New Year's Eve 2008 - The best ever !

I have just had possibly the best New Years Eve celebrations EVER! Xmas was very quiet (not even one present! *sniff*) but NYE and the proceeding day were just perfect. Here is how it all happened……..

We started at 4p.m by attending a wedding. Dan (English) and Aya (Khmer) have been going out for 9 years and as they have recently adopted Aya’s niece and as Dan had basically run out of delaying tactics, it was time to get hitched. Luckily it was ion Phnom Pen and not far from our apartment and it was a splendid affair indeed. This wedding was a classic good-vibes celebration with many of his friends and family jetting in from the UK, including his 90++ year old grandmother and her 90++ chaperone. Both these grand old dames were the stars of the night and they handled themselves admirably.

With an all Barang wedding party (very rare indeed), the crowd were all in fine spirits and many new friendships were forged and much dancing and eating and drinking was done. We had a young Khmer lad at our table that looked about 12 but was actually 15 and we watched in amazement as he chugged back beer after beer. His mum was with him so there was not much we could say but I did try and tell him to slow down or he would puke. Too late……he was soon puking his guts out whilst I held the back of his belt. Poor little lad.

After a thoroughly enjoyable time at the wedding we headed over to Tra and Phalla’s house for a family gathering. On arrival I walked in to find a beaming Tra sporting a new tattoo on his left arm. He had just been to Bangkok with some of his mates and they all got tattoos. Tra was very proud of his tribal design and we made a pact to go back to Bangkok to get our second tattoos together. I have just found out that Tra is moving ahead in leaps and bounds and is now working in a property development company with Deputy Prime Minister Sok An’s son. This places Tra in the upper echelons of the Khmer big boy’s club and he told me on NYE that if I ever wanted to buy land or a house that he would ensure it all went smoothly for us.

Tra's new tattoo

After a few cold beers with the family we then headed to Pontoon where my mate Paul was DJing and lo and behold - the entire barang contingent from the wedding were busting up the dance floor…..16 year old nieces and nephews included ! Classic stuff as we all went mental at 12 o’clock and continued into the wee hours of the morning. Heaps of my local friends were there and many travelers and all the wedding people as well so it was basically just a great night that saw Leakhena and I finish up the night by going to have noodles with the bride and groom at 4.30a.m !!

The next day we fell out of bed at 2p.m and after a late breakfast and a bit of shopping it was time for the wedding recovery party at Talking To A Stranger, a lovely bar set in a big villa that is run by Derek and Wendy, two Aussies. All the overseas guests and many Khmers were all back together again for the final hurrah and again, lots of good-vibes as the roast pig was consumed, the champagne flowed and the music flowed. Also it was Aya’s 30^th birthday so big celebrations for her including sparklers and a big cake.

Leakhana and Aya ( the bride )

All in all the entry to 2008 and my second NYE in Cambodia was an absolute cracker and one I will remember for a long time. This year is a huge one for us. We get married, I turn 40 and…………