Bon Om Touk is one of Cambodia's most important festival. Cambodian people always celebrates in October or early November, the Bon Om Touk festival celebrates the beginning of the dry season and the reversal of the flow of the Sab River. There are three days to celebrates and there are maybe 250,000 revellers join in the festivities, which include longboat races, music, dancing, fireworks and a great deal of eating and drinking.
Heavy rains in the preceding months cause the hugely in creased volume of the Mekong River to force the Sab River ( which runs from the southeastern comer of Tonle Sab lake to join the Mekong and Bassac river at Phnom Penh ) to back up, and finally reverse its course, flowing northwards to flood the Tonle Sab with Vast the north ans the level of the Mekong diminishes, the flow of the Sab is again reversed, carrying the surplus waters of the Tonle Sab southwards to the Mekong and Bassac seltals. The annual flooding of the Tonle Sab makes the lake an incredibly rich source of fish, while the farmland around it benefits from an annual deluge of rich sediment.
Highly competitive boat races are held in Phnom Penh and Angkor wat, and monks at many temples around the country will row ceremonial boats. The longboats are colorfully decorated and rowed by up to forty participantsm, which makes for a spectacular occasion. It's a very busy time so book accommodation well in advance.
These races are said to celebrate an event in 1177, when Angkor Wat was invaded and sacked by a fleet of cham warships which sailed up the Sab River and across the Tonle Sab. The Chams were then defeated by the country's most illustrious monarch, Javavarman VII. Bas-reliefs in the Bayon at Angkor Wat commemorate the great victory.
Travellers often confuse Bon Om Touk, with Khmer New Year, due to the spirited nature of both celebrations, and the fact that Cambodians throw water in the New Year.
Highly competitive boat races are held in Phnom Penh and Angkor wat, and monks at many temples around the country will row ceremonial boats. The longboats are colorfully decorated and rowed by up to forty participantsm, which makes for a spectacular occasion. It's a very busy time so book accommodation well in advance.
These races are said to celebrate an event in 1177, when Angkor Wat was invaded and sacked by a fleet of cham warships which sailed up the Sab River and across the Tonle Sab. The Chams were then defeated by the country's most illustrious monarch, Javavarman VII. Bas-reliefs in the Bayon at Angkor Wat commemorate the great victory.
Travellers often confuse Bon Om Touk, with Khmer New Year, due to the spirited nature of both celebrations, and the fact that Cambodians throw water in the New Year.
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