Sawasdeekrab

Well on the weekend I was invited to attend a festival for the New Year. It was a Thai New Year festival, which usually occurs in April however in Melbourne due to the weather the organisers prefer March as it is warmer and generally sunnier. Sunday was no exception with the thermometer reaching the high 20’s and the sun scorching the land black.

My friend told me to arrive early, however I thought against that and arrived about an hour after he suggested. When I arrived he offered some more advice and I listened to what he said and started off on my journey of discovery. The first stop was the stage where there was a cleansing ceremony being performed by the monks. It all felt very solemn so I decided to follow the crowd down the steps towards the river bank.

At the river bank it was crazy. It reminded me of being in a market in Vietnam, with the crowds, pushing and shoving, sounds of laughter and talking filling my ears, temporary shops, and the smell of food. I looked around and found the stall I was looking for yet no-one I knew was there so I returned to the main stage.

At the main stage the monks had moved off and the official opening ceremonies had begun. There were a large number of speeches, and statistics where I discovered that one in thirty Australians have visited Thailand. After the speeches, traditional dancing was the entertainment.

The opening ceremony

The dances all had special meanings and are performed at the New Year ceremonies as a custom. I was impressed with the intricacy of the design of some of the costumes. The way some of the ornaments twisted and formed patterns was spectacular and the colours of the silks took my breath away.

Oops, forgot to take the glasses off

After the contest the sun had started to turn nasty and I felt like I was only seconds from going up in flames and took a time out. When I arrived back it was a lot cooler as the sun had set behind some of the buildings leaving the park in shadows. Most of the crowd had left and the stage shows had nearly finished. I watched the end of the stage shows which consisted of the awarding of the crown for the beauty show and some sword and stick fighting.

After this my friend said we should go down to the beer garden and enjoy some Thai beer. While enjoying the beer we were entertained by some kickboxing, a band playing Thai songs, and a ladyboy show. The band really got the crowd excited as the beer mixed with the music creating a festival type atmosphere. The ladyboy show was quite interesting to watch as it was like a cabaret show where the audience judged the winner based on a variety of criteria. Afterwards my friend and I went to have coffee nearby and then went home exhausted. All in all a very enjoyable day.