Songkran Pt 2: Completely Soaked!

Day Two of Songkran was probably my favorite.  And probably the most exhausting.  Up nice and early again, we headed to May's cousin's farm.  Just after breakfast, I got the chance to drive the tractor.

That's May's cousin Wit helping me.

Then I got to drive the sugarcane tractor.  This bad boy picks up sugarcane and loads it onto the trucks you constantly see driving around the area.  These trucks are piled like 10 meters high with freshly cut sugarcane.  Mm mmm, sounds tasty right about now.

What's cool about this guy is that he's only operated by pedals.  There's no steering wheel or anything.  Levers are used for the crane but all the driving is just two pedals.  Pretty wild.  The thing can do some killer 360-degree turns.

And that was only before 11am!  Just the tip of the iceberg.  The shell of the nut.  The peel of the banana, baby!

Next we headed to a temple where the major Songkran festivities were happening in the area.  First up: water fight.  And it was WAR!  The pictures don't even tell the half of it. 

These kids may look young and cute, but looks can be deceiving.  Full force guerrilla warfare tactics from these youngsters -- no holds bar.  And they have a particular penchant for the eyes.  Everywhere I turned these guys were shootin' me in the eyes.  

But then "Da Crew" banded together...

...and gave 'em hell!

You see that guy in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture?  What's the white stuff on his face, you ask.  That's talcum powder mixed with water.  Part of the tradition is putting it on your face and everyone else's.  Kids run around slapping this stuff all over you.  It's really cute. 

Needless to say, everyone was completely soaked from head to toe.  This went on for 2 hours, non-stop.  I thought my eyes would pop -- or I'd at least lose a contact. 

We made our way back to the motel to shower up and try to get a little nap.  I of course was just getting warmed up so couldn't sleep, especially in the middle of the afternoon.  

We drove back to the same area that night for a nice outside dinner and concert.  The atmosphere was spectacular.  Countless tables filled the parking lot and an entire stage had been constructed -- all in a few short hours.  Thai people work fast!

We sat around and ate for an hour or so.  I'm not even going to try to describe the food.  I even had some Thai whiskey mixed with Pepsi, which was actually quite good. 

The music was amazing.  This was the first time I'd really heard Thai music.  I couldn't help but dance.  I found myself practically hypnotized by the rhythm.  The lights, the singers, the dancers -- I couldn't resist! 

And that was about it.  My group was leaving and I had to be pulled away.  Just when I was getting my groove on too -- DANG!

Here are some more pictures from the trip:

A cute little dog I saw at the 100 year old market.  I had to take a photo :)

An interesting statue I encountered. 

The t-shirt says it all. 

That's all for now.  My next post will be about Day 3.  Until then, go eat some Thai food and shoot your friends in the eyes with water guns!