Songkran at Ancient City

I spent the majority of my time today at the Ancient City here in Samut Prakan. For the first time they were holding a major Songkran Celebration with lots of things to do for all the family. By now you should know that I love going to the Ancient City. I have been there literally hundreds of times. Sometimes by myself or with friends. But often as a tour guide for visitors to my school. I know the place inside out. But today was the first time I ever got stuck in a traffic jam inside this park. There were hundreds of cars. It was packed with families.

One of the aspects of the festival at the park was to show how Songkran is celebrated in different parts of the country. But also to reveal Thai culture. In the above picture, you can see someone bathing a Buddha image with the Sanphet Prasat Palace in the background.

This is showing the Rub Bua Festival, or lotus Throwing Festival which takes place in Samut Prakan in October. Basically, people are showing respect to the Buddha image by throwing lotuses onto the boat. I will be talking more about this later in the year.

This is a kind of water boxing competition. There are three rounds and the person who manages to stay on the most is the winner! The guy on the left is about to fall off!

This lady is making a wish just before she releases some fish into the water.

Here is some traditional Thai dancing from the north of Thailand.

The final picture is of a game of blindfold boxing! This is much the same as kick boxing though the two boxers are blindfolded!

I hope you enjoyed those pictures. There was enough to do and experience to keep me busy all day. If you are in Thailand at the moment then I suggest you pay Ancient City a visit. The festival continues until Saturday. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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