My neighbor Bang and her son Boom

A view of the countryside and a temple

Land near Bang's house

Cows raised by Bang's older sister Daeng

A Songkran waterfight in front of Bang's house

More waterfighting

More waterfighting

Bang's other son, getting ready to go waterfighting in the back of the truck. Also, the temple next door to her house

The typical way to barbecue a fish. Eaten with balls of sticky rice

A meal at a friend's house, early afternon. Notice all the beer bottles

Kids watching TV after the meal

A neighbor girl and me

Getting ready for water wars on the road

Waterfights-- trucks packed like this were very common. "The more the merrier" is Thai philosophy

More waterfights-- people standing along the road ready to pummel passing vehicles

A pose from a dinosaur exhibit, the one fossil discovery in Thailand

Dinosaur fossils discovered near Kalasin

Another shot of the fossils, still embedded in the ground

Musicians playing typical Issan music in front of Bang's house-- a rallying call to begin a water-blessing procession

Many drunken villagers join with their water and body powder

More throwing around of water and powder, including on the monks

The procession begins, heading down the road toward the main spirit houses of the village

Drunken dancing and "blessing" each other with water

Musicians walking past the crematoriom on the temple grounds

Sprinkling water on Buddha images and other idols

Bang's niece (left) and friend

Returning from the processional