From Cambodia to Japan

It's time to holiday in Cambodia

2008-11-11T16:59:00.003+09:00

From the Wall Street Journal's today issue:

It's no longer easy to purchase AK-47 assault weapons here. Vendors have stopped selling marijuana in public markets, and fun-seekers can no longer lob live grenades behind the military compound outside of town.
Once famous for being the most lawless city in Asia - a wild west frontier of ex-soldiers, drug addicts and criminals - Phnom Penh is rapidly becoming the latest Asian tourist playground of spas, handbag dealers and boutique
hotels.

Many in the city's hardened expatriate community don't like the changes, saying they've eroded much of the sense of adventure the capital once had.

But for visitors and for some newly wealthy Cambodians, Phnom Penh has become a more inviting place, retaining its Buddhist temples, wide avenues and French villas even as it pushes seedier elements underground. Before, high-end tourists only went to Angkor Wat, Cambodia's renowned temple complex. Now, they're stopping off in Phnom Penh, too.

A thousand years- Sting

2008-11-11T00:36:00.002+09:00

....

A million roads, a million fears

A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty

I could speak a million lies, a million songs,

A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time

But if there was a single truth, a single light

A single thought, a singular touch of grace

Then following this single point , this single flame,

The single haunted memory of your face

I still love you

I still want you

A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves

Like galaxies in my head

....

......

Your surname or my surname?

2008-10-25T13:50:00.003+09:00

So if you are married to a Japanese citizen, by Japanese law, you have two options regarding your surname: (1) either change it or (2) have your spouse adopted yours.

That' s one fascinating fact about Japanese civil code. All legally married couples are required by law to share a surname. Siblings, likewise, have to share a single family name. Although the law grants equal rights to both spouses to decide whose surname to retain, in practice, it’s the wife who usually chooses to surrender her maiden name, and takes the husband’s.

In recent year, there have been calls from many Japanese women right groups to change the law so that married couples can assume separate family names. Critics of the law describe it as a discrimination against women, and that it interferes too much into citizen’s personal life.

Cambodia's case

Cambodian culture is strikingly different from Japan in term of family naming.
In Srok Khmer, there’s no law that forces married couples to have a single surname. Husband and wife generally retain their maiden names respectively after marriage, although it’s customary that children inherit surname from their father.

In certain cases, however, children adopt their mother’s surnames instead of their father’s. For example, when couples divorce, the mother who win children’s custody sometimes registers children with her surname.

Even when the couples are not divorced, children sometimes have different surnames. For example, an elder brother might take his father’s surname, while the younger brother will take his mother’s. This is because, unlike in Japan, there is no law that requires couples to decide the surname of their children when they marry, or law that requires all siblings to have the same surname.

There are also cases in which children share both parent’s surnames. For example, if the father’s surname if “Sok”, and the mother’s is “Chan”, then the children’s surname could either be “Sok Chan” or “Chan Sok”. The reason why such practice exists is mainly due to the fact that Cambodian culture, unlike Japanese, doesn’t place importance on a single family name.
---
Do you think Japan should change the law by allowing married couples to have separate family name? Or do you think Cambodia should create a law that require married couples to share a single surname?

***For articles related to the Family Name Issues in Japan, you can go here:

1. Keiko Watanabe, The “Double Surnames” Issue in Japan,　September 17, 2006

2. Discussion forum: Japanese surname after marriage

Khmer Krom Recipe

2008-10-25T13:38:00.002+09:00

I just came across this incredible website. It has excellent instructions on how to cook Khmer food. As of now, there are 561 recipes, ranging from appetizers( Mahope-Sra) to salad( Nhoam) to soup( samlor) to dessert and drinks. Each recipe is neatly written, and is accompanied with a picture of the sample dish.

The site's name is Khmer Krom Recipe. But as I dug through its contents, I realized most of the recipes are basically the same as Khmer Kandal's. Yet there are a lot of yummy-looking dish that I've never seen or tried. Since I'm a very bad cook, who knows only a few Khmer dish, I hope to learn a few recipes from this site. Big thank to the creators of this page.

If you're interested, you can go here : Khmer Krom Recipe. Scroll down to see the details of each recipe.

Postcards From Cambodia

2008-10-25T13:24:00.004+09:00

Some photos of my family I took during my recent trip to Cambodia.

My three year-old niece Kosoma.

Sunrise in Kampong Speu, Cambodia

Butterfly and flower around my house.

My niece Kesor Seyhak and my cousin Thalim.

My niece Kesor Seyhak

Of Drinking and Altruism

2008-10-25T13:09:00.001+09:00

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than to be selfish and worry about my liver.' ” ~ Jack Handy

A Song From the Past: " Batt Oun"

2008-10-25T12:59:00.003+09:00

Dedicated to you. A Khmer song from the past. " Batt Oun". Written and sung by prince Sisovath Panara Sereyvuth in the 1960s, it quickly became a big hit in Cambodia( As well as in France, if the commentator in YouTube is correct). This song is arguably one of the greatest Khmer songs of all time.

Hour Lavy, another Cambodian singer who gained fame in the early 1990s, has his own version of this song. Same melody, same lyric, buth entirely different voice. Still nice, nonetheless.

Interestingly, Hang Meas production, a leading music production company in Cambodia, has recently released the same song ( sung by Preab Sovath) , though it's not as good as the previous two versions.

Butterfly

2008-07-20T18:32:00.002+09:00

Butterfly I found on my school's campus.

The Lost World of Angkor---From Discovery Channel

2008-06-30T12:43:00.003+09:00

Thought you might want to see this documentary.

I'm Back?

2008-06-10T00:40:00.002+09:00

Typing. Type. Type. My fingers are running on the keyboard. Not knowing what to begin.

Silence...

Hitting those familiar keys again.

Deleting.

Rewriting.

And contemplating...

Not a single thought came to my mind. Not yet.

These familiar keys of my laptop couldn't help much.

Ideas seem to have dried up. Even a few greeting words for this first new post of this year. After almost 12 months of no updating.

It's no simple task, after all.

Deleting..Delete.

