Naked farang gets a bargain for Songkran

SONGKRAN HAS ITS share of controversies every year, with the anti-fun brigade raising a stink over how scantily clad young Thai women are causing the collapse of traditional Thai society. But this year it was a farang who caused a cultural stir when he decided to strip totally nude.

The 25-year-old Brit in the buff was spotted in the Khaosan area on Monday, taking part in what is one of Bangkok’s biggest and most-rauscous water-splashing celebrations.

Videos and photos of the naked foreigner spread like wildfire, and it wasn’t long before someone thought it was “inappropriate” and complained.

Police were soon called in, and here’s where the story gets interesting – the Englishman was fined just Bt100.

According to the Daily News, he was detained only briefly by the boys in brown and paid the fine, though the article doesn’t say where he kept that cash. The Brit was soon back on the street enjoying Songkran again, but this time with his clothes on.

Soopsip is a bit worried about this. If the fine for public nudity really is only Bt100, there might surely be naked copycats next year.

 

Cutting through

 

Aside from a water pistol, a must-have Songkran accessory is a clear waterproof pouch for your mobile phone. And while the handy neck pouches keep your gadgets safe from splashes, they have proved utterly ineffective against thieves.

According to reports from Bangkok’s main Songkran venues on Khaosan and Silom roads, thieves used knives or razor blades to slice the clear plastic pouches and steal the phones and money contained therein.

Police spotted a few of the criminal acts on security cameras and actually made a number of arrests, but many more Songkran celebrants were left holding their bags, so to speak.

So by next year, we need a new innovation. Ordinary plastic pouches will no longer do. Not only must they be waterproof, they also must be thief-proof, and durable enough to stop a knife.