Songkran Festival

The Songkran Festival has been on our calendar for many years, but we seemed to always be out of town when it was held.  This year, we made a point of not scheduling anything on top of it and guess what?  It is raining this morning.  What to do, what to do.  Finally the decision is made to go ahead and give it a try.  If it doesn't work, we will go find brunch somewhere.

There is a light drizzle when we arrive, but we are still able to walk around the grounds.  They are beautiful!

I love the landscaping and gorgeous flowers in addition to the water features and statues.  It is very peaceful here and there is the occasional glimpse of a monk going from one building to another.

 Songkran Festival is the celebration of the Thai New Year and is being held at the Buddhist temple.  It is usually held out on the beautiful grounds, but today most events have been moved indoors.  The first thing we see upon entering the event room is that tables are set up and people are rapidly filling them with food that is given as offering to the monks.  There are money trees and baskets of food everywhere as well.

The monks are chanting for their ancestors as the food is prepared to be offered.  The room is quiet and then repetition of the chants can be heard.  This goes on for about half an hour and then the food is presented to the monks.

During this time, more and more food is being brought to the table and Mister and I are still trying to figure out what they are going to do with it all.  There is no way 6 monks can eat all of it.  Keep in mind that NOTHING is in English so we are just watching and taking it all in.

The offerings are first placed into the alms/bowls and then transferred to baskets for removal.  I catch Mister trying to get a picture of it.

When the chanting ends, many of the people in attendance rise and go to the tables.  They then form a "bucket brigade" to pass the food to the monks.  ALL OF IT!  It is amazing, but each and every dish on the table is sent to the monks and they place them on the platform around them.

Then they partake of the food for a solid half hour, during which they never stop eating.

When the half hour is up, the food is once again transferred by "bucket brigade" back to the tables and the deserts are passed forward to the monks.  At this point the food is available to everyone in attendance and it becomes a giant potluck.

At this point, we decided to go outside and see what types of food the vendors have.  Our shoes are indoors with us, but the doorway holds those of many others.


Umbrellas up and out we go.  The first thing I spot is Roti -- a type of crepe (?) that is heated on a griddle and puffs up a bit.  It is then drizzled with condensed milk and sprinkled with sugar before being rolled up and served.  So good.

 Mister purchases a meal and we take a few minutes to sit under a covered table and enjoy it.  The rain is letting up a bit again and I still have a few more pictures to take so we walk around again for a short time.

A quick peek back in the room and I spot the monks receiving offerings of robes.  The ceremony continues on, but it has become very warm in the room and we choose to stay outside.

As we are walking around, we hear music and follow the sound back out towards the vendors.  There are dancers and musicians doing a performance and we stop to watch.

The dance turns into a parade and we follow back up towards the temple.  In doing so, we come to a tent holding many donated items.  Each item has been given a number and for a $2.00 donation, you get to spin the wheel and select a slip of paper with a number on it.  Mister decides to play and is soon given his prize.

We walk a short distance and he opens it.  What can it be?

FABRIC!!  Wow.  How cool is this.  It is 100% Singha Cotton and I love it.  We laugh and he says that his "spidey senses" told him to play.  I gotta listen to them more often.

It is time to go and we have had a great time.  We will come back next year and hopefully the weather will permit it to be held outside.  I felt like I was in a different country all day.  Right here in Dallas.