Songkran Festival

The Thailand Water Festival, also officially known as the Songkran Festival is celebrated for 3 days running, starting on April 13th till April 15th. Songkran is an annual event marking the traditional Thai New Year. This festival is all about cleaning and purification and fresh starts, which includes the splashing of water at people or even complete strangers, signifying the washing away of bad lucks and thoughts, bringing in good lucks in the new year.

I'd read about this festival often in the internet and had always wanted to go to Thailand to experience this festival in person. But going to Thailand on the 13-15 of April obviously meant that I had to skip a few day's classes, something which I still had not mastered up the guts to do. The last time I skipped two hours of activities(supposedly compulsory) planned by the seniors had successfully upset the "good students" in my class. And also by the end of that memorable day, I succeeded in crying two buckets of tears. Uggghh don't even remind me >.<

So when Alice somewhat casually told me that she and her boyfie were actually planning to join the Songkran festival after class, and were asking whether I cared to join them? I totally went OF CUZ I WANNA JOINNNNN!!! :DD

The Songkran Festival that I went to was held inside an Indian temple. Not in Thailand, but in Changlun, Kedah. But who cares right be it Thailand or Kedah hahah ^.^ The minute I stepped into the temple, I could see fountains of water spiralling ahead, right above my head. There were a few bomba trucks parked in an open courtyard where the water activities were being carried out. The trucks would channel the water from a river right opposite the temple using some kind of thick, speical hose. This channeled water in turn went through some purification+chlorination process(I think), lo and behold, the water shoots out from the hose!

That's Alice and her boyfie XD We went empty handed, realising only too late that people all around us were carrying buckets or water guns, even water rifles. There was splashing everywhere. People were splashing people. Everyone was having the time of their life. Within seconds, we were all drenched from being splashed from all directions. Songkran Festival was indeed the so-called biggest water fight in the world! There was a stage erected right at the centre of the courtyard, with people playing the guitar and singing lovely Thai songs. We joined the crowd gathered in front of the stage, swaying and dancing to the music while being drenched to the skin. The whole atmosphere was just fantastic :))

Kids were sitting in the back of the trucks, which were loaded with buckets of water that was dispensed on anyone who happened to be within reach. We started a water fight with these kids too, squealing and screaming at the top of our lungs. A few kids even went all out by splashing us with ice cold water. At a time, I got ice cold water inside my eyes and I stopped playing in an attempt to rub my eyes, cuz seriously it kinda hurts T^T. Then the little kid who splashed me immediately tugged at my shirt and asked something in Thai language which I could not understand. Seeing his concerned expresssion, I could roughly guessed that he was asking whether I was okay. It was so cute and sweet of him :3

There was this western lady clicking away at her camera excitedly. But being the only person with fair skin and blonde hair and blue eyes, she stood out among the crowd, hence immediately became the target of splashing. She was trying so hard to protect her camera from being splashed, all the while muttering "Oh my god oh my god oh my god" over and over again. It was somewhat funny seeing that haha XD

Many activities and traditional customs around the world focused on the cleansing of impurities. Just like this Songkran Festival. In ancient times, people used to slaughter bulls or lambs to be sacrificed on the altar as an atonement for their sins, as a means of cleansing. 

As for me, I am glad that Jesus came to this earth 2000 years ago to die for all of us. He took all the sins of the world and nail it to the cross. Jesus, was that sacrificial lamb to the slaughter. He died, so that I could live-and live a life in abundance. Because of his blood, I was cleansed and free. I was lost, but now I'm found :'))

And I'll never know

how much it costs

to see my sin

upon that cross