Wetlook World Forum

You are correct about Pattaya...it is all talcum powder and hardly any water...and not much fun to go there...cos they cancelled all the parades for the past 4 years, cos the locals get too drunk on Thai whiskey and would attack the people in the parade too aggressively...so they banned the parades. I took SSS model Tracie to Pattaya in 1999 and poor Tracie was attacked by this talcum power idiots too aggressively.

Same goes for Bangkok...there is very little water and too much talcum powder there too. Whats more, the city passed a law several years ago...banning all water throwing in the main city streets (cos people would often die in traffic accidents caused by being knocked off their motorcycles by flying buckets of water). So...all water throwing is now banned in Bangkok...except for one main street in the downtown area where the bars are...and also the main park outside the Grand Palace...but we went to those places and it was minimal water fun...very disappointing.

The Songkran events in the beach resort areas like Phuket and Koh Samui are much smaller events...not bad......but beach resorts are beach resorts...i.e. everybody is merely dressed in shorts and t shirt...so the wetlook is not great there...cos you don't see people fully dressed...only in beach wear.

I went to Chiang Mai first...thought it was great...then in other years I tried to visit all the other cities in Thailand to see if I could find other cities in Thailand that had a good Songkran festival too...but I was disappointed at every other place I went....so it proved what the travel guidebooks said is true...i.e. there is only one place to go for Songkran..and that is Chiang Mai.

The main reason Chiang Mau is so ideal...is that it has a natural water source surrounding the city (i.e. a moat or canal system) and there is water water everywhere. Also...unlike the city of Bangkok...that discourages water throwing in the streets....the city of Chiang Mai encourages it...cos it is their major tourist attraction...and Chiang Mai does what no other city in Thailand does...i.e. they set up "water dispensers" in the streets (that look like parking meters) so they people can easily fill up their water buckets along the road. Also, during the parades...several big water trucks follow the parade at 2 mph...so you can fill up your buckets from the water trucks that pass by...so the entire city gets into it and every shop doorway and store owners runs a hose from his store to an 80 gallon drum on the sidewalk...so folks can keep refilling their water guns.

MK