Pi Mai the Laos New Year

Yesterday the 13th of April was Pi Mai or the Laos New Year.  Everything shuts down and people celebrate together.  On this day kids of all ages throw water at anyone and everyone they are next to or driving by.  Some kids actually pack into truck beds and are driven around by their parents to throw water on people.  Almost any other year the weather would be sweltering at this point. It would have been a refreshing blast of water but sadly it was overcast and cold with little chance of getting dry in a quick manner.  The day started off with Tom and I attending a large meal celebrating the birth of a child at a neighbors house.  We went with Chanta's sisters whom we had spent little time with without Chanta.  Their English was much better than they had previously let on and it turned out to be a fun lunch.  Most Lao women drink very rarely if at all.  This group decided to drink and it snowballed from their.  When the Lao drink they are bottoms up drinkers meaning that they drink the whole glass not a relaxing sip.  Many cheers and bottles later we took a tuk tuk to the library to visit the heart of the action.  We got hammered by water on the tuk tuk ride and came out completely soaked. We rode with a little Lao girl maybe 2 years old and she didn't not enjoy it at all.  We got to the library where Chanta had set up a table where she was selling drinks and food.  We tried to get dry and then met some Kiwi's living in china and shot the breeze while drinking some beers for the next few hours.  The team had called me earlier so Tom and I met up with them at a dinner where a good portion of the LP athletes were getting awards.  This was a blast to hang out with the team and we even got an award from the sports department.  We had a lot of fun and danced a little.  The Lao dance which everyone was doing is very simple.  Everyone walks counter clockwise in the circle then turns to their partner all the while slowly rotating their hands.  Its a dance anyone can do. A few hours later Tom and I headed home with our awards and having spent too much time celebrating all day.  The celebration lasts for a week so we will have to see what happens next!