In several asian countries the New Year begins on or around the 14th April. It's the same in Sri Lanka. Its based on the lunar calendar and it's considered that the earth completes its orbit around the sun on the 13th April. I read this belief originated from the Hindus in Southern India...
The way the new year is celebrated varies from country to country. In thailand, they celebrate in several ways, one being by holding a water festival called 'Songkran'. I read that 'Songkran' is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning to 'pass' or 'move' and indicates the passing of the sun, moon and other planets to a new lunar orbit. The thais pour water on each other which signifies the cleansing of bad luck and a new start. In many thai cities this ritual has turned into a massive water fight. The most riotous area for these water fights in Bangkok is the backpacker area - around the Khoasan road, which was where i was headed...
I got the usual cheapo shuttle to Khoasan from the airport for around GBP 3...beautiful...
When i got down, it looked like half of bangkok had come out to the Khoasan road. It was PACKED with people carrying water guns, buckets & bowls spraying each other with water...complete madness..
...whereas most of the time it can be fun, when you're wandering around with a 25kg backpack on your back in 35oC heat trying to find a guest house, it can be a bit daunting... though walking past crowds of thai grils in wet t-shirts eased the pain slightly... :0)
Eventually, a tuk driver offered to take me to a travel agency where i was offered an AC room with a private bathroom for £25 a night. I knew this was WAY too much (Phil, i can see your nose wrinkling at this, but remember this is asia :) so i did my usual walking out trick and then the agent offered it to me for £20. This was still too much, but i took it for 1 night as i was just glad for a place to dump my stuff and relax.
After dumping my stuff and having a shower i went for a wander to look for a cheaper guest house for the next few days. Songkran was still in full swing and i had a bowl of water poured down my back by a young thai girl who said 'sorrrryyyy' as she did it....
..everything was good natured and even passing cars, motorbikes and tuk-tuks got splashed as they passed by....
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Eventually i found a guest house by the river:
To get the best deals you have to walk a few streets away from the main backpacker road (ie Khoasan) as they usually inflate the prices. An AC room with private bathroom at this guest house cost GBP 8.50 a night and there was a beer garden, free wifi and a patio with a river view - whohoooo !!!.. i checked in for 5 days...
...unfortunately the swimming pool belonged to the more expensive hotel across the road... :)
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One thing about the thais is that they're super clean & the bathrooms were spotless, even in rooms for this price. It was a refreshing change from some of the rooms i'd stayed in in Indonesia...
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