its NOT the water being thrown, or the powder
its the locals getting drunk and heading home by car or motorcycle

why place a ban on fun?

Kids wanted to go to Wat Phnom yesterday, and as much as I hate crowds and overly loud music played on shitty sound systems, my kids happiness is paramount. Within minutes of leaving Takhmau in a tuk-tuk, we were soaked through by people throwing water/shooting water guns.

I.thought I was going to have a horrible time, but to my surprise I really enjoyed it, to see so many people having fun really warmed my heart, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age...patrolling the streets with a gun full of water rather than 7.62 was also nice for a change

Happy Khmer New Year to all!

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 7:24 am Kids wanted to go to Wat Phnom yesterday, and as much as I hate crowds and overly loud music played on shitty sound systems, my kids happiness is paramount. Within minutes of leaving Takhmau in a tuk-tuk, we were soaked through by people throwing water/shooting water guns.

I.thought I was going to have a horrible time, but to my surprise I really enjoyed it, to see so many people having fun really warmed my heart, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age...patrolling the streets with a gun full of water rather than 7.62 was also nice for a change

Happy Khmer New Year to all!

I admire you for casting aside your disinclination and getting into the spirit of the occasion. Probably Wat Phnom is the best place to go to achieve this. The thing that annoys people in Thailand is that the water is so ubiquitous that it is imposed on you wherever you go (and of course that the water is often iced or dirty and propelled by super powerful guns and often by falang who have no concept of the origins of the festival). Now in Phnom Penh it is ubiquitous, from the middle class families sitting in the back of an expensive pickup truck armed with huge guns and a big tank of water, to kids riding three to a moto, all armed with guns, to little kids by the roadside with a puny gun. There’s no music to liven the spirits, just a lot of shrieking.

The Riverside promenade is a good place to avoid the mayhem and I also walked around the central streets like Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now, just ignoring all the firepower. The revelers are mostly targeting each other but you can still suffer collateral damage. Almost all of them are Khmer but there are some barang, Africans, Chinese and even Asian tourist young couples who must have flown in specially.

Personally I find the whole thing moronic and fascistic in its compulsory nature, but I haven’t been to Wat Phnom where everyone is there voluntarily so that must work better. I don’t want to grit my teeth and pretend that it is all enormous fun but neither do I want to get into a bad mood about it, so the Robert Duvall approach works well for me. That still leaves the problem of the way the kids on motos show off at high speed, simultaneously swerving around and firing their guns. I think this is really dangerous.

Politically, the whole thing is interesting. The authorities made it clear in advance that they disapproved of the whole water thing. Then when they could see that was not going to work, they wanted it confined to Wat Phnom. I imagine the cops said that was not going to work either so they just let the deluge happen. The government is accustomed to having its own way, so it will be fascinating to see how they approach the matter next year.

In Thailand the government encouraged the festival and extended its coverage to nearly the entire month of April, although never all in one location. They expressed no disapproval of water throwing and clearly thought it would enhance tourist revenues. Possibly the authorities here will adopt the same policy. I wonder how much it will stimulate tourism - there will be many tourists who deliberately avoid the festival and many of those who come specially for it will be young and low spenders, In any case there isn't much to spend your money on atm, restaurants and bars closed.

xandreu wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:26 am

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 7:24 am Kids wanted to go to Wat Phnom yesterday, and as much as I hate crowds and overly loud music played on shitty sound systems, my kids happiness is paramount. Within minutes of leaving Takhmau in a tuk-tuk, we were soaked through by people throwing water/shooting water guns.

I.thought I was going to have a horrible time, but to my surprise I really enjoyed it, to see so many people having fun really warmed my heart, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age...patrolling the streets with a gun full of water rather than 7.62 was also nice for a change

Happy Khmer New Year to all!

I felt exactly the same. I had to be literally dragged to Wat Phnom yesterday evening, believing I would hate every minute of it, but I actually ended up really enjoying it. The atmosphere was fantastic. Everyone seemed to having such a good time. Reminded me of the raves I used to go to in my late teens, only this time, people seemed naturally happy rather than a drug-induced happiness.

I was very, very shocked at what a good time I ended up having, being the miserable old bastard I usually am.

@armchairlawyer do you want to come to Wat Phnom with me tonight to see if we can harness some of this joy and happiness and free us of our curmudgeonly restraints?

I had a fucking blast in Patong the other day surrounded by huge titties and fake lips. Wet tshirt central

Doc67 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:39 am

xandreu wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:26 am

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 7:24 am Kids wanted to go to Wat Phnom yesterday, and as much as I hate crowds and overly loud music played on shitty sound systems, my kids happiness is paramount. Within minutes of leaving Takhmau in a tuk-tuk, we were soaked through by people throwing water/shooting water guns.

I.thought I was going to have a horrible time, but to my surprise I really enjoyed it, to see so many people having fun really warmed my heart, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age...patrolling the streets with a gun full of water rather than 7.62 was also nice for a change

Happy Khmer New Year to all!

I felt exactly the same. I had to be literally dragged to Wat Phnom yesterday evening, believing I would hate every minute of it, but I actually ended up really enjoying it. The atmosphere was fantastic. Everyone seemed to having such a good time. Reminded me of the raves I used to go to in my late teens, only this time, people seemed naturally happy rather than a drug-induced happiness.

I was very, very shocked at what a good time I ended up having, being the miserable old bastard I usually am.

@armchairlawyer do you want to come to Wat Phnom with me tonight to see if we can harness some of this joy and happiness and free us of our curmudgeonly restraints?

https://tenor.com/en-GB/view/logical-fl ... f-23575428

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 7:24 am my kids happiness is paramount.
I.thought I was going to have a horrible time,

Happy Khmer New Year to all!

i also didnt want to go out , but promised my kid to take him to play water , after all hes half cambodian .
so i rode around , got splashed a little bit , and found some kids for him to join and play with
the kids here are more respectful of old people here than in thailand .. not as wild !
found a semidry spot to park , drank a few beers waiting around for him awhile
and then came home , with a wet diapper , it was horrible , but im glad i did it for him .
he has a good memory and i survived and , i might be dead and burned up /out next year
Happy Khmer New Year to all!

Captain Bonez wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 11:01 am I had a fucking blast in Patong the other day surrounded by huge titties and fake lips. Wet tshirt central

Took the kids drive by gunning for hours yesterday and then joined the party at the durian in Kampot

tits, ass and lovely legs everywhere; had a blast and the kids had fun also