Sopping, Soggy, Sodden, Soaking Songkran: The Thai New Year is Here! [S7.E64]

Ed 00:00:02 Fi. Now.

Greg 00:00:05 On this episode, we dig into Thailand's biggest and wettest holiday, which is coming up fast.

Ed 00:00:11 So whether you love or loathe Songkran and all that comes with it, you'll dig this episode of the Bangkok Podcast.

Greg 00:00:33 Sawa and welcome to the Bangkok Podcast. My name is Greg Jorgensen, a Canadian who came to Thailand in 2001 for easy access to knock off Lego sets and now regrets introducing my son to the same thing that used to get me so excited.

Ed 00:00:47 That's great. That's retro though.

Greg 00:00:49 It is retro. Now, before you get into yours, really just give me a indulge me for a second here. Does this does this sound bring back memories for you?

Ed 00:00:58 Oh, wow. Yeah. Huge, huge Lego guy. Yeah, but it's great that you. This is something you and your son can connect on a mutual interest as opposed to, like, the weird computer game stuff he's doing that you never did.

Greg 00:01:09 I totally agree, but now he's kind of growing out of it, although he never really grew out of Lego.

Greg 00:01:14 But we've got so much of this stuff, like he can't get any more because we literally have no place to put it. And now it's just basically everything's been built and rebuilt and rebuilt 15 times, and now it's just like drawers and drawers full of random mixed pieces that have no shape.

Ed 00:01:30 Or at least it's the real world and not like virtual AI. That's right. He's connected. At least he hasn't. He's not a brain in a vat.

Greg 00:01:38 It could be worse, I guess.

Ed 00:01:40 All right. And I'm an American who came to Thailand on a one year teaching contract 24 years ago. Fell in love with Thai people who nod, smile and say chai over and over again, even though they have no idea what I'm saying. So I never left.

Greg 00:01:54 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes.

Ed 00:01:56 The Thai people always act like they totally understand you, so it makes you feel good.

Greg 00:02:00 Does anyone ever do that to you in English, though? What about your students?

Ed 00:02:04 Yeah, my students are like, yep, we got it.

Ed 00:02:06 Even though they have, they have no idea what I'm talking about.

Greg 00:02:08 Move on. Teacher aide. We understand.

Ed 00:02:12 All right. We want to give a big thanks to all of our patrons who support the show. Patrons get every episode a day early. Behind the scenes photos of our interviews, a heads up to send questions to upcoming guests and access to our discord server to chat with me, Greg, and other listeners around the world. But best of all, patrons also get an unscripted, uncensored bonus episode every week where we riff on current events and Bangkok topics on this week's bonus show. We chatted about Greg's recent trip to Chiang Mai, and how surprised he was that the bad air didn't seem to affect him. My outing to Kauai to see the Kauai Art forest installation and discussions about Rama two road, which is shaping up to be one of the world's longest lasting infrastructure projects. That is, if you choose to believe a post on Facebook to learn how to become a patron and get all this good stuff, plus full access to over 700 bonus and regular back episodes, click the support button at the top of our website.

Greg 00:03:17 Sorry. Distracted by Lego? yeah. And as always, if you have a comment to show idea or just want to say hi, head to Bangkok podcast.com and click the little microphone button on the bottom right. Leave us a voicemail. We'll play it on the show.

Greg 00:03:29 Alrighty then. Well, on this episode, we get our squirt guns ready for the 2025 version of Songkran, Thailand's biggest holiday. But by my count, this will be my 23rd Songkran. And add your 24th.

Ed 00:03:42 Correct? Correct on Monday 24th.

Greg 00:03:44 Right now, after that many years, it does tend to get a bit old, but it's impossible to escape its gravity or cultural significance. The entire country goes on holiday. Half the people in Bangkok disappear for five days and us expats left behind. Get to experience it in whatever capacity we dare to. So with Songkran just ten days away from when this episode drops, we thought we discussed what the holiday looks like in 2025, how it's evolved over the years, and talk about some of the memorable stories we've collected from our splashy, splashy experiences with the now world famous Thai New Year celebration.

Greg 00:04:16 23 years in a row, man, that's a long time to celebrate the same thing for sure.

Ed 00:04:22 you know, I, you probably remember this from last year, but I had a lot of fun on Songkran last year, and I participated in the the water splashing for the first time in a while, like I got. I can't I couldn't remember how long it had been, but I, I opted out. I tapped out, a while ago. Dude. So for many years, many years I became the, the hibernate or or the guy who got out of Bangkok and I just didn't want anything to do with, the the Satnam, the water, water splashing, water fighting, whatever you want to call it. And then last year I jumped back in and it was a blast. It was a total blast. My my interest in Songkran has been reinvigorated.

Greg 00:05:02 Well, now I forget last year, where did you go for Songkran? Because that plays a big role in how you experience it.

