BRING BACK WATER FEST OF OLD

Re: “Keep a lid on Songkran” (Editorial, April 13).

In the old days, Chiang Mai was the go-to place for Thais when the Songkran festival approached each year.

In those days, people had small silver cups in their hands and would lightly sprinkle water on each other, and at the same time humbly offered one another New Year’s greetings. Consuming alcohol during the festival was also not as acceptable as it is today.

However, nowadays the cups have given way to big buckets, plastic pistols and powerful water pipes that can cause people to cringe and cry in pain when used to splash people. A humble and peaceful festival no longer exists.

Songkran in Chiang Mai nowadays sees women dress skimpily and in flimsy clothes that you can clearly see through.

Especially this year, I spotted a few Western males dressed in triangular swimsuits which covered only their groins, splashing water in the street.

Certainly this is not what it used to be like for this old and beautiful New Year festival.

It would be nice for the Prayut Chano-cha government to restore this great festival to what it used to be just a few decades back. Vint Chavala