New Year!!!

The fine details of the Khmer New Year festivities!
So, the lovely country that I currently inhabit just finished celebrating its new year, which marks the new year of the tiger... For Cambodia, the three official days of celebration are somehow turned into a month of fun and games, which I fully participated in. I thought I would describe some of the more entertaining of the games and give you the tools to prepare for your next Cambodian Festival. Basically, though, have as much fun as you can in 100 degree heat by drinking and dancing out the bad of the previous year. And take every opportunity you can to hang out with the opposite sex because the rules are a bit more relaxed when all of the matriarchs are cooking and drinking and all the men can’t keep their hands off the liquor.
1. Home Altar... Every house has a little altar devoted to appeasing the ancestors inside their home. In my house, this was on the open area outside my room. There was a table with incense and candles, religious flags, money, soda, milk, fruits of all kinds, and some shiny things to scare away the bad spirits. Incense was burned there daily and the offerings were consumed after the third day of celebration.
2. Alcohol... No Festival would be complete without some liquor, most commonly beer. Rice wine, palm wine, and muscle wine are all acceptable for your festivities, though, as long as they are accompanied by loud music (sometimes karaoke) and speakers the size of an average car.
3. Food... Eat some Khmer curry and lots of mangoes. Tis the season.
4. Karaoke... is one of the most important activities for a successful party. Sing it with your family, all hours of the day, or if you are with another barang, sing it in a bar with a few Khmer folk listening in on your renditions of ‘I will survive,’ ‘These boots were made for walking,’ and ‘Billie Jean.’ I did do this, in a bar, in Siem Reap, with my pal Jan.
5. Powder / Water... Give your future sweetheart a chance to touch your face in public as he smears baby powder on your face as a wish of good luck for the holiday. I was caught at three parties smeared with baby powder and caught once, no twice, on the street by parties traveling with their powder. Or, if powder and close contact isn’t your bag, try slinging water on whoever goes past. On the last day of the new year, as I found out the hard way, is less of a baby powder smear and more of an ashes sort of smear. I was walking along the street and saw a parade of people smeared entirely in black soot, which was then smeared onto me. They got my arms, legs, neck, and every inch of my face. The best part, though, was going home and watching my family burst out in uncontrollable laughter at the picture that I made.
Games to play...
1. Food eating contests and races... I saw apple eating contests, watermelon eating contests, and some contest where you were only allowed to eat fruit hanging from a string by pushing against your opposite sexed counterpart. There was also a contest where the girls had to peel some small fruits and feed them to the boys in front of them.
2. Slow Biking Contest... Whoever finishes last wins.
3. Tug of War... Thankfully not a boy versus girl situation.
4. Blindfolded Tag... The two people who are ‘it’ have blindfolds on and feel around for all the people that are unable to leave the circle that has been drawn in the dirt. Surprisingly more difficult than you would imagine.
5. Greasy Pole... Money at the top, and a tall and slippery surface in between.
6. Egg and Spoon Contest... Try to carry an egg on a spoon to your friend at the end of the line, transfer the egg, then watch your partner try not to drop it on the way back.
7. Sack Races... I saw a girl who had to wait a few minutes before she could get out the sack as she had lost her skirt in her enthusiasm.
8. Water Transfer Contest... Take a big sip of water, carry it across a length, then spit it into a bottle. First to fill up the bottle is the winner 
9. Balloon Popping Contest... A chance to be rude with a member of the opposite sex as you pop balloons in between your bodies as fast as you possibly can.
10. Musical Chairs... I won once, but only because I pulled a fast one on my competitor by taking the chair elsewhere for me to sit.
11. Clay Piñata... It looks as dangerous as it sounds, trust me... but the prizes inside are much better, candy and cash doused with baby powder.
12. Chopsticks Contest... Try to keep some small hard object in chopsticks from one end of the line to the other. Very difficult!