When we arrived in Laos, we barely knew anything about this fascinating country. By now, we’ve learned at least two things. First, Lao has three seasons: dry season, wet season and hot season. Second, hot season really deserves it’s name – it is currently 40° celsius in the shadow and unbearable in direct sunlight. Our bodies are struggling to cope with this weather.
But we’ve also learned one more thing. Lao seems to have its own calendar and according to that, it is currently the change of the year (usually somewhere in the middle of April). By pure accident and luck, we’ve managed to be in Luang Prabang during Lao New Years celebrations.
And how do you best celebrate New Years when it’s during the hottest days of the year? By splashing water at each other and having a parties all over the place, of course!
Everywhere on the streets of Luang Prabang, there are kids of all ages (girls until their early twenties and man of all ages) splashing each other and everyone around with water. Squirt guns are very common. But an absolute favorite seems to be to just throw a bucket of water into the way of passing motorbikes (or sometimes pedestrians). I just had a lot of fun during a water bomb battle with a few local kids in a side alley.
And there are also some weirder sights, like this one kid with a pressure washer or a pick-up truck with a makeshift pool in the bed.
And wherever there are more than a few people, there is also a huge speaker on the street booming (usually horrible) party music into the streets.
All in all, Lao New Year in Luang Prabang is a very wet, great party and a lot of fun… We are so glad about our dumb luck to be here during this time – Happy New Year!