Ed 00:05:07 Good point. I mean, we're going to talk about that, but no, I was in Bangkok and it's just I don't know why I can't remember. I probably talked about it on a show last year just for some reason. I was just like, okay, I'm going to get back into the fun stuff. And I just had some buddies who were going out and some former students and, it's fun. Like, that's the bottom line is it's fun. It's it's kind of pointless and silly and somewhat aggressive, but but it's, it's a good time, so I'm psyched. So, this year, I can't decide if I want to stay in Bangkok or do an island or beach thing, but, certainly if I'm in Bangkok, I will. I will do some water splashing Lashing at one of the main zones. so I'm back into it. And, you know, our this show right now is kind of a nostalgia show. but I'm back into it now.

Greg 00:06:01 Interesting, interesting. Well, I, there's only two places I like to be during Songkran.

Greg 00:06:08 I really well, there's only two places I really enjoy being. now, the the sort of place in the middle is out playing water with my son. That's all. These ties. Playing water and nam.

Greg 00:06:19 Right? so, you know, in the past years, he's ten. So we've gone to the local, we've gone to Iconsiam, and they have a place out back where all the kids go and play safely and somewhat.

Ed 00:06:27 Okay. So let me make it. So this is kind of a this is a subset of the water fighting that is specifically made to be better for kids.

Greg 00:06:35 Yeah. Yeah. Because it's yeah, it's a enclosed space. It's controlled. There's security and stuff like that.

Ed 00:06:40 I like it. I mean, listeners, I'm sure a lot of our listeners know this, but listeners out there, if you're if you're new to the Songkran experience, the water fighting is I don't know, violent. I'm not sure that's the right word, but the water fighting is quite out of control, and it's somewhat aggressive in that people will splash you like directly in the face.

Ed 00:07:01 And then also there's the white powder like hand touching. It's it's the one time of the year the Thai people are confrontational.

Greg 00:07:11 Yeah. Now like I said, the the two places that I really enjoy being during Songkran the most are one at home with a full fridge, my Netflix subscription paid up and the door locked. Or two out of the country because.

Ed 00:07:28 I see okay. Yeah, yeah. Get out. Yeah. No, this is you're you're you're right. I mean, like I said, I, I fully have to admit, I have to confess that I was I don't even know the number, but I don't know if it was ten years, it might not have been ten. It might have been 8 or 9, eight, 7 or 8. But I mean, for a pretty long time, I was that guy who. The last thing I wanted to do was get wet on Songkran, right? Yeah, I was that guy. So either I stayed like you said it.

Ed 00:07:56 Exactly right. I don't know if I get out of the country, but it's either. I mean, I guess you're right. I mean, you kind of have to get out of the country. I mean, if you. I think if you were in a smaller town, it just wouldn't be. It might be easier to avoid. I mean, even in Bangkok, it's easy to avoid. But the problem is it's it's you're not really safe necessarily anywhere in Bangkok.

Greg 00:08:16 It's not.

Greg 00:08:18 I'm safe, but I don't mind getting splashed. It's just the crowds.

Ed 00:08:22 The crowds? Yeah. The crowds.

Greg 00:08:23 Insane. And what I said in the opening that half the population of Bangkok leaves, I wasn't exaggerating. I mean, millions of people hit the trains and the buses to head up country to see their family. And it's just, you know, anywhere, traveling anywhere in Thailand during that point is just line ups and queues and long waits. I hate.

Ed 00:08:41 It's probably yeah. I mean, it's a good point. Either you should, stay in Bangkok or go to Japan. It's a good time to check out Vietnam.

Greg 00:08:49 I know. Right? Something like. It's funny you say that because actually, this year, my wife and my son and I were going to be in Shanghai over Songkran.

Ed 00:08:56 Oh, you are in Shanghai? Very cool.

Greg 00:08:57 Yeah. I've never been there before, so we're going to check it out. And I'm coming back on April 16th, which is the day after. It's it's over. So, I will miss it entirely this year.

Ed 00:09:09 Good time to get out of the country. Although, like I said, I'm. I'm back into it, man, so I will probably partake. I mean, if I'm down, if I'm down at the island somewhere, there'll probably be some Songkran activity. But, I don't think it's quite, the same as as the the key locations. You know, it seems the key locations in Bangkok, there's there's actually many places you could go in Bangkok, but the big ones are like Salem Carlson.

Ed 00:09:35 Right? Places like Nana, Nana or Soy cowboy. Last year, I was in soy cowboy and, you know, in the afternoon. So this is not a nighttime thing. And it was great. It was fun. I mean, it was.

Greg 00:09:49 That's interesting.

Ed 00:09:50 It was. It was crowded, but not insane. You know, my. My problem with my problem with Salem and Carlson, it's just insanely crowded.

Greg 00:09:59 Yeah. It's brutal. It's like being at a, you know, front row at.

Ed 00:10:01 A rock concert.

Greg 00:10:02 A rock concert, and everyone has water guns. It's kind of insane. Intense.

