Travelogue
Jimmie the Knife - 5 February 2012
The old phrase “Putting your arse on the line” took on a whole new meaning in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh recently, when a young American resident was shot on his way home from a bar. Heading home in the early hours of Sunday morning, Jimmie aged 24, was approaching Norodom Boulevard, one of the city’s main thoroughfares from Street 172, when two black SUVs came from behind towards the intersection. He’d had a night out on the tiles in one of Phnom Penh’s popular bar areas, Street 51, home to such establishments as Howie’s Bar, The Heart of Darkness, The Walkabout, Shanghai, and the bars in the market that’s sprung up on the site of the former central police station, where jugs of beer can be had for as little as $2. What happened next is a little unclear. Jimmie (not his real name) was doubtless intoxicated, and the occupants of the vehicles, drivers and bodyguards of one of the city’s VIPs, though who this person is remains a mystery, have produced differing accounts of events. Jimmie claims that the second Lexus (black Lexus four-wheel-drives are a dime-a dozen in Phnom Penh) tried to run him over as it cut the corner. He said that it then stopped at the intersection and reversed back towards him causing him to take evasive action. He said he wound up with his hands on the vehicle’s bonnet in a last desperate attempt to prevent the driver charging at him again. The story from the occupants of the vehicle is somewhat different
Who Killed Chea Vichea - 1 February 2012
US documentary film maker, Bradley Cox once said “hero” is one of the most over used words in the English language. Interviewed about his 55-minute documentary “Who Killed Chea Vichea” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, Cox commented “I don't know if I ever met an honest-to-goodness hero in the flesh until I met Chea
Hollywood in Cambodia - 16 January 2012
Cambodia has proved a challenge for film makers over the years. For most movie goers, the enduring cinematic image is that of Roland Joffe’s The Killing Fields, set during the Khmer Rouge era, though the film itself was shot entirely in Thailand, and slated for its Hollywood depiction of events.Other films however, did make it to the
The Curious Case of the Kings of Cambodia and the Kims of Korea - 7 January 2012
I’ve only set foot in North Korea once. It was cold, bleak, and I was surrounded by heavily-armed military-types with their eyes shielded by sunglasses, and they were just the South Koreans. On the surface of it, Cambodia and North Korea have little in common. Separated by distance, ideology, climate and language Cambodia has
Tourism in Cambodia - Palace Closed but Killing Fields Open - 12 December 2011
It was a Saturday morning and I cut down the short street from Preah Sisowath and Boulevard Samdech Sothearos to the Royal Palace, on the Phnom Penh riverside. From the side of the road the tuk-tuk driver asked where I was going. “Palace closed” he said “but Killing Fields open” and grinned.I have been to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh once
Strength Through Oi - Cowboys and Expats in Cambodia - 30 November 2011
One of the interesting things about living in Cambodia is some of the expats you meet. There are some weird and some wonderful foreigners who have chosen, for a variety of reasons, to relocate to the self-styled Kingdom of Wonder. Some are here out of genuine love of the place. They’ve come here for everything that’s different about
The Museum of Bats - 20 November 2011
The National Museum of Cambodia sits along the western side of the large square in Phnom Penh also bordered by the Royal Palace, Street 178 and grand French colonial mansions near the Riverside on Boulevard Sothearos, not far from where the Tonie Sap River merges with the Bassac and Mekong rivers. It is the largest historical, cultural and
Return of the King - 8 November 2011
The Kingdom of Cambodia has the last remnant of royalty in the territories that were part of what was once known as French Indochina. The Emporer Bo Dai abdicated in Vietnam in 1945, and the communist Pathet Lao, ironically led by a former royal, had the entire Laos monarchy locked up in 1975. Cambodia is awash with public holidays
Takeo - Land of the Lobsters - 28 October 2011
Takeo Province lies to the south of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. To the north and east it borders with Kandal, to the west with the provinces of Kampong Speu and Kampot, and to the south with Vietnam. It has a predominantly rural population of almost one million, jammed into an area barely 3500 kilometres square. Takeo is often referred to
