Cambodian New Year: Temples, Buddha Statues And … Water Fights?
(TRAVEL) When I arrived at my hotel on the outskirts of Siem Reap, Cambodia, the lobby was almost empty. There were a few guests enjoying the pool outside, but other signs of vacationers and tourists were nowhere to be seen. I exhaled with satisfaction. This would be the perfect place to rest after several days of sightseeing in Phnom Penh and a 6-hour road trip to the country’s second-largest city.
This was my first visit to Cambodia. I had been living in Thailand for the past year, where I had become friends with a group of Cambodian international students. They had told me quite a bit about their homeland, especially the ancient temples and relaxed lifestyle of Siem Reap. I was excited to see and experience it all for myself.
I planned the trip for the middle of April. It was 2022, pandemic travel restrictions were receding, and I was ready to be out and about in the world again. As I researched destinations and booked flights, I was vaguely aware that my trip, specifically my sojourn in Siem Reap, would coincide with the Khmer New Year celebration. “Khmer” is the name of Cambodia’s majority ethnic group and official language. The holiday is also called Cambodian New Year. Little did I know how the timing of my visit would change the pace and persona of this popular destination!
Three New Years in four months
Many South and Southeast Asian nations observe three distinct New Year holidays in a span of four months. First comes New Year’s Day according to the Gregorian calendar on Jan. 1, followed by Chinese New Year a few weeks later. The series concludes with a final, local New Year holiday, which begins around April 14 and usually lasts for several days. This time of year, close to the spring equinox, is ideal because it comes shortly after the conclusion of the region’s harvest season. While there are many similarities between the celebrations, they have different names and characteristics depending on the country.
In Cambodia, the three days of celebration are centered on religious observances. The vast majority of Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists, and during this time they visit temples to complete various rituals. These include merit-making activities, such as praying and offering food to monks in exchange for a blessing. They also build sand hills on the temple grounds. These symbolize the heavenly “stupa,” Buddhist places of meditation where relics of the Buddha’s earthly remains are believed to be kept. There is also a more practical reason for this practice: According to the reference work “Cultural Studies: Holidays Around the World,” “each bit of sand that is added (to the hill) is believed to increase the chance for health and happiness in the coming year.”
Another important practice is washing or sprinkling Buddha statues with water. This usually happens on the third and final day of the festivities. It is another opportunity to show respect and gratitude to the Buddha. Elders and monks are also honored in this way. All participants hope that the ritual results in increased prosperity in the following year.
Water wars
None of this was on my mind as I settled into my hotel room after arriving in Siem Reap. Instead, I was focused on reaching a highly rated Italian restaurant that I had discovered on Tripadvisor. I booked a tuk-tuk, a small three-wheeled automobile, on a ride-sharing app and was soon on my way into town.
The Italian food provided a nice change of pace from the excellent Cambodian fare that I had been enjoying for the past few days. When my meal was finished, I ambled out onto the street and decided to have a look around. It was during this evening stroll that I first encountered one of the more whimsical aspects of Khmer New Year. As I turned a corner, I saw a group of children a few yards ahead who were engaged in a frenetic but friendly water gun battle. With none of them able to achieve a decisive victory, they soon redirected their assault on an older youth. This young man had an impressive-looking squirt gun of his own but was quickly overpowered by the troop of less-experienced but more numerous combatants. He retreated in my direction at a full sprint. Everyone involved was laughing and smiling broadly.
I continued down the street and was soon face to face with the victorious youngsters. One of them, a little girl, wore a conflicted expression. We made eye contact as I passed by, and I realized that I was the source of her inner turmoil. She wanted to soak me like she had soaked the vanquished Cambodian teenager but wasn’t sure how I would react. I thought about quickening my step and looking away, but my softhearted side wouldn’t allow it. I gave her a hesitant smile, which she correctly interpreted as permission to blast away. Unarmed as I was, I had no choice but to grin and bear it. This was just a preview of the shenanigans to come. The festival didn’t officially start until the next day, and after escaping the posse of water warriors, I returned to my still mostly deserted hotel.
