This will be my 15th Songkran and I hate it.

The first one was OK when I was young and drunk. The second was OK too. Now, the festival has become totally out of hand. Two years ago in Bangkok, I was "assaulted" - getting ice thrown in my face. Three years ago, I did the back of a pick-up thing and was bloody freezing - it was a nightmare.

At least the guys who bought a pick-up will get a chance to use it.

Anyone else hate this holiday?

No, I love it.

There are not many countries in the world that could hold such a festival, I'm fortunate enough to be in one of them.

This type of thing just could never happen in a country like UK, folks there are just too miserable or too violent, long live Songkhran !!!

Count me in the "I hate Songkran" group....

can take it or leave it.I hate being frozen and if the weather isnt hot be prepared for frozen nuts.

I only hate the moronic farangs that use this wonderfull festival as a right to asault people with water cannons and iced buckets of water!!!!!!

Christmas, Songkran? Bah humbug As long as they don't get water in my beer.

Well I love it for one day but much longer and it starts to pall. Unfortunately there's no choice offered these days, you are a legitimate target once you step outside.

Maigo6, correct you could never hold it in the UK. Apart from the violence factor you'd be breaking just about every regulation, law, directive and statute in the book so they'd have to build a whole new set pf gaols. Jeez, there's be more ASBO's flying about than water!

Apart from all that the weather in April would ensure you'd not have to add ice to the water.

Yes, with a vengance. And like you, when I was younger and full of piss 'n' vinegar I loved it but as the years roll by and Songkranners get more out of hand I prefer to hide indoors with a pile of paperbacks!

Thought I'd escaped about 5 years ago...... was with the missus in the market up Nong Han way and some bloody guy dumped a bucket of iced water all down my back, much to the amusement of the locals...
One year I was riding a scooter up Theprasit well after dark and there was a sump truck slowly driving up the centre of the road with two drunk farangs spraying pumped water all over every other road user.....
One time I was riding a very expensive high powered bike down Soi Punch-Up Yamoto and this drunk bg leaps out in front of me with a blue pvc pipe water cannon, jabs it into the fairing/mirrors and cracks the whole bloody lot......

Yeah, love Songkran!

This post has been edited by AceCafe: 2009-04-10 16:34:53

Songkran can be a very enjoyable time if any sort of common sense is involved. Generally I enjoy it and had many good times. It's the over the top things that spoil it.
Last year I was on my motorbike on the main road Khon Kaen to Udon doing about 90 Kmh. I got a bucket of water thrown at me and very nearly came off.
That is just so F****g stupid on a fast main road.
Same road last year, a pickup came alongside and launched a bucket of water. These idiots have no idea how dangerous their actions are.
But a few beers and a soaking where the traffic is slow and the party atmosphere, it can be good fun.

Seems for some they cannot escape the 'madness' while for others we can escape. I do not mind one way or the other as here it is generally limited and I have known some people be polite and not use water etc when asked not to.

Yes, I hate it !!!!!! Sick of being Drunk. Wet, Cold and Tired so this year I am escaping for a few days.

Thais love Songkhran - its in their blood. But any farang professing to like being assaulted with ice an water for a week ( yes a week - you live in Pattaya) is suspect

Also how can you generalize about everone in the UK

I join the "I hate Songkran" list and start the "I hate it since the first year" !

Ready to lock in Bangkok with food and girls ;-)

I hate having cold water thrown over me, whether its Songkran or not!

I love the idea behind it!

I hate when the crowd gets drunk, hysteric, nasty and the hospitals get overfilled and the cremation grounds get crowded!

I'll answer that by quoting my own post from four years ago:

I'm a sweaty person, so I like people throwing water at me to cool me down!

I can see how some folks tire of it, but I must admit I really enjoy the whole thing.

This will be my 16th and I'm as enthusiastic as the first. Can't wait!!!!

I'm in a little town in Issan, and am told that on the main street, 3 or 4 scooter riders kiss the pavement every year. Sheesh...
And what's with the poster paint? At least I assume (and hope) that's all it is. Today I saw a bus, a couple of utes, and a bunch of scooters that had all been splayed with paint. I just don't think the owners had all modified their vehicles in this manner

Just a word of thanks to the folks offering helpful advice on TV on how to survive it relatively intact. It's my first one, and talking with my Thai friends, I think next year I might plan to celebrate it in Auckland...or Tahiti (Air Tahiti Nuei is a very pleasant ride)...

[edited for typo]

This post has been edited by noahvail: 2009-04-10 17:24:28

Hate it.. Too many people die or get injured.

I don't understand how so many seem to like this 'conceptual Song Kran' as a fun loving water festival where no one gets hurt and it's all in the spirit of fun. When in reality it is a violent and dangerous holiday where many die and even more are assaulted against their will as the police look on. Yea this could never happen in the UK. The UK must really suck.

Yes I hate it.

Yes. Hate. Yes. Hate. Hate. Hate.

I love it in the sense that I get to take lots of free holidays from work and get as far away from thailand as I can for a couple of weeks

Hate it with a vengance,first year I was here was ok as it was a novelty but that was many years ago.Now it's got out of hand and causes many deaths and injuries.

Exactly..

I don't hate Songkran, but i do hate the ^^ too..

But however right or wrong, i do find that usually a fist on the chops does the trick to those mentioned above ( i know, i know it may be wrong, but so is how far they take things, here on Samui anyway )

Actually a lot of Thais do NOT like what Songkran has become.
Yes, it's a special time of year for them and when the water festival was not as extreme as it is now, everyone could enjoy it.
You will see many Thais dress in their best clothes to visit elders and do the traditional pouring of water over their hands and sometimes feet. I've seen them get really angry when their best clothes are ruined by the idiots that just throw water over everybody.
The ice water thing, well that's just assault as far as I'm concerned.
Some years back, I was at a party and this man had filled a dustbin with water and ice. He delighted in creeping up and pouring this ice cold water down people's backs.
He did it to me and I picked him up and dunked him in his own ice water. That actually got some applause.