SURVEY: What can be done to improve Songkran?

[JSixpack]

If Thai people were smart enough to just let uninvited foreign residents ( like me ) determine what they should and should not do, everything would be just fine, I am sure!

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And your cartoon is just:

Bt nobody's pAin attn 2 ur complaints, nyuk nyuk nyuk.

All your tired arguments are already anticipated and answered in the Q&A section of 2015 Pattaya Songrkan FAQ, so why not just go read them there and save time repeating?

[IMA_FARANG]

Lock up all these annoying old people who hate it for three days.

f u dont lk sngkrn, ur a grumpy old git. Grumpy old gi-it! Grumpy old gi-it!

for the rest, I love it.

i lurv me tats & pty sngkrn

[cyborgx]

Go back to the traditional way of celebrating,, lose the water trucks, water guns, prickly heat powder, excesses of alcohol, and multiple deaths and accidents. The whole meaning of the festival has been lost, and its just a crazy dangerous water battle, with injuries, illness and death... just what you want at a festival......

[joshstiles]

what can be done to improve poll questions...boring....

[BlackJack]

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A few days? alt=rolleyes.gif>

Pattaya is more like 10 days.

Basically -- HELL! alt=bah.gif>

it brings in the dollars bahts Euros but 10 days also makes a lot of businesses loose business as if you want to go out there are traffic jams and you get wet but the time you arrive at your destination

a couple of days is fine

but 10 days - is 8 days to long

[elgordo38]

All they can do is strictly enforce the law on drink/driving and levy stiff fines and jail terms on perps.

Separately, expect to hear the usual tired old waffle from the "old hands" telling us that Songkran used to be a quiet and dignified pouring of water over the hands.

That's BS and, furthermore, there's more than enough photographic evidence from decades ago that proves Songkran has ALWAYS been a party.

Those that don't like it for whatever reasons should just slip away for a few days or stay at home.

I am inventing a time machine to back in time and get the guy that changed it from a quiet peaceful cultural holiday to noisy purely crass commercialism.

[evadgib]

There should be zero tollerance to water throwing anywhere near the public highway with medieval stocks & rotten fruit awaiting any idiot that ignores it.

HTH

[JSixpack]

I don´t see a whole bunch of old people having fun with waterguns.

It is a party for the young.

But you do see some old geezers out there making us all proud.

Watch me make her crash her motorbike!

Oxford dons on sabbatical

And their silly argument is summed up here:

Songkran keeps you young.

[Cypress Hill]

We have this poxy discussion every bloody year.

4FS, if you don't like it, just leave for however long it lasts in your neck of the woods.

The Thais aren't going to change their traditions to accommodate morose, retired farangs so get over it

[BKKdreaming]

no buckets , no pick up trucks with trash cans of water , no "iced" water

No means NO as far as getting wet , maybe even a "NO" button or shirt.....

and the last NO

No bras......

[JSixpack]

We have this poxy discussion every bloody year.

4FS, if you don't like it, just leave for however long it lasts in your neck of the woods.

But saying anything against Songkran is a whinge.

Leaving is one of the survival strategies.

Survival Strategies

The Thais aren't going to change their traditions to accommodate morose, retired farangs so get over it

Hooligan Songkran for 3-10 days isn't much of a tradition. Most adult Thais don't like it either. You may think hooligans are a vast number, but in fact they are a small minority of the population.

And sorry, Thai officialdom is starting to hear the complaints. The first cracks have appeared. Just talk so far, some we've heard before (save your sneers), but talk is a beginning. We'll see.

No powder, alcohol sale on Silom Road for Songkran

Phuket Police Crack Down on Inappropriate Songkran Celebrations

Booze-and-coyote-free Songkran party organised for Phuket Town

Police assure safe Songkran water celebration

[BWPattaya]

I am looking forward to next week. Four days in Angeles and three in Subic. That is better than being cooped up all week.

[Shaunduhpostman]

A month prior to Songkran, using the new absolute powers of the junta, everyone's motor vehicles should be impounded. In exchange, the government will provide free booze and squirt guns and powder for all for a week or so. Unlimited booze and water fights and no worries about getting a wreck.

There would also be a new lottery of unluckiness in lieu of the current lottery of unluckiness in which you might die or be injured in a road accident. This new lottery of the unlucky would be one where your vehicle might be sold to fund the free booze and parties.

Just one of the things I would do if were the one that got to wield Article 44. Ho ho ho! Ha ha ha!

[Scott]

The first year here, I never knew anything about Songkran, so it really caught me by surprise -- but it was enjoyable. The second year it was great and I knew what to expect. The 3rd year it was OK. Since then, it has been mildly annoying, but I do enjoy having a holiday, stocking up on food and staying home.

It's not the water that I mind, but it is the horrible accidents and unfortunately, I lost a good friend. I am always a little apprehension about who will be next.

[kingalfred]

3 -5 days of water from the sky should neuter some of the idiots who want to throw water at non songkran participants!

[angelman]

My own experience. Do not like the soaking but OK. What is Not ok is the powder in the water, or ice. This is malicious and violates original intent. Does anyone really care about original intent anything? I wonder. If yes, good for them. Enjoy.

[bkkjames]

Ban those idiots who think it is cool to dye their hair bright orange just before songkran so they can impress the gals up country before getting into a fatal accident on their scooters

Edited April 8, 2015 by bkkjames

[soalbundy]

getting in a stock pile of coffins would be a good idea but logistics was never a Thai thing.

[i claudius]

BAN IT, lovely jubbly

[English 1]

Totally childish and infantile.