Siem Reap: Celebration center
Traveling is an important part of Khmer New Year celebrations. Many Cambodians who have moved to Phnom Penh or another city to work return to their family’s farm in the provinces. This is so common that the government has started organizing free bus routes from the capital to destinations around the country. The biggest celebration, however, takes place in Siem Reap. Thousands of Cambodians come by all modes of transportation. The influx of visitors is so sudden and steep that some locals choose to celebrate at home to avoid the crowds.
Besides the fact that the medium-sized city offers a reprieve from the skyscrapers and stench of Phnom Penh, there is another reason that Siem Reap is Cambodians’ favorite holiday destination. Just a few kilometers away is the Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site, a source of intense national pride. Angkor Wat, the marquee attraction in the vast complex of temples and statues, is even featured on Cambodia’s flag. Many Cambodians visit the temples during Khmer New Year, as I would soon discover.
I passed the next day, the first official day of the festival, studying for an online class from various cafes in downtown Siem Reap. When I returned that evening, an amazing transformation had taken place. In my absence, seemingly all of Cambodia’s citizens had convened at the Khemara Angkor Hotel. The parking lot that had still been rather empty when I left was now completely full. More cars were parked along the side of the road. The hotel lobby was bustling with new guests, still arriving even at that late hour. As far as I could tell, I was the only foreigner around.
After taking in the scene for a moment, I retreated up the stairs. Fortunately, the bustle of the lobby could not be heard from my room. It was important that I turn in at a decent hour, as I was planning to go to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise the next morning. This required leaving the hotel around 5 a.m., a prospect that I considered with annoyance. However, I decided that I would regret it if laziness prevented me from having what could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I set my alarm and fell asleep.
The temples of Angkor
After what seemed like just a few minutes, my phone roused me with a series of incredibly unpleasant noises. I hurried to get ready and was soon in another tuk-tuk on my way to Angkor Wat.
It was just a 20-minute ride to the massive structure. The driver took me as far as he could, and I hurried the rest of the way on foot. I crossed a bridge that spans Angkor Wat’s huge surrounding moat. Now I was face to face with the intimidating outer wall. But it wasn’t until I made it into the inner area (again, huge) that I truly appreciated Angkor’s size and faded splendor. Backlit by the approaching sunrise, it was truly a sight to behold.
I walked forward, eventually joining a small crowd of selfie-takers and real photographers. We all tried to capture the experience, both mentally and digitally, until the sun was firmly established in the sky and the fun was over. This crowd of early risers consisted mostly of foreign tourists. It seemed that most of the Cambodians were sleeping in. They were apparently confident that neither Angkor Wat nor the sun was going anywhere.
After the sunrise crowd dispersed, I climbed up one of Angkor Wat’s imposing staircases and started exploring. While I was happy with my sunrise photos, this is when the benefits of getting an early start really became apparent. The few tourists were spread out over the enormous temple, which at times almost gave me the illusion that I was the only one exploring it. I spent two hours taking in the sculptures, carvings and architecture of the world’s largest religious structure, according to Guinness World Records.
While Angkor Wat is today filled with Buddha sculptures and other Theravada symbols, this was not initially the case. Built during the reign of the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the 12th century, the original decorations depicted Hindu deities and stories. Over the ensuing years, the influence and acceptance of Buddhism grew in the Khmer Empire. One theory holds that Khmer leaders blamed a devastating defeat at the hands of the neighboring Cham people on the Hindu gods’ inability to protect them, and this may have encouraged the transition to a new dominant religion. In any case, Angkor Wat was eventually transformed into a Buddhist shrine.
When I walked out of the temple’s outer wall and headed back toward the bridge a few minutes before 9 a.m., I was greeted by a startling sight: A wave of humanity stretching from the parking lot onto the bridge rolled toward the site I was just exiting. Relieved to be escaping the crowds and the steadily increasing heat, I went in search of breakfast.
