'I don't throw water at people. I just try to avoid getting wet. But I shall be at Mum's shop, as usual, I replied.
Songkran, which marks Thai New Year, is possibly the most popular public holiday - though Thais will seize any opportunity to drink which presents itself.
During the Songkran festival last year, from my drinking-hole vantage point, I watched as many young ones returned sodden from their adventures in Khao San Rd.
The more courageous young men had stripped down to their wet underwear - boxers, of course, not briefs. Some walked bare-footed, clutching their water guns, clothes and shoes in their hands.
They felt comfortable about walking in the middle of the street in a state of near-undress, perhaps because they could take shelter walking in the anonymity of a large group.
But I don't have to wait until Songkran to see young men getting about bare-chested.
The young men who live in the area often appear at Mum's shop wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers. They are the rough element of the street. They arrive on their motorcycles, order cigarettes or soft drink, and wait there until Mum has served them.
They know better than to ask for alcohol, as that would be illegal, so they are not really that bad.
Still, their bare-chested antics do worry Mum, who worries they will catch cold, and urges them to put more on.
Still, their bare-chested antics do worry Mum, who worries they will catch cold, and urges them to put more on.
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