APAD 304: Election campaign
The campaign fever is on!
The national election will be held next month. Since last week, supporters of the different political parties in Cambodia have staged campaign activities all over the country.
Last Friday, these campaigners caused a huge traffic jam along the capital’s major thoroughfares. Hundreds (if not thousands) of commuters where stranded as convoys of rented trucks, Land Cruisers, and other vehicles rolled around the city with loud speakers blasting party jingles. I was among those unfortunate people who got stuck in traffic for more than an hour.
APAD 270: A Buddhist monk and his umbrella
In Theravada Buddhist countries like Cambodia, Buddhist monks still rely on receiving alms for most of their food. At the early hours of the morning each day till before noon, monks leave the wats (temples) to do their rounds, like what this monk is doing:
I found this monk walking along the stretch of Monivong Boulevard, stopping at every hotel and shops that dot this road, patiently and quietly waiting for the alms. They don’t talk at all, and they don’t say thank you. Sometimes the monks are accompanied by an achar (a lay person) who support them by carrying their load.
Another interesting note is that the Cambodians here don’t use umbrellas to protect them from the heat. Only monks do. Which is why I often get strange looks whenever I run errands using my umbrella on hot days.
APAD 257: Meak Bochea
One week ago today, Cambodia celebrated the Buddhist holy day called Meak Bochea. This is a little known Buddhist holiday, but for the devout Buddhists, it is a key holiday in the Buddhist calendar.
Falling approximately three months before the widely celebrated Visaka Bochea, informally known as Buddha’s Birthday, Meak Bochea commemorates they day that the spiritual leader Gautam Buddha announced his future; the death and accompanying nirvana into which he would enter. (Source)
Meak Bochea is a public holiday in Cambodia and all government offices and even schools are closed to allow people to go to their wats (temples) and offer food to the monks and pray.
APAD 242: Barefoot
The weather today is perfect for a game of volleyball. In Cambodia, football (soccer) and volleyball are the most popular spectator and participant sports. They are played everywhere.
There are plenty of potentials out there from the rural villages. Like the above photo, it is very common to see men playing volleyball, with bare feet, in a dusty yard.
Cambodia takes pride in its Cambodian National Volleyball League (Disabled), or CNVLD, currently the ranked number two in the world. This year, CNVLD aims to reach the top spot. If I am not mistaken, the current world number one is Germany.
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