A simpler, more peaceful Songkran - in Cambodia

What a vast difference in the way it is celebrated! I was privileged to be invited into a Cambodian home where I saw teenage and adult children pay respect to their parents by pouring perfumed and flower-petal water over their hands before receiving a parental blessing in return.

There was no sign of Songkran-gone-crazy on the streets. Where was everybody, I asked? “Oh, we go to the temple for Songkran,” was the reply. And sure enough, when I went to the local temple, there they all were, including young novice monks enjoying building stupas from the new sand that the faithful had brought to the wat.

Is it too late for Thailand to return to these simple means of celebrating this important festival, which seems to have lost its meaning in Thailand today?

David Brown

Rayong