New Year in Southeast Asia: how to join the party in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos

Laughter rings from young Cambodians armed with water bombs and talcum powder. The laughter quickly turns to screams as a sticky combination of water and white powder is fired through the air, drenching passing motorbikes and tuk tuks. In Cambodia, this can mean only one thing – it’s Khmer New Year. Running from April 14 to 16, this is a time for celebration, as festivities take place in the Buddhist countries of Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. New Year in Thailand, known as Songkran, is famous around the world for its chaotic water fights. But other countries in Southeast Asia also celebrate New Year at the same time; while there are some slight differences, the festival in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos also involve water fights. Khmer New Year “Sousaday chhnam thmei” (Happy New Year) is the phrase you will hear on the streets as Cambodians get into the celebratory spirit and make the pilgrimage to their home provinces to ring in the new year with their family. Spread over three days, the Buddhist festival includes traditions such as presenting offerings at pagodas, paying respect to the deceased, and cleansing bathing ceremonies for the coming year. The villages that dot the predominantly rural country teem with energy as music blasts from speakers, feasts are devoured and crates of Angkor and Cambodia beer are imbibed. This is also a time for new year games, such as tres – where a ball is thrown and caught in one hand while trying to catch sticks, usually pens or chopsticks, with the other – and chab kon kl eng, where one player pretends to be a hen protecting her chicks from the clutches of a crow, who tries to catch them. During Khmer New Year, Phnom Penh empties as locals head home. Most shops, restaurants and attractions close their doors, transport fills up quickly and accommodation prices throughout the country see a slight rise. The best place to join in the celebrations is Siem Reap, with Pub Street and the surrounding alleys a hive of activity. Annually, Angkor Wat hosts the Angkor Sankranta festival: three jam-packed days of music, food, games, ceremonies and new year-related fun. Pi Mai Lao The official new year in Laos runs from April 14 to 16 this year and, in similar style to Khmer New Year, houses are given a spring clean, new outfits are worn and offerings are left at temples. Buddha statues are washed with perfumed water and refreshing water fights take place during the hottest time of year. The best place to celebrate is Luang Prabang, where the streets are brought to life with colourful processions and parties. A revered image of Prabang Buddha is paraded through the streets on a golden horse, led by the red-faced mythical creatures of Pou Gneu and Gna Gneu, to Wat May. Here, the image is laid to rest for the remainder of the festival. Sand stupas decorated with offerings and colourful flags to ward off evil spirits are built on the banks of the Mekong River. A Miss New Year is chosen at the annual Nang Sangkan beauty pageant. Every evening, traditional music and dance spills out onto the streets. In the capital, Vientiane, expect to find bright parades, lively water fights and plenty of fun. Pha That Luang stupa is a hive of activity as locals flock to pour scented water over Buddha statues surrounded by jasmine garlands, incense and marigolds. Throughout the day, a mixture of locals and tourists gather to hurl water at each other and dance to music that blasts into the evening. Thingyan “Mingalar hnit thit ba”, or Happy New Year in Myanmar, where Thingyan (“changing over”) is a time for praying, laying offerings at temples and water fights. The streets are alive with colourful processions and traditional new year snacks are dished out in the form of sticky rice balls topped with coconut shavings and bread, jelly and sticky rice served in sweetened milk. The yellow flower padauk pan decorates houses, shops and cars, and lively parties take over villages, towns and cities. Yangon and Mandalay are the main centres of Thingyan celebrations, with almost all of the roads boasting their own pandal [temporary religious structure] to stage new year performances that take in traditional dance and music. Street stalls sell snacks and refreshments, and crowds are drenched with water from buckets and hosepipes. While there is a sense of merriment in the air, Myanmar is a conservative country and the water festival celebrations are much more traditional than the bikini-clad carnage found in Bangkok’s Khao San Road, for example. It is respectful to dress modestly.