The Thai New Year Songkran was celebrated last weekend in Thailand. They call this the water festival and if you’ve never been to Thailand during this period you truly are missing a wondrous site.

Songkran falls in the hottest (+40°C or +100°F) time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season and with the coming of the rains Thai people become generous with their water and start throwing it about a bit, a lot in fact. Everyone will be armed with the latest pump action water pistols and walk the streets just soaking everyone else. Pick up trucks will be jammed full of people surrounding a large water butt and as the truck drives past bowls of water are tossed from the container onto everyone. Home owners on popular routs will have their own water butts outside their homes or it some cases a garden hose and drench each other and passersby.

As fun as this all sounds it is also tradition to visit and pay respects to family and elders. Many Thai people celebrate Songkran by visiting the local Wat for prayers and to give alms to the monks. It is also a time of year to clean out the household shrine to ask for good fortune in the coming year. Many of he cities and local villages will parade the most important Buddha images through the streets giving everyone a chance to ritually bath the image for luck. On the whole Songkran to Thai people is no different to other cultures really. They make New Year resolutions to be better people, they cleanse their homes for a better future and promise the following year will be better. The only difference between their celebration and that in the UK is they have fun.

What started as gently pouring water over peoples hands has grown into one huge street water fight. If you are lucky enough to be in Thailand at this time of year then don’t take your camera out unless its protected. Don’t wear your best Prada or Gucci you bought in Pratunam market, just get yourself an UBER pump action water pistol and have some of the best fun since you grew up.