"SONGKRAN", once a year on or around mid April marking the Thai new year. I have never been so wet and it was painfull because they drive trucks around with iceblocks and put them in large barrels of water that makes for a shocking soaking. This was Pattaya this year and some of the moments I captured.

For those of you who don't think Thai girls have tits....bahtman just proved everyone wrong.....the girl in the pic on the top right is spectacular......It was fun hanging out with you and Epi in Pattaya....you're an excellent photographer and good guy......whatever happened to that cute little freelancer you were fond of and made a nice photo expose' we were looking at?

Those pix look like a recruiting poster for a Pattaya tourist convention...

Hey Mr Blazers, I made the freelancer one of my girlfriends. I pay her 2750 baht a month apartment rent and hang my pictures on the wall. One of my homes from time to time. I actually went to her village in northern thailand my last trip for a couple of days. Took tons of pics this last trip. Heres a couple of her. Its funny hanging with Epi when we go down the Sois he is like the BORG and its one big ASSIMILATION PARTY.

Photos: Freelancer 1 Freelancer 2

Bahtman, great to see your contributions here again. How'd you like Batam?

Yes, I have been soaking up the Rio trip reports in preparation for my first trip there, so I thought I should give something back to the board. Batam took a lot of getting used to for me but I think its the nastiest sex I've ever had back to back to back to back....Heres one of my babes. It was so cool running into you in BKK. Sorry I missed the AC trip. So much pussy so little time.

Photos: Indo Babe 1 Indo Babe 2

I think after shooting this event for the last few years, I'm naming it Song-Crazy. Its the Thai New Year and its WAR!. More pics of this year coming soon.

The pics bring back the nightmare quite well thank you. It was sure great to roll with you Bahtman. I am planning on doing Rio from the 27th of July through the 7 or so of August. Would love to hang with you there if you can make the trip!

Bahtman>>Yes, I have been soaking up the Rio trip reports in preparation for my first trip there, so I thought I should give something back to the board.

You know me and my taste and style, so if you want to read "Rio does Valterreekian" it might give you an idea of Rio from the perspective of someone you know

Val

Val it was great having you as a wingman for Songkran. Here are a couple of young ladies you might remember that we stumbled across as we waded down each soi.

Unfortunately, I remember some of them too well. They were great to look at but a challenge to dodge with all the water and paste.

Hope you make the pilgrimage to Rio in July with me.

Val

Heres a few more babes Val and I ran into along the way. When Songkran first started years ago you would walk up to a person and pour a small warm cup of water on there shoulder. Wow have they departed from that in a big way. Val send me a PM with your Rio dates.

Great shots. Now I gotta go.

Country John

The quality of your pictures has never ceased to amaze me, but nothing amazes me more than these at Songkran simply because somehow you kept your camera dry.

Travelsrr! It was easy for Bahtman to keep HIS camera dry. He had a $2000.00 custom fit cover for it. That is 4 times what my whole camera set-up cost!

He did have to carry plenty of hanky's to dry off the lense though!

Countryjohn I know you would have a great time. Just bring sealable sandwich bags to put your money, phone or anything else that you don't want to get totally soaked. I've met so many hot girls during songkran. All the girls above are working girls and will go with you for 200 baht bar fine and around 1000 baht for short time. ( 40 baht = $1 )

Travelsrr I gotta credit Val whose idea for keeping the lense dry helped me reduce my down time and get a lot more shots. I look at photos like bottles of wine and they are much better when shared among friends. More Songkran moments to follow.

Bahtman

That looks like Pattaya beerbar girls. They'll go for 200B barfine and 500B ST or 1000B LT.

First pic looks like Soi 8 and the second pic looks like Soi 7 in Pattaya, yes?

E

You are right about location, and the extra baht is for ,well, I think you know all my bad habits. Welcome back. Heres a couple more Song Kran Critters.

I get to see Songkran first hand this year! I arrived the day before yesterday and it took four hours to get from the airport to Pattaya. The driver kept taking "shortcuts" and every way we went there were many trucks with 200 liter water barrels, about 8-10 kids in back and water flying everywhere. I think all the large water trucks in Thailand were out filling up everyone's barrels. Lots of fun all around. Many of the bar girls really get into it. The most devastating attacks come from the plunger type guns like one of the girls above, about a gallon delivered to you in less than a second...

Bahtman has some great photos up here that really describe what's going on. Change the date of the photos to 2007 and it's still the same. You're not likely to see too many more pics though unless someone has a diver's camera. Short of diving in a pool, you get really drenched! I have my wallet and phone in a plastic bag and expect to be completely drenched during the daylight hours. Even a quick walk to the family mart will result in a sopping wet adventure. Very fun and interesting. The weather is really hot so it feels good. Don't think you'll escape the water taking a bahtbus.....people wait in ambush for those to come along...and I don't think I've seen a dry motor biker... One of my freelancer ladies took me home on her bike yesterday and I thought she would get the brunt of it but we all got wet... the biggest shock is the ice cold water that gets you. They put big blocks of ice in the barrels and load up from those....

I'm having a blast down here. About 10:00 a.m. it will start up again. I thought it was just two days but everyone says it's a week. It started on the 12th here and will be over the 19th. They say the last two days is even more over the top!

Pattaya runs Songkran alot longer than does Bangkok. I think I've managed to survive this Songkran in Bangkok without getting wet at all...God I must be getting old.

Manos.

Hooray! Survived another Songkran. In Pattaya the madness and mayhem will continue until the almighty water wars on April 19. Beach Road will be like a battlefield.

Last night in Soi Cowboy some lunatic fired a gun into the air - there were police all over Cowboy! Back to normal in BKK today, except it is a holiday (Mon & Tue) because Songkran fell on a weekend. I'm with you Manos, thankfully it is over for another year.

Got into Bangkok on the 15, at first i was not interested in the water sports there, but after getting soaked on my way to here and there on a motorbike taxi, i though, "why not join in" so i got the biggest watergun that i could find, and started firing at my water loaded enemys,the taxi driver got soaked as well, so i gave him 500TBH instead of our original 60TBH.

Well Redbus, it certainly looks like you used the theory, "If you can't beat 'em join 'em". Personally for me I have worked NINE consecutive Songkrans in Nana Plaza, and the "fun with water wars" has most definitely dwindled for me. Great if you are an infrequent visitor, by all means have some fun, but be careful. Good to see you I'm pleased you survived!

Who wouldn't like a week long "Wet-T-Shirt" contest?? Especially when that cold water hits those nips!

Nice pics Baht. Lookes like fun. Glad your equipment survived.

Dave, i love you man,
here "i love you" is to mean, as some one who loves there county or a favoured food, and not a love between say a married couple, i don`t want jodler to say "i told you so".

SONGKRAN UPDATE - The worst day is yet to come for PATTAYA. April 19 will see the water warfare really get going in an all out battle along Beach Road. Please note that it will be CRAZY and some bars will be CLOSED...

From my vantage point, it's already been an all out battle. (but today is still very young!) I mean you can only get completely drenched and that's a daily/hourly occurence for me! What I like is that the personality of the bar girls really comes out and you can pick out some really wild and fun ones. (Look at the glint in the eyes of Bahtman's models above and you see what I mean!)

Wow, Dave, you were right! Yesterday was over the top! All the streets closed, many shops closed, and music, singers, dancing in the streets. Amazing and fun! I have to admit though I've had enough! I hear perhaps a bit more today and that's it for Songkran in Pattaya. We'll see!

Rooster, that was the last Big Battle on April 19 it is now officially over... HOORAY!