Suor Sdei Chhnam Thmei - Happy Khmer New Year

Well the dry season rice is harvested and the smell of rain is in the air - which means only one thing here in Phnom Penh - Happy New Year! As we get ready to welcome the Year of the Snake (extra lucky for Samuel as he was born in the last Snake Year) preparations are being made for the festivities all across the country. 

Cambodia’s traditional New Year, “Chaul Chhnam Thmei” generally falls around mid April or during Chet, the fifth month of the Cambodian lunar calendar. This is the time when the farmers are relieved of their farm work after the dry-season rice harvest. Leading up to New Year’s Eve, houses and temples are decorated with flowers, lamps, candles, colored papers, incense sticks and small  mounds  of rice or sand which later will be carried to temples as an offering to monks.

During the New Year festival which lasts for three days, Cambodians, especially the aged, go to temples to make offerings to monks and pray for the souls of their ancestors and on New Years Eve an exorcist rite is held to pray for happiness and prosperity in the coming year.

Young people also enjoy the festival. They dance the Roam Vong (Cambodia’s most popular dance) and join in playing some of the traditional games such as; “Chol Chhoung” – knotted scarf throwing where those that fail to catch the scarf have to sing a song, and “Angkunh” – a nut throwing game similar to billiards but played on the ground rather than on a table. Nowadays several traditional games such as throwing colored water at people passing by as a wish for luck, or bamboo canoe racing are no longer seen - which is a shame because the water throwing from the back of our pick up in Vientiane, jammed pack with friends with semi automatic water pistols at  the ready, dressed in brilliant coloured floral shirts  is one of our special memories of our time in Laos!

I get the idea that celebrations are a bit more low key here.

In the countryside singers are invited to sing in praise of legendary or real heroes and of revolutionary exploits. People gather in temples to worship or in public parks to contemplate the natural beauty of their surroundings - taking time to smell the roses I suppose!  In urban centers, people dressed in their Sunday best stroll around public gardens and parks and visit sites and historical monuments. Cambodians on the whole enjoy picnicking or visiting ancient temples, including Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear during the New Year holidays.

 

The Embassy held a party for all staff and their families at the Ambassadors Resisdence last week and it was lots of fun. Set in the beautiful gardens and on a very hot night we all got together for loads of games, a wonderful buffet, some dancing and  karaoke (of course). It was quite a fun night as the Khmers love to get together and enjoy themselves . The kids had a great time playing the games and learning the dances......as for Phil - of course we couldn't get him off the dance floor. 

 

 

 

 

Now having said all that - we are actually leaving town for the New Year long weekend!  We are off to Bangkok for a few days and are all really looking forward to some time back in that buzzing metropolis that we love so much! As it turns out it looks like being a huge weekend of reunions as some of our dear friends from our Laos days and even Stevie from home will be in town.  So plenty to look forward to; reminiscing the old times, creating the new times, cocktails by the pool, seafood dinners, night markets  and of course a bit of shopping -  look out Bangers here we come!   It is also Thailands New Year festival (Son Kran) and like Laos they also take part in dousing everyone with water - so with a bit of luck it still may be water pistols at the ready!       

So we hope this post finds you all well - drop us a comment on the blog
bye for now and happy new year
xMekong Molloys                                                 

Easter with friends

Well firstly we are happy to report to the reflief of us all that  the Easter Bunny found his way to Phnom Penh!! He wisely chose the airconditioned lounge room downstairs  rather than the sweltering conditions poolisde to hide the bounty and the kids had a great time discovering the hiding spots. We were joined by our lovely Swiss friends from Laos who now live in nearby Myanmar - Meret, Michel, Elias and Benjamin - who know a thing or two about chocolate,  and a wonderful Easter was had by all.

It was wonderful to spend some time together and we enjoyed strolling the streets  downtown with them all.  Meret and Michel  had lived here back in 1999 and we even found their old apartment. We visited the National Museum and the kids had a great time playing out in the courtyard. The museum is a gorgeous old terracotta structure of traditional design built in 1917-20. Its bold red colour stands out and the lovely green garden in the courtyard  is very inviting on the hot days. The museum comprises four pavilions and houses the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture. Sienna had been there previously on a school excursion and she enjoyed telling the stories  of Vishnu and Shiva.

We visited the temple, Wat Phnom, atop the only hill in town. Legend has it that the first pagoda was erected here in 1373 to house four statues of Buddha that were deposited here by the waters of the Mekong River and found by Madame Penh. Today many people come here to pray for good luck and success in school exams and business affairs. When a wish is granted the faithful return to deliver the promised offering. Apparently the spirits have a liking for jasmine flowers and bananas! I'll have to go back and deliver the goods if the Kangaroos make the finals!!

The temple was really lovely and inside the walls  and ceilings were covered with brightly painted pictures of scenes from life in Cambodia.

We also took a trip out to visit the wildlife sanctuary at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, home for animals confiscated from traffickers or saved from poachers traps. Oh my goodness it was so hot and dry out there - it might be better to visit at a different time of year. Having said that I don't think any of the kids noticed - they were off!. As for my expectations, they  weren't that high and I definitely wasn't expecting the Melbourne Zoo - but some of the enclosures left a bit to be desired. The conditions are improving though, through help from international wildlife NGO's, and in particular the Free The Bears area was fantastic with wonderful enclosures and first rate viewing areas. We stood for ages looking longingly at one of the sun bears who was cooling off in his swimming pool and playing with a ball - the water was dirty but we all felt like joining him as it was so hot and we were all covered in dust. We saw otters, moon bears, sun bears, lions, elephants, crocodiles, gibbons and a range of eagles, owls and storks. Where possible the animals are released back into the wild once they have recovered and the centre also operates breeding programs for a number of globally threatened species. So its well worth a visit.

We enjoyed a sunset cruise on the river and enjoyed watching the local fishermen casting their nets. There is a whole floating village not far down the river and it is amazing to see how life goes on there. Some of the rickety old long boats don't look so sea worthy but then again some have satellite dishes on their roofs and tv's on their balconies!

We spent time browsing through central market and wandering the streets, sitting at the cafes to watch the world pass by and the kids always enjoyed getting home to cool off in the pool.

But it wasn't all about the kids!

Cheers to Meret and Michel - our first visitors - we look forward to catching up again soon!