[les1]

Big problem is Chiang Mai organisers. Chiang Mai seems to be quite good at putting on events such as the Flower festival & so on. It's all money in the coffers & Songkran is no different in fact it brings hundreds of unwanted foreigners here for a display of disrespect & madness. I think that if it were returned to it's original meaning it would still bring in Tourists but quality tourists. I read the other day that 400,000 Chinese are coming here (Thailand) for Songkran I wonder what they are expecting? Alcohol as we all know is a big problem, the no alcohol bans should be strictly enforced young "farangs" just ignore the ban. I know I have seen it. Shame it could be a very nice attraction & celebration..

[Thakkar]

To improved.Songkran, replace all the water in those buckets with rose petals.

T

[Suradit69]

Lock up all these annoying old people who hate it for three days.

f u dont lk sngkrn, ur a grumpy old git. Grumpy old gi-it! Grumpy old gi-it!

for the rest, I love it.

i lurv me tats & pty sngkrn

Probably the most annoying thing about Songkran is the high-pitched whining about it that goes on 365 days a year and reaches ear-drum piercing levels for several weeks before and after the actual event.

Pretty sure it's caused by two things. The farang obsession with loss of face if someone throws some water on him and the dread some people have at the prospect of others having fun. If you want to avoid it, it's not that difficult. Yes, in places where drunken farang tend to congregate, things go to ridiculous levels, but most places where drunken farang congregate (British football or full moon partiess for example) things become ridiculous. Don't go to those places.

"I don't like fun. STOP IT! It's all about me "

Edited April 9, 2015 by Suradit69

[thaibeachlovers]

When I lived in Pattaya Tai, the locals only got involved on the last day. Anyone coming down our soi was fair game that day, but they would stop motos, then pour water on their heads/necks, dab some powder on their cheeks and let them go. No one EVER tried knocking a driver/passenger off of their moto. When someone of an obviously elderly age came by, they were treated with dignity and respect by all, including the wee ones barely out of diapers. A small cup of water dribbled over their hands and a little on the backs of their necks and a little daubing of powder on their cheeks. People like me (mid-40s male foreigner) were fair game for everything, even from the little ankle-biters I had supplied with the water pistols and powder !!

A considerable contrast to what happens in other parts of the city of course where people (mostly foreign tourists) deliberately target people on bikes by aiming water cannons or buckets of ice-ladened water directly into their faces. Or the other (mostly foreign tourists) who think it's a hoot to "add a little something" to the water they (usually) try to spray into other peoples eyes. One guy a few years ago had been adding chili or pepper sauce to the water in his super-soaker, because you know, spraying people in the eyes with spicy hot chili (or pepper) water is fun. (What kind of f*ing moron actually thinks that ?) Others have reportedly found that having a super-soaker means never needing a urinal. Kill 2 birds with one stone (or piss) by relieving your bladder and filling your other "squirt" gun. (Again, what kind of moron thinks it's funny to squirt people in the face with piss ? Probably infected with a dozen different STDs too.)

The best thing they could do for Songkran is crack down on those that take it too far. They start throwing people into the slammer for a couple of days and slapping them with hefty fines and it won't be long before they learn that there are certain things you just don't do. Like deliberately trying to injure other people.

Face it, you would not get away with doing that any other time of the year.

The other thing is of course cracking down on the drunk driving (across the whole country). Got a long ways to go on that front.

where people (mostly foreign tourists) deliberately target people

Please. Just as many Thais throwing buckets of water at m'bike riders as farangs. Let's not wear the saffron glasses.

What I don't understand is why they still ride bikes down Beach Rd when they KNOW they are going to be targeted. Not like it's a new thing.

Have you ever been to a celebration in a Thai ( not tourist ) town? Full of morons throwing huge fireworks at people. It's so dangerous I won't leave the house for the duration.

They start throwing people into the slammer for a couple of days

Are you planning to set up a few stalags around the country? There'd be virtually no one left on the streets and Thai jails just aren't big enough for what you suggest.

[TigerandDog]

It was fun in the big village up in Chaiyaphum....street party.

But in Bangkok it's dreadful as one cannot walk out without the morons drenching you with water!

Could be going to dinner or something special!

Many expats go away for the week.

Why thousands actually come here for it just shows there are lots of Dumbos around!

You're the Dumbo and moron. The whole purpose of Songkran is getting wet. I had my first Songkran in Pattaya 2 years ago and it was 7 days of being a kid again, getting wet and wetting others (with the exception of the obnoxious Russians who just assaulted anyone that wet them). I'm no expert in Thai culture, but I am of the understanding that the Thai New Year water festival is about washing away the old and starting anew. Bring on the super soakers. It is also my understanding that the soaking stops at sundown. This was definitely the case in Pattaya. Anybody still using water pistols after sundown was usually a farang, and once they were told the tradition was no water after sundown they were all ok. So stop being an old fuddy duddy English 1 and enjoy life while you can. What would you have done as an 18 year if you were here for Songkran, you would have been right in the thick of it squirting as many people as possible and having a ball. So stop being an old fart and LIVE your life to the fullest, or are you so old that you're almost dead. Sure sounds like it.

Edited April 9, 2015 by TigerandDog

[joshstiles]

What can be done to improve Songkran?

stop writing polls that ask this question....

[how241]

A few days?

Pattaya is more like 10 days.

Basically -- HELL!

+1...Way too long in Pattaya.

[northernphil]

Since my first Songkran, many years ago, I have thought that bras should be banned during the festival.

Wet t-shirts take on a whole new and beautiful dimension without the bra.

Don't you agree?

Well maybe , unless its a ladyboy.

[northernphil]

Well there it is again. 50% for soakran ,50% against. We get " Retards thowing water " ( water tossers ) to " grumpy old farts who are nearly dead from old age "

What do I think you ask ....you are asking arn't you ? Like Xmas it should be held indoors then every one 'appy.

[how241]

Make it one day only ...

+1...make it shorter in Pattaya or make special "water" zones.