Come to think of it, Bangkok is a very strange place to think of life and what you want you want to make of it. But again, is it really? This is a respectful dump of thoughts, notes and postcards from my pretty unplugged trip to the great city of angels.
สวัสดีค่ะ.
Songkran is the Thai new year. There is a lot of astrology and mythology around it I’ll ask you to read up on and find your own belief in it. The part I was there to experience is the water fights. One of the rituals of Songkran is water splashing to wash off bad luck and the year gone by. Start afresh. Which becomes a whole festival on it’s own.
Think Holi in India. Now remove the colours. Add many, many more cool water guns. Make it really, really safe and civic. Super clean and organised. People from many, many cities and countries. And the entire city is like a video game. For 3 days.
If you step out with a gun and your Songkran clothes, you will be splashed with ice-cold water by strangers. At least 50 times. BUT — if you walk out sans gun, or just dry, or tell people not to splash water on you, OR, are drenched but don’t want any more water or from a specific someone, they will simply make way. No bura na mano bullshit.
Now, I don’t want to compare Holi vs Songkran, but you can tell how I feel about each one. I would tell you a 100 more things. But, you really have to walk out in Songkran twice - with a gun and without, to see for yourself.
I did go to multiple locations over the 3 days. Here are my rankings: The roads are the best and most fun. Walk from station to station, make friends with strangers, play with them + friends, load up your guns for free (so kind hello??) and move on. Best roads from me are around Asiatique and National Stadium/Siam. If you’re with family, I’d suggest Asiatique riverfront. Or any closed space in a mall. I also went to Siam Square. And some mall in Silom, though I forget which one. CentralWorld also had a great scene. But find your picks. Silom streets have great food as well. BUT, the best experience is — either taking a TukTuk through a fun route. And playing with strangers on the roads and on the sidewalks. OR, asking a truck of strangers — hey, can we join? And joining the ones who say yes. Brilliant use of free will, thanks to NG.
Yep, we did that :)) Which was a huge reminder of the power of just asking. The worst case is a no. The best case? You’re on the back of a truck with some strangers from China, driving around in Ratchaprasong. Singing happy birthday together because that is the only song you all know. And playing water fights with a whole city.
As I write this, I wish I had asked of names from more people we hung out with. Because now, all I have is images in the back of my head (remember this was an unplugged trip + taking pictures in a water fight is not the best bet for my iPhone) and so many memories.
I have realised I am not a must-see and must-visit and must-try kind of traveller. (Oh, remind me to talk about my thoughts on travel as well) SG dropped me + AR + Om + NG at Wat Pho. To go look around. And find our ways to Wat Arun - the one landmark you mustn’t miss. These two are checklist. I didn’t check on mine. Wat Pho, the reclining Buddha, is ginormous. I was there on Songkran Day so the whole place was super, super busy. But it was GINORMOUS. And being so close to something so big is insane. Now, I did not want to do this, but, I know my family would like to see it. And thus, a touristy picture of me. With a landmark.
And oh, I also did the drop the coins in the pots activity there. Not sure what it was. But just for the vibes. First I saw some people do it and make videos. Then I thought What even? Then I did the same because Why the heck not?
And then, I lost my friends. So I walked around for a bit. Then, called them for locations. Walked in the opposite direction. Took a very expensive TukTuk to the Tha Tien pier. Which would take me to Wat Arun - the next must-see. The man dropped me at the Tha Tien pier. Which had a very neat and stuctured market. Superbly easy to navigate. Because in my lost time, I was walking in the blazing sun, no shade whatsoever, I chose to find myself some food at Tha Tien first. Mango sticky rice. Some ice-cream (chilli + durian). And a very cool Meiji + Jelly drink (THIS IS SO GOOD, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT’S CALLED BUT I HARD-RECOMMEND THIS)
