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Water, light floating and moon praying festival are always held annually within three days, 14th 15th day of the waxing moon and 1st day of the waning moon in Kattika (name of the 12th month of lunar calendar that between October and November of solar calendar).

This festival consists of boats racing (men-women) from morning until evening and at night they float the decorated light of each institution.

Especially fireworks make every body in the festival happier. On the 15th of waxing moon of Kattika and the 2nd day of the festival, people pray the moon and Ak-ambok.

The source of Water Festival



The carving boat of Khmer group on a grand bronze drum. 3B.C National Museum According to book called “the History of Cambodia” shows ­that in 3rd B.C, Khmer society had developed itself. They could make the boat as carving on the grand bronze drum in National Museum and discovery of wooden boats in Kampuchea Krom (lower Cambodia). Until Fu-nan period, King Fan che-man had established the ships in purposes of oversea war and business.

The carving boat of Khmer group on a grand bronze drum. 3B.C National Museum

This activity was recorded by Chinese historian in their history. Then in Chenla period, Cambodia was divided into two parts, the higher and the lower. So the uses of boats or ships are very importance for Lower Chenla in transportation, businesses and war. Further more, the sculptures at Bayon and Banteay Chmar temples mentioned Jayavarman7 leaded the navy troops by boats to overcome Cham soldiers. This war aimed to liberate Cambodia from enemy (1177-1181). We could see Jayavarman7 standing on the boat, daringly hold an arch and long stick among the navy forces.

Refer to the document of board contesting of Mores and Customs Commission Nº 19-004, written by Mr. Thach Pain, called Pang, a lay man in sub-Buddhist Institute at Klang province, Kampuchea Krom, mentioned that in Long Vek time (1528 AD), King Ang Chan 1 appointed Paññea Tat Siddhaphubal as a feudal lord to govern Kampuchea Krom, Basak district. This king had organized his navy troops as follows

- Group 1, called the front line fighter and trained to fight with the boats profile as the boats contesting we have had every day.

- Group 2, called the back force and trained to fight with oaring boats which have two row seats the same as the boats we have had every day.

- Group 3, called Basak navy, a big boat with roof at the front part, oaring materials, sail, no wall etc. and it was similar to Basak boat. So it is called Pok Chay boat. It was the cargo boat. The fighting ­strategies, used by the feudal lord of Kampuchea Krom, depended on the four regional governors to restrict law and other regulations.

They prepared the festival while on the full moon in Kattika. Those governors gathered all forces to conduct “the Combined Fighting Training” for a day and a night every year at the strong hold of feudal lord.

Historically, we can conclude that the boat contesting was celebrated from pre-Angkor period the same as the other countries, China and India in the past. It shows the Khmer strong navy force and derived from combined fighting training in the past. Further more, in Buddhism, we found the scripture titled “dhammapadatthakatha” volume 3, page 137 mentioned that Nagas had created boat for Buddha in “Attano buppa kamma vathu” story.

Sources of light floating festival

There are three scriptures mention about this festival:
- Dathavongsa in Pali language tells that Buddha’s four canine teeth were placed at five sites: Second level of paradise, Dragon world, Ganthiara, Dantapura and Kalingaratth.

- In Phanaravara Pali scripture, chapter puddhanamakkaragatha said that the Buddha’s feet were placed at five sites: suvannamalikabarvata, suvannavarvata, sumanakutabarvata, yonakapuri and at nammada stream.

- The praised words of Buddha’s feet in Pali and Khmer also mention about Buddha’s feet as in Phanaravara Pali too. Whereas the books are the sources, Cambodian Buddha’s disciples always perform floating light festival at Assuj. For king always conducts this festival on14th 15th day of the waxing moon and 1st day of the waning moon in Kattika for canine teeth at dragon world, Buddha’s feet at nammada stream and where else as mention above. They believe that it is the good action for people and nation.

Source of moon praying- Aak Ambok festival

n baramattha dipani atdhakatha cariyapitaka scripture, pali language, said that in the early this phaddakabba, Preah Podhisat as born as Sasa pandit (a rabbit). On the day of full moon, Sasa pandit dedicated his meat as teanbaramattha barami to others who want and himself will be born as Buddha. Preah Indda knows this and turns to be an old Brahman to beg for Preah Podhisat’s meat. Preah Podhisat told an old Brahman to burn the light and he will jump into the fire. But fire could not burn Preah Podhisat and the old Brahman carried him to Chanda (moon) immediately. Brahman draw Preah Podhisat picture on the moon and we can see it until now. Believing in this fact, at the night of full moon in Kattika, all Cambodian people bring foods, cake such as pounded rice (called Ambok), banana, coconuts and other things to pray the moon.

In conclusion, Water, light floating and moon praying festival have two meanings. The first one is to keep our good traditional, custom and religion of our people and another one is to indicate about the development of all fields in the country. It shows the happiness, friendship, braveness etc. of our people to combat the enemies, nature in their living. We have to prevent these heritages from dangers. This festival also to show enthusiasm for water that is the special thing which can create life and prosperity to human being and the abundant of agricultural products that come from water and fertilized land I our country.
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The historic weekend floods were quite a shock for many Siem Reap residents, but this was particularly true of Leakhena Muth, wife of FCC Angkor’s Director of Rooms Division Benoit Jancloes. The first shock came when she stepped out of bed into a fresh puddle.

A nanosecond later came shock number two; one of the electric variety, from power points and electric cords that were underwater.

