Today is the second day of the three-day Water Festival, the biggest holiday of the Khmer year after the New Year in April. It’s had a rough recent history, due in large part to the paranoia of the ruling party which is terrified of any gathering of people it can’t control. And this year about a million or so people from the provinces have descended on Phnom Penh to race their village boats in the Tonle Sap River. I didn’t get too close to the crowds this year but passed these crews taking a break from paddling and waiting for the next heat to begin.