Gun fight at the OK Khao San Center

  Bangkok, Thailand
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

As we returned to Bangkok for the last time, entered the Banglamphu district and began walking along Khao San Road, we noticed subtle changes in the layout. The whole street was resplendent with a blanket of red Coca-Cola flags, hung above the street, the many clothing and jewellery stalls were beginning to pack up, being replaced with water pistol and bottled water vendors (selling bags of 12), and ominous 4ft high stainless steel drums had been placed all along the road.
The reason we had cut short our island break tanning sesh was to allow time for some last minute shopping before the start of Songkhran (Thai new year) and the effective shutdown of the country. We figured we would have a night and a day to complete the mission so were prepared for an intensive bout of focussed retail therapy. We quickly learned that we had much less time. In fact the post office was already shut and would be for the next seven days. If we wanted to despatch a parcel we would have to do the purchasing within the next hour and then beg a DHL office to help us out. So with the clock ticking we raced round the shops and stalls that were still open, and generally haggled appallingly, wearing our desperate faces bathed in perspiration, making it to the DHL office barely 5 minutes before closing time.
The following morning we walked out onto Khao San Road like innocent little bunny rabbits wandering onto a busy motorway, completely unaware of the utter chaos the following days were to hold. It's worth pointing out at this juncture that our hotel happened to be slap bang in the center of the road and as we drank our first beer at the Khao San Center bar opposite, and noticed the metal barriers and hordes of gun toting combatants with itchy trigger fingers, we knew it wasn't going to be any ordinary day in the usually peaceloving backpacker enclave. We quickly acquired gaudy coloured pump action plastic arms of our own, bagged some ammo and began our temporary careers as snipers with true grit. We were now the newest recruits of the Khao San Center militia!!!



I swear to God, i've never had so much fun in my whole life. Sat there with a beer, randomly targeting the faces of passers by with impunity using your high powered rifles. Periodically rounding on your own troops and even your partner just for fun, advancing steadily into the crowds through walls of cold water being thrown and shot from all sides. By lunch time we were hammered, soaked to the skin and covered in flour and water paste which is daubed lovingly on your face (and in my case all over my head!) by the Thais to cries of "SAWATDEE PI MAI!!" ("HAPPY NEW YEAR!!'). Absolutely everyone is playing the game, little kids carrying water pistols disguised as pot noodle tubs, a middle aged man walking placidly along with a plastic bag swivels around and flashing a wicked grin fires his weapon with pinpoint accuracy through a sneaky hole in the side, a young Thai guys innocuous looking sun shades suddenly fire a jet in your eyes and an old local woman takes great pleasure in pouring a bottle of ice cold water down your neck before walking off cackling. We even saw a guy who had an additional small handheld gun strapped to his ankle in case he found himself in a tight spot, the innovations were quite incredible. Of course analogously noone is safe from the water being quickly dispensed from your weapon be they old or young, male or female. In fact any westerners got an extra good soaking from both of us and the target selection only widened with the increased alcohol levels. The fact that every single person is smiling and having a great time together firing water at each other while consuming alcohol is testament to the simple good nature of the Thai people. I don't think it would be long before the fun turned to real aggression and a full scale riot ensued if we were on the streets of London or Manchester.



Although it felt like it, the madness was not limited to Khao San. As we discovered on recon, sporadic violence was erupting all over the city. Guys with oil drums full of water maintained turrets behind vehicles at the roadside, waiting for unsuspecting scooters and tuk tuks to pass, springing out to lash a bucket load over them, laughing their heads off. Gangs of kids with fire department caliber hose pipes soaked you through railings and everyone was just pissing their sides and having a full on ball. Such an amazing good vibe party atmosphere pervaded over the entire city! And this was on the day before Songkhran officially began! The following day saw even greater numbers of miscreants and intensified amounts of water on Khao San and environs. Our problem was that as we resided right in the epi-center of the conflict, there was no way we could leave our hotel unscathed, and to exit not packing and fully loaded represented folly of the worst kind. Again we spent the whole day stalking the streets as smiling assassins picking people off in running battles and being soaked in return. For a few hours we maintained a position inside a restaurant where we could fire at people from cover, but anytime you wanted to move you had to wade through the throngs of hysteric revellers, partying like loons, inevitably getting embroiled in many small skirmishes en route. The Seven Eleven which was but a few yards away from our dwelling became a ten minute trek across a stray flip-flop and beer bottle strewn quagmire, you inevitably became extremely wet and white from the rigours of the journey.
After the second day the fun element reduced almost to zero and the situation became highly irritating. These Thais are as insatiable as Buenos Aires mardi gras speed freaks! The festivities failed to wane in the slightest, and the whooping and (shonky) dance music and water fight was directly outside our door, until 5am and beyond. We knew that at some point we would have to make a break for the airport so bought some bin liners and dropped the rucksacks in them to provide basic waterproofing. When the time came we tiptoed sheepishly through the gate, like two turtles hoping to slip by the insane masses unspotted, clean and dry. No such luck. By the time we reached the refuge of the taxi we looked like we had been plastering walls all day long. To be fair though it was an awesome climax to the whole trip and we had the time of our lives enjoying the new year with all the insane Bangkokers who definitely all flocked to Khao San for the festivities. We got changed into dry clothes and lamented the end of our six month adventure as we waited for our flight to Oz with a new level of trepidation as we were to leave Asia and re-enter the now even stranger Western world.