Sawasdee pee mai!  Happy Thai New Year! 

We celebrated the last day of Songkran, Thai New Year on the 19th April and had a scream!  We started the day off with a cooked breakfast then headed down to the Country Road pub about 12.30pm, armed with our water pistols and traditional thai shirts!  We were soaked and covered in flour before we got out the gates to the condo. 

The best way to describe the festival is a huge water carnival with everyone in the street soaking each other with water pistols and rubbing flour mixed with water on each others faces whilst wishing you a happy new year!  all the bars have music blasting out and big water barrels filled with water and ice blocks out the front on the street, which are permenantly filled up with a hose.  The traffic is gridlocked as people take out there trucks with people and water and flour on board to soak the people outside the bars and vice versa!The streets are swimming in water with the festivities and you take your own bottle of alcohol to your favourite bar.  You pay corkage (7.50 quid) but they supply you with the ice and your mixer until you finish the bottle.  Its got to be seen to be believed to be honest! we went through 2 bottles between 3 of us!

So it took us ages to get to the country road club because it seemed the whole of pattaya was out in the street.  We had to buy little waterproof holders that went round our necks to hold our money and camera in.  We only took a few photos with good camera but bought a waterproof camera to try and capture the atmosphere, will download the photos as soon as we can as there isnt a computer free with the facility at the mo!  Si got a good video of it all aswell without getting the camera wet! 

Anyway when we got to the country road bar the festivities really began,  si and dad went out on the front to soak all the trucks going by and to be soaked in return.  They even got the police as you are allowed to soak them to on the last day of songkran, so they both made sure they had a go!!  Think there should be a photo of it!  They even have the fire brigade out to help fill everyones barrels up, can you imagine something like that happening in england? ...absolutely mental but really good fun!  So the whole day was spent soaking people, being soaked, covered in flour and drinking, best fun we've had so far and i'm afraid i can't remember getting home!  I can however remember being violently ill in the night and the next day!  Brings back memories hey leanne?

So that was our thai new year.  There isn't much else to report except si has finished his PADI course and throughly enjoyed it, he had to go and do the last day of the course the day after Songkran... don't know how he managed it to be honest! 

Also Jo we went to see your Dad last night, he sends his love.  He's nicknamed me Mickey!  He said your Lindsay is out in May overnight i think he said!  There is a couple of photos which again will update when i get the chance.   

We leave for Bangkok tomorrow morning and my Mum and Dad fly back to UK tomorrow ngiht, so finally have to say my good byes to them.... and have to finally carry that backpack of mine, managed to avoid it so far...dreading it!  We have booked into a guesthouse round the corner from Khoa San Road for 5 pound per night, we are probably staying 2 nights then heading for Bangkok via bus (approx 10 hours) 

Anyway must go, will update the photos and videos asap

love shell and simon xxx