Happy New Year!

Arrival was swift and the day was long, seemingly never ending even. I was riding my bike home from work and now I'm in Bangkok. After my short flight from Taipei, where i did manage to find some veggie ramen, Matt was waiting at customs and we jumped on a few buses leading us into the city. It's a strange feeling actually knowing where your going, instead of being completely unsure as my last experience was. After a short sojourn into the ether compliments of some green stuff stashed discretely in my bag we made our way outside into the madness.

Bangkok is not a clean city but it has its own lovely charm. Dogs, and trash litter the streets, the sound and smell of the tuk-tuks, cars, and motorbikes becomes hypnotic, yet you can turn on to a small street and find yourself at a park listening to the sounds of silence. There's still trash on the ground though. This weekend in particular the streets will be cleaned, with massive amounts of water in celebration of the Thai New Year Songkran. To describe the events that will take place this weekend would do them no justice, but ill attempt. You walk out side and notice thousands of water bottles lining the streets, children covered in what is either plaster or talc and guns of the water kind pointed at you constantly. Don't make eye contact and maybe you'll stay dry. Staying dry is not an option when you enter certain areas, particularly anywhere kids are about, with their evil little smiles and buckets of cold, cold water.

Now this is only the first day, so people seem to be holding back, you can make through some areas without massive amounts of water being poured over your head, but as for today and the rest of the weekend, well, that will be another story. You have no choice but to smile as the little kid douses you with ice cold water and runs away laughing, unfortunately you have to do the same when some drunken farang shoots you in the eye with a high pressured water gun. It seems that it's not only a daytime event, for last night after the numerous outings to friends houses/bars and so many run ins with bamboo utensils, volcano's and Singha beer we ended up at a the local Blues Bar where i witnessed more than one person become wet when they would have rather been dry. As for today we will be ditching Bangkok for a tad mellower place a few hours north next to waterfalls and greenery. I'm looking forward to getting wet. Until next time - Z