Happy Thai New Year!

And in Thailand, that means it's time for the largest national water battle on the planet. For an entire week, just staying dry is a losing effort. The Thais are armed with hoses, water guns, buckets, and every water propelling device ever made. So just a simple walk to the coffee shop requires your swim wear and a water weapon of your own to return fire. Then, on the Friday of Songkran weekend, all hell breaks loose. Businesses close. Traffic comes to a standstill. And the water battles on every street and back alley reach epic proportions. There is no better way to relive your childhood and act like an 8 year old than participating in Songkran.

Songkran was extra cool because my friend Carles from Barcelona came here for the festivities. I met Carles in Laos back in 2008 and we motorbiked the Bolaven Plateau together. So the plan after this Songkran nonsense settles down is to rent motorbikes once again and go exploring up near the Myanmar border and the Golden Triangle region. That entry is next...