Water War Begins Early in Chiang Mai

By Sai Silp

April 11, 2007—Scorching mid-summer heat and heavy haze in Northern Thailand have failed to dampen the Songkran Festival holiday spirit in Chaing Mai, Thailand's second largest city.

The festival, which people started celebrating early on Wednesday, mark's Thailand's New Year. Officially, Songkran is celebrated from Friday to Tuesday, with most businesses closed.

Chiang Mai officials have been hyping the festival for the past week, in hopes of combating the negative publicity that has surrounded Northern Thailand because of the past month's polluted skies and dangerously high particulate matter, a result of the practice of burning agricultural fields throughout Burma and Northern Thailand.

Revelers began staging mini-parties on the banks of Chiang Mai's 700-year-old moat earlier this week. The moat, recently drained and treated with bacteria-killing chemicals, has been turned into a swimming pool, with youths frolicking in the water to ward off a string of near 100-degree days.

Narudee Wichai, a 21-year-old college student, said she and her friends started to "ren nam (play with water)" on Monday.

“It's too hot to stay in the house," Narudee said. "We saw some people relaxing at the moat, drinking and swimming, so we came to join our friends this morning.”

But, along with the fun have come significant problems, with alcohol abuse, rowdy behavior, brawls and frequent traffic accidents.

Authorities have launched a campaign with “Songkran No Alcohol” posters plastered across the town. An estimated 3,000 police and security officials will be deployed to try to keep the festivities orderly, and 20 surveillance cameras will monitor key sites.

Police have also launched a crackdown on illegal migrants in the city, which is home to thousands of Burmese migrants, who also share the Songkran Festival.