Songkran in Chiang Mai: Celebrating Thai New Year Like a Local

I have tried to describe the Thai New Year Festival of Songkran to so many people over the years. I have Skyped people from a safe distance for them to see the madness as close as possible, I have about a million photographs from this year's festival alone but nothing can quite capture the feeling of a city that is completely transformed for 4 (maybe 5) days of the year. 

 

The word Songkran is from the ancient Sanskrit language meaning to pass or move into. Dating back to the Sukothai period of 1238-1438AD the Songkran festival has been enacted in many ways over the years resulting in the blown out madness that we see in the festival today. It is not uncommon for things to get taken to extremes in Thailand, so when the bathing of the Buddha image became a city wide waterfight as early as the 1960's everyone just went with it. Today the Songkran festival in Chiang Mai is celebrated with street parties, water fights, music and the phrase "sawadee pii mai" meaning Happy New Year! 

This year we found ourselves as members of a family celebration that happened in the driveway of a local home. Beginning at the cafe next door with some local kids, the invitation to join the family party never came in so many words. It came through placing beer orders with one of the younger family members who disappeared on his motorbike to replenish the supply. There are two things that the Thai people do well, food and fun and this day was a combination of both. We spent just as much time 'playing water' with the little kids in the street as we did sitting with the adult members of the family snacking on grilled pork and talking about our travels and experiences.

For a brief moment in time we had the opportunity to see this fantastic festival through the eyes of the local people. Away from the tourists in the main street, we spent our day in a side street buying huge blocks of ice to freeze our water supply and splashing anyone and everyone who happened to pass. When the street grew quiet we began our own waterfight and drenched each other with buckets, water pistols and anything else that came to hand at the time. No one stays dry during the Songkran festival and considering that April is one of the hottest months in the year in Thailand, the opportunity to stay soaked throughout the near 40 degree heat of the day is welcomed. 

Chiang Mai is flooded with 'farang' or foreigners during this annual celebration and there is nothing to stop you from joining the partying crowds in the main gate area, where everyone is welcome to join in the fun regardless of age or race. But there is something to be said for joining a group of locals who are somewhat more tame and enjoy their new year by coming together to eat, drink and be merry. The party atmosphere may not be as extreme as the network of backpackers and travellers who converge on the city but the experience is just as rich!  

To join The Austin Experience for the Songkran Festival in Thailand in 2015 go to http://www.theaustinexperience.com.au/fixed-date-tours/thailand-water-festival/

A day in the life of an explorer

As the sun sets over the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the waves crash on the coral reef that surrounds the island of Mangaia I am sitting here contemplating how lucky I am to live the life that I have. Always exploring and discovering new places - sometimes I feel like one of those people from the movies who flit around the world chasing history and legend. Right now that is what I am doing.

The island of Mangaia is reputedly the oldest island in the Pacific Ocean. It has been 18 million years since this ancient coral reef rose from the ocean to become one of the most forgotten places in the world. Home to only 700 local people with a mere 50 tourists who visit this place every year, Mangaia is the island that the people forgot and yet so much history lies here. Untouched and unchanging for the world to see.

This morning we ventured into the caves in the inner part of the island which were once entirely underwater. Shrouded in darkness we marveled at the sparkling minerals which make the stalagmites and stalactites shine in the dim torch light while we heard the stories of the ancestors who lived there and delicately worked our way through the maze. There is no better way to feel like a true explorer than driving down an old track where you have to stop to remove the foliage that has grown over the path and then hiking through the dense tropical forest to a cave entrance that feels like it hasn't been seen in years, and yet this morning we did just that.

After the wonder of the caves and the history we were exposed to in this rarely visited place we returned to our more than comfortable accommodations for lunch and rest. Now as the sun is setting Dave has been asleep for 6 hours - a combination of struggling with jet lag and generally going too hard - and I am witnessing the other side of being an explorer. This is the side that the movies don't tell you about. The part where your body resists the time differences and sometimes just won't let you do any more.

As I reach for the insect repellant to try and stave off the onslaught of mosquitoes that I know are coming I consider what it is like to be a true explorer, from both sides. There is good and bad to every job but no matter how many mosquitoes there are or how much daylight one must lose out on in order to get themselves right again I know that there is no better way to be. There is no job more satisfying or challenging. The life of a true explorer is not all wilderness and discovery. There are endless flights in cramped economy seating and language barriers and illness too. But nothing could ever change the wonder I have when I look at the world.

So as the sun is setting on another glorious day in the Cook Islands I am finding a new appreciation for the undiscovered places. The only thing I can hear is the sound of the waves crashing as the tide goes out, I can feel the sun on my face and I know that there is a sensational home cooked meal on its way and I feel incredibly lucky that I get to have this experience that so few people get to have, even if it does have its downsides. The only hidden treasure in the life of this explorer is to find the treasure of experience that is hidden in every destination - good or bad, and to enjoy it. 

Uncle Tom's Famous Pies - A Northern NSW Icon

"What do you mean you don't remember going there?!!!" was the outraged comment from my father a few Christmases ago about the fact that I didn't remember visiting a roadside pie shop somewhere between Ballina and the Gold Coast when I was 5 years old. This place was a staple for him when our family lived on the north coast of NSW in Australia and apparently I was a drop kick for not remembering a place that was so central to his daily life! 

This year our family journeyed back to the north coast to visit relatives and I was fortunate enough to have myself a memorable (although not my first) visit to Uncle Tom's Pies. Located on what once was the main road from NSW to the Gold Coast, this tiny roadside diner doesn't look like anything fancy. A couple of petrol bowsers and an open frontage, to any passer by it would look just like any other country road petrol station, until you try the pies that is! 

Uncle Tom's was established in 1933 by a local banana grower and a pastry chef by the name of Tom McLean. In the wake of the war, the store was a little shack on the roadside opposite the turnoff to Mullumbimby which became a local icon. People from all over the district would come to visit the institution that is Uncle Tom's and this tradition has been going strong now - in the same location - for over 80 years! The shop was taken over in 2009 by a husband and wife team and although the locals were concerned for the quality of the pies, 5 years later the place is still going strong. 

Now serving gourmet coffees and still catering to a horde of regular customers, Uncle Tom's Pies remains one of the local institutions for the residents of Mullumbimby and the surrounding district. The menu at Uncle Tom's Pies is a simple one, a range of savory meat pies with a desert selection that will blow even the strictest of diets. The new owners have kept to tradition only adding essentials such as an espresso machine and some local groceries and produce to the range. 

 So why is it that Uncle Tom's Pies are the best you have ever tasted? It might be the locally sourced ingredients, it might be that they are baked fresh, or it might be an 80 year old pie-making secret that only very few have ever known... I'm not sure, but what I can tell you is that if you are ever in the area it is well worth the stop. Uncle Tom's famous pies are certainly famous for a reason and if amazing your taste buds is what is required to pay homage to this tiny part of the northern NSW history, then all the better for you!