Eric Arnow link page

Eric Arnow has his own web site now. For years I've been putting his letters from Asia here. From now on they'll go on his site, the Bumble Buddhist which also now has all the previous ones from cuke and photos more. - dc

4-15-07 - The Thai New Year--a week long water fight

[see photos at the bottom]

Hi everyone

Well here I am in Chiang Mai. A couple of years ago, I wrote that it was hot in Chiang Mai, and the streets were filled with people toting guns

Water guns, that is. This is Thai New Year and since it is the hot season, they take a week off to celebrate. Any street you go down will have a few kids shooting at you with water pistols and sort of high tech rifles that can shoot a stream of water at least ten feet.

It was great fun, and even the police smiled as my friends and I in the pickup truck doused them with buckets of water and water guns.

In the center of Chiang Mai is a moat around the 800 year old city center,  filled  with  soupy green water,  and I sure hope my immunizations work. But anyway,
thousands of people, mostly young but from all ages who show up for a huge water fight that lasts for hours. There are even people selling block ice, which we put into 20 or 30 gallon buckets of water--our ammunition.

It was all great fun but after awhile, the ice cold water blasts started to get to me. I was shivering, and the 5 year old son and 8 year old daughter of my friend were too. So we decided to call it a day and went back to our neighborhood, where we meditate on Sunday mornings.

A nice fun harmless way to get out ones aggressions, I guess.

Would that all conflicts were fought this way.

Eric

From: Parker Mead
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Songkran - Thai New Year

Everyone gets wet. Even the police are fair game. Miraculously my non - waterproof camera survived.

Paco
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