Within You'll Remain

2007-07-26T15:27:00.000+09:00

I've been looking for this song for ages. Finally, some genuinely kind blogger has posted it. Big thank man.

Listening to this song is like taking a journey back through time---well, to be exact, to year 1996, when I was in grade 9. I first heard this song in a part time English class. It was Saturday, I believe. Back then the school had an extra session on Saturday, and it was always about listening to English songs.

Students seemed to enjoy this day more than any other days. They were particularly more attentive to the "lesson". They were more willing to repeat, to work in groups and to do the role play.

Needless to say, the students seemed to have absorbed the whole lesson without any major difficulty. At the end of the class most of them could easily repeat what they had learned and heard. Some students---for instance, me---even felt the class was too short. Only one hour. We even suggested the class be extended.

Yet, that's not the end of it. We would copy the lesson to practice at home until we were told by our parents or relatives that they were tired of hearing the same songs being played again and again on the tape.

***
If only our academic course could be turned into such kind of fun "music lesson" in which every student is passionately interested and involved in it, I am sure study performance would be significantly improved.

***

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this song.

A Touching Story by e-Visa Travelers

2007-06-05T18:54:00.000+09:00

A Touching Reunion After 8 Long Years

Klaus Moeller, Germany, 21 May 2007

I have traveled to Cambodia on two previous occasions. I went to Cambodia 8 years ago and fell in love with the country. Outside the temple of Angkor Thom was a little girl selling flutes. I took a photo of her and bought a flute.

When I came home, I looked at this photo for 5 years - always wondering why I did not help her more!

Well, a year ago - I went back to Cambodia with my daughter and 6 of her friends from school. I managed to have someone find the little girl. It was amazing to find her - it took us nearly a whole day!

And so we took the photo of her holding her old photo! It was wonderful - and this time we did take care of her and her family.

Klaus Moeller's Feedback on e-Visa

I have traveled to Cambodia on two previous occasions and was excited to try out your new e-visa service. I am absolutely amazed (pleasantly!) as how easy to use this service is. It took me all but 10 minutes, reduced costs by eliminating FedEx charges and I had my visa ready to print the next morning!

I travel frequently all over the world and not only is Cambodia all the way up as one of the greatest travel destinations - but it has the absolutely best and easiest Visa service of any country! Congratulations and many thanks.

Notre Petite Histoire

Guy Demaison, France, 23 May 2007

Voici mon histoire qui est certainement banale.Je suis le président d'une petite association humanitaires française qui oeuvre au Cambodge. Chaque année nous allons soignée et offrir des vêtements, des jouets et du riz au enfants défavorisés du Cambodge. A l'issue de chaque mission, nous envoyons à sa Majesté le roi du Cambodge un compte rendu détaillé de nos actions.

Voici mon histoire. Un jour, nous sommes arrivée plus tard que prévu dans la décharge de phnom penh pour ditribuer de la nouriture, les enfants étant déja parti travailler, nous avons alors découvert une fillette de 4 ans, déshydratée par une diarrhée, entourée de mouches et qui, sans un secours immédiat, allait mourir. Nous nous sommes mis alors avec frénésie, à la recherche de l a mère pour pouvoir amener cet enfant à l'hopital avant qu'il ne soit trop tard.

Après avoir courru à travers toute la décharge de long en large et épuisé, nous avons enfin trouvé la mère et avons transporté la petite fille à l'hopital ou elle a été sauvée.

Nous avons alors demandé à la mèren la raison de cette inaction de sa part. Elle nous a alors expliqué qu'elle ne pouvait pas se permettre de cesser le travail pour consulter un médecin sans mettre en danger la vie de ses autres enfants.

My Story About Cambodia

Jessica Beltran, United States, 25 May 2007

First off i would just like to say Cambodia is a beautiful country, with beautiful people who are so pure and kind. I loved every moment i spent in Cambodia, i plan to return again one day. My heart goes out to the people of Cambodia.

After my time spent in Cambodia i realized what selfish life many americans live, we only think about ourselves, our needs, and complain about things not ever being good enough. I just want to say its time for americans to get out of there selfish world and think about the rest of the world and be grateful for the things you have.

The people of Cambodia have soo very little but the little they have they cherish, and its amazing how the country of Cambodia has suffered soo badly but yet the people and children are still very happy.

My heart fell in love with the children of cambodia I helped out in 5 different orphanages with 11 other people i traveled with. These kids are beautiful and they fall in love you with you the moment you enter and you fall in love with them. Even though the language barrier was difficult they make every effort to talk with you and play with you. I loved every moment of spending time with these kids.

The hardest part was saying good-bye some of these children didn't want to let go. I recommend on your visit to Cambodia to visit the orphanages and remember to be grateful the little you have and show your love to the people of cambodia.

Clockwork Radio

Anthony and Helen Pearson, Cumbria, 24 May 2007

My daughter bought me a clockwork radio for Christmas a couple of years ago. I never used it, being addicted to my tiny short wave radio, which enables to access the BBC World Service. I took the clockwork radio with me to Cambodia in February 2007. Each evening from our hotel in Phnom Penh, we saw two ladies go down to the river to bathe. They submerged themselves up to their necks and removed their clothing to wash, before redressing and climbing out onto the river bank to dry. My wife and I reasoned that they only had one change of clothes.

We went down to the riverside, and with the help of a passing English speaking Cambodian, gave the ladies the clockwork radio. They looked astonished.

Two nights later we were walking along the river bank and saw a group of people huddled in a circle, our two ladies were among them. There, in the centre of the circle was the clockwork radio playing Cambodian music. We didn't disturb them, just walked on past, but feeling rather a nice glow inside.

David, The Moto Driver

Omar Montenegro, Argentina, 23 May 2007

His name is not David but due to our inability to pronounce his Cambodian name he agreed to his new, temporary western name. He was our driver in Phnom Penh.

David knows everything about his city. During our week stay, he showed us many wonderful places, including great ones off the tourist guides.

The last day David took us to the airport. After saying good bye, there was a silent, sad moment. It was obvious that David had touched our hearts with his friendly, warm personality.

David's English is good, occasionally he surprised us with very advanced vocabulary. If you run into David don't hesitate to hire him and please tell him about these lines.

