A wet dream come true
Three days in Delft were a whirlwind but fun. Typical Dutch foods you can't easily get abroad. And cheap cigars. But so cold!
The LCD screen I was carrying with me from Johannesburg to Chiang Mai, I carried around in its original cardboard box, nicely wrapped up in plastic at OR Tambo. Already after my first trip, arriving at Heathrow, the box was bent out of shape.
When leaving, I accepted the possibility the screen might not arrive in one piece. And knowing most airlines' policies on shipping electronics, I was prepared to arrive empty handed. Still, with the out of shape box, I walked over to the luggage handling desk in Heathrow and pointed out the problem, suggesting that I open the box in front of them to see whether the screen was still in tact.
The lady helping me pointed out I had signed a limited liability form in relation to the shipment of the screen, and that I could open the box and check whether the screen was still intact, but that it wouldn't make a difference either way. "So 'limited' liability really means 'no' liability", I countered. "Yeah, pretty much". I didn't bother opening the box.
Still, in Chiang Mai, four flights later, the screen arrived in one piece and works, though I had to break open the box to get the screen out.
This week is Thai new year, roughly the beginning of spring as well as the start of the rainy season. Theoretically, the one week holiday should help me work on my backlog, though it's also too easy to party.
Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand. Thereafter, 1 April was used until 1940, when the Thai calendar was synchronized with the rest of the world (well, the West).
Originating as a form of purification, lightly sprinkling people with water has evolved into extensive all encompassing water fights on the streets. People drive around in bakkies with containers filled with water, dousing bystanders and being doused in return. As April is the hottest time of the year, it's not a bad way to cool down.
The term Songkran derives from the Sanskrit "Sankranta" and means "a move or change", that is, the move of the sun into the Aries zodiac. Originally this happened at the vernal equinox, the proper beginning of spring, but, as the Thai astrology did not observe precession, the earth's 'wobble', the date moved from March to April, until it was fixed to run from April 13 to 15.
It's a veritable water fest. In the process, though I tried protecting my electronics using plastic sealable bags, my cellphone and my camera seemed to have succumbed to the watery onslaught.