Daily Life during the Festival
The Water Festival is set each year at the end of the rainy season when the Tonle Sap River reverses its course and begins to drain Tonle Sap Lake into the Mekong River. The central activity of the festival is racing 400 boats prepared by villages and organizations along a one-kilometer course. More than 25,000 villagers come to paddle the boats and a total of 1 to 2 million other people come to enjoy the festivities.
The crowd is generally good natured but there is a lot of petty theft and the sex trade does a booming business.
The crowd is generally good natured but there is a lot of petty theft and the sex trade does a booming business.
The Royal Palace has its own viewing stand overlooking the river. Here a crane adjusts the photo of the king displayed there. 
For all major public holidays, workers erect large photographs of the present king and his parents, the retired king and queen, and lots of flags.
These pictures were taken in the morning when it was still possible to walk freely. By mid afternoon, the crowds are shoulder-to-shoulder.
One of larger boats with a crew of 60 men
Thousands of the people who made their way to Phnom Penh had no relatives or friends to stay with and spent their days and nights in the parks.
The boats race down the middle of the Tonle Sap River and then return to the staging point along the shores.
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