In ancient times of course Songkran Festival was a car free time, but I wonder if elephants and buffaloes joined in the fun, unlikley considering the absence those days of funseekers from foreign parts?
The overlay of modernity in old ChiangMai has brought with it mechanical equivalents of the former four legged friends, both to the roads in the form of trucks,cars and motorbikes, and also to the rivers, providers of water , the essential element for Songkran frolicking. The natural waters are now so transformed by mechanical dredges and pile drivers that the town’s quest for the cool of waters has thrust the people into the midst of motor traffic around the city moat.
Now however, thanks to the State Railway of Thailand, we are fortunate to have a car free place, with plenty of open space and shady areas for water play –
Railway Park and Pond.
By filling the pond to a depth of about one metre, the park has been made safer should anybody fall over the unfenced perimeter.
At the southern end is a wide flight of steps where water can be collected for Songkran cooling.
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