The death of former King Norodom Sihanouk, aged 89, on October 15 during the Pchum Ben festival is being mourned by Cambodians. Increasingly frail, the King Father’s last visit to Cambodia from his home in China earlier in the year proved to be his last. His death has saddened but not surprised Cambodians, who are paying … read the full post

Further update: Now the latest reports we are hearing are that the festival is cancelled in Phnom Penh only. We’ll let you know definitively as soon as we know! Update: Xinhua reports that the Cambodian Water Festival for 2012 has been cancelled to mourn late former King Norodom Sihanouk who passed away last week. The … read the full post

The United States celebrates 10, while England usually has eight. In the league table of public holidays, they are merely amateurs compared with Cambodia’s 28 days of legislated relaxation. Brits may have got a bonus day this year for their Queen holding down a job for a long time, but Cambodians celebrate the King’s coronation and … read the full post

In view of recent events, the government has just taken the probably very sensible decision to cancel this year’s Water Festival which was due to kick off on November 9. The Water Festival is one of the highlights of the Cambodian calendar, a spectacle that is enormously looked forward to by Cambodians and is a … read the full post