Earth have made yet another relentless full circle around the sun. It’s the hottest month now. It’s the festivities period yet again. Imprinted into the expat’s mind, wild fun, wet t-shirts and oh yeah I could see them pairs so full and round. That’s how Songkran had always been remembered and the stories we share with our home folks long after many leave the country years later. But Songkran these late years have been different. It has been infused and associated with red violence.
The trucks loads of fun seekers, all ages, still roamed the streets in pursuit of exchanging bucketful of splashes with street parties. The dek skois with their blaring motorcycles in swarms rode out the wet tarmacs. Fun and all but in there behind the smiles…. red spots. Who was who, what was what, sides of which what where we will not know. They were all in there. Anything could be a catalyst to the trigger of not only the normal teenage brawls, but also the taking on of colored sides. It ain’t no fun as before do you know? Some Thais were sad this period.
In our discrete chats over coffee, drinks or clubbing, they share their views. They wanted the protest to end, but hey, it’s not their say. Some were saddened so much when watching the news reports, tears rolled down. Thais had always been a very united happy bunch and in nature, they loved each other. Here long enough, I had seen them exhibit their friendliness towards each other and avoided violence in the most surprising of ways. A joke, a smile, a compromise or an exchange of drinks over uneasy situations. And all became as one, Thais, and they partied hard together. But not theses years. Tears rolled down, they asked themselves, why they are killing each other. I brought up my glass of beer, and we drank and chatted into the night as the lead singer on stage sang her best.
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