----

Source:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Meet Sin Sisamouth's wife

2007-05-05T13:38:00.000+09:00

Meataphoum Music Production Company interviewed Keo Thorng Gnut, the wife of Sin Sisamouth, Cambodian most famous and highly prolific singer-song writer in the 1950s to the 1970s.

Here's an excerpt from the interview:

"Before my husband [Sin sisamouth] passed away, he used to tell me not to worry about anything. He said even if he died, his songs would live, which means I would get some kind of pension from the state and royalties from those music companies that make profit over the songs. But it's been more than 20 years and nobody cares about us."

--- Keo Thorng Gnut

Sronos Pka Ktom

2007-04-30T01:29:00.000+09:00

In his book, Komnarp Snaeh Meas, Kung Bun Chheun said he wrote this song. It was originally used as a soundtrack for his movie--which I don't remember the title-- made during the early 1970s. The film centers around a Lon Nol's soldier and a rural girl. The soldier was injured by a bomb during a bloody battle and was saved by the girl. The bomb made him temporarily blind, so he didn't have a chance to see his savior's face. Meanwhile, she took very good care of him until he got better.

Both eventually fell in love with each other. Later on, he was transferred to Phnom Penh through a helicopter. ( There's another well-known soundtrack in the scene in which he said goodbye to her. The song was written by Kung Bun Chheun and sung by Ros Sereysothea. It begins with something like, " Ut-tam-peakachak bong kvak lea oun...lea oun.." You've probably heard of it, I guess. )

She came to see him in Phnom Penh. He eventually recovered his eye-sights but only after she had already returned to the countryside. The reason she left was because his mother didn't like her as she 's a poor girl, and she wanted him to marry another girl.

What happened next, I don't remember. I think Kung Bun Chheun remade the movie in the late 1980s.

Maybe you've seen it?

( The real title of the song is Jet smos borisot, not Sronos pka ktum. Thanks Tonghor for pointing out to the whereabouts of the song)

For real?

2007-04-12T20:16:00.000+09:00

17,535,000 : Number of Japanese tourist abroad in 2006or (or 14.6 % of the whole population. Data: Japanese Tourism Marketing Corp.)
3,000,000 : Number of Cambodian tourist abroad in 2006 (or 21.4% of the whole population . Data: Reaksmeykampuchea )

Reaksmey Kampuchea today quoted Ho Vandy, president of Cambodian tourist association, as saying that more than 3 million Cambodians--or 21.4% of the whole population--- traveled abroad last year. Most of these people, he said, went to Thailand, Malaysia, Hong kong and Macao. The number doesn't include those who traveled to countries like the U.S. , Australia or Europe.

That' s a surprisingly high number compared to a mere 1.7 million tourists who came to Cambodia in the same year.

It's unclear how Mr. Vandy obtained the data. But if it's true, does it mean that the rapid economic growth( 13% last year) has actually benefited the population? Or does it merely reflect the fact that the number of Cambodian migrant workers who travel to countries like Thailand, Malaysia or Korea has considerably increased?

Sumo and Discrimination

2007-03-09T02:14:00.000+09:00

I read a short but interesting article about Sumo(相撲）, a traditional style of wrestling in Japan, in the February issue of the Nihongo Journal yesterday. It gives a brief insight into the present day aspect of Sumo. For example, it talks about how and when sumo championships are organized, the career as a sumo wrestler, the background of the current wrestlers ---Rikishi (力士)---their salaries compared to professional players of soccer and baseball, and past and present championship winners.

But one unpleasant fact I just learned from this article is that unlike other types of sports in Japan--K1, or Boxing, for example, where you usually see girls appear on the ring to announce the start of a new round-- women are not allowed to enter the sumo's ring. The main reason, according to the article, is attributed to the fact that sumo is closely intertwined with Shinto( 神道), a religion unique to Japan. Sumo is a sacred sport, and in the past, traditional male rikishi(力士） wrestled each other in order to please God. Meanwhile, Shintoism considers women as impure( for a reason I'm not going to mention here) and thus are not allowed into the competition's area, which is believed to be a sacred place.

Moreover, sumo championship is organized alternatively at various places in Japan, namely Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto and so on. Traditionally, on the final day of the competition, the top officer( usually the governor of the City) would be asked to present the championship cup to the winner in the ring. But, this is not possible in Osaka as the present governor is a woman, otherwise it will go against the sport's rule.

The article goes on to say that while there is outcry from critics over such age- old rule, there is no sign that it's going to change soon.

As for my personal opinion, I find it a little surprise that such outdated practice is still allowed to exist in a modern and advanced country like Japan. Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of this sport, but I'd still join the critics too. It's time to change the rule.

No courage to read

2007-03-06T20:46:00.002+09:00

I've come across the translated (Japanese) version of this book several times at the library. But I had no idea it is a national bestseller, a recipient of a 2001 book award, or that it has been translated into nine languages, including Khmer, until I came accross the author( Loung Ung)'s website the other day. All I knew about this book is that it is a horrible account of the writer's life during the Khmer Rough era.

Honestly, I never want to go through its content. It's not because I am not moved by its title, nor because I dislike such books.

It's because I lack the courage to read it. Growing up in Cambodia, I'm used to hearing stories of unbearable hardship, brutal killings, starvations and struggling during the murderous regime from all sort of people--- most frequently from my parents, my grandparents; and occasionally from my teachers, my friend's parents, people I know and I never know.

The stories have been told and retold to me since the time I was able to speak and understand Khmer. At home, my parents would often recount their horrible experiences during the Khmer Rough era (My mom lost one mother and eight of her 12 siblings, not to mention dozens of her relatives). At school, my teachers would tell their own accounts which were equally terrifying. In the school's text books ( at grade 2, 3 and 4) , there were written stories of the suffering of people and brutal killings with illustrated images, which were no less unpleasant and painful. In the media (National TV and well as Radio) back then, similar accounts were often widely broadcasted.

So sometimes I feel I have heard enough of these stories. It's unpleasant, sad and horrifying enough to have absorbed all these traumatized accounts in your head. It's time to move on, to read and to search for something else.

