It's Thai New Year's Day and it's celebrated in a unique way. Everyone throws water at everyone. The only way to escape it is to lock yourself in a room for three days - that's how long the holiday lasts here in the south of Thailand, longer in the rural, farming north. We braved it. We hit the road this afternoon and headed out to meet friends at a restaurant on Rawai Beach. It's a trip that normally takes about fifteen minutes, but it was a stop 'n' start, bumper to bumper drive that took over an hour, and it was wet, wet, wet. What fun. The road was lined with water throwing revelers. We were armed with water pistols, but it was extraordinarily light armament against the water hoses, tubs, pitchers of water and colorful pump-action water rifles.
We felt smug, safe and dry in our little Nissan with the windows rolled up. The car was doused continuosly by laughing people of all ages throwing water at us from every conceivable container. As we approached one jovial gang on the side of the road, I had a bright idea. "Roll down your window just a enough to get a shot at them with your pistol," I said to A. She did and got a few squirts off, but I didn't get a chance to see if she actually hit anyone, because one clever fellow managed to dump a dishpan full of water through that tiny crack in our window, soaking A, and even me on the other side. Then someone almost opened the unlocked passenger side door to try for an interior flood. We got past it, locked the doors and never opened a window again. We got our bath when we got out of the car at the restaurant. There was no avoiding it.
The laughter, the gaiety, the contact and the good nature of it all was a happy pill that beats any drug out there. And that's the thing of it. Thais are notorious for their easy and accomodating ways. Eye contact and returned smiles are everywhere every day of the year. It takes westerners by surprise and it's even a bit disarming. Like... are these people for real? Well they are and I think that the way they celebrate the dawn of the New Year encapsulates it. Throwing water at one another may seem a bit silly and childish, but a lot is going on through the act. It's a basic, but sophisticated, method of bonding the tribe. Unity is the secret of the success of this small country that has never been colonialized, or taken over by the giants that surround them. The water throwing is happy contact - a way of touching one another mischeiviously, but it's also saying, 'hey... we're in it together.'
I felt very much a part of what was going on today. It warmed my heart. Thailand is called 'the land of smiles,' but during this celebration it is the land of laughter and we all laugh together, because we are all wet, we all face one another head-on and we are all happy about it. I'm a foreigner in their land, a "farange," in Thai, but I felt accepted and very much a participant in the water throwing ritual.
It has it's serious side as well and I was fortunate enough to have been bestowed a great honor (for a farange) when I went to work tonight. In the spirit of the day, but keeping things restrained in the work place, I dipped my fingers into a glass of water and flicked it at one of the ladies on our staff. She smiled broadly and then performed the very serious ritual of respect for elders associated with New Year's Day. She cupped her hands and poured water into them then motioned for me to put out a hand. She then bowed and gently poured water onto my hand. I have to tell you that it brought tears to my eyes and made this six hundred and nine year old man feel like maybe all the years were worth it. (Of course, I never mentioned that I'm no wiser than I was when I was fourteen and that I didn't deserve that kind of respect.)
The label, "Amazing Thailand," has been attached to travel folders and all sorts of tourist-beckoning material. I've accumulated a raft of amazing Thai experiences over the years and "Amazing Thailand" keeps coming at me.
A Happy New Year indeed.
