The Road Less Traveled
Surviving The Big Wet

By Pattaya Pete

Well, it's official. The hot season is here and so is Songkran. For those of us who have lived here for a while, we will most probably leave the holiday for the Thais as it their New Year's holiday. Here in Pattaya, the time period is probably the longest, starting usually around the 15th or 16th and not finishing until around the 19th. You may still find a few “insurgents” ;-) hanging around in ambush mode into the 20th. This is a happy time for most of the locals but also a bit dangerous as road accidents usually mount due to inebriation and lack of traffic control. The Government has in recent years taken a bit more control of water gun devices and ice but even still, it's hard to stop a Thai National from having a good time. As for me, I realize that it's virtually impossible to do any work other than that which can be done on the computer and may opt to take a much deserved holiday to Cambodia or the P.I.

For those of you who may be Tourists coming here for the first time, the experience can be a fun one like nothing else you may have ever experienced. You would be most probably correct in calling it the world's biggest water fight! (blessing) If you do a little background research on the subject you realize that the holiday started innocently enough with what could be compared to a Baptismal blessing with water being gently poured over the recipients head. But just like all things relative to living life in Thailand, the times changed to allow for buckets of water and water cannons, putting the holiday slightly “over the top”.

A few suggestions:
1. Make sure you dress comfortably if you plan on going out in public. You will most probably spend most of the day wet.
2. Cover your valuables such as camera, phone, wallet etc in some kind of water proof plastic. For phones, condoms tend to work well. For other valuables, plastic bags sealed with rubber bands work well.
3. Should you not want to get wet, refuge can usually be found in most of the hotels, where they will usually have celebration activities but where staff are instructed to respect Guests requests for keeping dry. A simple Mai Aow Kha (for women) or Mai Aow Khrap (for men) most times will suffice. Most times. There are no guarantees on this day.
4. This will most probably be covered in the Motorcycle column in the book but I will mention it anyway in case it isn't. Leave your motorcycle at home. The road traffic will be messy and dangerous and it simply isn't worth running the risk of being a statistic on this well celebrated holiday. If you plan on taking a Baht bus, do know that you will be wet at the end of your journey.
5. Most of all, if you are here in town and out and about, enjoy yourself, smile a lot and appreciate the country's way of enjoying itself.

The Road Less TraveledSurviving The Big Wet

The Road Less Traveled
Surviving The Big Wet