Iraq Iran

2007-03-02T09:22:00.000+09:00

The title of this entry is misleading. This post is neither about Iraq war nor Iran nuclear issue. It's about a song: a Khmer song written by Mr. Fay Sam Arng and produced by SSB production company. It appears SSB has recently made so many songs in a short period that song writers can no longer find any interesting title for their songs. So they are forced to pick an odd title for a newly released song. It's called " Iraq Iran." Disappointingly, like the title of my post, the title of this song is misleading.

Check the below video, if you want to find out whether the song has anything to do with these two middle east countries.

Various forms of Khmer poetry

2007-02-26T08:23:00.000+09:00

Click on the image for bigger view.

Who is your ancestor?

2007-02-23T01:26:00.000+09:00

Sometimes I wonder where my ancestors came from. I used to ask my parents about them. Sadly, though, it appears the blood line could only be traced back to as far as my great great grandparents or, say, a hundred years earlier. And it abruptly ends there.

But for Kung Te Cheng( Chinese: 孔德成), a Taiwanese, that is a little different from me. Mr. Kung is able to identify his ancestor who lived in China more than 2500 years ago. Guess who his forefather is. You got one clue: His surname is Kung ( 孔).

Well, here's the answer. He's Confucius(孔夫子), the great Chinese philosopher and thinker.

Mr. Kung Te Cheng is now a 77th generation direct descendant of Confucius, and is considered the head of the main line of descent. Of course, the line is not going to end here as he has a grandson and great grandson who is the 79^thand 80^th lineal descendent.

It’s fascinating in that after more than two an a half millenniums, the Confucius bloodline still survive. I’m now asking myself if I could be a descendent of some great persons who lived back thousands years ago. Well, who knows?( Hahaha) One thing I’m sure, however, is that my ultimate ancestor had to be here on earth as far as everybody else’s had. For I believe every human being shares the same ultimate ancestor(s).

(Picture: Wikipedia )

Dirty Water...Drinking Water

2007-02-21T21:52:00.000+09:00

Ugly and dirty as it is, you sure wouldn't think the water in this pond can be used for such purposes as bathing or washing clothes, let alone drinking. But people in Malai district of Banteay Meanchey, a province bordering with Thailand, do drink and use it in their daily life. Now they are having trouble. According to the Cambodia Daily, one person died and between 450 to 600 villagers have fallen seriously ill after drinking the water in this pond.

Such problem is not uncommon in Cambodia where only 27% of the rural population have access to safe water. You don't have to travel to the remote area of the country to witness the lack of water. Just go to my home town in KampongSpue, which is only 48 kilometers from Phnom Penh, and drive down a few kilometers from National Road 4, you'll definitely see it.

( Picture from Kohsantepheap Daily )

The Khmer Stamps

2007-02-15T21:55:00.000+09:00

So the Cambodia Daily reported today that 1 million stamps bearing pictures of Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife have been produced. Since I have almost no knowldege of the Khmer stamps, I'm just wondering if any other living Cambodians have been featured on the stamps since 1979. Or is she the first living person to be depicted in almost 4 decades?

A brief check on google shows that living people had actually been featured on Cambodian stamps before 1979, as for example, former King Sihanouk in 1951 and 1952, both of his parents in the 60s, and former president Lon Nol in 1973.

( Picture courtesy of Kampuchea)

Extreme Khmer Video

2007-02-15T15:30:00.000+09:00

Haven't visited Studykhmer.com for a while. Just checked back again today and found a newly made video---" Former Students Today". Like other Extreme Khmer episodes, it's both hilarious and informative. I didn't know Ta Frank taught Khmer back in Seattle. His Khmer language is excellent. For more of his videos, go to http://studykhmer.com

Another Best Picture of the Week

2007-02-15T15:23:00.000+09:00

Kohsantepheap is such an entertaining newspaper ( Despite some occasional grotesque images, language and over- sensationalized stories. I hope they don't read this because I know I will definitely get this reply, " After all, you read it for free. Why do you have to criticize?"). In today's issue, it presents another fascinating photo along with an interesting question, " Guess what is this?"

So can you figure out what it is? If you can't, then get your answer at the newspaper's site.

Life is unfair

2007-02-14T05:14:00.000+09:00

Found this cartoon on the net. Find it pretty hilarious.

Classic Picture From Kohsantepheap Daily

2007-02-04T20:01:00.000+09:00

This 's gotta be Kohsantepheap's best photo of the week.

Keng Vannsak’s Doubtful Source

2007-02-03T22:32:00.000+09:00

Keng Vannsak is arguably one of Cambodia’s most influential literary figures of the 20th century. In fact, I’m a big fan of his poems. I often quote some of the lines that I love on this blog and always admire his eloquent analysis on Khmer literature. But when it comes to history anatomy, I think he’s no where close to his literature’s fame.

His recent comment on King Jayavaraman VII, Cambodia’s most revered king, is both very shocking and controversial. Among the claims he made are that it was Jayavaraman VII who granted Sokothai (Now Thailand) its independence; that he was an utterly ruthless monarch; and that it was he who caused the downfall of the Khmer empire by building too many temples.

Mr. Vannsak said he based his “finding” on Mohaboros Khmer (or The Khmer Great Leaders), a history book written by Eng Sot in 1969.

Fortunately, I happened to have the book with me. I went through it several times as I want to verify his newly discovered “truth.” But I wasn’t able to find the page that matches his claim. Did Mr. Vannsak mistakenly cite the source, or did he merely make up the story?

Even if the text does exist, the book is definitely not a reliable academic source. First, Mohaboros Khmer is an exact copy of The Khmer Royal History, an old manuscript written almost a century earlier (around 1870) --- more than 600 years after the death of Jayavaraman VII . Moreover, It cites no source, and contains very questionable accounts of each king’s biography, dates and events. As Etienne Aymonier, a French historian commented on the original manuscript, “It is a document stuffed with unreliable dates... an indigestible and incomplete compilation of manuscripts.” (Henri Marchal , Angkor, 1955)

Second, the content of the book itself is almost close to fairy tales, novelized and filled with supernatural events. For example, at one point, it says a King lived up to 500 years while another lived up to 400 years (although the author does admit it’s impossible). At another point, it says a little prince was saved by a monk after having been swallowed up by a huge fish for days.

