Written Languidly by John Irvin                           No. 23                                           April 1, 1999

April in Chiang Mai

Time passes and we have moved from the very abbreviated cool season that ended prematurely in January into the full heat of summer. For about two months, during February and March, we had some very hot days, but still a little coolness at nights, which was very welcome for sleeping. When I was working at my computer late at night, a breeze of cool air would suddenly come into my room around midnight or 1 am, beckoning me to go to bed and get under the covers. Even the days, while hot, were reasonably clear, with blue skies.

But this last week, we have seen the first real steamy weather, the atmosphere becoming an indeterminate off-white color, not gray, not cloudy, but certainly not blue either. In morning and late afternoon the light takes on a luminescent orange glow, emanating in all directions and casting a strange warm color on trees and shrubs in my yard. The temperature is pretty even, about 32 (90) in the daytime, and it is no longer cool at night. Summer is here.

Summer also means people are on vacation. My good friend Ron has a restaurant, where, in addition to food, he hosts a jazz night each week and a slide show once a month. In the past two weeks, the turnout at these events has dropped considerably. Around town, there is a relaxed feeling, and I pass children swimming happily in the polluted waters of the klongs around the city. Summer means laziness, taking it easy, not caring too much about getting things done.

Summer is also the time for Songkran, the water festival, and the biggest holiday of the year in Thailand (and in Laos, too, which has many Thai traditions). During the water festival, there are parades, beauty contests, and ceremonies, but the most important thing of all is the no-holds-barred free for all that goes on for several days, in which people in town spend entire days just dousing each other with water. It’s like a big water fight for 72 hours, and people actually catch colds from being wet all day long, even in 90 degree heat.

Songkran also means getting together with family, and that is another reason people disappear from town during the month of April. They go back home, wherever that is, perhaps a small town somewhere, to be with their families. They are replaced on the streets by tourists, both from abroad and from Bangkok, who come here to enjoy the festivities and have a good time sightseeing in Chiang Mai. So, for tourists it is fun, for local merchants it means a chance for business, but for many local residents, it means no chance to conduct business, or even carry on a normal life, for at least a week.

The last two years, I went away during Songkran, once to America, and the next year to Malaysia. This year, I will be here. The school I am teaching at will be closed for one week, and I will stock up on food and videos and retreat into my house and just enjoy the solitude – and work on more stories for you, my faithful readers.

The meaning of Songkran is a little complicated if you dig deep enough, but in a nutshell, it means the celebration of the Thai new year. It seems that the holiday is based on a combination of Buddhism and Thai tradition. The date of the festival – now officially designated as April 13 through 15 – corresponds to the last day of the old year, and the first two days of the new one. Thais refer to this new year as "Pi Mai," and if you’re in Thailand during the festival, a useful greeting would be "Sawatdee Pi Mai." (No, it won’t save you from getting thoroughly drenched in water. Even policemen get doused at Songkran.)

Anyway, one of the rituals of Songkran is the bathing of the Buddha in water. By extension, monks receive this blessing also. I think this is supposed to be done to refresh, because remember, this is the hot and dry season. But there is also a meaning of cleansing, and washing away the sins and worries of the past year, and everyone in Thailand is encouraged to participate. The atmosphere is like one big party, and everybody gets very friendly with everybody else.

On the down side, there is a severe water shortage this year in the north of Thailand, and the Songkran festival will place a big drain (literally) on the reserves. I have seen out by the lake outside of town, and by the university, where extensive sandy areas are exposed which used to be under water; I’d say the water is about ten feet lower than normal. One Thai mayor, in the nearby city of Lamphun, has decreed that there should be only one day of water throwing this year in his city, but so far I have heard no one else in government address this problem. Taking this festival away from people would risk severe unpopularity among Thai people, as it is a big and popular tradition.

Another downside is that people use the water from the klongs (canals) in the city to fill up their buckets, and reload their squirt guns. This water is very unclean and I have heard of cases of hepatitis attributed from being doused with this water. Like any holiday, there is a lot of partying, and some people get a little carried away. There are a lot of accidents, a lot of drinking, and some people get hurt. It’s sort of like the fourth of July in American combined with New Year’s eve.

Nevertheless, Songkran is the biggest Thai holiday, and it would be impossible not to expect the Thais to celebrate.* As for myself, I plan to stay in my house, and venture out only after dark, when the water stops flying (usually). Okay, maybe I will take in a half day or so of festivities, just for a taste of the action. I’ll let you know next month how it turned out. In the meantime, Sawatdee Pi Mai, and chok dee, khrap! (good luck). Talk to you later.

* The second biggest holiday, in the north at least, is Loi Kratong, in November, which is pretty much at the opposite end of the harvesting cycle from Songkran.
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See you next month.

© Copyright 1999, John Irvin

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