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Dress code
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Cambodia shares many of the same attitudes to dress and social taboos with other Southeast Asian cultures. Cambodians are conservative, and regardless of their means do their very best to keep clean; you'll gain more respect if you're well turned out and modest in your dress. Men should wear tops and women avoid skimpy tops and tight shorts. |
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Behaviour |
Particularly offensive to Cambodians is any display of public affection between men and women: even seeing foreigners holding hands is embarrassing to them. |
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Weddings |
Weddings are celebrated with the best food available, drinks, song and dance, and are held outdoors under brightly coloured marquees. Guests are all dressed up for the event, the women wear classic Khmer skirts with laced and sequinned tops. Girls wear brightly coloured frocks and hair and make-up is well taken care of. Men wear dressy trousers with a classic Khmer top and boys wear modern shirts. Often, you are more than welcome to join a wedding and have a drink with the guests. Dress rentals, hair dressers and make-up artists are surprisingly cheap and can be found around most central markets in Cambodia. A small donation towards the food and drinks bill is highly appreciated. |
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Funerals |
This ritual usually lasts a number of days. Monks chant, friends, family and neighbours condole the grieving family and food and drinks are supplied. The set-up for a funeral can often be confused with the set-up for wedding celebrations. |
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Karaoke |
Part of the modern-day Asian culture, karaoke is immensely popular amongst the male population. Accompanied by friends, alcoholic drinks and desirably young women, they have a great time hollering out those classic Khmer love songs and wail away with The Eagles' Hotel California and The Beatles' Yesterday. |
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The people
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You won't be the first Westerner falling in love with these wonderfully warm, welcoming and laid-back people. Always willing to share at least a smile, if possible a conversation, and sometimes their homes and scarce food. If you intend on spending a night with locals in a village, consider bringing them a gift. Ask other locals what your host family is most in need of. Blankets and clothes can be found at local markets with the best choices at the Central Market (Psar Thmey) and at the Russian Market (Psar Tool Tom Pong) in Phnom Penh. Prices are low, bargaining is part of the game. |
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Social harmony
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Social harmony, saving face and respect for elders are the bench marks of traditional Cambodian culture. |
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Saving face
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Saving face simply means maintaining your dignity within the social hierarchy. This involves keeping one's social poise and not acting in any way that will ruffle feathers or cause tension, no matter what situation you find yourself in.
Spelt out for us barangs it means this: Getting angry is a sign of weakness. So one can conclude, from the Cambodian perspective, that there's a lot of very rich but very immature foreigners running about the place these days. |
| Respect |
Respect is shown regarding age and/or social standing. The gesture of two hands folded together towards the chest is very much like the Thai 'wai' en shown as a sign of respect. Just as in our languages, there is a different vocabulary for casual and for polite conversations. |
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The Society |
30 years of war and civil unrest has created profound dislocations within the Cambodian social structure. For your average, poor Cambodian, surviving day to day is a struggle. Now that peace has arrived, the country staggers to it's feet. |
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Beggars |
It is useful to carry some small denominations of Riel (100-1000 riel notes) to distribute as you feel necessary. |
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Tipping |
Not obligatory, but is widely practiced in hotels and restaurants (in addition to the service charges shown on bills). Khmer staff, often on low monthly wages, really appreciate this extra income to support themselves and their families. |
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January 1
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International New Year's Day |
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January 7
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Victory Day over the Genocidal Regime. Celebrates the liberation of Phnom Penh in 1979 from the Khmer Rouge |
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March 8
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International Women's Day |
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April 13–16
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Bonn Chaul Chhnam (Bonn Pimai). Khmer New Year
The New Year's Festival spans three days following the end of the harvest season. Khmers clean and decorate their houses with an altar for offerings to the Tevoda of the coming year. They also visit the temple with offerings. Then they play traditional games such as Angkunh, Chaol Chhoung, Leak Kansaeng, and tug of war. Since 1975, the New Year festival has been fixed to 16 April. |
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May 1
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Labour Day |
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May (variable)
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Bonn Chroat Preah Nongkoal, the "Royal Ploughing Ceremony"
The Royal Ploughing ceremony, or the opening of the Sacred Furrow, is the first of the traditional agrarian festivals. In times past, on an auspicious day determined by palace astrologists, the King traced the first furrows in the Capital's sacred rice field, thus inaugurating the ploughing season.
Today, the ritual is performed by a man, King of Meakh, who leads the yoke and plough, followed by a woman, Queen Me Hour, who sows seeds. After thrice circling the rice field, the procession stops at a chapel where Brahmins invoke the protection of the Gods. The sacred cows are unharnessed and guided to seven silver trays containing rice, corn, beans, and other edibles and drinks. Based on their choice, predictions are made for the coming year. If they choose the cereals, harvest will be good. If they eat herbs, cattle diseases are to be feared. If they drink water, rain will be abundant and peace will reign; but if they drink alcohol, trouble will break out in the Kingdom. |
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May (variable)
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Visakha Bochea. Commemorates the birth of Buddha |
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June 1
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International Children's Day |
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June 18
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Her Majesty the Queen's Birthday |
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September 24
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Constitution and Coronation Day |
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Late September, begin October
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Bonn P'chum Ben, "Ancestors' Day" (offerings made to deceased relatives)
Spirits Commemoration Festival is held for the spirits of the dead. Bonn Dak Ben - the offering of food to the monks - lasts for 15 days. The 15th day of the ceremony - the full moon - is called Bonn Phchum Ben, the collection of the bens (offerings). During this celebration, if departed souls do not find their family making offerings at a wat, it is believed that the soul is cursed and will bother the descendent throughout the year. |
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October |
Bonn Kathen
This religious festival lasts for 29 days. The monks come out of their retreat. Town and country folks march in a procession to the wat, where the monks are waiting to change their old saffron robes for the new ones offered during the festival. The ceremony brings spiritual merit to both lay people and the monks. |
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October 23
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Anniversary of the Paris Peace Accord. Commemorates the 1991 Paris conference on Cambodia |
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October 30 - November 1
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King Sihanouk's Birthday |
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November 9
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Independence Day
The 9th of November 1953 is the date Cambodia achieved independence from France. The occasion is marked each year by a gala parade in front of the Royal Palace, which includes floats, marching bands and other spectacles highlighting the nation's achievements. |
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November
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Bonn Om Tuk
The three-day Water Festival celebrates the river's changing flow by watching a festive cavalcade of competitive boat races. The finish line symbolizes a gate that retains the water. Once the line is cut, water flows down the Mekong, commencing the fishing season. Other traditional ceremonies are the midnight meals of pounded rice and full moon celebration, with lighted flotillas and fireworks in the evening. It is held at full moon at the end of October or in November. |
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December 10
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UN Human Rights Day |
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