PHNOM PENH, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday celebrated the annual Water Festival in Phnom Penh with huge crowds of revelers coming from across the country.
The monarch, along with Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and other notable figures and foreign diplomats, watched the boat races over the Tonle Sap River in front of the Royal Palace in the afternoon and enjoyed illuminated floats and a firework display at night.
Some 265 dragon boats with about 18,000 oarsmen from across the country have taken part in the regatta, according to the National Committee for Organizing National and International Festivals.
Khin Sam Ath, a 40-year-old boater from eastern Phnom Penh's Chrouy Changvar district, said his boat has 73 racers and the crew had trained about ten days before the competitions.
"We join the race every year. It's our national festival that creates a joyful atmosphere for the athletes and participants," he told Xinhua. "We are not professional boat-racers. After this festival, we return home and make our living based on our careers."
Om Phat, a team minder of a racing boat from southeastern Prey Veng province, said it was the first time his 24-men boat participated in the regatta since a 2010 stampede on a Koh Pich bridge during the final day of the Water Festival that killed 353 people.
"This is the first time we have joined the race again since the Koh Pich stampede," he told Xinhua. "It's a centuries-old festival left from our ancestors, so we need to join together to preserve it."
The Water Festival, which will last until Saturday, is the largest annual festival in this Southeast Asian nation. During the three-day holiday, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians, especially those from rural areas, are expected to flock to Phnom Penh to enjoy the festival.
Lieutenant General Touch Naroth, chief of the Bodyguard Department, said that 12,300 security personnel have been deployed to ensure security and safety, as tankers, cargo trucks and buses are banned from entering the central part of Phnom Penh during the festival.
Srin Sok Kean, 36, a resident of eastern Tboung Khmum province, about 150 km from Phnom Penh, said it was the first time she came to see the festival.
"I feel excited and fresh to see the regatta, and the river air is pretty chilly," she told Xinhua.
Another festival goer Him Try, 80, a native of Tboung Khmum province, said: "This is the first time I come to watch the Water Festival because I want to see the beauty and development of Phnom Penh."
According to some histories, the Water Festival traces its roots to the 12th century when Angkorian King Jayvarman VII's navy defeated that of his Cham rivals.
Water Festival is also a traditional event that marks the end of the rainy season and the reversing course of the Tonle Sap River that connects the Tonle Sap Lake with the Mekong River.
