11 minutes ago, keystonecoppers2 said:

       If they could only get back to the way it was, long time ago, with respect and 

       dignity as it was then, all would be well. It has just become a frenzy and it will not

       change back to what it was, ever..  Everything is lost!     

 

Not lost here, no frenzy, all nice and respecful and the only times ive seen it otherwise was near congregations of foreigners.

14 minutes ago, ttrd said:

It was due to the fact that the Public transport was not sufficiently developed to meet the significant demand it would be if the Law was enforced ...  

 

Sorry, i misread that the first time, a lack of public transport makes sense, I thought you wrote police, but i still cant find snything in the presd.

2 hours ago, Benmart said:

Money, profit and the accompanying corruption has replaced traditional values and customs. Thais allow it, support it and profit from it. I doubt all the edicts, proclamations, warnings, pleas or laws can alter that self-serving behavior. 

Sure. Same as the middle Europeans celebrate Halloween now or Valentines Day becomes a big event. Not only a few flowers for the love, no, it must be MANY flowers, a jewel and an expensive dinner. 

Not sure if the Thais increased the event or the tourists. 

29 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

according the police government spokesman, you are allowed to carry 6 people in the back.

You can post a link to that statement??? Nah I didn't think so. (In advance)

 

Eat this. 

Quote

People are not allowed to ride on the back ofpickup trucks: Land Transport Dpt. ... But for pickuptrucks which were registered after 1994, riding on the cab is not permitted and violators will face fine because pickup trucks were not registered as passenger cars, but cargo carriers.

 

Edited April 11, 20197 yr by Rally123

14 minutes ago, Rally123 said:

You can post a link to that statement??? Nah I didn't think so. (In advance)

 

Eat this. 

 

 

Im so glad i dont make a tit of myself like that.

 

Here's the link 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1642332/passengers-allowed-in-back-of-pickups

Children at play about time the morons grew up.

2 hours ago, alex8912 said:

You can ride your bike wherever but there are certain places where water fighting takes place that  motorbikes seem to often get wet and sometimes  it can cause danger. Don’t you know that about Songkran? Maybe it’s your first year here. Guys on TVF complain about it ad nausea.  

To be fair, guys on TVF complain about just about anything here.

8 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

I have an old Thai male friend, about 75, speaks very good english, probably the only Thai male that I've ever really known after 20+ years in Thailand.

 

Maybe this is common knowledge, but he confirms that when he was a lad Songkhran was one a one day event, and only a sprinkle of water was "applied", mainly to elders.

 

Maybe today's version has been over-commercialised, as has Christmas in the West?!

My wife tells me that is how it used to be in the villages ... and she tells me it was ruined by Westerners. ????

Hate the ice water. One of the main reasons I stay holed up during songkran. Really crap way to celebrate, by throwing frigid water on people.

1 hour ago, chaihot said:

 she tells me it was ruined by Westerners. ????

Hilarious, but nonsense.

9 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

Im so glad i dont make a tit of myself like that.

Oh but you have made a tit of yourself because it is still illegal to ride in the back of a pick-up. Your link verifies that fact. It's only during Songkran that the law is relaxed. Relaxed not changed. And although it is relaxed the occupants have to be seen as being safe. Whatever that entails. Other than the relaxing of the law during Songkran it remains law that traveling on the back of a pick-up is illegal.

 

Quote

He said passengers will be allowed to sit in the beds of pickup trucks as long as they are deemed safe during the Songkran festival on April 13-16 for the convenience of motorists. 

 

Edited April 11, 20197 yr by Rally123

8 hours ago, chaihot said:

My wife tells me that is how it used to be in the villages ... and she tells me it was ruined by Westerners.

It just evolved naturally over the years.

 

Quote

 

Songkran was originally a time to visit family and pay respects to elders, and to clean away the old year and bring in a fresh one. Many Thais washed away the old year by literally washing their homes and any Buddhas or Buddha images around the house. They would collect the water that ran over the Buddhas and pour it onto the shoulders of family for good luck. This tradition evolved to include throwing water on random strangers to help relieve the intense April heat.

Eventually the original purpose of the holiday became secondary to the national water fight that is so loved by Thais and foreigners today. People grab whatever they can get their hands on buckets, water balloons, water guns, a hose and douse each other with water. Sometimes chalk or menthol (the latter causes a cooling sensation) is mixed into the water to create a paste which people smear on each others faces for good fortune.

 

https://www.escapenormal.com/songkran-water-festival-the-worlds-biggest-water-fight/

Good luck with trying to pursue any of the above !

21 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

 

Be careful Sanook, that's very nearly a sexy picture...

 

 

I am offended by the topless man standing under the RIPCURL sign.  Where are the internet police!  ????