Ed 00:10:05 Yeah. No, thanks. When I went to, cowboy last year, I was afraid it was going to be packed, but it wasn't. It didn't really get actually really crowded until early evening. So in the afternoon it was in the afternoon. It was kind of perfect where it wasn't jammed, but there were still people that were having fun.

Greg 00:10:23 That's that's funny because that jives with what I experienced there.

Greg 00:10:26 I was like, I don't know, I guess it was probably about 12 years ago now. I went to cowboy during the day over Songkran, and it was during the day, really, really nice. I mean, cowboys, for those that don't know, cowboys in the infamous red light district, it's kind of skeezy when the lights go down, when the sun goes down. But during the day, all the girls and all the people at the bars were out. Yeah, they were just playing water and a little baby elephant stopped by. Someone had a baby elephant for some reason.

Ed 00:10:51 Damn. Damn. I haven't seen an elephant. That's a shout out. I've not seen. When was the last time you saw, like, an elephant in Bangkok? Walking around the streets.

Greg 00:11:01 It was probably ten, 12 years ago. Yeah, 12.

Ed 00:11:03 Yeah, it's been a long time. You know, it's one of those things that, I miss in the sense that it was cool, but I'm glad it's not a thing anymore.

Ed 00:11:13 I mean, obviously, it's not friendly to the elephants. It's like a bad. It's unhealthy for the elephants. So I. You know, I vote to not allow elephants to walk the streets of Bangkok. But. But I do have necessities. This is a nostalgia show. I do have the early memories of just seeing a behemoth. You know, you look out at, you look out the window of a bar, and there's a freaking elephant, like, right outside. Right. That was. That was part of my early Bangkok experience. And. And you are correct. Elephants play seemed to play an extra role in Songkran. You know, it's like back then there were elephants more likely to be elephants around on Songkran.

Greg 00:11:50 Yeah. I remember the last time I saw an elephant was on the outside of that baby when cowboy was on Silom Road at night, and it literally had a big, like, traffic reflector strapped to it. Oh, so you could see it walking down the road.

Ed 00:12:05 You know. But when are you saying that was 12 years ago or since?

Greg 00:12:09 Probably 15 years ago now. So they stopped that a long time ago, thankfully. But yeah.

Ed 00:12:13 But for sure, for sure. Dude, I want to ask you about your your first Songkran experience because I'm just curious if you reacted negatively or positively because it is kind of a shocking thing. Your first experience, like, did you just jump right? Did you just jump right in like, I'm totally in this? Or were you like, dude, don't be splashing me.

Greg 00:12:33 no, no, no, I totally knew all about it. And, we've I've definitely told this story on the podcast before, so I won't go into too much detail. But my first one was Cal San wrote, which was a mistake, so I.

Ed 00:12:45 Oh, that was your very first one. Yeah, that's probably a mistake. It's a little bit too intense.

Greg 00:12:49 Yeah. So we got into a taxi down on, like, probably peppery somewhere where we were living at the time, some friends and I, and we said, Cal San Road.

Greg 00:12:56 And the guy was like, rolled his eyes and it took us way too long to get there. And we got out like ten blocks before we got there because traffic was so bad and walked the rest of the way. I remember I had a little plastic handgun, which is like, it's not even bringing a knife to a gunfight. It's like bringing a piece of paper to it's worthless to a machine gun fight. And and yeah, we made it to Cal San Road. But I remember we got about 50m into Cal San Road and we just couldn't move. It was way too packed. And. That's right. I did not like it. My takeaway was that it was too intense and I will be observing it from a distance next year.

Ed 00:13:30 Oh, interesting. It's funny. I have no I have no memory of you telling that story. I'm sure you have told it. Oh, okay. But, that's actually some good advice. So this is not really an advice show. We've done shows in the past on on Songkran, but I personally would not go.

Ed 00:13:46 And I still have friends who go to Salem and and when they tell me I'm like, really? You know, you did that. Yeah. Yeah. So I personally think the last place I would go is Salem. I tell people like, do not go there. for one thing, if you, if you kind of drive around Bangkok or if you just have a, a neighborhood you like, there's most likely some Songkran activity happening there, you know, on random side streets or, you know, this Soi. Yeah, it is a citywide thing, but, I prefer. I mean, it's funny. I'm, I normally I don't recommend a visit to red light districts, but around Nana and Soi four, and then, cowboy in the daytime, it's fun. You know, there's people drinking, there's girls, but it's obviously daytime. it's is nothing. While this tech is literally family friendly. Last year when I went there, my buddy was there with his son. You know, it's totally family friendly.

Ed 00:14:47 Yeah. you know, he's like 12 year old son. and it's not insane. It's not insanely crowded, but it's a very lively atmosphere, and it's it's, you know, Songkran is is worth experiencing, you know? But when, when when visitors asked me about Songkran and I was like, yeah, you got to stay like, right. If you, if you, if you're, if your holiday overlaps or if you have an option, if you're trying to figure out what day to be. I would say you got to experience Songkran at least once. It's on the.

