Those who didn’t soon had their cellular phones drenched and disabled this week during Thailand’s annual water festival, when armies of young and old roam the streets, splashing friends and strangers alike with buckets, hoses and squirt guns.
Bangkok cellphone repairman Thaweechai Suracharoenchaikul said he’d made about 20,000 baht (US$513), and expected another 10,000 baht (US$256) by the time the three-day Thai New Year revelry called Songkran ended late Thursday.
“Wednesday was the busiest day. I had 40 cellphones to fix and worked until midnight,” he said, pouring water out of a customer’s Nokia.
Fourteen phones were scattered on his table in a temporary stall along Khao San road, a popular hangout for young Western backpackers who usually jump into the Songkran festivities with gusto.
Thaweechai said he’s been fixing wet cellphones for the past several years during Songkran, charging 250-450 baht (US$6-US$11) per phone.
The technique is simple. He unscrews the cover, pours out the water, blow dries it with an electric hair dryer and reinstalls the software before recharging the battery.
Cellphone repair shops usually fix two or three instruments a week during normal days, and four or five a day during Songkran. Thaweechai apparently gets unusually high business due to his clever location choice.
Songkran reveler Somphob Komolmalai, 25, said his phone broke down despite precautions.
“I actually put it in a plastic bag and tied it very tightly as always. Maybe I should leave it at home next year,” he said. “But then how can I keep in touch with my friends?”
Others slipped their phones into condoms and knotted the open ends.
Kitiphan Prempri, 18, said he used four layers of plastic held in place by rubber bands. But to no avail.
“I couldn’t believe it wasn’t enough protection,” he said, looking at the water sloshing halfway up his phone’s screen.
Still, it seemed that few learned a lesson from their phone hassles.
Right after collecting their phones from Thaweechai, most clients jumped back into the soggy fray.
“I know putting it in a plastic bag doesn’t work because the moisture can still damage it somehow. But I will take it with me anyway. I need to have it,” said Kalayanee Srisaman, 16.
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