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Published: February 11th 2010
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One of the best things about living in Cambodia for a few years is mastering the art of escaping from Phnom Penh to Thailand or Vietnam during the annual Water Festival. Ha! Just kidding...kind-of. We did leave for 3 annual festivals, but our last year in Cambodia, we stayed to enjoy every minute of the jam-packed weekend of fun. It is called "Bom Om Tuk" in Khmer and it is the largest festival in Cambodia. Thousands and thousands of people come to the capital city to celebrate the end of the rainy season, the start of the fishing season, and the time when the flow of the Tonle Sap river actually changes direction! It's a celebratory time and families travel to the city to enjoy the three-day regatta, filled with beautiful hand-crafted racing boats, delicious carnival snacks, and the unique beauty of Phnom Penh.
The streets are rediculously crowded, but it is fun to people-watch, practice Khmer, and eat all the yummy foods. You can play fun games along the road-side, restaurants throw fun parties, street fairs pop up, hip Khmer music concerts blare music from park areas, and the river is beautiful. The weather is nice this time of
year and cool breezes are starting to blow. The sunsets over the river are beautiful, as well. At night, as the sun is setting, they set off huge fireworks over the river, with massive boats lit up all across the water. It is so gorgeous and celebratory! We had fun walking around, taking photos of the sleek racing boats, eating tons of great food, and watching the crowds from the top of a hotel.
The Water Festival is a national event and huge source of pride for so many Cambodians. People throughout the country spend almost a year preparing their team's boat - elaborately and brightly decorated dug out kayak/canoe-style boats with large eyes on the prows to ward off evil spirits. 😊 Over the three day-event, the thousands of folks who travel to the city watch the races and cheer on their village's boat, which can be up to 20 meters long and contain up to 60 oarsmen, frantically paddling and shouting cheers as they take part in highly competitive races. The origins of the Water Festival dates back to the powerful navy of King Jayavarman II, the 9th century founder of the great Angkorian Empire, and the
main purpose is to make the god of the river happy so he will provide many fish and the rice crop will be plentiful. 😊
However, the festival week can also be a time of vulnerability for children. Some kids lose their families in the huge crowds, and many foreigners travelers are present, which increases demand for child prostitution and child sexual abuse. So...if you are in PP for the Water Festival, be sure to protect any lost children, do not give money to children who are begging (they are forced to beg by someone else adn this is usually a grooming technique for future prostitution and trafficking), do not wear overly suggestive clothing (respect Khmer customs and their more conservative manner of dress), and do not perpetrate any child abuse or use of prostituion (I have to say it!).
We also went to see Khmer shadow puppet and drumming performances at Sovanna Phum (http://shadow-puppets.org), a Khmer art association in Phnom Penh. Started in 1994, Sovanna Phum was created to give Khmer artists the opportunity to perform their art, make a living, and revive, preserve and promote the treasures of Khmer culture to local and international audiences. Most
of the artists are students and graduates from The Royal University of Fine Arts. The Association provides them an opportunity to practice and perform their talent, as it is one of the few modern theatres available for performances open to the general public. The shows are magnificent (the Shadow Puppet shows!) and powerful (the drumming shows!). You must see the traditional art of shadow puppet craft-making and plays - it's a super fun and unique thing to do during your visit to Phnom Penh!!!! Support artists!
Lastly, I included some photos from one of the best traditional Apsara dance show in Siem Reap (the town near Angkor Wat). The Apsara Theatre holds nightly shows in a gorgeous wooden theatre (www.angkorvillage.com/theatre.php). They serve an absolutely delicous gourmet dinner and you can choose to sit on cushions on the ground/stage level, or up at tables in the balcony (we LOVE the balcony). This is a professional, artistic, legitimate dance troupe who do some of the best dancing and plays! They do excerpts from all the most famous traditional Cambodian dances and plays. The muscians are also really great. You will totally enjoy this evening!
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