Greg 00:15:18 List. Well, that's actually pretty good advice. And now you say totally avoid Silom. And normally I would say yes, but I think next year actually, you know, I'm just thinking about it this year we might be back in time for the last day of Songkran. And what I might do now, because my son is tan, I might take him down to Silom, but Start on the outside edges and come down some of like soy salad dang.

Greg 00:15:39 Or coming from soy sauce. Oh, that could work around the edges. So you can like get a quick exit if it gets too crazy. You know what I mean?

Ed 00:15:46 Yeah, that could work. That could work. Yeah.

Greg 00:15:48 But heading right into the middle underneath the Skytrain station. No, that'd be nuts.

Ed 00:15:52 Yeah, I've only done Salem once, you know, in 24 years, and I've done cow sun. I was dumb enough to try to do cow sun. I got to be honest, I did it probably 2 or 3 times. I don't know what I was thinking, why I ever went back there. I think I've done it 2 or 3 times. I had one buddy. I had one buddy back in the day who had taken the time to, reserve or pay for a room. You know it. If you want to get a room on cow Sound, let's say on the second or third floor during Songkran, you got to reserve it, like six months in advance.

Greg 00:16:27 Oh, really? It's that popular?

Ed 00:16:29 Yeah. Yeah, like cow sound is, like, sold out. Oh, wow. If you want to. And so I had a buddy who had done that. So we had like a base of operations, like in the middle of Carson, but it's just too it's too crowded, it's too crazy. It's it's too intense. And, I much prefer, I would say cowboy with my number one, but man, I want to do, since this is a nostalgia show, my first song, Crown Experience, was awesome. It's. I remember it as one of the. It's kind of like, almost the most fun I had in Thailand my first year. Wow. It's I think I think of it as, one of the reasons I stayed. I mean, that's, that's the significance it played. so my very first year here, I was, initially very, very first plan was only stay for six months. And then my company wanted to keep me.

Ed 00:17:20 So I was like, okay, I'll stay, I'll stay, I'll stay another six. So the only supposed to be here a year. And, that Songkran was at about the nine month part, and that was when I was. It was around that time that I was trying to figure out if I thought, I maybe want to stay more than a year. Like, my whole plan had always been like, I'm going to be here six months, then here a year. But around the nine months, around the nine month point, my company was like, hey, if you want to stay, you know, you can stay longer. And I was like, and it just opened up my mind. I'm like, what do you mean stay like I can? That's a thing. Like it's just in my in my in my mind, in my mind. I was never going to stay in Thailand that long, right? That was just my mindset because I was I was working as a lawyer in the States and I'm like, I got to get back to my career, my serious thing, you know, I have to go back.

Ed 00:18:10 Of course, of course I'm going to go back.

Greg 00:18:12 Well, only a fool would stay stay over here.

Ed 00:18:14 That's right. And so but around the nine month part, that's when like, my mind started to crack, you know, like the, you know, the options that my future pathway started to, to, to to make themselves apparent started to manifest. and, I didn't know much about Songkran. had been to Chiang Mai once already, so I knew what Chiang Mai was. But my buddy was like, hey, Chiang Mai is the best for Thai New Year. We got to go up there. I'm like, sure, yeah, whatever. Yeah, I'm in. And we had a crew of, about seven, pretty fun people, you know, first year in Thailand. And, it was just completely nuts. And I did we did basically did the water fighting for three straight days, probably like 7 or 8 hours a day. It was insane. Oh, my.

Greg 00:19:03 God.

Ed 00:19:04 It's.

Greg 00:19:04 Nuts.

Ed 00:19:04 It it was all day, water fighting in the most intense ways. And it was just a blast. Like that's my.

Greg 00:19:14 Okay.

Ed 00:19:14 That's it. It was, like, the most fun I've ever had. Like, you know, at that point in my life, I was just like, I, you know, this is it's just fun.

Greg 00:19:22 And it's.

Ed 00:19:23 Been. I just.

Greg 00:19:23 Remember that hill from there.

Ed 00:19:25 Now it did fade. No, I mean, I'm telling you like I, you know, and then every year after that. It's good. What do they call it? This is a weird analogy, but what do they call it? Oh, I think they call it chasing the dragon.

Greg 00:19:35 Okay, I was going to say the the law of diminishing returns, but. Okay.

Ed 00:19:38 Yeah, well, but you know what? Chasing the dragon refers to.

Greg 00:19:41 The drug thing, isn't it?

Ed 00:19:43 Yeah, it's I, I, you know, I've never, never done heroin, but apparently, like, the first, the first time you do heroin, it's it's unbelievably good.

Ed 00:19:52 Yeah. You know, like, you know, you know, irresistible. You have to do it again. Yeah, but then every subsequent time is worse. Yeah. So. So after that, first, like Chiang Mai injection, Mai injection of Chiang Mai, Songkran heroin. I was chasing the dragon for years. I mean, that's when I. That's why I went to Songkran. I mean, that's why I went to, cosine, I think the next year. Okay. Okay. And then I'm trying to recreate that.

