Khmer New Year 14-16 April

Celebration #1 ets of Phnom Penh in mid morning were almost deserted. Everyone who could left town for the provinces, and the ones who stayed enjoyed quiet time at home with family and neighbors.
This man was out early to make sure his flag was straight and true.
Because their passengers were not out on the streets, neither were the cyclo peddlers who took a forced break. They are among the poorest of the urban poor and would not take a holiday if they had an option. This is a shelter where a group of the cyclo drivers live.
Many families prepared decorations for their homes. This arrangement is more spiritual than decorative, an offering to ancestors, and it indicates a family with Chinese ancestry.
Near the DDP office our really poor neighbors make the most of the holiday on a mat spread out on the side of the street in front of their small wooden shack. The DDP guard (blue shirt, in back) joined them for the afternoon since the DDP office was closed.
Some of the people still on the streets hadn't finished their visiting and took a tuk-tuk loaded with gifts to see their friends or family.
The people who stayed in town still needed to eat, and betting that they didn't want to cook, and that there are always poor people for whom a baguette is a full meal, this man continued his rounds on his bicycle, selling various types of bread.
And of course some of the people still in town had flat tires so a few of the street mechanics stayed open for that business. And maybe some of the mechanics didn't have a choice. They work, eat, and sleep from a little wooden platform on the street.
For the poor kids, a holiday isn't much different from any other day because they have no opportunity or money to go to school. They play in the garbage piles like any other day. The difference is that the pile is bigger today because there is no pickup because of the holidays.
There is a hierarchy in the jobs open to the poor people who come to the big city looking for work. One of the lowest levels of work is that of the people who walk the streets scavenging for recyclables with only an empty bag. They can't afford to rent a pushcart.
In the evening the area near the waterfront starts to fill with people looking for an inexpensive way to be outside and away from some of the crowds and dirt and heat of the city. Just recently the city installed these water fountains in a park near the river. Large speakers add music to the visual spectacle.
For this young couple, the twilight and a stone bench provide some open-air privacy they won't find around their homes.