It's possible to ask how Mr. Keng Vannsak managed to make his “discovery” from such a book.

As a well-respected scholar, Mr. Vannsak should know which source is worth quoting or analyzing. In this case, however, he shows a complete disregard for academic standards. And it serves him nothing but to weaken his credibility.

Just for laughs

2007-01-22T09:15:00.000+09:00

Laughter is really contagious!

Fear

2007-01-07T03:10:00.000+09:00

Shape of My Heart- Sting

2007-01-06T23:19:00.000+09:00

From the movie Leon: The Professional, starring Jean Reno and Natalie Portman. Great movie. Great Song.

Matt Frame To Swim Handcuffed For 24 Hours Non-Stop

2006-12-09T02:25:00.000+09:00

I can't imagine swimming non-stop for more than a few hours, let alone having myself handcuffed while doing it. But Canadian filmmaker Matt Frame, who recently broke world record for the longest handcuffed swim, has announced that he will be swimming handcuffed on Christmas day for 24 hours non-stop to raise awareness and money for underprivileged Cambodian children.

For more information on this worthy cause, go to www.joebodia.com

Butterfly Dream

2006-12-05T00:21:00.000+09:00

When you were dreaming, have you ever thought that it was merely a dream?

I once dreamed that I was able to fly. In the dream, I floated around my house to the surprise of my parents and my neighbors. It was incredibly fun. I was enjoying myself when suddenly someone said, “it’s just a dream." But I refused to believe it. Someone then said that if I didn't think it was a dream I should pinch myself. I did and surprisingly the me in my dream could feel the pain. I excitedly yelled out, "It hurts. I could feel the pain. So it's real! Ahahah!　I can't believe it's real" And god knows if it's real or fake. So after a while of an incredible journey, I woke up. Someone in my dream must be right. It was really a dream.

Now it makes me question myself if my entire life here is just another dream.

Of course, I always tell myself that it's impossible. Life here is too complex to be a dream. From the moment I was born till the day I'll be gone, it'll be pretty long. I've known many people and done a lot of things. So many things in the world that I've seen. There's no way that it's a dream.

But a small part of me argues that it actually is. It can be a complex dream. Well, a life long one. Just like me in my dream who was convinced that it was real- that I was able to fly- I am now convinced by everything around me that my life here is real. I only believe it was a dream only after it’s over.

If my life is, in fact, a dream, then whose dream is that?

Well, it can be a dream of someone who looks exactly like me in my real life. It can be a dream of a butterfly, a bird or some kinds of animal that I know. It can be a dream of an alien, or a different kind of specie that I've never seen before. That person or alien probably lives an incredibly long life in an incredibly complex civilization- probably million times longer and more complex than my present life.

As for the dream, it probably starts at the very second I was born. When I'm done with my life- or simply speaking when I die-I will probably wake up in a different world. I will probably open my eyes and be astonished at the fact that my life, which I believed was quite long and complicated, was merely a dream.

Well, I'm not crazy. I don't always believe that my entire life is merely a butterfly's dream. It's just an occasional thought that pops up in my head. Even if it's really a dream, I know I will live and enjoy the best of it.

Cambodia Today- Cambodge Voyage

2006-12-03T20:02:00.000+09:00

Got this link from a friend. It's a one-hour TV program originally aired on Discovery Channel. The video documents various fascinating aspects of life as well as popular tourist sites in Cambodia( not just Angkor or Toulsleng).

Traditional wedding of the ethnic Phnorng in Mondolkiri is particularly impressive. If you have time, check it out. The link is below:

Cambodia Today- Cambodge Voyage

Old Stuff

2006-11-29T20:48:00.000+09:00

I'm publishing some of my poems on Kohsantepheapdaily. If you feel like reading you can either go directly to the site or click on these links:

A dream or here in case the link expires

The garden or the Song or here

As usual, the links will be dead in three days since the online newspaper doesn't have a room to store old data. As for the poems, they were previously posted on this blog. I plan to publish all my works there before starting to write something new - something broader and more significant.

Going to the Demilitarized Zone

2006-10-31T19:32:00.000+09:00

I'm leaving Japan tomorrow on a four days trip to Korea. It's going to be my second visit to this East Asian country in four years. (I went there once in 2002 with my Khmer seniors.)

This time, however, is a little different as I'm going with my seminar's professor, who's Korean, and 17 other students who take the same class. A genuinely kind professor, he pays half of the trip's expense, including the plane ticket, for each of us.

As for the travelling schedule, we will land in Pusan on the first day and spend the evening touring the city. The second and third day, we will be visiting Seoul, the capital of South Korea. And the last day, we will head to Panmunjom(板門店）, a "truce village" that straddles the border between North Korea and South Korea in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone(非武装地帯).

If you live or study in Japan, the term "Demilitarized Zone" might sound familiar. Well, in case you don't know, DMZ is "a strip of land running across the Korean Penisula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea". It was established in 1953 in accordance with a truce treaty signed by the two countries. " Truce treaty" means the Korean War hasn't offically ended yet. With each side having over one million troops deployed within 160 kilometres of the Military Demarcation Line, it 's considered to be one of the most heavily armed border in the world.

When I told a friend that I'm heading to the DMZ, he asked me if I am crazy. He said North Korea has just recently tested its Nuclear Bomb and is suspected of planning another test. The tension between North and South Korean has been increased lately as a result of the Nuke test. War can break out at any time. DMZ, for him, doesn't sound like an ideal place to visit, at least for the time being.

I guess he is right to worry . In fact, only half of the students will tour the site. The rest decide to remain in Seoul, citing the same reasons. Nonethless, I'll go, as I 've already decided. Korean War: it's been a hot discussion topic in my class for weeks. We've talked about the DMZ . We've seen it only in the news. Now we got the chance to see the site by our own eyes, so why not go. One more thing, I believe the war, for the time being, is unlikely. North Korea seems to have lost all friends. It has infuriated its staunch ally, China, with the Nuke test. It can't go into war without the support of any friend, China in particular.

