Sook sun wan pi mai!

Or in English, Happy New Year! Today is the first day of Songkran, otherwise known as the Thai New Year. It is celebrated with a water festival where everyone runs around soaking each other with hoses, buckets and various kinds of waterguns.

Fire trucks roam the streets hosing people down and people ride around on the backs of bakkies armed with supersoakers loaded up with icewater.

Let the mayhem begin!
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Only in Thailand

On our last day, while having brunch at Green Place's restaurant, we came across this little gem on the menu.

The Last Supper

While Shan's sister and her husband tried a variety of Thai dishes, Shan and I gorged ourselves on some western food.

The thai fare included a green curry, a massaman curry (a yellow curry made with potato and peanuts) and some very lively (in other words spicy as hell) squid.

Shannyn went for a lamb breyani and I for some enchiladas. Everyone agreed that the chef certainly knew his/her business.

Starry, starry night...

The star-shaped lights in the trees lent a festive air to the restaurant.

Jeb's Bungalows Restaurant

This lovely outdoor restaurant is right on the Ao Pai beach. We ate there on our last night in Koh Samet. The trees were full of festive lights and we were once again entertained with a fire show.

Massive Hibiscus up close

Perfection.

Massive Hibiscus Flowers

These were the biggest Hibiscus flowers I'd ever seen. Absolutely gorgeous!