Cambodia secures its 9th World Record!

On November 12th, Pravin Patel, a representative of the Guinness World Records, officially certified Cambodia’s ninth world record — for the world’s longest dragon boat! The canoe, measuring 87.3 meters in length and 1.94 meters in width, will be presented to the Khmer people on Wednesday, November 21st, in Phnom Penh during the launch of the Water Festival.

A dragon’s head as a prow, and a phoenix tail at the stern. With the final touches now complete, the vessel is ready to set sail. It took 192 days and the dedicated work of 14,000 boatbuilders from Prey Veng province to accomplish this monumental task. The inauguration ceremony of the “super canoe,” which can accommodate 174 rowers, was held on Monday in Neak Loeung, in the presence of Pravin Patel and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Samdech Kralahorm Sar Kheng.

« Kambojikaputtakhemaratari »

Literally translated as “the canoe of the Khmers on Cambodian territory.” Every boat bears a name — it’s a long-standing maritime tradition. The Kambojikaputtakhemaratari, the name given to the newly constructed wooden dragon boat, embodies Cambodia’s rich heritage of boatbuilding and navigation, a practice passed down through countless generations. The vessel will be symbolically unveiled to the public on the opening day of Om Touk, the Water Festival, beginning in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, November 21st. Over the course of three days, crowds from numerous Khmer towns and villages gather in the capital to compete in epic regattas along the Tonlé Sap River. It is, therefore, the perfect occasion to present this masterpiece to the public.

A record joining eight others

The Kambojikaputtakhemaratari now surpasses the previous record held by a Chinese canoe, which measured 87 meters in length. This is not Cambodia’s first appearance in the Guinness Book of World Records. The country’s eight previous entries include: the largest gathering of Madison dancers (2,015 participants), the heaviest rice cake in the world (4 tonnes), the largest alphabet (74 letters), the most mandates held by a head of state (10), the fastest water flow — on the Mekong River at the Laos border (10 million liters of water per second), the laziest turtle on Earth, the largest religious structure, Angkor Wat (1,626 m²), and the longest woven krama, a traditional Cambodian scarf (1,149 meters).  

Thibault Bourru