“Out of sight – Out of mind”. And the owner of the notorious stampede bridge in Phnom Penh takes this claim to heart. Dismantling has started of stampede bridge. Workers began to dismantle over the weekend Phnom Penh’s Diamond aka Koh Pich Bridge over the Tonle Bassac, near Nagaworld. This bridge is a grim reminder [...]
Posts Tagged ‘water festival’
23 Nov
Phnom Penh: Still Questions 0ne Year after Koh Pich-Stampede.
Exactly one year ago, on Nov 22, 2010 the catastrophic stampede took place during the Water Festival in Phnom Penh. But in these days there is an air of normality in this place: the only sign of this tragedy is a stupa which had been consecrated yesterday in remembrance of the 353 young Cambodians who [...]
11 Nov
Cambodia: Bad Mood on 11/11/2011.
On the morning of the third day of Bon Om Touk or Water Festival. Sad mood along the Tonle Sap river bank. Today, I am an early bird. It’s a few minutes after 6 a clock. Rain clouds in the sky. No boats. No people, except the usual early morning joggers and workout-enthusiasts. The receding [...]
9 Nov
Cambodia: Independence Day 2011
The Kingdom of Cambodia is celebrating the anniversary of its independence from France on every November 9 since 1953. Today I had a kind of sarcastic moments: I decided to ask some of my Cambodian friends of different ages and background to explain me what this Independence National Holiday is all about. I ‘d better [...]
8 Nov
Phnom Penh: Just in Time for Water Festival.
New Koh Pich Bridges to prevent future tragedies inaugurated two days before upcoming Water Festival 2011. The new Twin Dragon Bridges lie parallel to the Diamond Bridge, the site of the disaster that killed more than 350 people on Nov 22, 2010. And a memorial stupa will be inaugurated on the first-year anniversary of the [...]
4 Nov
Cambodia: Water Festival 1945/46
Next week, the Kingdom of Cambodia will celebrate its world-famous Bon Om Touk aka Water Festival: November 9 – 11. This year in a reduced form, without boat races because of severe monsoon rains and floods in the past weeks and months. The following movie takes you back to the end of WW II, during [...]
31 Oct
Cambodia: Fireworks on the Running Belt.
In the Kingdom of Wonder, at the end of the rainy season, the season of fireworks begins. The first firework was designed in honor of the Coronation of King Norodom Sihamoni, Saturday 29, 2011. The second firework, Sunday 30, 2011, honored the former King Norodom Sihanouk‘s return from his chinese exile after the Treaty of [...]
15 Oct
Cambodia: Water Festival 2011 without Boat Races.
There will be a 2011 Water Festival, aka Bon Om Touk, but without “Touk”, i.e. boats and boat races. Political business as usual?
14 Oct
Cambodia: Water Festival cancelled.
The Cambodian government has canceled the annual Water Festival to preserve funds for addressing the effects of devastating floods that continue to sweep through the Kingdom. P.S. I suspect that the Cambodian authorities are glad to have found a “good reason” to cancel the traditional water festival. As was rumored to be heard, they had [...]
24 Nov
Bon Om Touk: 1000 $ pro Toten und 200 $ pro Verletzten
Und schon beginnt wieder der kambodschanische Alltag: Der Besitzer der Diamond Island und damit auch der Todesbrücke, Pung Kheau Se, der zugleich Chef der ACLEDA Bank in Kambodscha ist, geht nach dem tragischen Unfall unverfroren “den kambodschanischen Weg der Wiedergutmachung”. Er bezahlt pro Toten an die Hinterbliebenen 1000 Dollar und 200 Dollar an jeden Verletzten. [...]