My trip to DMZ is going to be safe , so to speak.

Anyway, I'll post the pictures of DMZ once I've got back from Korea. Now I gotta pack my clothes.

The Angkor Photography Festival- Contest

2006-10-05T17:19:00.000+09:00

The Angkor Photography Festival is coming up soon.

This year it will be held in Siem Reap from Nov. 25until Dec. 1st, 2006. If anyone is interested inattending please contact us atangkorphotofestival@yahoo.com with any questions.

Formore info visit our website: Angkor Phot Festival or here ( Collections of photos)

If you haven't already entered any images in our "Asiain the World" contest please join our group now andadd some photos! The limit is 20 images and winners'photographs will be shown at this year's festival in Cambodia. Plus, top prize winners will be receiving signed copies of photography books by world renowned photographers.

Deadline is November 1st. Please be sure to read the rules

Thanks and good luck!

Stuart Isett

Prison and Karma

2006-08-12T00:18:00.000+09:00

Khmer Site Recommended

2006-08-09T22:43:00.000+09:00

Looking for new articles on Khmer culture ? Then try Khmer Renaissance. The site is an online magazine and is devided into six sections: (1) Lifestyle; (2) Custom and Belief; (3) Art and Literature; (4) Heritage and History;(5) Geography, Evironment and Nature; and (6) Words and Etymology. Each article is written entirely in Khmer and is quite recent. The site also accepts publication from readers.

Thanks Ratana, my friend and one of the authors of these texts, for introducing this very useful webpage to me . His article is here: Atharos Temple of Phnom Preah Reachtrop

Oun Nov Bongkeuy

2006-08-06T03:38:00.000+09:00

Alive and Kicking

2006-08-05T02:24:00.000+09:00

Yeah, I’m still here, and I’m celebrating myself with a few beers. Just submitted my 9th semester assignment and finished my last exam today. Nine papers in three months. That’s more than enough to keep me busy for the whole semester. It isn’t over yet, though. I’m going to have a lot more things to do during this summer vacation. Hopefully, it's gonna be all right.

Well, enough about me. Regarding my Weblog, I actually haven’t updated any post for the past four months. But I did add some new interesting Blogs to my Link. Here they are:

1/ http://vanndeth.myblog.com/　 Vanndeth is a Khmer student. She blogs from Germany.

2/ http://detailsaresketchy.wordpress.com/ Details Are Sketchy’s currently residing in Cambodia. She blogs about politics, culture and almost all things related to Srok Khmer.

3/ http://chanbopha.blogspot.com/ 　Chanbopha is a Khmer student studying and working in Japan. She writes about her life here.

If you want your personal page to be linked to my Blog, just send me an Emai or add me to your friend’s list. I’ll return the favor. By the way, I’ve noticed that my share at Blogshares.com has significantly dropped during my absence- from $9,578 to $8,082.09. Luckily, there’s no loss for me as I don’t own my own blog (ahahaha!).

Finally, I wanna thank those who’ve spent their precious time reading and commenting on my site.

Cheers! ***Budweiser***

Goodbye My Mobile

2006-07-29T03:42:00.000+09:00

It's been really hot for the past few days. So hot and dry. I don't like such weather. In Cambodia it's just equally hot, of course. But I didn't feel the unpleasantness of the atmosphere as much as I do over here. Maybe that's because the humidity level in Cambodia is higher than in Japan.

Adding up to the problem, my Aircon has recently stopped working and I'm expected to have it fixed next week after my exam. Nevertheless, I still find the heat bearable. My TV, my CD/DVD player, my Computer, my Lamp, my printer, my fridge, my fan and everything in my room, too, seems to be able to tolerate the weather, except my Mobile Phone.

It went dead this morning. DEAD. The power wouldn't switch back no matter how long I recharged the battery. Now I just hope it's the battery that is broken, not the mobile itself as I have some pictures and files in it.

It's been with me for two years. I brought it back and force to Cambodia and I thought I'd just want to keep it for a little longer. I didn't want to change it because I had no good reason to do so.

Now I guess I could find the excuse...

Too Late...

2006-04-05T22:46:00.000+09:00

A headline on today's Kohsantepheapdaily really made my day. By saying "headline" I really mean the title of the article. The story itself is not really funny as a man had to lose his bike.

It reads, " Watching Thief Stealing the Bike. ..Thief Started the Vehicle... Couldn't Catch Thief, Thief Gone." A summary of the article:

A man parked his motobike outside a market and went shopping inside. Knowing that the bike's owner has gone inside, a thief approached the vehicle and was trying to steal it. The thief didn't realize he was being watched by the market's security guards. The guards knew the thief was trying to get away with the bike, but they thought they'd wait untill he got on the bike, so they'd run to grab him. But the thief was really a professional one. As soon as he had unlocked the vehicle, he drove it away, while the guards were running behind and tried unsucessfully to grab him.

A Quote From 19th Century Khmer Poetry

2006-03-28T02:32:00.000+09:00

My Blog Is Worth B$9,578.58!

2006-03-25T17:29:00.000+09:00

Believe it or not, that's what I learned from Blogshares.com today. Almost ten thousands dollars. That's quite a high price for a small blog like mine. On top of that, my blog is " available to trade," according to the site. Funnily enough, someone apparently owns my blog. He's currently holding 80% of the total shares. Thought someone was making fun of my blog. Curious, I went to the site's Home and found the following introduction:
BlogShares is a fantasy stock market for weblogs. Players get to invest a fictional $500, and blogs are valued by incoming links.
That answers my curiousity. Blogshares.com is apparently quite popular, though I hadd never known its existence till today. Well, not only me who is listed for the valuation, but also everyone on my link's list. Some information about each blog are, however, out of date.

Angkor Photography Festival—New Work

2006-03-22T03:18:00.000+09:00

Another Email from Stuart Isett:

At the 2005 Angkor Photography Festival in Siem Reapthe renowned photo agency VII organized a workshop for photographers, run by the award winning photojournalist Gary Knight. Today we introduce the first body of work produced in that workshop by Raffaela Scaglietta, a 39 year old Italian photojournalist, based in Tokyo from 2000 to 2005. Click the link below to see her work:

Angkor Photography Festival- New Work

Raffaela has also worked in the United States,covering the anti-globalization movement and the European Union integration from Brussels. She is currently in Rome writing a book and working on aphoto-project on homeless.

