The preparations for the Siem Reap Water Festival are under way with teams preparing their boats and practising on the river.  The whole town is buzzing with excitement particularly as the Festival has been cancelled for the last three years.  Teams of  hand painted Dragon boats race against each other up the river and they are getting faster every day.

This woman is making a shrine with a miniature pagoda at the front of the boat

I saw some boats practising on the weekend and the men were having difficulty paddling together, One crew member even fell in the water, but now they are synchronised going at a tremendous pace (shown on Youtube)

There is an amazing atmosphere in the town and I feel very lucky to be here this week