My Thailand Blog by Richard Barrow

In my opinion, the best Songkran parade in Central Thailand  is in Phra Pradaeng. It took place this afternoon and I was there live with my iPhone uploading some of these pictures and a few videos too!

It is a very colourful parade and a wet one too as a lot of people were throwing water at each other. There were literally thousands of people lining the streets of Phra Pradaeng.

It was good to see quite a few foreigners here this year. I guess the message is spreading, though only by Internet. You won’t find this festival in the guidebooks and the Tourism Authority of Thailand only publicize the event in Thai language. I have been going to this festival for years and before I hardly ever saw another foreigner.

The parade took about 45 minutes to pass the point where I was taking pictures. I then jumped in my car and took the back-roads to the temple which was their destination. The front end of the parade was just arriving as I was parking my car. They looked exhausted.

As I always, I will post many more pictures on www.paknamphotos.com. Don’t forget to also check out www.paknam.com for full information.

- Posted from my iPhone

This afternoon I am here in Phra Pradaeng in Samut Prakan Province. Just when you thought that it was safe to put away the wet-weather gear and then Songkran comes back!

The people of Phra Pradaeng are Thai-Raman and they celebrate Songkran later than the rest of the country. This was the scene that greeted me when I got off the car ferry near the District Office.

Everyone was having fun at an outdoor concert and throwing water around at the same time. It is always difficult taking pictures at these kinds of events during Songkran as you don’t want your camera gear to get wet.

I think I was very lucky as I survived the day with only a sprinkling. These are the pictures that I took on my iPhone. I took about 600 pictures on my Canon camera and I will upload these to www.paknamphotos.com later when I get home.

- Posted from my iPhone

Tonight I had an enjoyable time watching the Miss Songkran beauty contest in Phra Pradaeng.

The event takes place every year during the new year celebrations in Phra Pradaeng. The winner will ride at the head of the parade this Sunday.

If you missed out on the waterfights in Thailand this last week then you will get a second chance this weekend in Phra Pradaeng as the Mon people there celebrate later than the rest of the country.

- Posted from my iPhone

I am in Phra Pradaeng in Samut Prakan for their cultural activities for Songkran 2010. The people here are of Mon descent and they celebrate Songkran, the traditional new year, after the rest of the country.

I went to watch local people play Saba in the grounds of the local fort. This is a kind of a courtship game played between young women and men of the village. This was one way they could get to know each other with the approval of their parents.

It seems a complicated game, almost random at times. They basically have a small disc, which they hold between their toes, and then they try and flick the disc to knock over the disc of their opponent.

You can go and see the Saba game over this weekend in Phra Pradaeng. I will write about this game in more details when I get home over at my main blog www.thai-blogs.com.

- Posted from my iPhone

I have spent most of this afternoon at Wat Chai Mongkol in Samut Prakan taking pictures of their Songkran activities.

The second event was making merit by building sand pagodas. In Thai this is called “chedi sai”. According to legend, people make merit by bringing sand back to the temple that they might have inadvertently taken out on the bottom of their shoes. But, these days the sand is provided by the temple.

There were quite a few families here all helping to build a sand pagoda. It was great to see so many people. Just outside on the street there are thousands of people having fun playing water fights. But here very tranquil.

It is also nice to see a traditional side of Songkran that doesn’t involve water fights. Most tourists don’t get to see this side but there is definitely more to Songkran than throwing water.

I am exhausted but there is still another three days of Songkran activities in Samut Prakan. Tomorrow night I will be going to watch a Miss Songkran Beauty Contest in Phra Pradaeng.

- Posted from my iPhone

This afternoon I went to The Erawan Museum in Samut Prakan to take pictures of their Songkran activities.

If you didn’t know already, this is a giant three-headed elephant. Probably the largest in the world.

There were quite a few people here making merit and touring the inside of the giant elephant. If you would like to visit then you can find more information at our www.paknam.com website.

- Posted from my iPhone

I am at Wat Chai Mongkol in Samut Prakan for two special Songkran activities.

Probably about a thousand local people have come here to make merit by pouring water onto the hands of Buddhist monks. With about 450 monks and novices here it must be the biggest “song nam phra” event I have ever attended

It started with pouring a little water onto each monk but soon some relatives started to pour ice cold water onto the head and shoulders of the novices. Great fun!

- Posted from my iPhone

I just spent the afternoon at Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan. They have quite a few activities going on this week for Songkran.I will post full story over at www.paknam.com as well as more pictures.

The highlight for me was the elephants. They always make a good picture. Even more so if they are joining in with the waterfights or just generally being cute elephants.

Of course, Songkran is not just about waterfights. In addition, people went to pay respect to nine important Buddha images (a Thai tradition). There were also fun and games (such as blindfold boat racing) and traditional Thai dance. Go and visit tomorrow! You won’t be disappointed.

- Posted from my iPhone

On 13th April every year, the Mon people living in Phra Pradaeng in Samut Prakan take part in the Swan and Centipede Parade.

The purpose of the parade is to remind the Mons about the history of the swan. This is a symbol that represents Hongsawadee City where the Mons first settled. The Centipede flag represents the Buddha’s teaching.

People representing many different local temples paraded through the city with their centipede flags and swans. At the end of the parade the flag was hoisted up the swan flagpole.

I will post more pictures later over at www.paknamphotos.com.

- Posted from my iPhone

I was up early this morning to come here to take pictures of the merit making event for Songkran in Paknam.

Every year, local people start the Thai new year by making merit. This is a picture of the main road through Paknam about an hour ago. The road was closed and over 100 tables were set up on both sides of a 150 meter stretch of road.

Then, as a long line of monks walked down the road, local people made merit by giving flowers and food to the monks.

Next, people poured rose scented water over a Buddha image and the hands of elders. This is a picture of the Governor of Samut Prakan. I will post more pictures later over at www.paknamphotos.com when I get home. Happy new year from Thailand!

- Posted from my iPhone

After the Songkran parade, they had some Songkran events at Ancient Siam (Muang Boran). The Governor and other dignitaries did things like pour rose scented water over Buddha images and the hands of elders.

There was some also gentle water splashing but not as much as there will be later this week! We will be coming back here to take more pictures of activities in a few days.

- Posted from my iPhone