Greg 00:20:16 Right?

Ed 00:20:17 Perfect. The perfect Chiang Mai Songkran experience. Interesting. and then I couldn't do it. And then after, you know, and then I got older, you know, I met my wife and got married. And then and then, you know, by after 6 or 7 years, I'm like, okay, I'm out.

Greg 00:20:31 Yeah. No doubt.

Ed 00:20:33 Well, that and that probably that lasted like ten years. I'm like, I don't want I don't want anything to do with this.

Greg 00:20:37 So yeah, I think, I think like four years in and then like 10 or 12 years out is, is about the. That's right. The right ratio to use.

Ed 00:20:44 Yeah. Now, now we're back in now. I like I've gone over the hump.

Greg 00:20:48 Yeah.

Ed 00:20:48 Yeah. Right. You know, it's like now I'm so old that I. That I'm, I'm just acting like a ridiculous teenager, and I'm just that embarrassing middle aged dude. It's like. It's like, dude, what are you.

Greg 00:20:58 Doing, man? I made fun of those guys when I was a young punk. And now I am that old man, man. Karma's a bitch, isn't it?

Ed 00:21:03 That's me. That's me now.

Greg 00:21:05 Well, I want to talk a little bit about how Songkran has evolved over the years. but first I just saw this tweet today by the, by the Thai government party, Thailand, and it says site minder reports Songkran international appeal surges with 86% of hotel bookings being foreign, up 15% from last year.

Greg 00:21:22 Wow. Samui, boosted by the White Lotus, leads with a 65% rise, followed by Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Stays have lengthened. On average 2.5 nights, 2.59 nights, especially in Samui, which is up now to 3.8 nights for the average.

Ed 00:21:37 Damn. Yeah. I mean, if you. If. Yeah. Not not an easy time to get a hotel, right.

Greg 00:21:43 Yeah. And it's something worth mentioning too. And again, no spoilers, but in a recent episode of The White Lotus, it takes place during Songkran and it's. Oh, it's pretty funny because the characters in the scene don't know what Songkran is, and they're running down the road and they're just like, no, thank you, I don't want to be squirted. And of course they just get destroyed.

Ed 00:22:00 So. Oh, funny. That's great.

Greg 00:22:01 That's great. It's interesting seeing this festival now, being it's celebrated and absorbed into this massive show. So it's talk about a win for Thailand, man. That's that's the very definition for sure.

Ed 00:22:14 Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.

Greg 00:22:16 But I typed it actually into, into a, in some AI here, which is something we didn't have when we first got here. And I said, can you tell me some of the differences, some of the main differences between Songkran 20 years ago and Songkran today. And it gave me some interest, some really interesting articles. And I didn't tell you I was gonna do this, but let me, let me, let me run these by you and see what you think. So what it does is it says it has like 6 or 7 different categories and then says 2005 and then 2025. So tech and social media takeover 2005 flip phones, digital cameras and blogs sharing photos took effort 2025 drones, live streams, waterproof phone pouches, air filters and TikTok. Everyone's a content creator. Now that's pretty good.

Ed 00:22:58 Ooh, I like.

Greg 00:22:58 That.

Ed 00:22:59 Are filters. I mean, that is a thing. I would like to be able to do AR filters, but I haven't really figured it out.

Ed 00:23:06 The only time I used AR was when I was in Singapore. Google maps would overlay instructions like on the street, like it would put an arrow on the street telling me which way to go, man. Songkran. that would be a very cool thing.

Greg 00:23:21 Well, I can imagine like TikTok or Snapchat or something, doing like custom Songkran filters for people to use.

Ed 00:23:30 I'm sure there's some killer drone photography of Songkran. Yeah, but, but but as we've talked before, drones are, like, hyper regulated. So random random bro's are not flying drones over. Coulson. No way. But I'm sure someone some pros doing it.

Greg 00:23:45 Oh, yeah. Well, you got a range of, like, eight kilometers. So if these cops sees a drone, there's no way he's going to catch the pilot anyway. Oh, right. It's dangerous if you get too close to a bunch of drunken maniacs with high powered squirt guns. That's right. Okay.

Greg 00:23:59 It says water fights from buckets to blasters. So in 2005, there was buckets, garden hoses and simple water guns. Rule the streets. Do you agree with that? 2025 high tech water blasters with pressure settings, water backpacks and tactical team gear. Some even sync with your smart devices because of course they do. That's interesting.

Ed 00:24:18 Interesting. I remember in this Chiang Mai experience. My intense three days, we kept trying to up our weaponry. You know, we realized right away, like your type of gun really matters. So the the what we figured out was the most deadly thing to do. So I think we figured this out by day two. We figured out that it's not just the power of your your squirt gun. It's also how cold the water is.

