One day before Songkran officially kicks off (April 13th) in rural Isaan, there is little evidence it is actually that time of the year.
No one celebrating early for the first time since I can remember?
No massive amounts of traffic to Isaan which usually is a familiar scene this time of year?
It may be a combination of 10 straight days of over 105f hot weather with serious high UV which sucks the life out of you?
Or it could be that the price of gas has doubled since the war in Iran and people just cannot afford to travel?
What ever it is, it does not feel like a happy time here.
It feels like people are struggling just to survive and spending money on Songkran is the last thing on their minds.
It is quite sad actually as one incidence like this can get people to stop celebrating going forward.
While I am sure Bangkok with get 10,000’s of reveler’s, I hope that here in Isaan we can have some resemblance of Songkran.
The weather has been miserable, the worst I can ever remember.