This year’s Songkran is promising to be a long one.

Upon exiting from my soi in Pattaya this morning a mini-van was sideswiped by a motorcycle carrying three teenage boys. The van’s driver got out to assess the damage. The three boys were bleary-eyed from a night of drunken excess. The van had suffered a long scratch and the driver demanded 1000 baht from the boys. None had a baht, but passed around a bottle of whiskey as if they could drink away this problem.

HAPPY SONGKRAN Chai – Yo!

Obviously they were oblivious to the government’s vow to crack down on the annual mayhem caused by drunken driving during the Songkran period, which this year is designed to last from April 11 to April 19.

The Songkran festival is a time for Thais to go home in order to show respect to their elders, however in recent years the holiday has taken on a macabre viciousness. Last year over 800 dead and ten of thousands admitted to hospital.

Chiang Mai is the first city to succumb to the madness and Pattaya the last on April 19. Longtime western residents accordingly flee the country to avoid any aggravation from water-mad Thais and farangs. I’m heading for Cambodia.

The holiday is only one day in Phnom Penh.

The Thai government has announced a series of restriction on this year’s festivities. People have been asked to wear traditional Thai attire and women to cover up so as not to stimulate young boys to bad behavior. Police will crack down on drunk driving and those not wearing safety helmets. Itching powder mixture are banned as well as talcum concoctions with fines up to 2000 baht. High pressure water guns are also prohibited for duration of the traditional Thai New Year. 7/11 and petrol stations are cautioned not to sell booze during the 5-day celebration. Cars and trucks loaded with water will be stopped from entering Bangkok.

    
It sounds good mostly because it’s a lot of talk.

Two cops past the drunk boys and never slowed down.

All they could see is young people having a good time.

Farangs tend to see it as madness and complain like schoolteachers  on holiday.

Here’s my advice.

Avoid Western bars.

Drive in the morning. Hole up the rest of the day.

Join in the fun.

You get to bucket the cops the last day.

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