Siem Reap packed for Khmer New Year 2023
Khmer New Year, Cambodian New Year,Choul Chnam Thmey, បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំខ្មែរ, or quite simply the roads biggest water fight in the world has just been rung in throughout Cambodia and the wider diaspora. Without doubt though the place to be for Khmer New Year 2022 was Siem Reap.
To read about Khmer New Year click here
Khmer New Year 2022 – Siem Reap was packed
Sihanoukville and Koh Rong might have the pretty beaches, but when it comes to the Kingdom, Siem Reap invariably wins. According to government figures over 400,000 people flocked to the city, something that hoteliers took full advantage of.
By Tuesday booking.com was reporting 72 percent occupancy, which had risen to 98 percent by Thursday, or New Years Day. Although the hotels making up the last two percent were between 5-25 km away from downtown.
And fully booked went across the board with with Ewan Taylor, the newly employed General-Manager of Khmer Nights favourite top end hotel Shinta Mani Angkor and Bensley Collection Pool Villas telling us “We’d initially reopened the 10 Bensley Collection Pool Villas in November of last year, but managed to get our 39 Angkor Rooms ready for April 1st, as well as our Kroya Restaurant specifically in time for the new year rush and were completely fully booked’
To read about Shinta Mani Angkor and Bensley Collection Pool Villas click here
Hoteliers at the lower end of the scale were also certainly making the most of things, with one telling us “As soon as saw others doing it we quadrupled our prices and had no problem filling our rooms”.
In fairness bookings after in Siem Reap are still hovering around the 30 percent mark, not that it made paying $100+ for a small room any less painful.
Siem Reap 2022 The Worlds Biggest Water fight
I will try not to turn this into a sermon, but the “water “element to Khmer New Year involves having water ritually poured over ones self by family, or a monk to cleanse and bring good luck. Now much like Christmas wasn’t much of a big deal until Coca-Cola invented Father Christmas, Khmer New Year now seems to be sponsored by the Super-Soaker 2000.
Everywhere you went people were selling water guns, pistols, as well as waterproof garb and attire.
And this meant that most people were “tooled up” before either driving around on pick-up trucks, taking a piece of turf, or simply walking the streets trying to soak people. Plain and simply a huge watertight that involved cars and alcohol. I’ve personally attended some of the biggest events and festivals in the world, such as the Mass Games but I have to say water fighting in Siem Reap for Khmer New Year is really gonna take some beating.
Khmer New Year 2022 brought to you by Hanuman
Remember the good old days when buying a beer simply involved choosing between Anchor, Angkor and Cambodia beer? Well things be a changing and on the lower end of the scale we now have Vattanac, Prince Beer and Hanuman.
Hanuman in particular seem to be sponsoring literally everything and hosted a beer garden and concert next to the infamous Hard Rock Cafe Siem Reap. The beer is actually pretty good and I will probably go about reviewing it at some point, but for now lets just say everyone was drinking it, rather than supping expensive cocktails in the trendy bars.
And the good old Hard Rock got in on the action too with the manager telling us they had “reopened for 4 days and had been pretty busy”. Alas she told us this in an empty bar with us as the only patrons. Apparently they plan to reopen in full by November, but whether this is as a “real” Hard Rock, or a cheap knock-off is as of yet unknown.
To read about Hard Rock Cafe Siem Reap click here.
And were the people spending?
A bit, but alas not all that much, with the prime action being the aforementioned Hanuman on the street. According to Tim Scott owner of the legend that is Star Bar “People were spending, but it was more like a busy weekend than times of old”.
The real winners though were the water gun salespeople who were selling at between $5-20 depending on size, with many converting their old businesses just for the holiday with bar owner Sita telling us “I went to the tire shop only to find they had no tires and were now selling water guns”. Crazy, yes, but crazy like a fox? Maybe, with markups being up to 50 percent depending on the “unit”.
One lady who had some prime riverside real-estate told us “I had to borrow the money for the stock, but I will make a few hundred dollars by the end of the holiday”.
So, people made some money, everyone got wet and we are now in the Khmer year of the Tiger – Happy 2566 y’all.
Author: Adam Reeves
An avid traveler and telecommunications expert, Adam has explored over 25 countries, immersing himself in their cultures to discover the best they offer. His passion for connecting people extends from his professional life to his adventures abroad.
