Respect And Disrespect

[ChiangMaiFun]

I agree it's mostly moronic farangs who spoil things - joining is great but we have to accept it's a Thai Buddhist festival but some go to far - nearly always drunk farang

[Ulysses G.]

To many farangs view Songkran as an opportunity to annoy as many people as possible and make it obvious that is what they are doing.

There are some Thais that are like this too, but IMHO they are only a tiny minority.

Thais just want to have fun.

Edited April 13, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[rikki]

I had a bucketful of water thrown right in my face by a farang as I was riding along a quiet soi on my motorbike yesterday. He must have been trying to knock me off the bike.He looked like he had a brain, but obviously he left it in the hotel

[jaideeguy]

Every time I watch it, I am astounded at how pleasant, fun and tolerant most of the Thais are. Thailand really is amazing sometimes.

I guess you shut up shop - damp books???

That, plus I hate to deprive the Thai staff of playing for a few days. It is only once a year.

What do you mean UG....Thais 'play' all the time......any excuse for a party....birthdays/official holidays/ 'our' new years/Chineese new years/funerals/weddings....you name it and the Thais will come out with whiskey and beer and 'over do it' [iMHO].

I would have much more tolerance for songkran if it was only the 3 official days, but up here in CM and other places I've seen it last for 2 weeks of drunken madness.......'over the top' with everything= Thai style

[el jefe]

For every "tourist" who come to CM to join in the chaos ,how many stay away to avoid it ? One man surveys are never reliable but we have some friends who have changed their travel plans to avoid CM and Thailand altogether,on the advice I might add, of their travel agent.I can't be sure but the length of Songkran activities seems to have blown out considerably.

Well that's just doiwn to an ignorant agent IMHO. If the holiday makers do not like the 3 days of water fights in the centre of towm, them use those 3 days for site seeing outside of town. Its like cancelling your holiday to Rio because of the Madi Gras (big but not for very long - easily avoided by going elsewhere).

I would say the answer to your question is a tiny fraction - more come for it than would stay away because of it (those that have done it before and hate it or have researched it and are worried would simple come another week surely! - and those that don't know would be none the wiser).

I don't understand your reply at all. You're going to get soaked anywhere in Thailand for at least 3 days. The rude, dangerous behavior goes on for 7-9 days in CM. The drunken farangs started Monday, maybe earlier. Are you sure they'll they'll stop on Friday night?

This is exactly the type of useful advice a good travel agent should be giving out. I'd be happy to find a travel agent that had local knowledge about places I was going. I'd probably join the party, others can choose not to.

I feel bad for the better bar and restaurant owners. Everyone I know is avoiding downtown for dinner or drinks until Monday. No one wants to get soaked at 11:00pm.

Don't get me wrong. I love the celebration. I'm out on my bike everyday going thru small villages. I think the kids get bonus points for soaking a farang on a bicycle and I'm glad to participate in their fun.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I feel bad for the better bar and restaurant owners. Everyone I know is avoiding downtown for dinner or drinks until Monday. No one wants to get soaked at 11:00pm.

I'm going downtown now. As are many, MANY others including those visiting from out of town just for Songkran. Biggest holiday and biggest party of the year! Lots of Bangkok babes around Nimman et al too..! And we'll hit the bars downtown.

You and your friends enjoy Thaivisa for the night Ok?

Edited April 13, 2011 by WinnieTheKhwai

[CMX]

"...innate arrogance and the failure to understand the local culture."

That's how Wiki describes Americans as shown in the book and film (1958), The Ugly American. Ever since reading the book (late 60's maybe), I've found my fellow Americans traveling abroad carrying with them, mostly, a sense of superiority that is in no way justified, unless one counts relative wealth. What has seemed peculiar to me is the apparent unwillingness of USAians to study or learn what a place is about except to criticize (rather like certain Thai Visa members).

But as I rode my motorbike yesterday and found farang tossing the biggest buckets or aiming the most powerful streams from a hose at my head, or watched a (Thai) fellow ahead of me wave off a dosing successfully (from Thais), I felt no particular dislike for the overenthusiastic. (Thais kept aim low, by and large.) All tourists are ignorant, even more ignorant I think, than oblivious expats, however hard that may be to imagine. So I suppose that disrespect is not so much a factor as ignorance. (This was on Nibelungen Street, home of many descended from Angles, Saxons, Norsemen, and Jutes.)

And anyway, it being cold and rainy, I was wearing a full rubberized rain suit, full face helmet, and rode on a bike with floorboards which kept my boots dry from splash. (I had a fairly long ride home ahead and did not chose to be super-chilled.) Just innocent fun and misunderstanding.

(One of the most enlightening views I've read on ThVi was from someone who noted that a driver needs to learn Thai driving customs. Keeping a particularly keen eye on the right mirror and to the right side, as a possible escape route in case of heavy weather ahead, is still another useful idea, one that I learned yesterday.) This is not easy, as one peers everywhere looking to see WtK's special Bangkok babes.

Edited April 13, 2011 by CMX

[WinnieTheKhwai]

as one peers everywhere looking to see WtK's special Bangkok babes.

They're at the party in front of Central KSK.

And out in the Nimman pubs afters.

