Songkran in Chang Mai

Chang Mai for Songkran! What an experience!  For those who dont know Songkran is the Thai New Year.  Traditionally it is a time for the young to show respect to their elders by splashing a little bit of water on them as it is in the heat of the dry season.... today it has turned into the worlds biggest water fight!  They broke the world record! You cant walk along the streets without getting completely drenched!  Buckets of water or huge super soakers are EVERYWHERE!  Look at the guy above he went ALL OUT!

My first night in town we stopped by the market and actually observed some of the traditional (or somewhat) festivities...

Lady boy's behind stage... 

My first drink out of a bag!!! (note my water-proof bags for my valuables!)

The next morning I woke up ready for action! 

Chang Mai is surrounded by a moat so is perfect for Songkran!   All you have to do is throw your bucket into the moat to grab the water!  The day I arrived I walked to my guesthouse and by the time I arrived there wasnt a dry bone on my body! It was luck I came prepared and water-proffed all my bags!

My second day we spent the entire day in the water fight! Trucks filled with people, buckets in the back filled with water, and if you were mean a large chunk of ice as well!

Well after a day in the water fight we were ready to dry off... this was a hard task and walking down the streets took some skill but we managed to stay relatively dry at night...

My second night there we took a Thai Cooking class!

I made Phad Thai, fried spring rolls, masaman curry and a coconut-chicken soup! It was all very very good! I hope i'll remember how to make it at home when I start to miss thai food...

Katie and I stir-frying up our pad thai

Trevor working on the curry paste... yes we did make it from scratch! 

this is how you get the coconut milk for the curry!

Yummmm my curry :)