Songkran 2011 Day 1

Songkran 2011 day 1

Songkran: The Battle for Soi 8

As usual Songkran started early in Pattaya with water fights breaking out by 9pm the night before but they were nothing compared to the fights to come.

I made it all of 5 feet onto my soi this morning before getting drenched with water and I soon found out just how inadequate my small arms fire was. By the time I made it to second road I already had powder all over my face, jasmine scented water poured over my shoulders and ice water poured down my back. Luckily for me I found a decent bar fight taking place and joined in long enough to get a hold of a water cannon.

By the time I made it to Soi 8 I was drenched and well ready for a fight…and a fight is what I got. With a backdrop of Issan and dance music the battle commenced and no prisoners were taken, well, a few times we took prisoners long enough to dunk them in our vat of ice water. Every shady tactic possible was used but it still came down to how many water trucks were rolling up the road and if you still had water and ice.

Real wars should be fought this well, while my enemy fought a vigorous fight they still found time to smile and give hugs freely wishing me a happy Songkran. By the end of the day the muscles in my arms were killing me almost as much as the muscles in my face…hard to imagine smiling so much could hurt.

I’m not sure what the war has in store for me tomorrow but I’ll be ready…hopefully by 2pm, sleep is necessary for battle.

Songkran Day 1 Pics

Songkran 2011 day 1

Songkran 2011 day 1 Songkran 2011 day 1 Songkran 2011 day 1

Songkran 2011 day 1

Songkran 2011 day 1 Songkran 2011 day 1 Songkran 2011 day 1

Songkran 2011 day 1

Songkran 2011 day 1 Songkran 2011 day 1 Songkran 2011 day 1

Songkran 2011 day 1

 



talensig

19 Responses to Songkran 2011 Day 1
  1. Martyn
    April 13, 2011 | 11:31 pm

    A Miss Wet T-Shirt contest dressed up as a water fight.

    Great stuff and happy Thai New Year to you.
    Martyn´s last blog ..Thailand Blogs – March 2011 ReviewMy ComLuv Profile

    • Talen
      April 14, 2011 | 11:35 am

      Happy Thai New Year Martyn, nothing like a wet Thai girl to ring in the new year :)

  2. Camille
    April 14, 2011 | 8:32 am

    Some nice pix Talen, the one with the long hose and her hair all around her is excellent!

    Hope you survive another two days of madness, Samui only has one day and that’s just enough!
    Camille´s last blog ..Camilles Samui Info blog- Koh Samui- Thailand daily weather update 14th April- 2011 deliciousMy ComLuv Profile

    • Talen
      April 14, 2011 | 11:33 am

      Camille, I might survive but we have 7 days of Songkran so I might be taking a small break for a day or two until the the biggest days the 18th and 19th.

  3. [...] Songkran fun begins on Soi 8. Many more Songkran Pics can be seen at Songkran 2011 Day 1. 14 Apr This entry was written by Talen, posted on April 14, 2011 at 11:04 am, filed under [...]

  4. Catherine
    April 14, 2011 | 12:43 pm

    Talen, great pics! So, what are you doing about protecting your camera? I went to wrap mine just now and I can’t bear to take it out. I do have a KISS here so it might be the one sacrificed to the water gods…
    Catherine´s last blog ..Thai News Site 2Bangkokcom Moves to WordPressMy ComLuv Profile

    • Talen
      April 14, 2011 | 12:50 pm

      Cat, I have a semi waterproof bag that I keep my stuff in but I still wrap the cameras in plastic bags. The DSLR fairs pretty well because people can see it clearly and won’t soak me….the small Sony cyber shot I use mainly for video took a beating yesterday. I think I lost the LCD screen. Hopefully I can get it to come back.

      • Catherine
        April 14, 2011 | 3:34 pm

        Talen, that’s the problem. They do indeed see you and some just don’t care. And it only takes one.

        I’ve read about the rogue Thai who decides to drench the camera carrying farang… bye bye camera. It’s not funny but they seem to think it’s hilarious.

        I’m just back from the road. In the end, I unwrapped my 7D and took it in as is. And how did I protect it? In a waterproof taxi. I’m sick so that’s about all I could manage today anyway (what a sob story – I’m SO FRIGGING tired of being sick!)

        Ouch on your Cybershot. Getting cameras fixed out here isn’t always simple or cheap. I just researched a fabulous camera that’ll take a beating plus great video and stills (the man is megga tough on cameras). I took it out for a test drive and it’s mighty fine AND small in the hand. Holler if you want the details.
        Catherine´s last blog ..Thai News Site 2Bangkokcom Moves to WordPressMy ComLuv Profile

        • Talen
          April 14, 2011 | 3:38 pm

          Cat, I definitely want the details…the cyber shot still takes great pics and videos…I just can’t see what I’m shooting. I’m hoping in a few days that the lcd will come back, it was trying to late last night.

  5. Camille
    April 14, 2011 | 2:54 pm

    I’m using my underwater housing for my camera, comes in handy if you’re a diver!
    Camille´s last blog ..Camilles Samui Info blog- Koh Samui- Thailand daily weather update 14th April- 2011 deliciousMy ComLuv Profile

    • Talen
      April 14, 2011 | 3:18 pm

      Camille, an underwater housing would be ideal unfortunately the one I have is for a different camera I used to dive with.

      So far a plastic bag and fancy footwork has been key but I think I might switch to a longer lens to keep a little more distant from the action.

      • Catherine
        April 14, 2011 | 3:37 pm

        Camille, I looked into the case a month ago but I can’t justify the price. I can see Songkran getting old really fast so it’d be wasted money.

        Not that I’m planning on being a party-pooper next year…
        Catherine´s last blog ..Thai News Site 2Bangkokcom Moves to WordPressMy ComLuv Profile

  6. [...] But Thursday morning was different. A mixture of guilt and healthy competition does that to me. Snap didn’t say, but I could feel a Songkran part II coming from her end. And Talen, well, the man is a Songkran maniac! [...]

  7. Oneditorial
    April 15, 2011 | 5:30 pm

    I wonder how many times you got wet during the last couple of days.
    Oneditorial´s last blog ..Adult services from a Thai ladyMy ComLuv Profile

  8. Lani
    April 15, 2011 | 5:39 pm

    Sorry Talen, Pattaya looks downright tame compared to Chiang Mai :P

    555

    This year I didn’t have any weaponry, just wandered and got wet, but last year I have to say I got better with my bucket aim!
    Lani´s last blog ..chiang mai country livingMy ComLuv Profile

    • Talen
      April 15, 2011 | 7:23 pm

      Lani, I started on the tame street…today I visited soi 7 and there were about 3 thousand people….nasty water fighting today.

      And the last 2 days are always the worst.

Leave a Reply

Wanting to leave an <em>phasis on your comment?

CommentLuv Enabled
Trackback URL http://thailandlandofsmiles.com/2011/04/13/songkran-day/trackback/