From the first day we arrived in Cambodia every local we've chatted to has been talking about one thing: Khmer New Years. For these guys its the big one, like all our holidays rolled into one: three solid days and nights of family, feasts, drinking, water fights, fireworks, music and whatever other crazy ideas drunk Cambodians might come up with along the way.
As the day grew closer it was obvious we'd have to find somewhere fun to be to see the celebration out. We wouldn't be able to travel during those three days as the whole country stops to party, so we'd have to stop and party too. Tough life this. The obvious choice was Sihanoukville, Cambodia's most popular beach/party town which was being swarmed by thousands upon thousands of Khmers from Phnom Penh and other inland cities.
Well, I think Sonya's earlier post proabably summed it up well. Sihanoukville is place of crazy extremes - stunning beaches, covered in rubbish, bars all along the edge of the beach, hundreds of charming and quick witted (and bloody persistant!) little entrepeneurs hustling you to buy bracelets and shorts and mangos, and landmine amputees begging as you sit and sip shakes or cheap beer and wath the beautiful sunsets over the water. Perfect place for a crazy party.
And party they did. By day thousands of Khmers filled the beach, the water and every available space of ground with huge picnics, lots of drinking and laughing and shouting. In the afternoons the water/talculm fights broke out, people lining the roads pelting waterbombs at passing motorbikes (including ours, hard to steer straight while trying to dodge flying waterbombs!), kids running around tipping buckets over picnicing families and girls running around covering the recently soaked in liberal handfulls of talculm powder. Great fun!
By sundown each day the fireworks were out and the drinks were starting to kick in and thats when it really got crazy. I'm sure you can imagine.
Now we're in sleepy Kampot, dragging ourselves back to reality and good health. Wish us luck!
As the day grew closer it was obvious we'd have to find somewhere fun to be to see the celebration out. We wouldn't be able to travel during those three days as the whole country stops to party, so we'd have to stop and party too. Tough life this. The obvious choice was Sihanoukville, Cambodia's most popular beach/party town which was being swarmed by thousands upon thousands of Khmers from Phnom Penh and other inland cities.
Well, I think Sonya's earlier post proabably summed it up well. Sihanoukville is place of crazy extremes - stunning beaches, covered in rubbish, bars all along the edge of the beach, hundreds of charming and quick witted (and bloody persistant!) little entrepeneurs hustling you to buy bracelets and shorts and mangos, and landmine amputees begging as you sit and sip shakes or cheap beer and wath the beautiful sunsets over the water. Perfect place for a crazy party.
And party they did. By day thousands of Khmers filled the beach, the water and every available space of ground with huge picnics, lots of drinking and laughing and shouting. In the afternoons the water/talculm fights broke out, people lining the roads pelting waterbombs at passing motorbikes (including ours, hard to steer straight while trying to dodge flying waterbombs!), kids running around tipping buckets over picnicing families and girls running around covering the recently soaked in liberal handfulls of talculm powder. Great fun!
By sundown each day the fireworks were out and the drinks were starting to kick in and thats when it really got crazy. I'm sure you can imagine.
Now we're in sleepy Kampot, dragging ourselves back to reality and good health. Wish us luck!
3 comments:
thanks for your pictures, enjoy beautiful cambodia!
fabio
thanks for your pictures, enjoy beautiful cambodia!
fabio
http://worldsandtravels.blogspot.com/
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