APRIL in Thailand means two things – disturbingly hot days and lots of water.
The extreme heat and humidity comes with the end of the wet season, and the water is part of the annual Songkran which is the nation-wide event that celebrates the beginning of another year in Thailand.
For a handful of days every April – the days of a celebration vary from one town to the next, but always fall on April 13 to 15 in Bangkok – the locals spend hours throwing water on each other using buckets, bottles and water pistols.
Coloured powder is mixed with water to flick at passing cars, and to wipe across the faces of friends, and it isn’t long before everyone is soaked to the skin and branded with the mark of the Songkran celebration.
There is a formal aspect to the celebration, with families uniting for a feast and filing off to the local temple or pagoda to pray and pay their respects to their ancestors, but it’s the public water fights that seem to be the most fun.
Families with a gaggle of children pile in to the back of a truck or ute and creep along the congested streets flinging water while those on the side of the road, set up outside the family home or shop, use hoses to drench those travelling by vehicle.
Everyone dresses in shirts made from bright floral patterns, there are parades with ornate floats covered in fellow flowers and gold paint, concerts are held on stages set up in the centre of each village, and rows of food stalls sell regional cuisine to those partying hard.