Written Drippingly by John Irvin                           No. 24                                           May 1, 1999

May in Chiang Mai

May has arrived, April has spent itself out this year. It seemed like a long month. I survived the Songkran festival, actually going out and participating for one afternoon in the celebration, which is a massive, citywide water fight. I enjoyed the loose atmosphere, the way everybody seemed to get along with everybody else. After I had had enough, I was able to go back to my house, and spend the rest of the holiday in solitude, which was fine with me.

Thapae Road, the main street that goes through the area with the night bazaar and many of the tourist oriented shops and guesthouses, was filled with people on Songkran. Many of these people, I suspect, were Bangkok Thais who had come to Chiang Mai, a little bit like city dwellers from Los Angeles or New York converging on some small town for a rock festival or a renaissance fair. The traffic – and the nature of the activity – was so thick on Thapae road that cars had come to a standstill, and people on the sidewalks threw water on the cars, and vice-versa. Pickups were especially popular; weapons of choice included buckets, barrels, and huge, high-tech looking squirt guns. Some of the big barrels were loaded with ice-water, and this really shocks the system when it suddenly goes down your back and shoulders on a hot afternoon.

Not surprisingly, many colds are caught on Songkran, which goes on for at least three days in Chiang Mai. Being wet all day, even in 90 degree (33 C) heat, can leave you shivering after a few hours. And there is no point in going home and changing your clothes, unless you are going to stay home. If you go out again, you’re just going to get soaked.

After I had my fill of the Thapae gate area, I decided to go home, taking a route on my motorbike through the middle of town and then up to Chiang Puek, the gate at the northern entrance to the city. But there, again, I was greeted by hundreds of cars moving at a snail’s pace, as people continued the celebration and the water throwing. This area is along the klong (canal) that runs around the city, and participants were refilling their buckets using this very dirty water. I helped myself to some other people’s water, and looking into my four inch bucket, I almost couldn’t see the bottom it was so cloudy. I had plenty of this water dumped on me, as I rode around the gate, and returned the favor as often as I could (throwing water while driving a motorcycle is quite some trick).

I finally made it home, where I immediately stripped, showered thoroughly, and washed my clothes. It was a very enjoyable day, and I was glad I had joined in. But I’m also glad it only comes once a year.

Our weather this year has been erratic, and summer is no exception. This is the height of the hot and dry season, yet during April we had almost a week of overcast conditions, and several days of rain. On some days, it was hot as it normally is (about 95 to 100, 36-38 C), but other days it only got up to around 85 (30C). When it started raining, it rained for several days, and it felt like the rainy season was already starting, about two months ahead of schedule. But it’s been that kind of a year all along.

One of the problems I have during the rainy season is allergies. This month, I was very uncomfortable the few days that it rained. I think a good part of the reason for this is that my quaint, lovely old wooden house is nestled under a lot of trees, and when it rains the humidity just comes right into the house (I have no glass on my windows) and hangs there. Molds and pollens abound, and I suffer. To combat this, I now sleep with a heavy fan blowing on me and I leave the curtains open to increase ventilation. I guess this is all part of tropical living.

I have taken on a new kind of "job" on Friday nights, which is that I am playing music at my friend’s restaurant. This is the same place that was having a jazz trio and slide shows; the jazz band happens to be on vacation right now, but my good friend Ron, in an effort to reach different kinds of customers, decided to try different acts in the meantime. I play guitar and sing a variety of styles from standards ("Summertime") to blues, Beatles, country, and whatever else I can get my hands on. I have put in a lot of hours of preparation for this, and I get a good feeling when everything comes off well.

Ron also has a Thai singer playing pleng puea chiwit (lit., "songs for life"), a kind of socially aware folk music on Saturday nights. He’s pretty good; I’ve seen him play before. The name of the restaurant, if you are interested, is Ratana’s Kitchen, 350/4 Charoenrat Road, telephone 262-629. By the way, the jazz trio will be back in June, and will play on Wednesday nights. Slide shows are the second Sunday of each month. If you come to Chiang Mai, and you want to meet some local expats, hear some music, or see a slide show, this would be a good place to come.
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Coming in June – Insect swarms, neon, frogs, insects that want to die.

© Copyright 1999, John Irvin

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