Thailand: Waterfights, Ping Pongs and Crazy Drivers

Have you ever imagined what it would feel like to have 500 Thai people wipe clay and a mixture of baby powder all over your face, while being covered in water from hoses, waterguns and buckets at the same time? I never had either, until I came to Songkran in Bangkok. Songkran is a festival celebrating the Thai new year that happens for 4 days all over Bangkok, which started years ago with people going to temples to get blessed with water, and has turned into all out water-warefare! The first day Rego and I got to Bangkok we got out of our cab with our bags, begged the people outside our hostel not to soak us, ran inside, immediately changed our clothes, walked outside, got soaked, bought waterguns and spent the next 10 hours playing like children. It is hard to explain this festival to someone who has never been, but imagine walking down the streets and having children, old people, locals and non-locals throwing water at you, while others carry bowls filled with a clay mixture which some nicely wipe on your cheeks with a "happy new year", while others smear roughly over your face and eyes. The main road, Khao San, is like being in the mosh pit of an outdoor concert while its raining. People are dancing, screaming, music is blairing, you're walking along with your watergun in hand, doing random face-shots as people walking by, and then BAM you get a bucket of ice cold water poured down your back. At night we stood outside our hostel throwing buckets of water at passing motorcycles, cars, tuk-tuks and even into the open windows of buses (sometimes waking people up who were sleeping!) The first day was probably the best day of my life - 95% fun. The second day was still pretty awesome - 75% fun. The last day was a mixture of fun, and "if one more person wipes clay in my eyes I am going to kill them with my watergun" - 50% fun.


After Rego and I left Kuala Lampur we headed to the Parenthian Islands, off the eastern coast of Malaysia, for 5 days of relaxation and snorkelling.
With white beaches and crystal clear water, I can pretty much say it's the closest I have ever been to paradise. Unfortuantely, Paradise on the backpacker budget limited us to staying at The Symphony Village ($6 a night), a cluster of shacks on the beach, with an outdoor sink and shower, CREEPY dirty toilets, and plenty of lizards - some were small and lived in our shack (Stevie was our favorite) and others were absolute monster-lizards, crawling around making mating noises at 7oclock in the morning.
Besides sunbathing, volleyball, snorkelling, eating, sleeping, swimming, watching movies at the local bar, and playing cards, I can't say I did anything productive while on the Parenthian Islands. Without a drop of rain, the 5 days were amazing. The only bad thing that happened is on one ill-fated snorkelling trip my "indestructable" camera popped a leak, which forced me to have to buy a new one while in Bangkok and miss out on taking pictures for several days.

Although we left reluctantly, the excitment of Bangkok and Songkran was just around the corner (and only a boat, taxi, night bus, train, shuttle bus, plane, and another taxi ride away.)


Bangkok is probably the craziest place I have ever been - two days prior to the Songkran festival, on the same Khao San road, there was a huge riot that killed 18 people, and in the same location now has on display all the pictures of the dead (brains, blood, and all). When I asked a friend how they could go from riots to partying in 2 days, he said "welcome to Bangkok." While American is a society bound by a million laws Bangkok is the complete opposite. Driving a car in Bangkok is insane. People do not follow any types of rules, swerving, weaving, beeping, going through stop lights. Buses, cars, tuk-tuks (3-wheeled open-air vehicles that squeeze 3-5 passengers in them) and motorbikes weave around eachother so much so that I CANNOT believe there are not accidents every.04 seconds.
Tons of people drive motorbikes, sometimes even on the sidewalks, and they ussually carry 2-3 people, and I commonly see children on the bikes without helmets jammed in between their mothers and fathers (sometimes as young as 1 or 2!!) When crossing the road you just go, DO NOT STOP, because the cars swerve around you and if you stop they will probably misjudge and hit you. As you walk back home at night, you will have to step over at least 10 people sleeping on the streets - literally on the street, guess they can't afford carboard boxes here in Thailand. You will also see at least 30 stray dogs and cats wandering around looking for food. The "sex section" of Thailand, whole streets of flashing lights, provides people with different options - "lady boys", "cute young boys", "hot girls" and tons of "Ping Pong Shows" where girls do crazy things with ping pongs of course, but also pull objects like razor blades and massive amounts of ropes out of themselves, some even smoke cigarettes (and not with their mouths.) Men beg you as you walk down the street to choose their Ping Pong show, pulling on your arms and flashing you pictures and prices. Did I see one? Of course - "when in Rome!"


So I recently realized I am getting fat. (If I am going to put it out there, I also noticed some cellulite, my first spider vein and several wrinkles on my face.) It might be that my body knows I am turning 28 in just a few short weeks, or it might be the insanely delicious food here in Asia at prices next to nothing. A huge plate of Pad Thai from a street Vendor will cost you about 30Baht = $1. I had a dinner out the other night with an iced coffee (which they sweeten with condensed sweetend milk, and I love it), brushetta, chicken curry and rice and it cost me an expensive 180Baht = $5.50. An ice cream cone at MacDonalds costs 9Baht= $.30. Pretty much everything is cheap in Asia. The room Rego and I are sharing has air conditioning, our own bathroom and shower, and costs us each 200baht a night= $6. An hour of Thai Massage (which I got yesterday, and it was amazing) cost 180baht = $5.50. A huge bottle of water will run you about 13 baht = $.50 (while this same bottle would cost you about $4 in Australia.) If you negotiate right, a 15 minute cab ride to the other side of town costs about 100 baht = $3. The 4-day PADI scubadiving course we start tomorrow including accomodation, bus and boat to Koa Tao, and all dives/training/certifications cost us only $9,600baht =$290!!!


So, after three days of waterfighting, and one day of sight seeing (Rego and I went to look at several temples including the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew Emerald Buddah, and the Temple of Down, walked through Chinatown and shopped on Khao San Road, which is like a totally different place sans water), we head south to the beautiful Island of Ka Tao to dive, dive and dive some more! When I get back to Bangkok on the 23rd I will be PADI certified!