On the occasion of Pchum Ben, Sam Rainsy, opposition CNRP President, hurt in his flesh during the March 1997 grenade attack on a demonstration by the Sam Rainsy Party in front of the previous National Assembly building which left 16 dead, has commemorated the assassination attempt together with relatives of the victims, the opposition CNRP […]
It is that time of the year again. All the Cambodians, old and young, rich and poor, flock to the pagodas to pay respect and pray to the spirits of their ancestors. The roads are crowded, the journeys hazardous, the pick-up trucks overloaded. In the first ten months of 2012, 1589 people were killed in […]
The ‘Veal Meru’ or cremation site (see the previous days here), is now open to the public. All the public. Not only the Cambodians. A good opportunity to sell the remaining stock of photographs of King Norodom Sihanouk or unrelated balloons. And also to knock on what looks like a solid construction and find out […]
So… May his ashes rest in peace after a turbulent life. With a final procession the remains of King Norodom Sihanouk (see here and here) were carried from the ‘Veal Meru’, or cremation ground, to the Royal Palace, accompanied by his son King Norodom Sihamoni and his wife Queen Mother Monineath. We will now see […]
It turned out to be an in-between-day. I thought the remaining ashes from late King Norodom Sihanouk (see here or here) were going to be transported from the ‘Veal Meru’ or cremation site, to the Royal Palace this morning. But no. It will be tomorrow morning. There is already a slight feeling of ‘it is […]
Part of the ashes of the late King Norodom Sihanouk (see here or here) who was cremated yesterday were carried in a procession to a barge moored along the Tonle Sap. Once members of the Royal Family had boarded it was dragged to the confluence of the 4 rivers and the ashes were spread in […]
Lots of expectations for everyone at tonight’s cremation ceremony for the late King Norodom Sihanouk (see here and here): smoke, no smoke? White smoke, black smoke? What we mostly had was a lot of security guards. Clearly the media savvy ‘Papa Sihanouk’ is gone and we have now entered another era with less space for […]
This is supposed to be the last day where people can come to pay respect to the late King Norodom Sihanouk (see here and here) at the ‘Veal Meru’, or cremation site. Tonight the King’s remains will be cremated and while some of it will be scattered in the Mekong waters, his ashes will be […]