Songkran Silks

During Songkran, Daughter appeared at my door looking wan and I knew immediately she'd hit a brick wall with her revision. I HAD to get her out of the apartment before she went mad. I thought for a few seconds before working out what would lure her away from her books: a tour of the stationery department and a cup of tea in Starbucks. (She's like her mother!)

THAT meant braving the outside, where people were armed and shooting water guns. It was exactly what she needed; even before we got there we were hysterical with laughter, hanging onto our taxi doors to prevent anyone from opening them and spraying us. (Oh yes, they would!)

It was serene inside Emporium Mall. Check out this lovely display of traditional Thai silk making.

How intricate is this pattern?

Gorgeous. I want these twists of silk for decoration

Or I could just lie in it...

Oh! Drawers full. Heaven.

I'm not quite sure of my facts but I think this is Chansoma's Thai silk, possibly from Suan Chitralada's Royal Folk Art and Craft Center. I apologise for any errors I have made while crediting these products.

The end of an era or the start of a new one

The days have been whizzing by disproportionately fast here at The House. I think it’s because we have exams approaching: the hours have telescoped and May is hurtling towards us whether we’re ready or not.

The giant kids will have one last week in school (from tomorrow) and then BAM! Exams. Gulp. Then Son will venture out into the world (with any luck) and Daughter will never wear school uniform again. Really, it’s the end of an era; or perhaps it’s just the start of another.

We holed up at home during Songkran (Thai new year.) The kids were (hopefully) revising. I was hiding from the inevitable street water fights in spite of the phwoar heat here at the moment. Going outside is a grim experience; it’s as though someone’s left the oven on. I do see the water fight point but I’m not going to get wet to relieve it. (I think I was a cat in a previous life. I just hate to be wet.)

On Wednesday we celebrated Son and Husband’s birthdays. Son is now an adult – at least in the eyes of the law. There’s been a lot of cake: not just for the birthday but because Daughter’s idea of relaxation is to bake! For the birthday, she made 'light chocolate cake' from Harry Eastwood’s Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache book. Every time we make it, I declare it THE BEST chocolate cake I’ve EVER tasted.

I haven’t managed to get back to jewellery class yet and that’ll have to fit in with the exam timetable and my new, secret project which starts tomorrow.

I'm a convert

It was without enthusiasm that I set out with family for the start of the Songkran water festival. My lead lined boots and I shuffled miserably up the road, a smile pasted to my face just to prove to the family that I do know how to have fun. A day earlier, an AK-47 seemed the best possible option, but on the actual day, I declared myself a pacifist. I would not arm myself. I was going to make a political stand. (In truth I hoped that the combination of unarmed, bespectacled - I'm having problems with the jellyfish contact lenses - and the status of a farang woman would discourage anyone from dousing me. Yeah, I can hear your withering laughs from here...)

In Chiang Mai all the action is at the moat which surrounds the old town so we walked from our hotel, purchasing water guns on the way for Husband, Son and Daughter.

We got progressively wetter as we approached our destination and by the time we'd taken a position by the moat the guns had been abandoned in favour of buckets and we were drenched. We were totally soaked through ... to our skin; like we'd been dunked in the swimming pool, fully clothed. It was somewhere at the beginning of this process that I realised. It dawned on me that it was a good idea because quite suddenly the heat was no longer an issue; my temperature was comfortable for the first time in weeks.

It was pandemonium: total madness. Young person music pumped out of a pub with a 'it all sounds the same to me' beat. Everyone was armed with buckets and a variety of water guns. A motorcade of trucks, cars, tuk tuks and motorbikes crept along the roads, hurling gallons of iced water at the hundreds of people lining the roads, who drew water out of the moat or pumps by the roadside and threw it back. People screamed and squealed with laughter as they were sprayed with freezing cold water and rushed to fire back.

I really enjoyed myself though. For two hours we took part in a sort of happy warfare. There is nowhere else I can imagine this happening without fights breaking out. It was great fun for two hours, but not five days! I had the brilliant idea of photographing the spectacle through a plastic bag and I've got lots of truly dreadful hazy pictures but I may post them when I get to Bangkok anyway.

Back in Bangkok tomorrow. Boy, will I be glad to see my laptop!

Thai New Year: Songkran

We’re off to Chiang Mai tomorrow for six nights. A big holiday is coming up: Songkran, Thai New Year. The evidence is apparent all around as folk flee the city to go home to their families to celebrate this favourite Thai holiday.

This holiday coincides with the hottest time of the year here. The weather in Thailand is something I don’t tend to talk about on my blog because I’d get hate mail. The heat is unrelenting though and when it’s this hot you can’t stand still without breaking out in a sweat. It’s not nice hot. Oh sorry, please don’t send me hate mail.

The Thais deal with this heat during Songkran by drenching everyone in water. For three days. THREE days. THREE.

There’s only one thing I hate more than being hot and sweaty, and that’s being wet. And guess what? Westerners are prize game because the rules no longer apply! Apparently a policeman can’t arrest you during Songkran for throwing water at him!!!!!!

The first year I was here I hid for three days in the apartment. Husband, a colleague and two backpackers took the children and several big water guns down to the bottom of the soi (ahem, to the red light area!) to play water fights. The children were in their element. Their mother is the meanest woman in the world when it comes to water fights.

The second year we were away with Husband’s sister and her family. The resort we stayed in was on the edge of a not very busy road and trucks full of Thai’s drove past to go to the town for the fun. They were delightful: on seeing a group of four children ranging from 4 to 13 on the side of the road with bottles of water, the trucks would slow down so the kids could get a good hit, and the Thai would send a gallon or so over them. It was a lot of fun from the boundaries of the resort where no-one could drench me.

These pics are from last year.

Nephew: Armed and ready to shoot.


























Yes, this is MY son and his cousin. I AM a proud mother: I've taught him such valuable lessons for his journey through life.







And that's a hit. BiL is rather pleased with himself.










I will be back next week. I am not taking my laptop, just a notebook because I'm nurturing my inner mojo... Back soon.

Novice Buddhist Monks at Songkran (Thai New Year)