Bonn Om Touk « November « Somewhere in the world today…

When the river flows backwards…

Water Festival - Phnom Penh by armstrongpaul, on Flickr

When: November full moon, 10th November 2011, 28th November 2012
Where: Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The Cambodian Water Festival, Bonn Om Touk in Phnom Penh, celebrates a major natural occurrence – the reversing of the Tonle Sap River to flow in the opposite direction.

For most of the year, the Tonle Sap empties into the Mekong River. However, when the rainy season arrives in June, the Mekong rises, and the flow of the Tonle Sap reverses filling the nearby lake and increasing its size ten-fold. When the rainy season ends in November, the Mekong drops once more, allowing the current to return to its normal direction, emptying the excess waters of Tonle Sap back into the Mekong.

This natural occurrence is celebrated in Cambodia with a three days festival of illuminated river boat parades at dusk, long boat races (and we mean looooong boats!), fireworks, and exuberant merrymaking. All this is to give thanks to the fertile river that ensures bountiful harvests of rice and fish, and to keep the river divinities happy for the year to come.

Bonn Om Touk takes place once a year, on the full moon of the Buddhist month of Kadeuk (usually in November). The Water Festival lasts for 3 days around that time. In 2011 the full moon is on the 10th November. In 2012 the full moon is on 28th November. The actual reversing of the river does not always happen at the time of the festival, although it does happen sometime around the end of the rainy season in November.

Food & Drink

At midnight, people gather at the temples to eat ambok, a rice dish eaten at holidays and celebrations. Ambok is rice fried whole, pounded to remove the husk, and mixed with banana and coconut. Drink Angkor beer, Tikalok fruit punch (very sweet and sometimes frothed with egg!) or Sra Special, a local whiskey-type drink.

Travel to Cambodia

The festivities are at their most fun in the capital, Phnom Penh. Join the throngs at Sisowath Quay fronting the Mekong River. Book flights and hotels with ebookers.com or package holidays with Kuoni.Book flights and hotels with ebookers.com. You may need to search for flights and hotels separately.

Dates / venues may be subject to change or cancellation. Distances may be straight-line estimates. Please verify information before booking.

From holiday reading and travel books on Cambodia to binoculars and sunglasses you can find everything you need for an amazing trip on Amazon. And don’t forget the camera!