Dragon boat races return to Phnom Penh


National joy: A woman dances on a dragon boat as part of the Water Festival on the Tonle Sap river in Phnom Penh. — AFP

Tens of thousands of spectators thronged the riverfront in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh Sunday for an annual dragon boat race – the centrepiece of the kingdom’s three-day water festival, cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Around 300 boats, their crews dressed in matching bright T-shirts, strained for the win as they dipped their colourful paddles into the Tonle Sap river with the royal palace behind them.

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