Tens of thousands of Cambodians cheer for centuries-old boat races

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Tens of thousands of spectators flocked to the riverside in Phnom Penh on Sunday for an 838-year-old boat racing tradition, held to celebrate the annual three-day Water Festival.

Viewers, mostly from the countryside, gathered on both sides of the Tonle Sap River to cheer on boatmen, dressed in T-shirts, as they raced their dragon boats along a 1.7-kilometer stretch of the river that passes by the front of the royal palace.

Lonh Davan, 18, a native of southeastern Tboung Khmum Province, said she has never lost her excitement watching boat racing, although she has seen it many times.