---

Stuart IsettThe Angkor Photography FestivalFlickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/angkorphotographyfestival/

URL: http://www.angkorphotofestival.com

Mailto: angkorphotofestival@yahoo.com

Carnets d’Asie333 Sivatha Street, Siem Reap

Quote of the Day

2006-03-02T00:17:00.000+09:00

A few days ago I was shopping for an iPod at an eletronic shop when I came across a message placed next to a newly released Sony Walkman's MP3 Player. Thought it was beautiful and worth quoting. The advertising slogan goes like this:

Every moment has its music

Poem: Midnight Snow

2006-02-18T10:37:00.000+09:00

THE ANGKOR PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

2006-02-18T05:45:00.000+09:00

An Email from Stuart Isett:

THE ANGKOR PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

The inaugural Angkor Photography Festival was held in October, 2005 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and was the first of its kind organized in Southeast Asia. The goals of this international annual gathering are both artistic and humanitarian.

With this principle in mind, in addition to the fourteen major exhibitions and seven photo-projection evenings, a group of artists and reporters also volunteered to organize a free workshop for young photographers from the region as well as a photo-dance workshop for a group of underprivileged street children from the town of Siem Reap.

We're really hoping Flickr.com will also be a way to make the Angkor Photography Festival a global event that helps build a vibrant and open photography community. If you have time, we have our first set of images up on our page taken by street children from the town of Siem Reap. The work was produced in a workshop run by Magnum photographer Antoine d'Agata, and is part of the festival's outreach program to the Siem Reap community:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/angkorphotographyfestival/sets/

We will be adding more work in the weeks to come, from the workshops and exhibits from the 2005 festival. I hope you can come take a look and post some comments.

We will also be having a contest for Flickr members starting in May and winners' work will be shown at a slide presentation at Angkor during the festival from November 25th until December 1st, 2006. All photographs will remain copyrighted to photographers so I hope you'll be interested in entering an image.

If you have any questions or want to be on our mailing list for contest, festival or work shop info, please email me at:angkorphotofestival@yahoo.comI also encourage you to pass on our contact to any Flickr friends you have who might be interested.

Thanks again and best wishes,

Stuart Isett

http://www.angkorphotofestival.com

Picture of the Day: Tequila Slamma

2006-02-15T23:25:00.000+09:00

Slamma & Lemon(275 mL, 5.0% ALC/VOL): my favorite drink.

Write fast, die young

2006-02-10T00:47:00.000+09:00

According to many researchs most poets die young. Maybe I should never choose this career. Here's another article I've just read:

Dr Kaufman, an assistant professor of psychology at California State University, studied the deaths of 1987 writers from across the world and through the centuries.

"On average, poets lived 62 years, playwrights 63 years, novelists 66 years, and non-fiction writers lived 68 years," Dr Kaufman said in his report.

"Among American, Chinese and Turkish writers, poets died significantly younger than non-fiction writers... among the entire sample, poets died younger than both fiction writers and non-fiction writers."

And it's worse for female poets, according to Dr Kaufman. "Female poets were much more likely to suffer from mental illness (for example, be hospitalised, commit suicide, attempt suicide) than any other kind of writer, and more likely than other eminent women," he told Reuters. "I've dubbed this the 'Sylvia Plath effect'."

The complete article is here: Write fast, die young

Thanks Bong Thea for giving me the link.

My Profile on Global Voices

2006-02-02T00:14:00.000+09:00

Beth Kanter has just posted and interview with me on Global Voices. She's been profiling Cambodian bloggers both in the country and other places.

Read the interview at this link : Asia Blogger Profile: Cambodia’s Seserak

More Poem at Koh

2006-01-30T13:19:00.000+09:00

Another poem " Behind the smile of King Jayavaraman VII", is being featured in today's issue of the Kohsantepheapdaily, along with poem of Mrs. Keo Chanbor, a poet who regularly writes for the press.

Again, it's an old post with title being slightly altered.

My Poem in Kosantepheap Daily

2006-01-26T23:10:00.000+09:00

The Kohsantepheapdaily, the only Khmer language newspaper online, has just published my poem in its poem section.

You can find the piece at this link: Nationalism

It's not a new poem actually. I wrote it since last year, and posted it here .

Cambodia’s Failing Democracy

2006-01-24T18:57:00.000+09:00

Ronald Bruce St John's commentary on Democracy in Cambodia is quite interesting.

As the Cambodian experience makes clear, democracy is not synonymous with holding elections. Well-run elections are a peaceful, efficient means to allocate power and authority. But one election, or even many elections, does not necessarily a democracy make. The essence of Western democracy consists of a separation of powers with checks and balances within a system of democratic institutions, political parties, and free elections. The Cambodian elite has yet to embrace central elements of this process, like power sharing, dissent, and loyal opposition

The complete article is here: Cambodia’s Failing Democracy

St Johnan is the author of Revolution, Reform, and Regionalism in Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (Routledge 2006). The book's title alone sounds interesting enough. I thought I was going to order the book from Amazon. But I was upset when I checked the price. It costs more than 100 bucks. I'm wondering why it has to be that expensive.

Picture of the Day: My Little Cousin

2006-01-23T23:03:00.000+09:00

Memories of Palm Trees

2006-01-10T23:23:00.000+09:00

Looking at the pictures of the famous Angkor Wat temple taken from the far front, I notice a few tall palm trees emerging from within the temple's ground. For me, these uniquely looking trees seem to add up to the beauty of the temple. Without them, Angkor Wat would appear rather lonely.

Its unique look is probablly another reason why Palm tree was named national tree of Cambodia, besides the enormous role it plays on the life of Cambodian people( as described by Wanna).

In my comment section, Beth asked me if I have any fond memories of Palm trees. I guess I have a lot to tell her. Well, talking about it reminds me of Palm juice, Palm wine, Palm Boat and a scorpion living in a palm tree.

