Day 280 - The Water Festival or Thingyan - Happy New Year - Myanmar
Saturday, April 13th, 2019.
Today after breakfast, Sunshine and I stayed to chat with a group of young international travelers. Pablo from Mexico asked me if I was Mexican, then he introduced me to his Italian girlfriend Melina and then we met the rest of the French people. I was just going to give them our card but we ended up chatting for more than an hour. I thought Gregory was going to come upstairs to the restaurant but he was busy writing his blog.
Anyway, we were so happy to meet them because we got some very good tips for our next destinations. We also gave some tips for India, since that’s where they are going next. I was honest and gave my impressions about India, which I still have love/hate feelings for. We promised to check their Youtube channel and blog and follow them.
We came back to our rooms and I found Gregory writing his new blog. It will not be a competition but he will be writing here from time to time to help out, plus his writing is super fun. I always laugh at the way he comments about things. We got ready to go to the famous Water Festival, which is the reason that we decided to stay one more day here in Mandalay.
The Water Festival starts on April 13 and is the beginning celebration for the New Year. In Mandalay, they closed the main road along the palace walls so no cars could enter. There was a large gateway that we couldn't read that started the "soak zone". One side of the street for the water zone and the other side was the dry side so you could choose where you wanted to walk. Most of the food vendors were on the dry side. You could buy anything from corn, roasted chicken, dry fish, to other unrecognizable food and drink!
Of course, we chose the wet side and after walking for a little bit, we got immediately soaked by people with water bottles, buckets, and squirt guns. They did not just squirt a little bit of water, they would run to you and pour the whole bottle of water. The good thing is that it was so hot that it actually felt good. Some sections of the street had big stands with decorations promoting products and with dozens of hoses, some other stands gave away product samples. We got some free coconut water!
In some of these stands, we saw many people holding hoses and squirting people. We needed to refill our hotel water bottles (I poked a hole on the top of the cap) so we approached them to ask if we could refill our bottles and when we did, we paid the price: they hosed us down completely. We laughed and we ran to get more locals wet. I counted maybe 8 other Westerners. Mostly there were young locals.
Today after breakfast, Sunshine and I stayed to chat with a group of young international travelers. Pablo from Mexico asked me if I was Mexican, then he introduced me to his Italian girlfriend Melina and then we met the rest of the French people. I was just going to give them our card but we ended up chatting for more than an hour. I thought Gregory was going to come upstairs to the restaurant but he was busy writing his blog.
Anyway, we were so happy to meet them because we got some very good tips for our next destinations. We also gave some tips for India, since that’s where they are going next. I was honest and gave my impressions about India, which I still have love/hate feelings for. We promised to check their Youtube channel and blog and follow them.
We came back to our rooms and I found Gregory writing his new blog. It will not be a competition but he will be writing here from time to time to help out, plus his writing is super fun. I always laugh at the way he comments about things. We got ready to go to the famous Water Festival, which is the reason that we decided to stay one more day here in Mandalay.
The Water Festival starts on April 13 and is the beginning celebration for the New Year. In Mandalay, they closed the main road along the palace walls so no cars could enter. There was a large gateway that we couldn't read that started the "soak zone". One side of the street for the water zone and the other side was the dry side so you could choose where you wanted to walk. Most of the food vendors were on the dry side. You could buy anything from corn, roasted chicken, dry fish, to other unrecognizable food and drink!
Of course, we chose the wet side and after walking for a little bit, we got immediately soaked by people with water bottles, buckets, and squirt guns. They did not just squirt a little bit of water, they would run to you and pour the whole bottle of water. The good thing is that it was so hot that it actually felt good. Some sections of the street had big stands with decorations promoting products and with dozens of hoses, some other stands gave away product samples. We got some free coconut water!
In some of these stands, we saw many people holding hoses and squirting people. We needed to refill our hotel water bottles (I poked a hole on the top of the cap) so we approached them to ask if we could refill our bottles and when we did, we paid the price: they hosed us down completely. We laughed and we ran to get more locals wet. I counted maybe 8 other Westerners. Mostly there were young locals.
We sat under a shady tree to rest for a while when a guy approached us and asked if he could take a picture with us. We said yes of course, and before we knew it, we had a line waiting to take photos with us. I really felt like a Hollywood star posing for so many cameras and let me tell you, the locals were not shy to hug us and one girl even gave me a kiss! Myanmar people are super sweet and friendly. If you smile, they smile back and they never say no to having their picture taken. After who knows how many selfies, I told the family to get up and continue walking. Now I understand what celebrities feel like walking down a public street!
We walked some more and looked for a place to eat. Gregory, of course, wanted to eat street food, but since we all knew what it was, we said that we preferred a restaurant. We found one which was clean with good food, except we were behind a loudspeaker blasting music. And the extra bummer was that they closed at 2:00pm for a break and even though we had ordered before that time, we were told that there were on break so Sunshine never got her food. The poor thing only ordered steamed rice and was starving. To add to her discomfort, someone threw water directly in her ear and she was (still is) deaf!
