Songkran Culture #3

Information related to the Thai New Year celebrations (called "Songkran") continues...

On Friday, April 13, I headed over to Silom Road to observe & play in the famous Songkran water fights. From 2pm, Silom Road was designated a "splash zone" -- the road was closed to all vehicles and people could enjoy splashing each other with water.

I got there quite early, around noon, and observed the many vendors getting ready for the festival. The street was lined with people selling clay (which you mix with water) and small buckets.

Clay vendors:

There were also a lot of vendors selling water guns, drinks and light snacks...

More vendors:

Tourists travel to Thailand from all over the world to participate in the Songkran festival. In the photo below, you can see some farang (Thai for "foreigners") armed with their water guns...

 From this point on, I got closer to the action, and had to put my camera in a ziplock bag to protect it from the water. Thus, the photos will appear slightly blurry; very sorry.

You can see firefighters who enjoyed hosing down festival goers with water from their fire hoses. These guys never stopped smiling...


The crowd:

A firefighter enjoying himself:

I took a video from far away to give my readers a sense of what the water fights are about. As you can see, you get very wet!! Enjoy the video ^_^

Silom Road, just before the start of the festival (around 1pm):

I got a great shot of the water spray which created a rainbow. Looks beautiful, no? ^_^

Before the road was closed to traffic, 3 promotional trucks came by. One was filled with some shirtless guys -- who were pretty hot! Wow. I took a video for my female blog fans...and you're very welcome.^_^

Hot + wet + shirtless muscle guys = Pure cutenekko happiness. ^_^ Woo!

I hope you enjoyed this year's Songkran festivities as much as I did. I am looking forward to posting more festivals & events from my travels. ^_^ Thanks for visiting! 

Songkran finished up yesterday in the Kingdom. Next year, will you visit? ^_^

Songkran Culture #2

A presentation regarding the cultural aspects of the Songkran (New Year) festival in Thailand continues....

In the lobby of the building housing the school, sat an image of Buddha adorned with flowers. This was where we (as students of the school) and others who own shops in the building could pay their respects and offer holy water for Songkran celebrations.

The Buddha:

A teacher demonstrates pouring the water:

It's important to note: one should never pour water over the head of Buddha. The proper etiquette is over Buddha's shoulder, or His hands. Students took turns pouring water and offering a wish/ prayer for the New Year. A fellow student took my photo while I prayed for "money!!"...because I recently seem to be spending more than saving... (laugh)

Cutenekko prays..in Thai!

(My wish in Thai: chan yaak ja gep nung 

= I want to keep/get money)

Cutenekko pouring the water 

(sorry you can't see...

The teachers were smiling because I was the only one to speak my wish out loud in Thai. Yay!)

A fellow student making his offering/ pouring the water:

 In Thailand, when we pray, we clasp the hands together, similar to the pattern Christians use when praying in a church. Rather than interlocking the fingers, the hand remains flat and one joins the thumbs together. The shape represents a lotus flower. There are three places on the body one holds their hands while praying: forehead, nose, and chest. A teacher explained each location and for which person/ situation we hold our hands in prayer:

"The hands at the forehead are for images of Buddha only."

"The hands held at one's nose are to show respect to elders and 

people in higher positions of authority, such as teachers."

"Hands held at the chest are for higher position or elderly people to return the prayer greeting."

Finally, the teachers explained about two more things: their shirts and clay like powder Thais mix with water and put on the face of those of the opposite sex. 

The powder is made of clay and is also for holy purposes. It is to mark the person as "cleansed" -- similar to a baptism in the Catholic faith. At a wedding ceremony, for example, the bride and groom are marked with this clay powder on their forehead....marked with 3 small dots. During Songkran, this powder is smeared over the face -- there are no rules, unfortunately. 

The teachers mix the clay powder:

So, why the flowery Hawaiian shirts? Thais wear these during the festival/ holiday season. I like them. Girls can wear a small sundress too. ^_^ People get really wet from the water fights during the Songkran holidays, so these shirts can be worn and thrown away. 

Check again tomorrow to see the famous water fights! I went on to Silom road last Friday just to join in the water fun. ^_^ Videos and photos will be posted. 

Tourism Authority of Thailand's site on "Songkran Splendors" can be seen HERE.  

Songkran Culture #1

My Thai language school offered a special "Activity Day" for 2 hours last week. The topic was the biggest holiday in Thailand -- Songkran -- which is also known as Thailand's New Year. During this holiday, which typically occurs in mid April and lasts for 4 ~ 5 days, Thais pray at temples, show appreciation to elders and have big water fights in the streets. It's a time of much happiness and enjoyment -- the water is especially appreciated since April is one of the hottest months in the Kingdom!

I will share photos from the school's presentation and explain a little more about this holiday. ^_^

The first part of the lesson was to describe how Thais make merit at the temple. In the morning, on the first day of Songkran, Thais go to their local temple, and offer food to the monks working there. There is a special way to present the food, pray, even sit in front of monks. (see photos)

My teachers:

(the one is the middle only "dressed" as a monk due to his short hair) ^_^

The guy in the purple shirt is Khruu Goh. He's my favorite due to his great sense of humor. 

Below, the teachers demonstrate how Thais offer food to the monks. Men and women have different ways of offering the food, because monks should not touch women at all. First, the male teachers shows how to make merit, by offering food, which is placed on a tray and handed directly to the monk:

Male making merit and female praying.

