Happy Songkran

small songkran, originally uploaded by richardinthailand.

For three days in April the whole of Thailand goes crazy as they celebrate the unique bizarreness that is Songkran festival.

Songkran is the Thai New Year, but the traditional practices of pouring fragrant water on the hands of the elderly to show respect has mutated into an all out all day and all night water fight during which the entire nation take to the streets to douse soak each other with buckets, hoses and every kind of water gun imaginable.

And then there is the clay.

Songkran just happens to be on my birthday and the atmosphere on Khao San road was unbelievable. Thousands of people were on the streets but everyone was so happy and the whole thing was incredibly friendly. Can you imagine the mayhem and fights that would break out if this kind of thing was attempted in the UK!

In the evening the party moved on to Silom where the nightclubs had an inch of water on the floor and the DJ was hidden in a plastic tent and you danced whilst trying your best to avoid the bucket of ice and jets of cold water.

If you are planning to come to Thailand it's worth braving the heat of the Thai Summer to experience this unforgettable festival.

This is my first batch of photos, taken with a waterproof disposable.. will be putting up some others my friends took over the next few weeks.