Water Festival

Cambodia, Water Festival, Nighttime Atmosphere.

I, Water Festival is very much popular as the many people of Cambodia. This festival is celebrated in Phnom Penh which is a central capital city as the most magnificent traditional festival one among other in Cambodia. Totally 3 days Cambodia people from every side, and province; foreign tourists gather to celebrate all day and night. For me in this event I like to see sailing racing, shopping many promotional store, seeing concert, and eating pestle-rice with family under the full moon at home. So what about you?

This festival had it's history for as so long time. As I know from books and many social media that, this ceremony is to remember the army training for preparing to do a successful battle. In the history, Khmer King always does the battle with enemies by sailing. So he prepares this water festival ceremony every year to choose Champion of sailing battle, as attest in many temple especially in the Preah Bat Jayvarman VII reign. The valuable custom of this have from then up to now. One more, the water festival is celebrated every years in November to honor the victory of Cambodian Naval forces in the reign of King Jayvarmann VII, during the great Angkor kingdom period of the 12th century after the reign of Jayvarmann II.

This ceremony is expressed to history about military exercise of Khmer navy force in the course of national defense and to attest thanks to gods that helped us with agriculture field and provide happiness and sufficient rain for rice cultivation. Out of the racing boat, the water festival includes three other ceremonies as well like Illuminated float, Moon salutation, and eating of pestle-rice with banana or coconut juice which is my special favorite. The ceremony of the  3 days provide opportunity for people to be a part in competition that there were some types of boats as pirogue and rowing board from near and far of almost all of  provinces to join the races. Each boat was contain about thirty to forty men or women. The boat with a man or a woman dancing softly and gracefully to the beating of the drums on the bow as an encouragement to the rowers moved too quickly through the water toward the goal. Normally the day, boat racing start form nearly 8am to 9am with a small amount of visitor on the riverside especial by in front of royal palace. For me, I like visit nearby 2pm or 3pm. Because from this time on crowd of people increase with all store promotional selling from all of company in Cambodia, so I can shopping and see boat racing. The racing winners will be rewarded a lot of  good such as tower, drink, money, clothes, rice, cigarettes and the other commission of the boat racing day must seek donations in order to provide this prize for participants in ceremony.

When the night-time by six or seven o'clock the river was lit by bright illuminated boats, which floated gently, and smoothly on the water's surface along the river. Each them was equipped with thousands of flashy neon lights arranged in different colorful, fancy patterns representing state institutions, ministries and services. After that a little time fireworks and multiple-color were lit to entertain people. Some of people made loud noises and surprising with fireworks. They burst into different shapes and colors in the sky under the clapped and cheered with joy each time at the sight of the fireworks. Every each year when firework sometime I go to sit on the riverside and sometime I enter the bar by riverside to see the firework, crowd people, and illuminated boats. Yeah! It’s feeling me strange.

Exactly water festival is not for only Cambodia people but for all people around the world. I believe it’s accurately help the visitor refresh the mood and reduce the stress. While you can go for walk during the day and night with many interesting kind of atmosphere.