Benoit said, “My wife got out of bed last week thinking it was a normal day. But she got an electric shock when she stepped into 20 centimetres of water. She was holding the baby at the time, so it got a jolt as well. It was a nice wake-up call.”

Luckily, the shocks were mild.

But perhaps the most poignant scenes took place riverside on Sunday near Wat Bo Bridge, when family members of a missing boy presumed drowned in the river gathered to oversee the search for his body.



The boy, 17-year-old high-school student Amkong Chamrouen was among a group of young males jumping off the bridge into the flooded waters, when he disappeared while trying to rescue another boy.

Amkong Chamrouen’s uncle told Scene the utmost thing on the parents’ mind was to find the body, and they had engaged the services of a fortune teller who said it would be found on Sunday.

The parents then spent US$30 on hiring three Vietnamese men to search the water and offered a $1,000 reward for recovery of the body.
By late Sunday afternoon, more men were searching the river as the sun set, but sadly to no avail.
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Koh Rong Island is a Cambodian Island in the Gulf of Thailand, at about 40km off the coast of Sihanoukville. Actually, the island is deserted, undeveloped and untouched.

It's a secret island. But it will be soon one of the famous touristic destination of Cambodia. The island is certainly the most beautiful island of the Kompong Som Region. A snowdrift bay, covered by a crystal clear and turquoise water, stretches on several kilometers. At the center, a jungle with thousands of coconut palms and waterfalls invade the island. Paradise found on Koh Rong !

The Island has three unique attributes: location, raw beauty and size.
Firstly, Koh Rong is located in the center of the Indochina Riviera only 20 kilometers (13 miles) off the coast of Sihanuk ville, Cambodia’s leading resort destination.



The Indochina Riviera is influenced by the French Colonialism and stretches across 600 kilometers (375 miles) of Thai-Cambodian-Vietnamese coastline comprising untouched islands, pristine beaches, calm turquoise waterways (no exposure to tsunami or cyclones) and virgin rainforests. On the doorstep of China, and only a one hour flight from the international flight hubs of Bangkok and Singapore, the Island is easily accessible for tourists from all over the world.

Koh Rong is currently a wilderness and will be completely master planned. The quality and aesthetics of all of the Island’s development will be controlled by a building code dictated by the Master Developer. The Governments of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam have allocated most of the desirable land in the region to tourism developers or zoned land as nature reserves; therefore large greenfield sites suitable for master planning are limited.
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Hundreds of Khmer Krom farmers are protesting in front of government offices to demand the return of ancestral land, arguing that they do not wish to disrupt Vietnamese society but merely want Vietnam to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples.



Below is a press release issued by the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation:
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA) broadcasted in Khmer and in Vietnamese, there are hundreds of the Indigenous Khmer-Krom farmers gathering in front of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam office located at 210 Vo Thi Sau, Phuong 7, Quan 3, TP HCM to demand the Vietnamese authorities return their confiscated farmlands.

Some of the farmers have claimed that they have filed complaints for decades and today receive no compensation or satisfactory results from the Vietnamese officials. The Indigenous Khmer-Krom farmers have been sleeping on the streets in front of the National Assembly since Friday night [07 December 2007] (Vietnam local time).

For many of the protestors, it was a long way for them to travel from their villages to Prey Nokor (Ho Chi Minh City) because the Vietnamese authorities tried to stop them from going to file the complaints at the office of the National Assembly. This is the third time that they have been forced to go to Prey Nokor. The Vietnam authority has promised to solve the issues, but did not take any follow up actions causing yet another peaceful protest to be conducted at this moment.



Instead of returning the confiscated farmlands to the Indigenous Khmer-Krom farmers, the Vietnam authorities are accusing those innocent Khmer-Krom farmers for disturbing the Vietnamese society. Protestors have claimed that Vietnamese authorities are threatening to arrest them if they do not return back to their villages immediately.
Testifying via RFA, a female Khmer-Krom farmer has appealed to international organizations, especially the United Nations to help them because they felt that they had no rights to live on their ancestral lands. They are farmers and yet all of their lands are confiscated. For centuries, the rich fertile lands of the Mekong Delta have been an essential element for the survival of the Khmer Krom people, providing plentiful food and water. Since Vietnam’s occupation of their lands, however, hundreds of thousands are finding themselves homeless and further entrenched in poverty.

Highly frustrated with Vietnam false promises, the protesters have said via RFA that they are willing to be killed if that was what takes for Vietnamese authorities to return their rightful land. Unwilling to comprise to the wishes of the protestors, Vietnam authorities are using intimidation tactics by sending the Vietnamese soldiers to the villages of the Khmer-Krom farmers to threaten their families.

On behalf of the Indigenous Khmer-Krom voiceless farmers, we seek your help in an international cooperation to urge Vietnam to respect the Human Rights of the Khmer-Krom people, especially the right to own their ancestral lands. Since Vietnam signed the recent adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13, 2007, it should show respect and implement the Article 26 of the Declaration “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories.”

If Vietnam did in fact take serious consideration into the land confiscation issues and implements appropriate and necessary policies, protests would not be a common occurrence. The protestors are not attempting to disturb the Vietnamese society as alleged by the Vietnamese authorities. The Khmer-Krom farmers are merely use a human rights instrument to bring to the surface a hidden problem that is a massive obstacle hindering them from living a fulfilled life as embedded in the Vietnamese constitution, international declarations and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
(Source: Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation)