GB's Annual Pattaya Songkran report

[thewayhelooks]

A gentleman caller. How nice. Much better than depending on the kindness of strangers.

[Gaybutton]

Much better than depending on the kindness of strangers.

I'm happy with both.

This evening I was in the Jomtien Complex area. Two bars - girlie beer bars - just outside the complex were drunk girls tossing buckets of water on every potential target. It was just the Thai girls doing that. There were no drunken farang . . . . . yet.

[Gaybutton]

In an earlier post on another topic I posted a news item that said the Sukhumvit tunnel will open temporarily to accommodate Songkran Traffic. Today the Pattaya Mail published an article saying that decision has been reversed and the tunnel will not open after all.

See: http://www.pattayamail.com/news/pattaya ... ran-170629

[Gaybutton]

Saturday, April 15

I haven't been off "The Dark Side" today at all due to horrendous traffic, much of it caused by the Sukhumvit tunnel remaining closed. As much as I'd like to cruise around the city to see for myself what is going on, I'm not about to spend the day fighting traffic.

Today's "gentleman caller" came from his room on Thepprasit Road. He arrived dry, but said a lot more splashing is going on now. He remained dry because his motorbike taxi driver managed to avoid getting splashed.

Someone else is going to have to report today's activities in the city and Jomtien. On "The Dark Side" it's still little kids with the squirt guns, and not many.

However, there have been a few isolated incidents involving the idiot brigade. I've seen two articles reporting 6 youngsters - nothing more specific about their ages, probably teenagers, who were arrested for mixing cooking oil with fish sauce and hurling that at people.
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‘Reckless’ Songkran revelers get suspended jail terms

April 15, 2017

Six young Songkran revellers were yesterday jailed for 15 days and fined Bt5,000 each for throwing bags of cooking oil and fish sauce at passers-by in their seaside province on Wednesday night.

Chon Buri Provincial Court suspended each prison sentence for one year and required the six young men to perform 12 hours of public service and to report to probation officers every three months.

One defendant who couldn’t afford to pay the fine was detained at the rate of Bt500 per day.

Another two men were found to have thrown water in plastic bags and were each fined Bt1,000 by police, while two minors were sent to a juvenile facility to be dealt with.

The first of these states: “Whoever causes a hard substance to fall on any place in a manner likely to cause harm, trouble or nuisance to a person or causes a filthy thing to dirty a person shall be punished with up to one month in prison and/or up to Bt10,000 in fines”.

Under Section 397 “whoever, in a public place, annoys or bullies another person, or causes the other person to be ashamed or troubled, shall be punished with up to one month in prison and/or up to Bt10,000 in fines”.

Muang Chon Buri police superintendent Pol Colonel Somchok Tapol said the severe punishments to these “reckless” Songkran revellers should serve as a cautionary tale for others whose actions damage the country’s tourism.

Story and photo: http://pattayaone.news/en/reckless-song ... nded-jail/

[Gaybutton]

9:50pm

I just spoke with a friend who was brave enough to at least try going to Sunee Plaza. He didn't make it. The Arabs are out there, even female Arabs, splashing away.

Other than that, he saw no splashing going on.

He was on a motorbike taxi. The driver told him there was even splashing going on in Sunee Plaza. That is usually verboten, but then again, if there are no customers, and I've heard from sources I consider reliable that Sunee Plaza is already virtually deserted this week, the boys are having fun.

[Gaybutton]

This holiday needs to be given back to the Thais, as they know how to celebrate without trying to be mean to every passing person!!

I agree. People other than Thais shouldn't be splashing people at all. Maybe on the "Big Day," but during the week?

And it's foreigners, not Thais? Those boys with the cooking oil and fish sauce were splashing the wrong people . . .

[Undaunted]

You can discuss this till you are "blue in the face" as long as the government sees this as a source of income nothing will change.

[Gaybutton]

Sunday, April 16

I was surprised this afternoon. Traffic was very light - on "The Dark Side" and even Sukhumvit. I saw no water splashing at all, anywhere - not even the little kids with squirt guns.

Apparently most of the water splashing already going on is right in the areas where most of you would probably want to go. But the areas where I was today, you wouldn't know it's a holiday at all.

The calm before the storm?

[Gaybutton]

Monday, April 17

Well, folks, for me Songkran is over. I really wanted to get out there and enjoy the fun, but now I'm stuck with a bad case of bronchitis. Just what I need!

I might still go out and about locally, but I'm not going to be able to participate in the water activities. If anything, I might drive around for a while, protected from the splashing in my car, but that's about it.

I will continue to report what I can, but I certainly appreciate the reporting help that several of you have been posting. Today I doubt I'll be so much as even leaving the house, so please . . . report what you can.

[Gaybutton]

I did manage to get out today - for about 10 minutes. My electric bill arrived today. I pay it at a local 7-Eleven. Three boys were splashing passing motorbikes. That's all I saw.

Please try to contain your excitement . . .