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/

Life in Chiang Mai: My own personal paradise

It is coming to the end of my time in Chiang Mai, yet again, and I find myself sitting on our balcony looking out over Doi Suthep and thinking about how much a place can change you. When we first travelled to Chiang Mai four years ago it was just a stop on our honeymoon in Thailand; nothing more than another destination to visit. But within days we knew that this was the place that we wanted to be. So how can a few days in a simple city change your life? What exactly was it about this place that turned our world upside down? 

This is a topic of conversation that is thrown around here at many a dinner table. People from all over the world have got this Chiang Mai buzz and it drives them to return home, sell everything they own and just come back. So as I wander around this charming Thailand city in my last few days, this is what is on my mind. There are many tourist attractions here, which most of us only see when friends come to visit, but there is more to this town than temples, tigers and elephant trekking. Chiang Mai has heart. You can walk down any road (large or small) and just see life going on around you. And the Thai people know how to live! 

Every person I meet here is relaxed and they have this way about them that exudes a kind of personal satisfaction with their lives. Most of the expats who come here to live have done their fair share of travelling, but they too chose Chiang Mai as their home. With every conversation I have with one of these Chiang Mai converts, I am more and more convinced that the Western world has it wrong and that we were raised to achieve everything except our own happiness. We are herded into the workforce and expected to go forth and prosper, but there is no consideration for what we want out of life and the very few people who break away from this cookie-cutter mold, seem to end up moving away from entire lives that they have built. 

There is no one thing about Chiang Mai that causes what the rest of the world would consider as insanity, the more I think about it, the more I realise that it is not the place that keeps us here, it is the people. Day after day I meet both Thai people and Westerners who are in love with their life. Whether they have a lot or very little, the people you meet in a place like this are kind and sincere and happy. Of course every culture has its downfalls and being raised in Australia, there are many customs here which make no sense at all to me. But who wouldn't want to live in a place where sanuk (fun) is a main priority in everything you do? The people here are driven by the need to be happy and they truly enjoy their lives. For us Westerners who have been taught that happiness should take a back seat to achievement, it is a new way of life and for me, an inspiring way to live. 

So whether this is a word of warning about the addictive nature of Chiang Mai or a love letter to my own personal paradise, I can honestly say that every day of my life here is enchanting. Every day I spend in Chiang Mai makes me want more. Why? Because every day there is something about this place that makes me smile.

Just a few of the people who make Chiang Mai feel like home

Life in Chiang Mai

It has been a week since we arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand and it surprises me that we have settled into doing nothing so easily! Prior to arriving here, we had 3 solid weeks of finishing up with work, packing, then crazy packing and the final move. It was exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. A time full of goodbyes - adjacent to a time rampant with possibilities, a window to a new life for both of us. 
The result...
We landed in Chiang Mai both exhausted and excited and walked 16km on our first full day here! As it is with all beginnings we were true to our generation, trying to take it all in at once. And so, day by day, I begin to realize that it will take so much more than one massive walk to drink in all the sights and sounds of this beautiful city. 
On our previous visit to Chiang Mai - the one that inspired us for 3 years to work towards this adventure - we slept outside the city, to the north, in a beautiful small resort on the banks of the Ping River. There, we had the perfect combination of city and country. It was from there that we participated in almost every tour available to the tourists of Chiang Mai, and it was from there that we made the first pact inside of our marriage to return to this place and, somehow, make it our home. But now we are staying in a guesthouse on the edge of the Old City, a land full of guest houses, scruffy travellers and tuk-tuks. I remember Chiang Mai as being almost a quiet place with locals doing their own thing and monks walking the streets robed in orange. Trying to think back to how I first saw Chiang Mai compared to what I have seen on this trip is almost like remembering a different place, but then, I was a different person 3 years ago too. This is not to say that I don't like it here - not at all. What I have seen of Chiang Mai in the last 7 days has only grown my love for this beautiful, ancient city. 
Through all of our exploring since that first huge day, I have come to realize that there are 2 distinct parts to Chiang Mai. The first is the city moat (yes it has a moat!) that surrounds the city, where it is virtually impossible to cross the road for all of the traffic - which seems to be ever present no matter what time of the day or night. The second is the quiet Soi's (laneways) off the main roads which are filled with suburban housing. The minute you turn off the main road you are transported to a different world all together, simply by turning a corner. Thai housing is interesting to me. The differences between Australia and Thailand in this sense are immense. The houses look grubby and there is always someone standing outside their house talking to someone else, or a bunch of kids running around the street - yet you can tell that these are a proud people. You get a much stronger sense of community here, which seems to be common in the third world no matter where you are. It makes me wonder why we lose that sense of community in the first world. Here, there is not a great deal of fear from people about being out on the streets at night, I see women walking past our guesthouse alone late at night who don't seem to be frightened or even cautious the way I would be at home. But then here I see kids riding around on motorcycles at age 15 with no helmets either. This is something that I intend to explore further in my time here. To understand the differences in the community, the fears and the grievances of these quiet new neighbors of mine.  
The next step for us is to move away from this guesthouse riddled area we are in, to a place that feels a little more like home, to an area that isn't so tourist focused (which is not hard to find in a place like this). We have spent our week as tourists in this city and now it is time to settle in and become part of the furniture that makes Chiang Mai what it is. 

Chiang Mai by Night