The Three-Day Water Festival (Fight!)

Hi everyone…we’re back in the States between trips and catching up on our pictures and blog posts. Our trusty little netbook decided to take a vacation the last two weeks of our Asia trip too (mouse buttons stopped working, picture folders bonked), and so we decided to take a break until we were stateside, where our own too-heavy-to-carry-for-three-months laptops awaited us.

And now let us continue with our adventures…

After our lengthy bus trip, we were grateful to arrive in Luang Prabang. Our eyes burned from all the smoke in the air. Farmers were clearing fields for planting using the slash-and-burn technique, and the smoke hung heavy and low, limiting visibility and making beautiful red sunsets.

There are two seasons in Laos – wet and dry. April is the last month of the dry season, as the heavy monsoon rains usually start falling in May. It is during April, the height of the dry season (and also the absolute hottest time of the year with most days over 100 degrees), that the Lao celebrate the New Year.  Lao New Year is celebrated over the course of a week, and it is kicked off by Songkan, a three-day water festival. Our friends Tracy and Jason had told us about celebrating the water festival in Thailand and said it was a not-to-be missed event.

When the festival starts, the water fights begin. Anyone walking on the street is fair game to be soaked via bucket, water gun, or hose. Foreigners are welcome to join in the fun, and are not spared a thorough dousing. Groups of teens ride in the back of pick-up trucks with plastic garbage bins filled with water, and dish it out on pedestrians and other passing vehicles.

Truckloads of teens roamed the streets, armed with water guns and buckets

The water throwing is in good fun. People dressed in work clothes are allowed to pass, but that’s about it. It is not unusual to see locals and tourists holding their cell phones or cameras above their heads as they get drenched. The spirit of the water throwing is friendly, playful. Especially enthusiastic revelers throw colored water, tapioca starch (like flour), or smear black or pink stuff on others’ faces. This is a marketing opportunity too: a talcum powder company sent out a truckload of young women and men armed with perfumed powder, which they showered on anyone within range. Mark and I both got showered, and smelled sweetly perfumed for about 15 minutes, until enough new water was thrown at us to rinse us off.

Mark is outnumbered, but puts up a good fight

There is a rhythm to the water throwing – no water is thrown until about noon, but then from noon till sundown the streets turn into one big water fight. Woe to the person trying to make it unscathed to the post office or bank – those errands had best be run before noon! After sundown the water throwing subsides, giving everyone time to dry out.

We tried to envision a similar festival in the United States, and couldn’t see it ending well. Someone would use a power sprayer, or throw bleach, or soak someone’s electronic device…things would likely go bad, fast. We even saw Lao police officers getting soaked, and they laughed. Imagine! All ages get involved: our favorite douser was a grandmother who motioned us over while holding  a tea cup in her hand…from which she then dribbled onto our backs. We almost felt like we had been blessed.

Mark, again outnumbered

Mark decided to test his own water-throwing skills throughout Songkan; this universally resulted in Mark emerging as wet as if he had jumped into the river. Pictures of Mark’s water fights can be found here.