[el jefe]

I feel bad for the better bar and restaurant owners. Everyone I know is avoiding downtown for dinner or drinks until Monday. No one wants to get soaked at 11:00pm.

I'm going downtown now. As are many, MANY others including those visiting from out of town just for Songkran. Biggest holiday and biggest party of the year! Lots of Bangkok babes around Nimman et al too..! And we'll hit the bars downtown.

You and your friends enjoy Thaivisa for the night Ok?

So says the guy posting into the night. (I hope you got out later.)

Thanks for re-stating the obvious. Nimmanhaemin and Huay Kaew are the place to be for good, clean, wet fun during the day. And no toxic moat water. And later, Nimmanhaemin is the place to be in the evening for more good, dry fun. imho, most of us can live a full and happy life without Tha Pae Gate or Loi Kroh for 9 days or even more. YMMV.

I'm off now to go play.

[Ulysses G.]

And later, Nimmanhaemin is the place to be in the evening for more good, dry fun.

Don't be so sure. we were stopped at an intersection near Nimmanhaemin with the window down a little at 8 PM last night and a Thai girls ran up and stuck a big blaster in the window and soaked everyone in the car. Luckily I was still wearing my Songkran getup from earlier. I was rather surprised I have to admit.

Edited April 14, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[millwall_fan]

This is songkran. Whilst I agree that people shouldn't go too far, and also respect those clearly in work clothes etc, I do think that these things are inevitable. You're basically riding through a party. If you don't want to get wet, wear a rain poncho etc etc. Waving no is not always going to work! It's no surprise.

The problem is that under the unwritten rules of Songkran, water throwing ends at sundown: 6pm or 7pm at the latest. Then people go home, change into their glad rags and go out for dinner with family and friends, It's the same with throwing water at old people- you tone it down and drizzle a little water on their shoulders in a respectful manner. These rules were largely observed until about 5 or 6 years ago when the numbers of drunken farangs and a a few drunken Thais keeping throwing water until 9pm+ seemed to increase. The duration of Songkran this year has been crazy too. The bars on the corner of Loi Kroh were allowing their girls to shrow water from Sunday 10th onwards - one of my customers phoned the police to complain and they promised to look into it - I don't think they ever did.

[ianf]

That's precisely why I hate this sog fest. Farangs do not know how to behave and I had my own run in with some farangs locally.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Why do I get the feeling that everyone with bad experiences hangs out in Farang areas? How hard are those to avoid?

Weird Farang-fetish on display by some members here. From Farang food obsession to backpacker or bar obsessions, but puzzling it remains.

My one bad Songkran experience (in 15 years or so) was taking a bucket while riding a motorbike well into the evening in Pattaya. Well guess what, when going to those kinds of places, you can expect some crap. Easy enough to avoid.

Edited April 17, 2011 by WinnieTheKhwai

[cheshiregent]

i have a good idea iv got a nice big pick up truck lets get together next year drive around and beat the shit out of the idiots that start early or finish late im completely sick of it

iv seen young girls on motor bikes get a full bucket of water thrown over then then fall off and its always tourists that cores the problems they stand there laughing and slapping each other of the back

iv nothing against people haven a good time i steer clear of it as much as possible but the scum that go around endangering peoples lifes have to be set strait

sorry rant over lol

[Sparkles]

For every "tourist" who come to CM to join in the chaos ,how many stay away to avoid it ? One man surveys are never reliable but we have some friends who have changed their travel plans to avoid CM and Thailand altogether,on the advice I might add, of their travel agent.I can't be sure but the length of Songkran activities seems to have blown out considerably.

Well that's just doiwn to an ignorant agent IMHO. If the holiday makers do not like the 3 days of water fights in the centre of towm, them use those 3 days for site seeing outside of town. Its like cancelling your holiday to Rio because of the Madi Gras (big but not for very long - easily avoided by going elsewhere).

I would say the answer to your question is a tiny fraction - more come for it than would stay away because of it (those that have done it before and hate it or have researched it and are worried would simple come another week surely! - and those that don't know would be none the wiser).

Not an ignorant agent at all. Just the opposite ,obviously has his finger on the pulse,giving his clients options.Secondly its not 3 days,it now stretches out over the week.You think its only in the city ? well we stayed out at Mae Rim and down the narrow streets motor cyclists had no option but to run the gauntlet,no luxury of alternate routes.Not all were willing participants some were on their way to work at 4 Seasons Resort etc and many people do not have the luxury of changing holiday plans. We booked the Mae Rim Lagoon Hotel 2 mths ago thinking it would be busy.For the first 2 nights we were the sole customers. Would be interesting to see how the business people on this forum fared over the week.So we can agree to disagree I guess

[DavidOxon]

Went about my normal way during Sonkran...

never got wet once!

David

[mallmagician]

How many times then? Most of us didn't get wet once. I personally got wet multiple times...

;-)

Went about my normal way during Sonkran...

never got wet once!

David

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I got wet only when I wanted to. Then change into dry clothes, get in car and drive somewhere. Some days I then changed back into 'wets' for more partying in a different place.

But all the places I went to where I wanted to stay dry I stayed perfectly dry. (Restaurants and food shops, and some Songkran related temple celebrations. (See, I do the traditional stuff TOO. I'm a good Catholic-Buddhist)