Water Festival
Bonn Om Touk, also known as the Water Festival or Boat Race Festival took place on November 11th-13th. The festival celebrates the reversal of the Tonle Sap River current and marks the beginning of the fishing season AND a new full moon. There approximately 400 long boats (30 to 60 people in each boat) from all over the country that compete in a 1 km race. The population of the city doubled. There were fireworks almost every night. It was fun to see, but I was ready to see the everyone leave. Just a side note, this was the last of many, many holidays I experienced here in Cambodia. The Fall and Spring are filled with many, many, many holidays. I think you get my drift.
Pre-Festival Activities
Many articles in the local newspaper, The Phnom Penh Post (which is also online by the way), had stories about the authorities rounding up the homeless, like they do every year. They arrest the homeless only for big national celebrations to help "keep order and create a good atmosphere". They put the homeless in "Social Affairs Rehabilitation Centers" but the locals say that the conditions are like prison. Many human rights organizations stated that this was illegal to do as these rehabilitation centers are open on a voluntary basis. Additionally, the homeless were being kept at the centers against their will until after the Water Festival was over. The man pictured to the left was one of many people seen during the festival asking for money.