After eating, I visited the less-packed and more-shaded Ta Prohm temple. Of “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” fame, its twisted passageways and hearty trees (many growing out of stone rubble) kept me happily occupied for another hour. By 12:30 p.m., I was worn out and ready to trade ancient civilizations for a more modern one. After another tuk-tuk ride, this time a bit longer because of traffic, I was back at my hotel.
No escape
Siem Reap has an excellent food scene. In addition to the aforementioned Italian restaurant and many great Khmer places, it is also home to my favorite Mexican joint in Southeast Asia. Needless to say, I spent my evenings after returning from the temples zipping around town from one eatery to the next. All of this back and forth gave me a good opportunity to observe the large crowds of Cambodian revelers enjoying the New Year festivities. None of them were dangerous, but almost all of them were armed with various forms of aqua artillery.
Roving bands of teenagers patrolled the streets, sometimes engaging other groups in spontaneous battles much larger than the skirmish I had observed a couple of nights before. Some groups rolled by in the back of large pickup trucks, the vehicles often pausing long enough for the occupants to spray pedestrians on the sidewalk before making a getaway. As I sped by in the back of the tuk-tuk, some took potshots at me. The few volleys that hit their mark provided a refreshing countervail to the blistering heat.
Later, during one of the few times that I was exploring the town afoot, I was spotted by a large Cambodian man. His face breaking into a wide smile, he started walking toward me. On his hands was a large amount of sticky white powder, another common munition in the New Year wars. People throw or smear mixtures of baby powder or flour and water on friends and, as in this case, complete strangers. “No, thank you!” I said politely as I tried to evade his grasp. He just smiled even wider and patted my cheeks, leaving behind a gooey, white paste. I had no problem with being sprayed with a water gun, but this was aggravating. I (mostly) maintained my composure and was able to clean myself up in the bathroom of the French bakery I had been walking to.
Interestingly, Cambodian authorities are discouraging these water and powder battles this year. According to the Phnom Penh Post, a letter from the minister of education, youth and sport characterized these activities as “disorderly, undignified and unsafe.” Instead, the country’s youth are being encouraged to participate in traditional Khmer games and dances. Whether such directives will be heeded remains to be seen. It does seem that drenching others is a relatively recent addition to Khmer New Year celebrations compared with other traditions. Sivleng Chhor, librarian at the Khmer Studies Center in Siem Reap, was not able to pinpoint the origins of these antics but said there was “no such game in (her) hometown” during her childhood. She was first introduced to the water wars later, after coming to Siem Reap. Water fights are also a part of the New Year in neighboring countries.
Religion, heritage and fun
For Cambodians, Khmer New Year is a time to fulfill religious obligations, celebrate their country’s rich history and enjoy fellowship with family and friends. From my conversations with Cambodian friends, it is clear that this is one of their favorite times of the year. Their pride in their culture is endearingly evident.
For this year’s holiday, which began April 14, the celebration in Siem Reap may have been even bigger than what I witnessed in 2022. After a hiatus of several years, the government approved organized events at Angkor Wat and other historic temples to showcase various aspects of Khmer culture. Called “Angkor Sankranta,” the gatherings are expected to bring even more people to Siem Reap.
While I’m not sad to be avoiding those massive crowds, I will miss seeing the joy on the faces of Cambodians of all ages. As an outsider, there are few better ways to see the spirit of a different culture than witnessing its celebrations. I hope that I’ll make it back to Siem Reap for another Khmer New Year one day. Whenever that happens, I’m going to bring the biggest water blaster they’ve ever seen.
James Thompson is an international campus minister and freelance writer. He is pursuing a master’s in intercultural studies at Columbia International University and has undergraduate degrees in journalism and in history from The University of Georgia. His work has also appeared in Christianity Today.