Thingyan (New Year Water Festival) was celebrated from 13th to 17th April this year. Revelers went around the city in small pick-up trucks shouting happily. On other hand, there were Pandals built on roads for those who wanted to douse water. Some stages were built by sponsors. At the pandals where famous people came, young people were dousing water and were being doused in jeeps and trucks full of them.

The high light of water festival was Yangon Mayor's pandal in front of city hall near Sule Pagoda Road. This pandal was the biggest among the pandals in Yangon. Dance, comedy and songs were staged at this pandal. By the stage, about 200 people were dousing water eagerly holding multicoloured plastic pipes.

This place is a must for revelers in their cars to go. A lot of cars were queuing up for a long time to get there. On contrary, as for me who don't like festivals, I couldn't say for sure why they wanted to be doused to such extent. But, revelers dousing were water and being doused shouting merrily. After being doused at this pandal, they went around the city to other pandals.

During water festival holidays, my driver and a young helper had returned to their natives. So, Aung Kyi, a young man who didn't know my like and dislike and me were at home. I had to past the time feeling bored watching revelers dousing happily on TV because my car couldn't be used without a driver. Most of Super Markets and restaurants closed during the water festival, I had to cook at home. My helper, Aung Kyi's food is awful, I had to prepare food myself.

When I opened the fridge and cupboard, various kinds of eastern food from Japan available here were expired with fungus on them. Although there were three Myanmar helpers at home, they all did not know my like and dislike and were bad at cooking.

I had to prepare food while I was complaining. The first thing I had to do was going shopping. There is a place where goods are sold only in the morning near here.

"What will make a good curry?" While I was buying vegetables among a lot of people, carrying a big blue plastic basket, with a style of not-want-to-be-seen, suddenly my back felt cold. I was doused water. I turned round and saw two or three children dousing water with water guns from behind the stalls.

I come back home thinking why the doused at such a place like this when I was spotted by five or six children. I was doused again while asking them not to do so. I got wet carrying heavy basket. Unless you are doused, it can't be called water festival, I thought.

After making ready to cook, I went out for a stroll with my dog. I usually go around Kandawgyi lake passing Nikko Hotel, Japanese Embassy up to the park. But this time I took the opposite route to the right up to Kandawgyi Hotel. Cars of revelers drove passing me often. They shouted something looking at my dog. The dog gave them a bark in return. There was no pandal on this road. It was a short cut for another pandal. Although, it was evening, some group looked very exhausted but some looked still very active.

They put on various kinds of clothes. Last year, I was surprised at hard rock hairstyle and thought there was also such hair do in Myanmar. But, I didn't see such strange hairstyle this year. I noticed dark hair of youth that is the hair lf all Asia. While I was lost in thought, all of a sudden, my face was doused with a splash. The young man, on seeing my face wet, ran out happily shouting "He's got wet!". Then, I was doused two or three times. And I came back to Tamwe with my dog when it was getting dark.

I could hear young people shouting merrily from far and near. I happened to think of going around the city in a pick-up light truck once. But, I didn't know why.

* The man with a hard rock singer's style is called "Lan Thaye" in Myanmar. "Lan" means "Street" and "Thaye" "ghost".