14 hours ago, ujayujay said:

????????????Lawyers discover a new Source.....

 

             Watch  it on You Tube ,   another  Big joke .

For some peoples throwing water at Songkran is becoming a vicious game as they think they can

get away with it. It applies to sexual abuse and other abuses, if one is not consentient, throwing

water on people is a criminal offence, end of story. 

Another threat by Thais to throw pesky foreigners in jail unless they pay a huge fine.

With any luck there won't be any foreigners coming here for Songkran

Thais can have it all to themselves.

1 hour ago, Prairieboy said:

I am offended by the topless man standing under the RIPCURL sign.  Where are the internet police!  ????

That’s why I said “very nearly”. That guy really made sure it wasn’t “sexy”. ????

Edited April 12, 20197 yr by Bluespunk

3 hours ago, Rally123 said:

It just evolved naturally over the years.

 

https://www.escapenormal.com/songkran-water-festival-the-worlds-biggest-water-fight/

 

But foreigners certainly played a part in that evolution.  Its patently obvious when you observe the stark difference between how the festivsl is celebrated in tourist areas and how it is celebrated outside of those areas.  In the non touristic areas, the throwing of water is almost exclusively by young children who splash passersby while the adults go to temple and catch up with family, whereas in the touristic areas it is adults having a water fight, a completely different scene.

17 hours ago, Sacott BKK said:

Is breathing OK ?   How long will that get me       

..on average 72 years.

19 hours ago, ttrd said:

Wonder how it should be proved that ice-cubes has been used in the water as they tend to disappear …  

..a cam on your hat/helmet if you're paranoid.

An off topic trolling post has been removed as well as the ensuing bickering posts about the definition of lifts/elevators. 

23 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Yes, but this is Thailand. if you walk into the cop shop and want to press charges for being doused, they are going to laugh at you.

It would be interesting to know how many times, if ever, any of these charges have ended up in court.

 

Always take a Lawyer with you. 

Oh ! Wait how much is it to hire a lawyer for such litigation against someone who hasn’t got two Satangs to rub together. 

Edited April 12, 20197 yr by mindfulness
typo

34 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

whereas in the touristic areas it is adults having a water fight, a completely different scene.

If you think about it, in the tourist areas adults will be the majority over children. Other than looking that it's an adult thing in Pattaya and the likes, it is actually no different to a NE village Songkran. Yes Thais do get together as friends and family but that is something not possible for tourists. Hence the difference.

Nothing to do with being changed by them damn foreigners.

Edited April 12, 20197 yr by Rally123

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 3:57 PM, webfact said:

Case 1: You say you don't want to play, you are on your way to do something....but you get wet all the same.

If you can show that you did not want to take part and were soaked then Article 397 has been contravened.

This can lead to a one month jail term for the perpetrator and or a 10,000 baht fine. 

They must inhabit an alternative universe.

How can anyone say WHICH person was the "perpetrator" when there were 500 "perpetrators" around one?

Also, how does one prove such? They just need to say one did not show "that you did not want to take part" and it's he said, he said.

33 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

But foreigners certainly played a part in that evolution.  Its patently obvious when you observe the stark difference between how the festivsl is celebrated in tourist areas and how it is celebrated outside of those areas.  In the non touristic areas, the throwing of water is almost exclusively by young children who splash passersby while the adults go to temple and catch up with family, whereas in the touristic areas it is adults having a water fight, a completely different scene.

LOL. 

Out in the country areas families line up beside the road to throw water in the back of passing songtheaws. That's been going on for decades and ha to those that claim it's all caused by farangs 55555555555555555555555.

5 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

In this non-touristic area it's already mayhem. Started yesterday evening in places and they are splashing everyone, adults, kids, cars and motor scooters.

Went out cycling this morning at 7 am thinking I'd avoid the water throwing. To good to hope for and got done twice but all's good as it was quite refreshing which is one of the reasons why people do it.

Edited April 12, 20197 yr by Rally123

20 hours ago, SymS said:

What if I throw cold beer? Would the fines for water be applied, or does it count as alcohol consumption? ????

Wasting a good beer will get you a year. : )

 

If you throw it at a minor who opens her mouth... You are gone  : )

 

Songkran, hapae road, 1954. Picture by Boonserm Satrabhaya

 

37 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

In this non-touristic area it's already mayhem. Started yesterday evening in places and they are splashing everyone, adults, kids, cars and motor scooters.

 

Talking out of your bottom there Kieran. 

 

Sure its not your reading skills that are bottom?  I didnt say the kids dont splash adults who pass by, i said its kids doing the splashing, unlike the adults having water fights in every tourist spot in the country.

Edited April 12, 20197 yr by Kieran00001