Ed 00:24:44 And so what, we, you know, we basically rented a pickup truck and then, got huge garbage cans, and then you can buy giant cubes of ice like those huge bastards. Yeah. So, so, so.

Ed 00:25:00 We had garbage bins filled with huge ice cubes. So. And then so then we're just blasting people with icy cold water.

Ed 00:25:06 In, you know, it's like 35°C, like 95 degrees, right? And blasting people with ice cold water. Those were the days, man. Those are the, the early, the early Songkran days.

Greg 00:25:17 Those are the days, my friend. the vibe 2005 more traditional family centered in the mornings. Water fight started late 2025, still retains the core traditions, but the party has expanded earlier. Louder, more organized. Whole blocks in Bangkok and Chiang Mai are now run like music festivals are interesting.

Ed 00:25:37 I feel like it was pretty wild back then, but yeah. Is it? It's funny. I don't remember Salem in the early days. I wonder if that's a good. I don't remember seeing them. It was all about Khao San.

Greg 00:25:51 Yeah, and I certainly don't remember Central World in that entire Ratchaburi song intersection being shut down. That's right. Basically.

Ed 00:25:57 That's right. Yeah, I think I think it has expanded. I think that's right. I think it has.

Greg 00:26:01 eco consciousness, 2005 plastic everywhere, water used freely. Cleanup was an afterthought. 2025 big push for sustainability. Reusable water containers, biodegradable powder, water saving initiatives and quieter zones for the elderly.

Ed 00:26:16 Hopefully that would be That would be nice. Nice. If. If true. Nice if.

Greg 00:26:21 True. The elderly, like you and I.

Ed 00:26:23 Like us. Like us?

Greg 00:26:24 Yeah. Powder's been largely made illegal now. You don't see a lot of it anymore. They used to. For those that don't know, they used to rub powder on your face and make a paste and rub. Rub it on your face.

Ed 00:26:34 When I, when I was on cowboy last year, it was still there. But it was less. It was.

Greg 00:26:39 Less. I saw a great picture from the first year. They tried to regulate it and reduce the use of that powder. And there's a great picture of a policeman in in Uncle Sam Road and of course, the policemen in their uniforms, they get totally soaked.

Greg 00:26:52 That's just part of the fun. But this guy had so much powder on them, he looked like he looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man went on a diet. It was hilarious.

Ed 00:27:02 That's great. Yeah, that's great, but it has been reduced. Yeah, definitely. Which I agree with. you know, I, you know, getting soaked. You have to be ready for it. But I never I never liked the powder.

Greg 00:27:15 I didn't mind it, but it didn't like it.

Ed 00:27:17 It's random people. It's random people putting their, you know, random people putting their hands on your face. Yeah. I never liked it. I never.

Greg 00:27:23 Liked it. It would. It would be probably a lot more upsetting if I was a young, pretty lady, but I am not. okay.

Ed 00:27:30 So you're like, touch me.

Greg 00:27:31 You want to touch? Touch me better?

Ed 00:27:33 Yeah, a little bit creepy, but.

Greg 00:27:37 Tourism and regulation, 2005. Mostly backpackers joined the chaos. 2025 all kinds of travelers, from influencers to families, planned Songkran trips.

Greg 00:27:46 Authorities now zone areas. Traditional versus party heavy, wet versus dry. And yes, apps tell you where to go based on your vibe.

Ed 00:27:54 interesting. I'd have to check that out. I mean, if I'm in Bangkok, maybe I will try to figure figure that out.

Greg 00:27:59 Yeah, well, I mean, like I said about the White Lotus thing, like, it's it's now it's become an international, like a destination festival, like the running of the bulls or or something like that.

Ed 00:28:08 Yeah. That's a good that's a good point. That's a good point. I wonder if, I guess you're right. Maybe back in the day when we were enjoying it. It wasn't an international destination.

Greg 00:28:19 No, I don't think so. I don't think many people knew about it outside of, you know, the the people who were here and the hardcore travelers.

Ed 00:28:25 The hardcore people. Sure, sure. Makes sense. Makes sense.

Greg 00:28:28 safety and order, 2005. Pretty chaotic. Accidents. Alcohol everywhere. No helmets.

Greg 00:28:33 2025 stricter enforcement. Alcohol bans in water zones. Helmet checks. Crowd control tech and emergency response teams on standby with drones monitoring the action.

Ed 00:28:43 Again, I hope so. Now, right before the show, you and I checked some data. because Songkran is famous for the number of road accidents resulting in death, and the numbers are lower. So, obviously, the numbers went way down during Covid. and the number of deaths has gone up since Covid, but they actually are lower than they were pre-COVID. Like according to the data we had, the peak of the number of deaths was like 2015, 2016, 2017, like right before Covid, or maybe 2017, 2018. Right. And now since then, they've been bad, but not as bad as they were before Covid. So maybe that's a good sign.

