Songkran!

From the first day that I arrived in Thailand I had heard all about this huge water festival called Songkran that happens at the hottest time of the year. It sounded fun and crazy and I was excited to meet up with Mel, Leah, Brandon and Nick and Al again in Chiang Mai to celebrate it!

Songkran is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from April 13 to 15. The date was originally set by astrological calculation but now is a set date. It is most famously celebrated in Chiang Mai where it is celebrated for six days and sometimes even longer! The most obvious celebrations of Songkran is throwing water on others. Thais and foreigners roam the streets with buckets of water or water guns. Also, Thais will have small bowls with containers of colored talc to smear on faces and bodies of random passerby's as a blessing for the New Year! 

There is also the Buddhist celebration that takes place. Thais visit Wats to pray and give food to monks. They also cleanse Buddha images and household shrines, doing this will will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year.  In Chiang Mai, the Buddha images from all of the city's important Wats were brought out and walked down the streets so that people could toss water at them and cleanse them. 

So we Kate and I get to Chiang Mai and everyone is trying to charge us 100-300 baht to get to our guesthouse and they can't even take us to our guesthouse but near the wall! I was so mad, but we met an Aussie couple who agreed to share a cab with us.  It was crazy, tons of people, cars, everyone getting everyone else wet. We got really nervous for our electronics and stuff getting wet. When they took us as far as they could, Kate and I saw the road we wanted through the gate, so we went down some back roads and still ended up getting pretty soaked... Kate and I were both getting anxious and Kate was a little mad at the people throwing water at us. "If you just let me put my stuff away I will be more fun, but please don't get my stuff wet!!!" 

Once we found our guesthouse we were able to laugh about it more! We were waiting on some benches hoping to see one of our friends when all of a sudden I was tackled by Mel out of nowhere! It was so great to see her! We just kept hugging and catching up when all of a sudden we hear "Jordyn is hereeee!" We turn around and Leah is standing there drenched and happy! (Jordyn is Leah's drunk name) We all piled on Leah and Mel's bed to catch up on what everyone was doing for the past month! It was so fun! 

Then, Leah, Kate and I went to meet my friends Heather, Adam, and Tiffany at a restaurant! They are living and teaching in Macau and visiting Thailand for the weekend! I was so glad to be able to see them and catch up on their lives! I stayed and had dinner with them and ended up talking with them for 3 hours! It was so great! Then I met back up with the group and we headed over to Zoe Yellow. We got some buckets, found some seats and Mel and I ended up just talking and talking! I missed her so much! We danced a ton and then around 3:30 headed home!

For the first official day of Songkran we were all super excited! We all bought protective carriers for our cameras, phones and money. Then we bought buckets and started filling them up and tossing it at people! We made our way to the gate and Air Asia put on a huge dance party with mist and a huge foam party next to it! It was crazy! At one point I was ankle deep in dirty, foamy water, loving it! 

Kate, Leah and I getting ready for Songkran!

 Kate, Leah, Mel and I already soaked!

 People jumping into the moat/throwing their buckets into the moat! Dirrrrty!

After a bit we met up with another group of OEGers and decided to take a break. We found a bar on the street that had two huge barrels of ice water for us to throw on people. Whenever people are out of water, they throw their bucket in the moat and reel it back in. It was pretty gross, people were even swimming in it! It supposedly was cleaned before that day but who knows! 

The next day was more of the same! We ran into Brandon and headed over to the bar we were at the day before and stationed there for the day. Brandon and I got super into it and we were throwing water on anyone and everything! They had to drag me away at the end of the day, "Queen of Songkran!" I was so exhausted that I passed out that day by 7! It was such a great day! 

The next day Kate and I headed to meet up with Nick and Al! We caught up and heard all about their travels to Singapore, Bali, Vietnam, and Malaysia! It was so great to see them and catch up after a month of being apart! Mel, Leah and Brandon met up with us and we got our buckets and started Songkran day 3! The group went over to the bar we had been stationed at for the past two days and showed Nick and Al the ropes! Kate had a major water war with this Thai guy we nicknames "Numbers." It was cute! After hours of warring we showered up and then went out to 3 Little Pigs, one of our favorite restaurants, that has BBQ for dinner! 

The next day, Kate had to leave :-( She took a tuk tuk to the airport and was flying to Spain! It was so weird to apart after being together for a month straight! Mel, Nick and Al and I headed to Nick and Al's hotel, where we would be staying for a couple days. We hung out until Leah had to leave for her bust to Laos! :-( Mel's and my last day together was the next day. We met Nick and Al for lunch, got mani/pedis and had delicious curry for dinner. Then we had to say  goodbye. We relived our first couple weeks together and how hard they were and how far we have come together. I cried a lot and was glad to have Nick and Al to hang out with afterwards :-) 

I learned the next morning that I got into the CIEE China program! Excited for my next journey while still on this journey!! 

I said bye to Nick and Al that same morning as they head off to South Korea! 

Songkran was incredibly fun and such a great way to come together with friends in the country we love to say goodbye one last time!