Songkran Festival Then and Now (1)
Who doesn’t like old pictures of Chiang Mai? Of the Songkran festival (in Thai: ประเพณีสงกรานต์) there are many pictures to be found online but what story do they tell? Most of the black and white pictures were made by photographer Boonserm Satrabhaya. Many of his pictures can be found online on a website of the Chiang Mai University Library. I met Boonserm twice at his small house that was located between the railway station and the superhighway. Boonserm is now unfortunately in poor health and moved to a nursing home. His pictures show the Chiang Mai of yesteryear.
What can we learn from his pictures of the Songkran festival of yesteryear?
First of all there were no or hardly any tourists. The foreigners who appear on some pictures from the 50’s and 60’s appear to be residents.
There were no plastic pipes or water guns. It was all small buckets, bowls or cups.
There were very few vehicles.
This is the last picture I have showing Songkran revellers in the Ping River. It was taken in 1968. We are trying to find out in which year the festivities from the Ping River to the moat area. The increase of the numbers of cars must have played a part in that as well as the human activities upstream in the Ping River that influenced the water level in the river.

This picture I took on April 6, 2016. Water level is very low and Songkran festivities would be possible again in the river……
Below picture shows the Burmese Wat Upakut Temple which was next to the Thai Wat Upakut which is still there. At this location is now the Buddha Sathan building on the corner of Thapae Road and Charoenprathat Road.

The same corner where once was the Burmese Upakut temple and where now is the Buddha Sathan building. Picture was taken on April 6, 2016, by Frans Betgem
Below picture shows the steel-truss Nawarat Bridge with the First Christian Church in the background. On the right hand side is the old Governor’s Residence that also appears on the map of 1945. This picture was taken from the corner of Praisanee and Thapae roads in 1953.

Songkran Festival with steel truss Nawarat Bridge in the background, 10Picture by Boonserm Satrabhaya.
This is how this location looks today. The steel truss Nawarat bridge made way for the concrete one in 1966. The church is not visible anymore through the foliage and the new Governor’s Residence on the right is further back from the main road nowadays.
Here is a collage of some of Boonserm’s pictures that show the civilized side of the Songkran Festival in the old days:
- Thapae road 1954
- In front of Wat Upakut
- The Burmese Wat Upakut that was demolished in 1954
- Thapae road 1954
- Lots os people
- Songkran Festival
- Building sand castles
- Collecting sand for castles
- Fun in the Ping River
- Thapae road Songkran Festival
- Songkran 1960. Thapae road with the Tantraphan Store.
- Songkran Festival
- Steel truss Nawarat bridge
Frans Betgem, April 28, 2016