from water guns to machine guns.

well...the last few days have been pretty interesting.

Saturday night marked the beginning of the celebration of the Thai New Year. Marissa and I met up with a friend of a friend who moved to Thailand from Amsterdam, NY maybe a year ago and we all went out to a Thai bar. We were the only white people in the bar and no one spoke English...it was a really cool experience! we danced all night and finally got back to our hostel around 2 or 3am. I had some water dumped down my back, but had no clue what I was in for the next day. On our cab ride to and from the club we got caught up in a few protests...buses were blocking the roads, fires were burning, people were rioting and everyone was wearing red. We managed to get out without any problems...it was just a bit exciting.

so we woke up late Sunday morning and got a slow start. eventually Marissa headed out to get some fruit for breakfast and came running back a minute later drenched and fruitless. upon reflection we realized that the words "water festival" were thrown around a bit and that it must have been that day. we threw on some clothes that could get wet and headed out into the great wet unknown. as soon as we stepped outside we got hit by squirt guns, hoses, buckets of water and smeared with some type of clay. quickly accepting our fate we headed to get some food, an ample amount of water and some serious fun. we played for what seemed like hours...dumping water down peoples backs, getting smeared with all different colored clays, dancing, getting sprayed, squirted and kissed on the forehead occasionally. it was amazing! streets were literally just packed with people having the biggest water fight I've ever seen. thousands of people were laughing, playing and getting very very very wet.
After maybe two hours Marissa was at her water limit so I walked her back to the hostel and then headed back into the mess on my own. I bought a few more bottles of ICE COLD water (the best ammo on a hot humid day) and continued the fun. I have some great pictures to back up this amazing story. what a great time to be in Bangkok!!!

We ended up washing up a bit...I was covered head to toe in colored clay...and taking a cab to our hotel to start our Thailand GAP tour. On the way over we got caught up in another protest, but the cab driver diverted us down a few back streets and got us out of the way. when we were almost at the hotel we got turned away again...this time by HUGE tanks and machine gun laden Thai military. once again everything was fine and we made it to the hotel safely. at 6 we met our group, went over the itinerary, got briefed on the state of the country and city, and eventually had dinner. that night Bangkok was declared as being in a state of emergency.

based on the things people have told me and what I've learned by doing some research I think Thailand has been in need of some emergency action for a while, and I sincerely hope that some change can happen for these amazing people. I really can't believe the issues that this corrupt government has been masking and forcing these people to deal with for so many years. I'm glad that they're standing up for what they believe in.

so...to continue on with the story...

that night Marissa and I had dinner at the hotel and then caught a cab back to the heart of the water fight for some nighttime fun. we bought some water guns, a few bottles of water and joined the festivities. it really felt like being in first grade again...guys were shooting girls and girls were shooting guys. Marissa and I made a pact to only shoot cute guys...which worked out well. haha. I ended up getting in a few one on one water fights with some guys and I really felt like I was in elementary school. pick on the boy or girl you have a crush on and hope for the best. haha. it was a ton of fun though. I drank a few beers, met a bunch of cool people and ended up having the time of my life. things started winding down and I ended up sitting with a few Irish guys and having a beer. Marissa had met a special friend..teehee...so I let her be. eventually the guys wanted to go to a club down the street and I agreed to go...even though I was sopping wet. as it turns out almost everyone inside was pretty wet so I was in style. I left Marissa with her new friend but she said they would come later on. I danced a bit but got a bit peeved when a waitress pushed me out of her way, causing me to knock over a beer bottle, that in turn fell, broke and went into my legs and feet. I spend almost an hour in the back room of the club with an improv Thai nurse picking out glass splinters from my legs and the tops and bottoms of my feet. we couldn't get it all and I still feel sharp pieces every now and then when I'm walking. yay. we literally soaked my feet in iodine because it was all they had and I hobbled back out onto the dance floor to find Marissa and mystery European guy having a good time. I told Marissa what had happened and that I'd be waiting outside. after a while she broke away and met me outside. I hailed a Tuk Tuk, set a price and relaxed for our ride back to the hotel. we got back around 4am and just crashed. what a night.

the next morning was this morning...
I slept through my alarm and woke up to Marissa rolling out of bed. apparently she missed her alarm as well. crap. we were set to leave at 8am and it was half seven. ahh! Marissa took a shower and then I hopped in...I ended up picking more glass out of my feet which took till 7:54. I scrambled out of the shower, threw everything back in my bag, grabbed the room key and high-tailed it downstairs. I was 3 minutes late but it was all good. we all piled into a hired van and headed off to the bus station. we took a bus from Bangkok to somewhere outside where we are staying...Kanchanaburi...and then we all hopped into the back of a few trucks and got a ride to our hotel. we checked into our cool new hotel and then walked to a few local historical sites, including the River Kwai Bridge. it was really cool, because the train still runes over the bridge and actually came while we were on it. there a a few platforms to the side of the single track to stand while the train passes by. it was a really cool experience! afterwards we all checked out the market, grabbed a soda (which they dump into little plastic shopping bags with ice and a straw because soda comes in a glass bottle and glass isn't allowed on the streets.) and hopped into the back of another truck for a ride back to the hotel. I ran some small errands and that's pretty much it for now.

we're about to go check out the night market, grab some food and maybe watch a movie on my laptop a bit later.

check this out:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7996653.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7996312.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7996288.stm

what a crazy past few days.
<3