Bangkok has already turned into 2008

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This year, started on Friday 13 (when the Sun entered into the sign of Aries), Maha Songkran which is traditionally the Thai New Year. It is also known as the "Water Festival" as people believes that water will wash away bad luck. Thais traditionally celebrate Songkran like this:
 

• On the eve of Songkran day, it's a Spring cleanup and people clean their house and burn all the refuse.

• Early on the first day of Songkran, the people both young and old in their new clothing go to the Wat or monastery belonging to their village or district to offer food to the monks there.

• In the afternoon of the same day there is bathing ceremony of the Buddha images and also of the abbot of the wat. After this begins the well-known "water throwing feast".

  The bathing of images is done as ritualistic ceremony, but it is no other than a New Year's purification. Younger people will also on this day or the succeeding days go to pay their respect to and ask blessings from their elders and respected persons. They will pour scented water into the palms of the old people and present them with a towel and other bathing requisites.

Now, as far as I could experience it on my own, in Bangkok, the "water throwing feast" did not wait until afternoon to start. At 11h00 I was already soaked head to toes while moving in direction of Kao San road. In addition of water, chalk is also widely used to make "blessings".

More about Songkran traditions: Thailandlife
My Songkran 2007 Photo Set is on Flickr

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A Swiss man, was convicted on 29th of March for 10 years in Prison on charge of insulting His Majesty the King by vandalizing His portraits during a drunken spree. 

Pleading guilty to five counts of lese majeste — the crime of offending the dignity of a sovereign — for defacing several portraits of His Majesty with spray paint in the northern city of Chiang Mai, the court has reduced his sentence to 10 years.

He could have faced up to 75 years in prison as Lese Majeste is a serious crime in Thailand.

On Thursday 24th of April, the prosecutor announced that His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej has pardoned the Swiss man. As a result, he will be deported from Thailand after his release.

A good news for this 57 year old guy and a good gesture which will hopefully be followed by others, as the actual political turmoil has seriously damaged the international image of the Kingdom.

Happy Sonkran ! 

Sources: The Nation and BBC

 

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