Our Thai team let us all experience some Thai culture today by including us all in the Thai New Year festivities The festival is called “Songkran” and takes place during April 13 to 15th.
I gleened the following from Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songkran)
“The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns, or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends and neighbors.”
“Nowadays, the emphasis is on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival’s spiritual and religious aspects, which sometimes prompts complaints from traditionalists. The water is meant as a symbol of washing all of the bad away and is sometimes filled with fragrant herbs when celebrated in the traditional manner.”
It is evident from the ceremonies performed today that most of our Thai crew would be considered traditionalist, as can be seen from the following pictures:
Giving thanks for the food
Paying respect to nature and the spirits of the land and asking to be protected and guided to live in peace and harmony
Incense are placed on the table by all attending the ceremony
Respect is paid to the elders in Thai culture starting from the oldest down to the youngest.
Garlands are handed to the elders as a symbol of respect
The water festival has now begun with water being poured onto the hand and blessings are exchanged
Nan has abandoned her "elders" seat to ask for a blessing from the seated "elders" 
All of the staff present at the ranch had a Thai food dinner together - the food is ready and the team are coming :0)
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