In the above photo, notice how the woman is sitting. Her feet are pointed away from the monk. In Thailand, the feet are considered to be the lowest point on the body and therefore, "unclean". One should never point their feet at any holy images, monks, or even people. She bows before the monk in prayer.


Below, the female teacher demonstrates how women make merits to monks. Notice the monk cannot accept the offering with his hands. Instead, his places a towel down, and the lady places the tray of food  on the towel. The monk then pulls the towel towards him and accepts her offering.

Female making merit.

The next photo shows how Thais offer holy scented water to monks. During Songkran, holy water is to wash away the old and bring in the new. Thais "wash" Buddhist statues, monks, and elders. The proper way is by pouring a small amount of scented water with flowers inside, over the monk's hands.

Washing of the hands.

Songkran is also a time to pay one's respect to elders in the family. Parents and grandparents are paid respects by their children. Here is how to do it:

In the photo below, two students pretended to be the "grandparents" of one teacher. Notice the parents are seated and the teacher is lower -- this is to show respect. The "child" says his respects to the parents and prays for their future health and happiness:

"Grandchild" prays before his "grandparents".

Next, the "child" pours water over the parents' hands; again, this is to show appreciation. In return, the parents say kind words to their son. Examples are:
"We hope you find a nice girlfriend." or,
"Please study hard and be successful in your efforts." etc.

"Grandchild" pours holy scented water over the hands.

I will post more photos tomorrow of further activities held during the Songkran holidays. Please enjoy and check in again tomorrow! ^_^

Further Songkran information can be found HERE.

33rd Bangkok Motor Show #3

Photos from the car show continue....


Today, I'll show you all the fancy-shamcy, high-so, super pricey cars. Please don't drool on your computer screen. ^_^ Here we go....

For my blog fan, Takaoさん. You like short shorts too, right? (laugh)

Japanese car company, Mitsuoka's fab display:

This car was amazingly expensive (from Mitsuoka):

Simply beautiful lines.

See the price? That equals 27,000,000 yen / $270,000 !!

Click the photo to read the car's specs. ^_^

Rolls Royce..I think this is a Phantom. Loving those suicide doors -- very classy!

Note the glass fence in front? We were not allowed anywhere NEAR this car.

Toyota G6. I really LOVED this car. Sexy red + tinted windows = very NICE!...and it's a Toyota?!?! No one thinks "Sexy" and "Toyota" in the same sentence, right?? ^o^

I saw so many guys drooling over this car...haha.

BWM Z4. Took these pics for a friend and my dad, who both love this car. Convertibles are always hot, no? ^_^

Front:

Inside:

Rear:

I hope you enjoyed all the photos!

My blog will be slowing down for the next few months due to my busy schedule. I will be traveling and my brother will visit soon. Yay! ^_^ I will try to post some activities that I have planned; hopefully, at least one post a week. Until then, I have just been hanging out at home or in the gym, trying to save money. ^_^ Which isn't really interesting to put on a blog, is it? (laugh) 

To my Japanese readers:

桜は咲きましたでしょう？お花見で楽しんで下さい。

To my Thai readers:

Happy Songkran! Who's going to join me on a Tuk-Tuk this year and get wet?? ^_^/ 

Everyone else: 

Hoppy Easter and Happy Spring! ^_^

33rd Bangkok Motor Show #2

Photos continue from this automobile show....

Looking at cars is nice, but my true love are bikes! I spent a long time in the motorcycle area...hunting around for the coolest vehicles on two wheels.

Here are some pics for my readers to enjoy...

Honda CBR:

 Off road Honda:

Something for a regular reader...Takaoさん, enjoy that miniskirt! ^_^

Something for another friend -- a Samurai (at the Suzuki booth):

Cool Honda...with a trunk! (was deep enough to store one helmet)

The Kawasaki booth was very busy. I learned that Thai people LOVE Ninjas! These big bikes were on display and were quite popular with the local crowd....

Black Ninja:

Green:

One more Kawasaki:

Yamaha had a racing bike on display, with a special message for Japan:

And a classic, naked style, YA-1! (the very first Yamaha produced bike) ^_^

Yamaha also had some concept bikes on display...both with motors and without. It was really cool to see the (possible?) future of bikes...

Concept bike #1:

Concept bicycle: 

This huge bike was kitted up for some serious touring! It looked very cool. I took this photo for a friend who enjoys camping...

Again, too many photos to share in one post. Please visit again. I'll display more photos of cars and sights from the Motor Show. ^_^

33rd Bangkok Motor Show #1

Last week, I visited the Bangkok Motor Show at Impact Muang Thani. This popular show is running now until April 8th.

Entrance:


I didn't really have a plan, nor a ticket, but I met a very kind Thai gentleman on the bus going to the convention site, who offered me a free ticket! ^_^

Once inside, I walked all around the site and took photos of many cars. Please enjoy!

Benz:


Mini Coooper:


Nice!


Sexy!


Spec sheet for the car above:

Click for details...

Porche:

My favorite from the show -- an orange Ferrari!

Side:

Back (holy sheep -- I love this car. ^_^)

The exhibition also had a lot of vendors who sold car accessories. I was impressed with the huge rim display...

Lamborghini -- they wouldn't let viewers come anywhere NEAR these cars...Their display was completely roped off.  (sigh)

Please check again tomorrow to view more photos and cars.

Bangkok Motor Show is on now until April 8th at Impact Muang Thani. Access: BTS Mo Chit station, change to shuttle van to Impact Arena. Van cost is 30 baht one way. Entrance tickets available at the site -- 100 baht per person. Website for the show is HERE.