Greg 00:29:23 Okay, cool. So, Yeah. So, music and entertainment, 2005. Street speakers, live bands, maybe a DJ on a float. 2025 multi-stage concerts, LED screens, foam zones, K-pop DJs and Songkran themed music videos dropping in real time.

Greg 00:29:41 yeah.

Ed 00:29:41 Boom zones.

Greg 00:29:43 Yeah.

Ed 00:29:43 Zones.

Greg 00:29:43 Yeah.

Ed 00:29:44 Maybe I gotta check some of that out.

Greg 00:29:45 Oh, they got big foam parties down at Central World and down by CM square. Yeah. And,

Ed 00:29:51 Cool.

Greg 00:29:51 Very cool. Big giant LED screens. Big concerts. Yeah, definitely. So it's gone upscale. And, the last one is respecting the roots in 2005 says you'd still see people pouring water on elders hands and visiting temples. 2025 those rituals are making a comeback, especially among younger Thais who want to reconnect with cultural roots. It's become cool again to why your grandma properly.

Ed 00:30:14 Interesting I that's a good question. I could ask my students. I have no idea how many Thai people actually perform a traditional Songkran thing. How many Thai people go to their parents or grandparents house, or what you pour water on their hands and feet? Is that how it works?

Greg 00:30:32 But that's.

Ed 00:30:34 Ugly.

Greg 00:30:34 The shoulders and hands. Yeah.

Ed 00:30:37 Yes. I wonder how many how many Thai people actually do that.

Ed 00:30:40 Do you know if your wife do that? Do you have any idea?

Greg 00:30:44 that's a good question. I mean, for the last ten years, her mom's lived with us, so I oh, I see, I don't know, this year she's not, I'm not sure. But I do remember back in the day, like 15 or 16, 18 years ago now where, they were they were they were there was there was chatter about how the old traditions, the old ways were going the way of the dodo. And no one respects the traditions anymore because they all want a party. Yeah. So maybe things are coming back to the way, the way they used to be. I don't.

Ed 00:31:11 Know. Again, I feel like the I feel like the AI here is being a bit optimistic, but I. I hope it's right. Yeah, put it that way.

Greg 00:31:17 And again, take all of that with a grain of salt. That was I. So who knows where it's getting that from. But I generally agree with most of it.

Ed 00:31:24 Yeah. Well it's definitely no doubt it's just gotten bigger and more international, more widespread. But it sounds like there's it sounds like there's more options in Bangkok that I was aware of. So if I am in town, then maybe I'll check out some of these other options.

Greg 00:31:40 Yeah. You got to take out the microphones, do a live report, get about 30s of audio before someone dumps a bucket of ice that's right over your head.

Ed 00:31:47 For karma listeners, you'll just hear like a buzzing sound as the mic goes dead.

Greg 00:31:54 That's right. Drops on the ground here. It's swearing, chasing after some some of their damn kids.

Ed 00:32:01 That's right, that's right.

Greg 00:32:03 Anyway, that's a quick, quick roundup of what's happening on the Songkran stages this year. I yeah, I haven't outside of the partying with my kid, I haven't really done it. Done it in a big way in years. So I would say, you know, listeners, if you haven't done it yet, definitely, definitely worth doing.

Ed 00:32:20 Yeah. No, I think it's definitely worth doing at least once. And then I would say out there, we have a lot of, long time listeners. I know some of you have tapped out, and it might have been a while since you and since you've done it.

Greg 00:32:32 Raising my hand.

Ed 00:32:33 I think, I think, I think give it another world. That's what happened to me last year. I was surprised how much fun it was.

Greg 00:32:39 Hey, let me ask you, do you have a photo of your first song kind of yourself for Songkran?

Ed 00:32:44 That is a good question about. I'm not sure I could dig it up because, this is a whole nother story. I, I, I suffered, like, a big hard drive failure, and I wasn't sure if the drive was completely lost, so I just put it in my dresser drawer, so I have. So I'm just I'm just praying the drive is not actually totally dead because it has a lot of it has a lot of my early, Thailand photos.

Ed 00:33:10 Okay, so I just I just yanked it and, like, put it in my drawer.

Greg 00:33:14 Well, I've got a photo of myself and my first, first Songkran when I went down to Cal, and I'll post that door. Oh nice patrons. And man, I am shocked at how young I look. There's really no wrinkles on my face. I'm just fresh and bright on.

Ed 00:33:29 Do you look? Do you look miserable? Like, what am I doing here? Jesus. Why did I come down here?

Greg 00:33:34 Actually, it was just. It was taken at the McDonald's just by the. By the democracy monument before you get into public housing.

Ed 00:33:39 Oh, yeah.

Greg 00:33:39 It was almost like, had a little bit of powder on me with my little squirt gun. And I look all bright eyed and bushy tailed. Oh, funny. Yeah. Not not just in terms of how Songkran beat me down, but just in terms of. I was just a young. I was 27 years old.

Ed 00:33:53 That's scary.

