day one we get there at night, pretty much the night before the celebration starts: some children have squirt guns, running around very cute. a few drunk white guys with big squirt guns, ha ha.
day two: hot sunny day, we get soaked almost immediately upon walking out of the guesthouse so we decide to join in the festivities. we buy two dollar squirt guns. this is what happens within thirty seconds of buying mine: i put it in my pocket and pull it out quickly like a gunslinger type cowboy. i drop the gun and the tip of it shattesr, leaving me a leaky, but still moderatly
functionable gun. i just can't tip it downward.
we sit at a cafe for a while and spray people when they walk past. people with much larger guns spray us more. we walk around and drink beers and have bowls of icy water dumped down our backs, thrown at our faces. this goes on all day.
and then people have the mud, every five seconds or so a thai person comes up to and happily wipes some mud on your face. cute and fun and wet and beer.
day three: the beer from last night is still in my body and wants retribution. we want to go out and get some juice or something to eat or whatever. full on squirtgun bucket of icy water party is still in full force. when you're not feeling too hot, getting doused with water every two seconds and mud rubbed on your face is not the greatest feeling. but, it is a celebration, what can you do, you just go with it. but we're a bit tired of getting doused so we hang out at our guesthouse most of the day. luckily they have wi-fi, so we sit around, drink fruit shakes, eat, use the computer, eat, etc.
day four: we decide to flee waterfest 2k9. we learn that thailand has declared a state of emergency in bangkok due to government protesters. i saw a news broadcast of a british journalist interviewing one of the red shirt protesters, who are following the old ousted prime ministers suggestion of starting a revolution. the guy says something about democracy and the lady says "but this isn't democratic, what you're doing isn't democratic!" to which the guy responds, "we will not surrender!"
so we are completely unaware that this is going on. everyone in our vicinity is too busy spraying me in the face and rubbing mud on my cheeks. we took a taxi to the bus station and had to take a very long way around since so many streets were closed down with soldiers standing guard. we drove past a few burnt out buses. too bad some of the ten million people spraying me in the face with water weren't near the buses.
we take a long long bus ride to chiang mai in the north. luckily for us the water fest is going on at full thwart here too.
i hear on the news that the thai government has extended the holiday due to all the turmoil.
day five: we are excited to check out a new town. we don't have any real plans but to bum around and get some plans in order. but however, still with the water. it really has gotten quite old at this point. chiang mai's old town where we're staying is in a square, surrounded by moat. luckily for us, we had the benefit of having locals douse us with buckets full of the moat water. imagine a brown dark dirty water you would never ever want in your mouth. you really can't go outside without getting completely soaked. everywhere you go. if it is on a walk way, you are wet. on a busy road you get drive by wettings. we got caught in a traffic jam of cars and pickup trucks with barrels of water and got wet wet wet. like some sort of water torture.
finally that chapter ended. what a relief it was to go outside and not get soaked, and then soaked and then soaked.
if you are ever going to be in bangkok for this festival, go for one day. have a ball. then run away and find a nice dry spot.
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