A wedding on our street

Wedding tent on our street

The blasting music jolted me awake. I remembered the wedding tent they were assembling on our street yesterday, but paid it no attention. They had my attention now, at 5:11 in the morning. Do they really get married this early? Yes, they do.

By the time I decided I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep due to the loud music, got up and dressed and went down to the front terrace of my guesthouse for breakfast, the wedding was in full swing. Beautifully dressed people were returning in a procession from the temple where the wedding ceremony took place and were settling down in their tent for breakfast.

They told us that the music must be played so loudly so that everyone is aware of the wedding taking place. They did well in that respect. Everyone in our guesthouse was aware.

Wedding procession

Weddings – and funeral wakes – usually take place on the street. I often see similar tents in various streets in Phnom Penh, sometimes they block traffic and police are included in the wedding party to redirect traffic. It's so efficient, not having to book a banquet hall for the reception but just using the street

Christmas tree in my guesthouse
(other mandatory artifacts: beer, motorcycle, Buddhist shrine)

In addition to the wedding, another surprise awaited us this morning. The staff at our guesthouse decorated a Christmas tree for us. It was so thoughtful of them as they are Buddhists and don’t celebrate Christmas.