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In Pics: Cambodia Celebrates National Water Festival Grandly After 3-Yr Hiatus Due To COVID-19

Cambodia is celebrating its National Water Festival from November 26 to 28 with pomp and glory.

by Sanjana Shenoy
In Pics: Cambodia Celebrates National Water Festival Grandly After 3-Yr Hiatus Due To COVID-19

After a hiatus of three years, Cambodia is celebrating its three-day annual water festival grandly. Thousands of people gathered along the riverfront in Phnom Penh in anticipation of the spectacular dragon boat race. The annual dragon boat race takes the centre stage of the water festival. Read on and witness the beauty of the river bathed in vibrant boats eager boatsmen paddling away in the serene waters.

Cambodia Kickstarts Its Annual Water Festival After 3-Year Pause Due To The Pandemic

A report by Hindustan Times, draws light on the beauty, excitement, frenzy and humdrum of the water festival in Cambodia. Held from November 26 to 28, this year’s water festival is grander than ever to make up for its 3-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Around 300 boats with crews dressed in matching T-shirts battled it out in the Tonle Sap River for the win.

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni looked on as Prime Minister Hun Manet and senior government officials watched over the yearly extravaganza kickstart in style. Crowds cheered the canoes paddling their way colourfully in the waters. The three-day water festival in Cambodia has lantern floats adorned with neon lights, concerts and fireworks. Hom Phos, a 38-year-old rower revealed to AFP that he was excited to celebrate the national festival which was halted since 2020 due to the pandemic. The rower expresses his happiness to get the chance to meet and celebrate the festival together.

Also Read: Visiting Angkor Wat? Fly To Cambodia’s New Airport SAI And Reach In 13 Mins!

Concerts, Dragon Boat Races, Fireworks, Focus On Health & More

Also known as Bon Om Touk, this water festival is celebrated at the end of the rainy season. This is time when the Tonle Sap river meets the mighty Mekong River in front of the Royal Palace. The health authorities are also using the festival to create awareness about HIV and AIDS prevention. For this, 80,000 condoms and 20,000 packages of lubricants are distributed to oarsmen and visitors free of cost.

Also Read: 10 Phrases To Know Before Travelling To Cambodia ( Language Spoken: Khmer)

Apart from boat races during the day, visitors can bask in the beauty of fireworks at nighttime. Just like the rivers are coloured with lanterns and boats, the nights are illuminated with fireworks. As per Khuong Sreng, Phnom Penh Municipal Governor, the government has deployed 10,000 security personnel to ensure the safety of festival-goers during this three-day holiday.

Cambodians and tourists in the kingdom took to X (formerly Twitter) to share gorgeous pictures and videos from the water festival. And it certainly looks beautiful to witness oarsmen dressed in colourful matching T-shirts paddling the hand-painted wooden boats in perfect coordination. It’s almost in harmony yet there’s fire in them to reach the finish line and win the race. The vice chairman of the boat-racing technical control committee revealed to Xinhua about the significance of the race. In his words, the boat race is a tribute to the strength of the Khmer marine forces during the Khmer Empire in the late 11th century.

Meanwhile, is Cambodia on your wishlist? If it is, then are you planned to visit the Southeast Asian nation during the annual boat race festival next year?

Cover Image Courtesy: @Reyjc123/ X

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First Published: November 27, 2023 11:29 AM