After this break, we were ready to spend more time in the Water Festival, except for Daniel who had a bad headache. We walked a little more, Gregory and Sunshine went back to the wet zone and got lost. [Gregory's note: no we didn't, we knew exactly where we were.] Well, at least I thought we were lost, later I found out that they told us that we were going to split. I never hear these things, not sure why? We met with them later and took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel. I was almost dry and relaxed in the tuk-tuk when all of a sudden someone on the side of the road threw a huge bucket of cold water that none of us was expecting! We were soaking wet again and laughing of course!
Back in our hotel, I made everyone (except Gregory) take a shower and scrub well because Gregory had noticed that the water that everyone was using was coming from the moat and let me tell you, the water does not look clean! Oh -- speaking of dirty, I almost forgot to share what I saw on our walk through the streets of the festival. We saw little children swimming in the filthy water in the gutters. They were not just splashing the dirty water, but they would submerge their whole bodies, including their face into the water. I probably had an expression of terror because one of them saw me and got out of the gutter but in no time, he was back in the water. I wanted to say something but what? At first, I felt bad that they were using this as a pool but then seeing their joy, I just prayed that they don’t get an ear or eye infection! [Gregory's note: it was the same moat water, It's not like it was sewage. And people were swimming in the moat, too.]
At the hotel I read and napped, two of my favorite hobbies! Gregory wrote nonstop and the kids, who knows? Around 8:00pm, Gregory and Sunshine ventured to go back to the Water Festival. Daniel and I stayed in our comfy hotel and finished packing because we leave tomorrow morning to Yangon, a 10-hour bus ride! Daniel asked if we got a nicer bus this time. I hope so!
[Gregory's addition:
I'm very glad we went out again -- the hoses were all off, but the streets by the palace wall were full of families and friends. There were hundreds of vendors selling food and drinks and there were performances: traditional puppet shows, juggling, dancing, and more. Everyone had big smiles for us, and the vendors offered us everything we looked at, which unfortunately was usually animal parts and insects.
We both realized how lucky we were to see this now, because in a few years it's going to be a huge, commercialized party, and it will look more like Thailand, with tourists everywhere and the locals won't be so kind.]
We walked some more and looked for a place to eat. Gregory, of course, wanted to eat street food, but since we all knew what it was, we said that we preferred a restaurant. We found one which was clean with good food, except we were behind a loudspeaker blasting music. And the extra bummer was that they closed at 2:00pm for a break and even though we had ordered before that time, we were told that there were on break so Sunshine never got her food. The poor thing only ordered steamed rice and was starving. To add to her discomfort, someone threw water directly in her ear and she was (still is) deaf!
After this break, we were ready to spend more time in the Water Festival, except for Daniel who had a bad headache. We walked a little more, Gregory and Sunshine went back to the wet zone and got lost. [Gregory's note: no we didn't, we knew exactly where we were.] Well, at least I thought we were lost, later I found out that they told us that we were going to split. I never hear these things, not sure why? We met with them later and took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel. I was almost dry and relaxed in the tuk-tuk when all of a sudden someone on the side of the road threw a huge bucket of cold water that none of us was expecting! We were soaking wet again and laughing of course!
Back in our hotel, I made everyone (except Gregory) take a shower and scrub well because Gregory had noticed that the water that everyone was using was coming from the moat and let me tell you, the water does not look clean! Oh -- speaking of dirty, I almost forgot to share what I saw on our walk through the streets of the festival. We saw little children swimming in the filthy water in the gutters. They were not just splashing the dirty water, but they would submerge their whole bodies, including their face into the water. I probably had an expression of terror because one of them saw me and got out of the gutter but in no time, he was back in the water. I wanted to say something but what? At first, I felt bad that they were using this as a pool but then seeing their joy, I just prayed that they don’t get an ear or eye infection! [Gregory's note: it was the same moat water, It's not like it was sewage. And people were swimming in the moat, too.]
At the hotel I read and napped, two of my favorite hobbies! Gregory wrote nonstop and the kids, who knows? Around 8:00pm, Gregory and Sunshine ventured to go back to the Water Festival. Daniel and I stayed in our comfy hotel and finished packing because we leave tomorrow morning to Yangon, a 10-hour bus ride! Daniel asked if we got a nicer bus this time. I hope so!
[Gregory's addition:
I'm very glad we went out again -- the hoses were all off, but the streets by the palace wall were full of families and friends. There were hundreds of vendors selling food and drinks and there were performances: traditional puppet shows, juggling, dancing, and more. Everyone had big smiles for us, and the vendors offered us everything we looked at, which unfortunately was usually animal parts and insects.
We both realized how lucky we were to see this now, because in a few years it's going to be a huge, commercialized party, and it will look more like Thailand, with tourists everywhere and the locals won't be so kind.]
Please click here for pictures
https://photos.app.goo.gl/g1ZzXuLR2BJapFhL6
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