Happy Pi Mai! (Songkran)

A-ha! Here we are at the blog that hibernated for two years. ;) But I do make an appearance every once in a while when time is permitted and I want to procrastinate from something. (such as my masters thesis)

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Since I stowed away my camera so it would survive the rest of my trip, some of these photos aren't the best quality. I took them with my iPhone which I had to continuously shuffle in and out of a questionably waterproof pouch, however, I thought I would make a blog post about Lao's "Songkran" since it has now been a year since I traveled through that ever-beautiful, majestic country.

4,000 Islands - Laos

Laos celebrates the Lunar New Year, Songkran (Pi Mai in Lao) similar to Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri-Lanka and other parts of Southern and Southeast Asia; with lots and lots of water. Although it would have been interesting to experience the extreme celebration in Bangkok, I was happy to have been in a place where tourists and locals seemed to more peacefully celebrate.

On this very weekend I can imagine that they are going crazy spraying each other with water, sharing meals in rivers, singing and dancing to traditional music, building and decorating sand stupas, and partying into the evenings. Although the holiday is technically from around April 13th to the 16th... I think every Lao person knows that water endlessly flies through the air for about two weeks straight.

I spent Pi Mai in Vientiane, a city which I wasn't expecting to like as much as other parts of the country, however, it ended up being one of my fondest memories. During this celebration, Lao people wash homes, Buddha images, monks, and elderly people...and then use the rest of their water to wash each other. This is meant to symbolically represent the washing away of one's sins and bad luck (so I was told.) While exploring the city, I felt welcomed into their celebration after having many jugs of water poured on my head and powder smudged on my cheeks. As it was the hottest time of the year, I was actually quite happy to be splashed here and there. Although it's not always accepted to take photos in temples, many Lao people do on this day. After the celebration, I wrote in my journal my first impressions of the festival which I will share below, more or less verbatim.

April 15th - 17th, 2016

Vientiane 

 "Today was a great day. I came back to my hostel midday, completely soaked from head to toe and with baby powder smeared all over my face. This is new years in Laos. Just how wanted to experience it. I managed to explore the city by foot and see all the local temple rituals where they throw holy water on all of the Buddhas and shake water from branches onto every monument. At this time, it was rather peaceful and people weren't really soaking each other." 

Much of the water in the temple areas was soaked in either flowers or oils/ perfumes.

This yellow shirt was the Happy Pi Mai shirt for that year. 

Just washing away some sins with a water gun. 

Fresh flowers are collected to decorate Buddhas and temples. 

Praying to the Buddha before washing him.

This Buddhist monument which I think is a Naga is intended for water to be poured on one side.

Soaked and covered in powder... but at least it's the hottest month of the year!

"I saw a beautiful temple (Wat Si saket - free entrance for the holiday) with ancient preserved paintings (first restored by the French Colonial Govt. and now by a German organization) that was not allowed to be washed. It was built in 1818 and is the oldest Buddhist Monastery in Vientiane, however, is unfortunately damaged due to rising damp and salt deposits. On the way to a bus station where I wanted to check ticket prices, eight young boys jumped out from the sidewalk and completely soaked me with water. I laughed. They video taped it. It was all good fun and created some kind of cultural connection between us. Everyone was so cheery."

Wat Si Saket, Vientiane

After being soaked by a large group of young Lao boys.

I was so soaked that I left a water trail. 

Although I don't support live animal capture and trade...one way for Lao people
 to make merit (or money in his case) on Pi Mai is to let animals free. 

"Afterwards I wondered along the strange looking boardwalk with a developing night market to a fair which had a sand sculpture project in part funded by ASEAN. I paid 10,000 kip to enter and it was worth it to see these massive, detailed sculptures. Each piece was a different Buddhist theme sculpted by artists from different ASEAN countries."

The soaked street on the way to the boardwalk.

Boardwalk parties during the day. 

This was one of my favorite sculptures made by Cambodian artists. 

The sand here was so hot on my feet...I couldn't wait for someone to soak me again.

"I then wondered down to the Mekong where I bought some lunch and tried to sit down somewhere near the water. I got yelled at to move by some lady which somehow got me a bit teary eyed as I started to feel very alone among such a grand celebration for family and friends. Apparently a sweet family noticed this, and invited me to sit with them. I believe I was one of, if not the only Western foreigner sitting down by the water and it was great. The family was from Thakhek, a town in south central Laos and they were visiting a family member for the holiday."  

New friends :) 

With his son. 

Casually eating lunch in the Mekong River.

"They handed me corn, then invited me to sit at a table that was literally in the Mekong. I spoke to the man in German because he had lived in Leipzig and got his medical degree in the GDR and to his wife (who also spoke French) in English. They were so sweet. We drank many beer Laos, ate traditional Lao food (some was a bit strange to me - like the egg with a developing chick embryo inside called 'khai look') but it was overall a really nice time. I tried to eat everything they handed me, but didn't hold back from my reactions because they seemed to find our bonding as amusing as I did."

 "At some point we all left together, I got more soaked and covered in powder on the way back. It was an awesome and ridiculous time. I think Vientiane can be in some ways a 'drab' city. Outside of the incredible temples, the city is not particularly beautiful or intriguing, but the people certainly make it that way. I would go back and hope to meet this nice family again one day."

Young monks getting in on the fun.

Young Lao boys looking for their next culprit for dye filled water balloons...

The party and flow of water never stops. 

Overall Pi Mai was an incredible experience and I'm so happy to have lived this holiday in Laos, a beautiful country with beautiful people. I look forward to learning more about these traditions for years to come and hope to make my way back there again someday.

Moving on to the next destination (Pakse) hoping to at least keep my backpack dry. (And looking stylish in a Pi Mai shirt)