Water Festival

This is The event of the year here in Cambodia, while there are plenty of Khmer holidays, of all of them - this holiday has the most Mojo. Attendance estimates vary wildly. None are scientific. Just the same, many tens of thousands of folks from the Provence's make the pilgrimage to celebrate this grand event. This is a three-day party with very deep roots.

Water Festival arrives at this time of year, not by chance. It takes place at a time of profound confluence of hydrological changes and a full and new moon.

Water Festival is held at the end of the wet season, when lakes have swollen so much water is pushed out to sea. There is too much water. Farmers hustle to make best use of the water for their rice crops, both for immediate use and storage. As the rainy season subsides, water evaporates, and rice crops are picked. Interestingly, as rainy season water is used and absorbed, water levels in the rivers lower to the point that river waters change course and sea water pushes in. Rivers change flow direction. Just amazing.

People with money, say $2.00 a day-budget for a family of four, have the resources to camp on the City side of the river.

This is a video short about the other side of the river. These are the folks that are not, 'high-rollers' and cannot afford the expense of the city side of the Festival. Just the same, they were in the Spirit and we enjoyed the festival right along with them.