Due Vagabondi: PHNOM PENH - Party Time in the Pearl of Asia

We fly to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia on November 9 realizing that it is Independence Day, when Khmer people celebrate their success over colonization, after having been ruled for almost a century by France. This event marks the 66th. Independence Day (from November 9, 1953).

We arrive in the evening so miss the parade, speeches, marching bands and other events that took place earlier at Independence Monument and opened by King Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen and other officials.

As we cross the threshold into our room at Fancy Guesthouse at 7 pm and nightfall, a loud bang erupts and the fireworks are on. Thankfully the balcony affords a perfect view as we are too tired from twelve hours of travel to walk the three short blocks through the open-air market to Sisowath Quay on the Mekong where everyone is gathered.

Celebrations are over an additional three days and the country is on holiday with their families. While other cities celebrate many come to the capital from every town and province to participate in the Water and Moon Festival (Bon Om Tock).

The Water Festival is about the rebirth of the land after the monsoon rains and the Moon Festival to acknowledge the Harvest moon. It's a time to give thanks and the festivities make the gods happy, which goes a long way towards securing good harvests of rice and fish in the coming seasons.

In 2018, 4.5 million people gathered at Sisowath Quay in Phnom Penh for these days. The report at the end of this festival is 4.7 million in attendance. On the final evening walking down the street was shoulder to shoulder. Tripping wouldn't matter as you wouldn't fall.

Here is how one Cambodian website explains the Water Festival:
"During the rainy season, the heavy monsoons force the waters of the Mekong to flow back upstream along the Tonle Sap River to the Tonle Sap Lake. As the rains slow and the water level recedes, the river's direction once again flows towards the sea, leaving behind rich silt to nourish the lands and plenty of fish to nourish the people". This is a unique natural phenomenon not experienced anywhere else in the world.

While the people here know that more than the gods have influence over the fate of their Mekong and thus their food supply and very life they are still ready to enjoy this holiday with family. Read of the danger here: Threats to Mekong

Roads are blocked off. Street food and vendors are everywhere.

There are free concerts and dragon boat type races. People from away sleep in the park if they have no family here. 20,000 police and army officers are in town to ensure everyone's safety. Health personnel and ambulances are on standby to provide emergency care and medication to Cambodians and foreigners alike. Firefighters sling their hammocks near their trucks, also on standby for any potential fire disasters. The King's Palace is illuminated. There are the nightly fireworks, each progressively more spectacular than the last. And there are the fabulous Lantern barges.

Here's a typical street corner with scooter and tuk-tuk traffic-jammed tight. You wouldn't want to have a car and crossing the road on foot requires a deep breath and some determination:

I find little information on the boats themselves. There are over three hundred entries from around the country and the boats will race for three days. I read that the paddlers carve their boat then practice all year for this festival. Apparently, some boat crews are sponsored by government agencies or philanthropists. Many paddlers spend most of their savings to travel here to participate in the races.

There appears to be two sizes of boats: big and bigger. They sit very low in the water. Some will have about 30 paddlers, while others will have closer to 80. On day one we join everyone sitting on the banks of the Mekong to cheer on the teams.

The boat races date back to the time of Angkor and are said to have been preparing for battle. The races are fun to watch. The boats are painted bright colours and paddlers in a boat wear the same colour of tee shirt and hat. The quick drum beats guide the rhythm and speed for the paddlers, while the face paint and 'war' calls of the paddlers contribute to strength and stamina.

On the second day, we head over to near the finish line where there are special welcome booths for dignitaries. with a roof, raised dais, comfortable chairs, headphones that interpret Cambodian into English, FREE drinks (including beer) and comfortable chairs One booth is for foreign visitors and indeed we are welcomed in.

This is great. We can witness the close finish between boats. After they cross the finish line, the boats paddle past these booths. They are singing and chanting their team song, some are dancing, others are waving their hats. They work so hard and have so much fun. A bit further along, the exhausted paddlers often roll out of their boat into the river to cool down.

Once the fireworks are over at about 7:30 pm, its time for Loy Pratip or the Boat Lanterns. These boats are sponsored by various government ministries and are amazing to behold. Huge, intricate light displays on barges that do a sail past, up one side of the Mekong then down the other side so that all can see.

We are lucky this year. I read that in the recent past the lantern boats were cancelled over five different years due to low levels of water in the Mekong River.

As night comes to a close many of the local people have made their own little boats with candles that are quietly released to the Mekong as they give thanks.

Dancing in the Street
On the last night, we walk to the far end of the quay where the live concert is being held. A group is playing songs with a good dance rhythm. People are dancing in a kind of open-ended circle and folks join in when they please ... so we do. At first, the Cambodian people giggle a bit at the only white folk dancing, then they see we are having a good time and the jostling begins as everyone wants to dance with us. We dance till tired then head home while the local people are still going strong.

At first, I was a bit annoyed that all of the tourist attractions in Phnom Penh would be closed for the holiday the whole time we are here, but this event has been amazing. Families together, smiling and having fun. We did not see one drunk person, one fight or hear one raised voice, except in laughter. The kids are as we remember them, still a bit unfamiliar with tourists, curious and friendly, often turning in their parents' arms to wave or reach out to point to us or touch us and say hi. Young ones yelling hi, waving, then hiding behind their parents. Teens waving and smiling from their scooters.

Among all the Festival activities we managed to see a couple of temples and walk to a part of town where some of the old French colonial buildings still stand and visit the National Museum of Cambodia.

Ounnalom Pagoda is a block from our guesthouse. There are many buildings, stupas and a monastery. It appears that numerous families live within the Wat compound. The bones of the Cambodian monk who wrote and published the first Khmer dictionary rest here.

The National Museum of Cambodia

The vision of the founder of this museum was to train artisans in diverse skills as well as conserving and displaying important collections, thus its integral link to the School of Cambodian Arts.

In the museum we find galleries on the Prehistory, Pre-Angkor and Angkor and Post-Angkor periods of Cambodia as well as Bronze, Ceramic and Ethnographic Galleries.

The audio sets are truly worth renting as there is so much fascinating history behind many of the pieces.

We were surprised at the amount of antiquities “theft” that has happened in this country and appreciate that the museum is here to document and display the rescued items.

Ingenious gardening

A small sample of artifacts:

Cabin for a boat

World's longest hand-woven scarf lives here

Watthan Artisans Collective of Cambodia

We buy some clothes at the shop of this worker-run women's collective. There are high-quality silk products made by Cambodian Artisans with Disabilities.

Noodle Maker
We stumble on a little restaurant that specializes in fresh noodles and dumplings. It is so delicious we go more than once. The noodle maker is happy for us to photograph him and performs a bit as we take more pictures. This is quite the art:

This cute little guy across the street, with his Spiderman cape keeps us amused as we eat our noodles. Every now and then an older boy gives him a good push so his cape flies out behind him as he balances atop the skateboard.

Wat Phnom

This Buddhist temple built in 1372 standing at 27 meters above the ground is the tallest religious structure in Phnom Penh and is also the central point of the city. Wikipedia has information on the myth behind the building of the temple by Grandma Phnom.

The grounds of this Wat are lovely and used by many people for relaxing. It's a wonderful green space in the heart of the city. Several games of Sai/Sey are going on.

The Wat is well protected by warriors and lions

There is music to be enjoyed inside the temple

People love or hate Phnom Penh. We had a great time here and look forward to a couple of more days when we come through on our way south. Staying right downtown by the Quay is perfect. On our way to Kratie (via an 8-hour bus ride) to see the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins and Giant Asian Soft Shelled freshwater turtles and to enjoy a more rural life.

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