Jencie and her dad enroute.

Wet and Happy
Via Motorcycle from Singapore
to Thailand, this Girl Scout Thrills
to a Super Soaker Celebration

By Jencie, age 16

It was Songkran, the Thai New Year, and the whole country was having a water fight—which seemed, when I first heard of it, like an odd way to bring in the New Year. Songkran started out as a way to respect your elders, by pouring scented water over their hands. Over time it evolved into drenching neighbors with Super Soaker water guns.

We were up in Thailand with a BMW motorcycle group on a weeklong trip. We had ridden up from Singapore, stopping in Penang and Krabi to sleep each night. The trip overall was about 3,400 kilometers (2,113 miles). We came up on back roads through the mountains, passing small kampungs (Malaysian villages) on the way. I rode on the back of my dad's motorcycle. The wind whistled past our bodies and the road sailed by beneath us. I felt the steady thrum of the engine for what seemed like an eternity. We finally made it to the island of Koh Samui by ferry from Don Sak.

Day of Rest

We spent the first day on the island resting at the hotel. Some of our group enjoyed a spa somewhere. The rest either lay by the pool or were in the pool, testing out their new water guns on anyone who happened by. The next day, the families of some of the riders showed up by plane, including my mom. We spent the afternoon in town, where I got my hair braided into tiny braids with black extensions, which looked wild with my red hair. It took over five hours to braid it all. I felt very cool at the dinner party that night, even if I occasionally hit people in the eyes with the braids by accident.

The following day was Songkran. My water gun was filled and lying by the hotel door. I was ready. We formed a small group and hired a tuk tuk to drive us into town. A tuk tuk is a Thai taxi, which is basically a truck, modified with a roof and benches in the back.  We had a bucket of water in the back of the truck, and we sat with our weapons at the ready, the barrels of our water guns aimed out to the sidewalks. But we didn’t notice the young boy run up to us at a stoplight, with a hose.

The tuk tuk trundled along into the small town, into a massive traffic jam. People were everywhere with various means of getting others wet. They gathered around large buckets of water, where they periodically filled their water guns and small pails. The traffic came to a standstill, and all sorts of music played from the restaurants and shops, which were closed for business. Water cascaded down the street, making big puddles, as everyone got into the full spirit of Songkran.

Traveling back roads through the mountains.

The older generations came up politely and asked permission to dump a bowl of (usually cold) water over your head. It was only common courtesy to thank them afterward for blessing you. Some even used talcum powder for the blessing. The traditional way of blessing with the talcum is to gently pat it on someone's cheeks. More often than not it was tossed at you in great quantities.

Cold Sting of Water

I felt very blessed by the end of the day. The cold sting of water slapped my back. Young boys ran away, shrieking with laughter. I was soaked to the bone. My eyes stung with water and talcum powder. Blisters began to form on my fingers and feet. But I couldn't be having more fun. I aimed my water gun at a passing couple, pumped the handle a few times, and let loose. Their squawks of indignation turned to laughter as they dodged the spray. A passing truck filled with barrels of water rattled down the road, and once again I was splashed with water. We all laughed and waved to each other until they turned the corner. I knew none of these people, and we'd probably never meet again.

It took us three hours, but we managed to make it down the street. We had countless refills from friendly strangers. By the end of our trek, we were thoroughly drenched and multicolored, as some people put dye in their water. We made it back to the hotel at dusk, wiped out. After ducking the hotel staff's attempt to spray us, we retired to our rooms. In the morning, we geared up and got on our motorcycles for the trip home to Singapore. We really couldn't have asked for a better (or wetter) introduction to Songkran.

Jencie wrote "Wet and Happy" as part of the Girl Scout Writing Program, which pairs Girl Scouts ages 11-17 with mentors who are professional writers and/or editors. Jencie worked with a New York-based mentor.