house, so is Songkran an excuse to pour giant buckets of water over the heads of strangers, huck buckets of water at unprepared tuk tuk passengers, smear talcum powder paste all over each others faces, and generally have the biggest water fight in the world. Awesome!

Though many travellers had described to us what it was like as I try to describe now, like being Vancouver during the Olympics when Canada beat the rival US to win the most important of all golds, only those that were there to see it could truly understand the absolute chaos!
The best part about the water fight is that it was mostly local people of Thailand who were filling the streets to celebrate it! At one point we found ourselves on the side of the main road with a family of Thai people, playing with the little kids by pouring buckets of water over each other and throwing water at the trucks that would drive by with, literally, 10-15 people (standing room only) in the back! This was the cultural experience we were looking for! No matter how icy the water, how much it might've stung getting a shot directly in an unexpected eye or talcum powder smeared into a surprised mouth, everyone was laughing and completely carefree and happy! If anywhere in the western world  attempted this type of festival, fights would be breaking out left, right and center! Not in Thailand! We partied and splashed and threw for a few hours during the day and then headed back again at night for another soaking... The ice water got a bit cold and after a couple of hours we found ourselves slowly approaching breaking point of 'dont you dare spray that in my face'! But it was all good and we made it out harmlessly soaked and cooled down for once to head back to our room with a fan that was more like a heater because all it did was blow hot air at you. The next morning of the festival we left pre-festivities and said goodbye to Thailand (for now). What a way to end! Happy Songkran and hello Cambodia!

With love,

Don't mess with him, that's ice water in there!

I'm thirsty! Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures of the action unless we wanted to ruin our camera!

Lauren and Chris xo