Songkran (Water) Festival, Bangkok

Also known as the Thai New Year, falling on the 13-15th of April every year, is a festival similar with Chinese New Year in a lot of ways.




Balik kampong (back to hometown), visiting and paying respect to the elderly, visit temples to serve food to monks and pray for a better year and rid of previous year’s bad behaviour.




Some even travel out of the country for holidays.

But as most of you would have already known, Songkran is famous for it’s splashing of water on anyone that comes by your way on streets of the city, hence its alternate English name – Water Festival.




The tradition of pouring water over someone’s shoulder or hand becomes a gesture of paying respect to others, but because Songkran is set in the hottest time of the year at the end of the dry season, throwing water at people also helps to cool temperature down.


A water fest held in front of Siam Paragon


So yes, if someone splashes water at you, remember to say “thank you” (in thai: “khawp khun ka”, or “kap” for guys).

Therefore if you walk out onto the street, do not childishly think you can head out for a short stroll (by short I mean 50 steps from your hotel) without getting wet.

Now, things have evolved. With technology, tradition improvised.

We use water guns.




Faster, further, harder.

Bigger, better.

It can hit you anytime anywhere from any direction. You can turn a corner of a street and expect 10 water guns all directing at you and next thing you know you’ll be drenched.

Zen, 26 year old hot blooded Bangkok male (he asked me to write this), Nicolekiss reader from Bangkok whom I met on my second night in Bangkok, suggested a trip to Sala Daeng street for the Songkran.


Handsome chap isn’t he? Very sweet guy, he offered to show me around Bangkok and its night scene. We visited SkyBar. :D


Since Zen wasn’t in town that night, I have no choice but to head out to experience Songkran on my own. Not knowing what to expect, I prepared some water bottles filled with tap water and went out.




Catching the BTS (skytrain) alone, I spotted some really wet Thai dudes stood casually nearby like it’s the most normal thing to stand in a train in fully wet clothes holding water guns.




As the train pulled into Siam station, I made my switch to the line heading towards Sala Daeng, and realised I wasn’t the only one. The group of wet guys earlier was heading the same way, joined by another wet group, and another, and another.

By the time I got onto my second train, the cabin was packed with groups of wet Thai people, some older wet “farangs” and other dry and nicely dressed passengers who seems to be quivering at one side.

“Next stop, Sala Daeng~~~~”, the speaker announced.

Everyone fled the train.




The moment I got onto the platform, I heard distant shrieking and screaming and yelling and a whole combination of noise from the station.

I ran to the side of the station to a view of this!




And this!




Holy Mother of Sweet Jesus’ Mary!!!

It’s a wet flesh war down there!!!


People hiding on the bridge


I kinda underestimated the term “Water FESTIVAL”.

No kiddin.


Suddenly my water bottles don’t look so threatening anymore. T_T


Water guns sold nearby, ermmmm…


Now one thing about Songkran that most non-thai people don’t know is that Songkran is more than just water.

Oh no, it’s a whole lot of more than water.

We have powders too.




So I decided to get these instead.

Mix with waters and hence it becomes a white mud paste which you can splat/rub/squash onto someone’s face.


10 baht for the bowl and one packet of powder, each packet of powder cost 5 baht.
(For water is 5 baht per bottle, don't pay for more than that, go for the ice cold one. :D)


The correct and “polite” reaction to someone’s action to rub this paste (gently or aggressively) onto your face (they will enquire a “please” (or not) first) is to nod your head, stretch your cheek (left or right is completely up to your preference) out and let them chafe as little or as much paste on your face.

Remember, always say “thank you”.

By the time I got from the bridge to the other end of the bridge at the end of the row of shops (give this 70 steps), I was soaking right through my undies, with paste all over my hair.




By the time I reached the next station half a km away.

I was looking ghastly.




Some of the perks I experienced during this Songkran have to be being splashed (or worse, poured over) by icy cold water, being rubbed extremely minty toothpaste mix powder paste onto your face that can sting tears right out of your eyes, shoot at everyone including the police on the street, rub white dirt over a spotlessly clean Mercedes that drove pass, shoot water guns on a passenger on a tuk-tuk next to you as you tour bangkok.

Or the more extreme,

Rent a truck with some friends with a huge pale filled of ice and water and hose-splashed the crowd while the truck drive through the street.

I was victim to all of the above. Sigh~


My face became so pasty that I was forced to wash my face in the middle of the street with my own water because the paste was caking a thick layer of mask on my face and it was blocking my sight.




5 minutes later. I was looking like this again.




Seriously, I have never have SO MANY HANDS touching my face SO MANY TIMES in one single night (or in two hours) I felt like my cheeks were skin raped, especially my left cheek.

Almost every single major streets were closed to traffic to this festival, from the East Sukhumvit, to the South Sala Daeng, to the West Khao San Road; music booming everywhere, it’s like a gargantuous street music party all over Bangkok.

The best thing about a street party is that you can just head to your local 24 hour mini-market to buy cheap booze for the price of 55 baht (RM5.5 or USD 1.8), that’s how I got my Bacardi Breezer for the night, which would cost 150 baht easily in a bar.


A crowd in front of 7-11 at Phat Phong Street.


Shawn, another Nicolekiss reader from Kuching who happened to be on a break in Bangkok, joined me later after midnight and we wrestled the crowd with every ounch of our strength.




I love Songkran.


Ps// going to celebrate songkran tonight again in Chiang Mai. Woo hoo, two places in a row!