Ed 00:33:54 Yeah. No, you got to post that one. I doubt I can dig up one of mine, but, I someday I will recover those photos.

Greg 00:34:01 Yeah, well, we're, we're going to do what we do on Songkran. And, if you play, be safe. Don't drive drunk. to be considerate of other people and enjoy yourself.

Ed 00:34:10 Or get out of dodge.

Greg 00:34:14 All right, let's get into some love. Loathe to live with where one of us picks a particular aspect of living in Bangkok, which we discussed to decide if it's something we love about living here, loathe about living here, or have come to accept as something that we just have to learn to live with no matter how we feel about it. And this week's editor, it's me. And I got a really good one for you.

Ed 00:34:30 All right.

Greg 00:34:30 Let's hear it. This is something I saw at the airport last week when I was up on my bar going up to Chiang Mai.

Greg 00:34:36 What is your immediate reaction when you see a couple? Man and woman? Could be man to man. Could be woman, woman, whatever. walking along. And they have usually they're on vacation and they have matching t shirts.

Ed 00:34:51 My my honest reaction is lame. I don't know why. Yeah. There's no there's really no reason. I mean, I'm I have zero fashion sense, like zero sense of style, like, in my entire life, the amount of time I've spent thinking about what I'm wearing is probably less than a minute. If you added up, like, my entire life, you know. So I have no no fashion sense, no care for whatever what I'm wearing. But when I see couples or, you know, sometimes it's like whole families. I don't know why. I just immediately, from my meaningless perspective, I think it's lame. Yeah. I don't know why. I don't know. That's just my take. Lame.

Greg 00:35:32 Exactly. Exactly the same word that runs through my head.

Ed 00:35:35 Like I have no idea why. Like, I have no idea why.

Greg 00:35:37 It's usually lame followed by the sound, which is, you know, maybe not appropriate, but, you never did it with your wife. Your ex-wife.

Ed 00:35:47 No. God, no. No.

Greg 00:35:48 God, no, I.

Ed 00:35:48 Did, so I don't think I, you know. So I have no reason why I say it's lame, but I'm quite sure that if my wife wanted to, I would have said, no, no, I'm not doing that.

Greg 00:35:58 Yeah, I've done it once. and it was, I was up in Ironically enough, I was up in Chiang Mai, I think, with my with my then girlfriend, now wife, and we wore matching t shirts and I protested enough that I think it was the last time we ever did it. Right, right, right. I don't know why I think it looks so cheap now.

Ed 00:36:18 Do you think this now? Do you think Thai couples are more likely to do this, or do you think it's more of a tourist thing? I do, I do think it's kind of a tourist.

Greg 00:36:26 I gotta think it's an Asian thing. I never even heard of it when I was living in Canada, like, oh, really?

Ed 00:36:30 Okay. So you think it's a Thai? I mean, I can't remember. I think that sometimes back home couples wear the same clothes.

Greg 00:36:39 Yeah, but it's like as a goof, like we're going to a party or something like that, right? Oh, right. Right. Ironic. But, like, if. No. Why? Why would you wear the same shirt or the same?

Ed 00:36:48 No, I'm with you, man. it's it's it's odd. It's odd that you bring this up, but because it never really dawned on me, so it seems obvious to you, but it it actually never dawned on me that this might actually be kind of a tie. Thing I want to ask, is this a good question? Another thing I could ask my students or ask. We could ask our Thai friends. Is that a Thai? Do Thai people look at couples wearing the same thing as something good or lame?

Greg 00:37:17 They might look at us and clearly.

Greg 00:37:18 You mean you don't do it? Why not? What's wrong with.

Ed 00:37:20 You? It's possible. We don't know. We got it. Yeah. Right. Right. So, I mean, it's not that I care very much, but, I mean, this really does essentially belong in the loathe category. Like, it's the lame love, loathe, live with or lame.

Greg 00:37:36 Yeah, I agree, I don't hate it. You do? You wear what you want to wear I don't care, it doesn't affect me. But. But I think.

Ed 00:37:42 Maybe it's pretty mild. Yeah, it's a mild loathe something that I would never do. Yeah. Okay. But I'm curious if I'm curious if Thai people will find our position. Curious. So we'll have to. I'll ask around, doesn't it?

Greg 00:37:55 All right. We're on the same page with that.

Ed 00:37:57 All right. A final thanks to our patrons who support the show. Patrons get a ton of cool perks and the warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that they're helping in our never ending quest for cool content.

Ed 00:38:08 Find out more by clicking support on our website and connect with us online or Bangkok podcasts on social media, Bangkok podcasts on the web or simply Bangkok Podcast at gmail.com. We love hearing from our listeners and always reply to our messages.

Greg 00:38:25 That's right. You can also listen to each episode on YouTube, send us a voicemail through our website and we'll feature it on the show. Hit me up on blue Sky at Greg. Thanks for listening, everyone. Stay safe. Stay dry. I'll see you back here next week for sure.