To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Happy Songkran!Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 14:00:00 -0400
During Songkran, everything gets wet--including the negatives forthis
photo…which is where the brown spots come from
Happy Songkran!
International Living Postcards--your daily
escapehttp://www.internationalliving.com
Songkran, 2007Chiang Mai, Thailand
Dear International Living Reader,
I should have paid more attention to yesterday's Postcard. I--and my cell
phone--have just been thrown into Chiang Mai's moat, and I'm getting no
sympathy. Not even from myself. After all, what did I expect during Songkran?
The most important event of the Thai year, Songkran is officially the start of
the new year on the old lunar calendar. Traditionally it lasts about three or
four days in the middle of April, a time for Buddhist prayer and penitence.
--- Advertisement ---
Your Own Home in Thailand for less than $20,000
Seeking an exotic, affordable lifestyle? Tempted by white sands, turquoise seas
and almost endless cultural curiosities?
In Thailand, the ‘Land of Smiles’, you can dine well and still leave the table
with change from $5. A full check up in a modern hospital costs under $40.
Gorgeous homes rent for less than $400 a month (sometimes a lot less). And yes,
it really is possible to purchase a studio condo in a seaside town for under
$20,000.
Starting over doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. Whether you dream of
trying Thailand out for size by renting, finding the ideal vacation home or
buying a retirement property, International Living are here to help. Click here
for your key to the door of South-East Asia's tropical expat paradise.
************************************************************
Long, large parades of costumed commoners and solemn monks pass through streets
filled with joyous crowds. Monks sprinkle water on the masses and onlookers
return the favor, blessing monks, blessing participants, throwing holy water on
holy shrines and catching the now-holier water as it drips off.
Combining these customs with the Thai love of sanook (fun) and the atmosphere
of the hottest month of the year it's not hard to understand how Songkran
changed from purely a stately spiritual affair to the wildest water festival
the world knows.
Chiang Mai is perhaps the craziest spot in the country for the New Year; the
water fights start well before and continue long after the main festivities
commence. Shops set up large plastic barrels of water and try to get as much
onto passing vehicles as they can. The sale of water guns sky-rockets and
around every corner is a waiting smiling assassin. Pick-up trucks fill their
flatbeds with 50-gallon drums of water and ice, along with anyone willing to
throw the stuff at everyone else.
The center of town is pure bedlam; you might think the main roads were clogged
by a traffic jam, except everyone is really just parked and throwing water
every which way. Vendors sell buckets with string to dip into the moat water
and hoist out onto your nearest neighbor. The dirty moat water is switched for
cleaner water just before everything begins.
Stages are set up around town for everything from open-air concerts to wet
T-shirt contests. Shops perform friendly raids on each other, and will recruit
any willing or unwilling passerby to the cause. Groups of friends sit eating
picnics on muddy riverbanks, dipping into streams or waterfalls whenever they
feel too dirty.
The entire atmosphere is one of channeled hysteria, a relived and heightened
kindergarten recess. If you aren't going to be playful when someone sneaks ice
water inside the back of your shirt, you aren't welcome. And everyone is
welcome.
Ryan ColeFor International Living
P.S. My first water gun broke from overuse, as did my second and third.
Eventually, my water attacks were all buckets and cupped hands and the
occasional well-placed nudge toward deep streams.
Related articles:
- Thailand: The Owner's Manual--Save 15%.
- Welcome to the Biggest Water Fight in the World.
- The Genuine (and Cheap) Thai Experience.
Dear International Living Reader: If you have not already done so, please
click here to confirm your IL Postcards subscription. This will help us ensure
you get every IL Postcard without interruption. Or help us out by
"white-listing" our service...before its delivery is interrupted.
Unsubscribe or Change of Address
Want to cancel IL Postcards? Click here
Email Address Change? Click here.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To start receiving your own copy of IL Postcards, click here...or forward this
e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to receive their own copy of IL
Postcards. International Living offers other free e-letters, with topics
ranging from Panama, to Europe, to international travel. For the complete list
of Free International Living E-letters, click here.
Join in!Ask or answer a question at IL's online community. Check out the NEW
interactive IL Blog.
International Living--There's more...
For more in-depth articles, subscribe to International Living in print here or
call 888-884-7792. As a print subscriber along with your monthly in-depth print
issues, you will receive a free copy of our latest publication Secrets of the
Untourist, discounts off our conferences and tours, free white papers on a
World-Wide Tax Guide, Adventure Travel, and more...
Renew Your Print Subscription Online Here.
IL Conferences, Seminars, and Tours.
View today's hot real estate opportunities here.
IL's Local Offices and Real Estate Contacts around the world.
Advertise with IL, online or in print.
IL Print Subscribers:To cancel or for any other subscription issues, write us
at: International Living Order Processing Center Attn: Customer
Service P.O. Box 968 Frederick, MD 21705
(c) 2007 International Living Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved.Protected by
copyright laws of the United States and international treaties.This Newsletter
may only be used pursuant to the subscription agreement andany reproduction,
copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise,including on the world wide
web) , in whole or in part, is strictlyprohibited without the express written
permission ofInternational Living, 5 Catherine Street, Waterford, Ireland.
Tel. 888-884-7792E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Website:
www.InternationalLiving.com
Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized investment
advice.Although our employees may answer your general customer service
questions,they are not licensed under securities laws to address your
particularinvestment situation. No communication by our employees to you should
bedeemed as personalized investment advice.
_________________________________________________________________
Check out some new online services at Windows Live Ideas—so new they haven’t
even been officially released yet.
http://www.msnspecials.in/windowslive/
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