When I was a kid, my grandfather used to climb palm trees to tap palm juice and sometimes to harvest palm fruits. At that time there were four palm trees behind his house. He didn't grow them. They were there long before he settled in.( In 1979, shortly after the collapse of the Pol Pot regime, he moved in to that new land, which was once a rice field). Unfortunately, today only one remains.

I remember sitting on a chair a long with my other relatives waiting to drink the juice once he got back to the ground. The trees were really tall and I was wondering how he could make it to the top. I once attemped to climb one of the trees but could barely make to half of the way.

I liked Palm juice and still like it . They are naturally sweet and tasty. Usually, palm trees grow on arid and infertile land. So sometimes it makes me wonder how they manage to produce such tasty juice.

Traditional palm wine is also nice. It got me drunk once or twice. Though I am not really a big fan of it. It taste like cocktail: sweet and and sour. Because it's sweet, you can easily drink a large amount of palm wine at your first try. But remember it also can make you pass out easily.

Palm boat is just another memory. Paml boat is a small boat that is made entirely from Palm tree. I remember riding on it a couple of times. But my best memory of palm boat went back to 1991, when the biggest flood in four or five decades hit my province and most parts of Cambodia. My house, like many others, went under water. Sitting on a friend's palm boat, watching my house and the entire village turning into a huge lake was an unforgettable experience.

Lastly Palm tree reminds me of a scorpion and my cousin. You might wonder what scorpion has to do with my memory about Palm Tree. I don't really remember that myself because it happened when I was quite young. But my grandfather does, and he likes to recount the story.

He said when I was 3 or 4, my dad would drop me at his house before going to work. In the morning, as usual, he would climb the palm trees and brought back palm juice. Me and my cousin would wait for the "sweet water". One day while he was on top of the tree, he saw a white scorpion falling to the ground. He cried out from the top of the tree warning us that a scorpion had just fallen down and told us to be careful.

Me and my cousin never saw a scorpion before. We thought it was beautiful. We suddently wanted to hold it. I said it was mine. He said it was his. We then started chasing after the poor, frightening scorpion. He was faster. He grabbed the scorpion and cheerily said:" I've got it. I've got it!" I was quite upset. He got the scorpion and one second later he was stung. He threw away the little insect and cried.

My grandfater got back from the tree a little too late. My cousin continued to cry untill the pain'd gone. Untill today I still tease him about the scorpion story.

And that's all for the memories of palm trees...

Wanna's Diary and Cambodia4kids.org

2006-01-08T05:17:00.000+09:00

Wanna has just posted an interesting article about palm tree:

For long, the Khmer has adopted the thought that "where there're palm trees, where the Khmer territory is" - it's the symbol of Cambodia. It also plays an important role in Cambodian daily life.
There're many products made of palm tree - its leaf can be used as the house's roof(still ubiquitous in countryside), its column used to support the house's loads, its crop as dessert, food in Khmer soup(called Samlaw Kaw Ko), and most remarkably, its syrup is used to produce "sugar palm tree" (technically called Borassus flabellifer) and a delicious "soft drink", or even a kind of wine "sour nectar".

Check out his blog for the rest of the article.

Meanwhile, Beth Kanter has just recommended a Cambodian blog for those who are looking for authentic recipies for Khmer food. Also, she's been following the recent political development in Cambodia for a while. And yet you can find many other interesting posts at her site .

An Unpleasant New Year Gift

2006-01-03T20:47:00.000+09:00

A Little Bit of Cambodian Politics…

Cambodia seems to enjoy making unpleasant headlines regardless of what occasion.

While many countries in the world were celebrating New Year’s Eve, the Cambodian government decided to arrest two human right activists - one of whom was Mr. Kem Sokha, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and one of the most the prominent critics of the government.

On the first day of the year 2006 his arrest was in the headlines of most sites that offer news related to Cambodia. It was an unpleasant and unwanted New Year gift for those-including me- who were expecting to read something fun from Cambodia on the supposed-to-be a joyous day. So when the headline came we were really very upset. We started to wonder if this is a bad omen for the future of freedom of speech in Cambodia-and the future of democracy as a whole.

Logically speaking, if Kem Sokha’s arrest is a bad omen, it isn’t the beginning. The first bad omen began two months earlier, when another two of the most prominent government critics, Mr. Mam Sonando, owner of Beehive Radio, and Mr Rong Chhon, leader of The Cambodian Teacher Association were arrested; and many others, including opposition leader, Mr. Sam Rainsy, were forced to live in self-exile, fearing of similar arrests should they remain in the country. This is not to mention the jailing of Mr. Cheam Channy, a parliamentarian from the opposition party.

In short, 2005 was an unfortunate year for the fierce critics of the government. This raises one question: who will be next in the year 2006? If all these critics who are quite well-known to international community can be easily arrested and sent to the Prey Sar prison, there is little hope that the government will spare other critics who are less well-known to the world.
It is worrisome to think that this is merely the beginning.

Cambodia has always proclaimed itself as a democratic country that adhers to the freedom of speech. But it arrests and jails critics. It has always expressed its will to become a lawful state, with a true independent court. But it’s obvious that it is using the court to silence opposition voice. One knows that freedom of speech and an independent court are crucial to any true democratic society. Taking away these two most important aspects of the system means the collapse of democracy.

It is much more worrisome to think that the young democracy in Cambodia is dying; that the Cambodian government has deliberately chosen to walk on the wrong track; and that it prefers the authoritarian political system instead.

Khmer Proverbs and other Articles

2005-12-13T00:52:00.000+09:00

If you're looking for Khmer words of wisdom, go to Khmerinstitute.org. The site has a large collection of Khmer proverbs with excellent interpretation in English.

This proverb along with its interpretation are really worth quoting:

When the boss has merit, the assistant moves up in rank; when the boss experiences misfortune, the assistant falls into the well.
Interpretation: Your fortune is tied to the people for whom you work. Perhaps implicitly advising that you be cautious who you work for,or that you should work hard for your boss because your fortunes are intertwined.

Besides proverbs, the site also offers a collection of articles that deal with Khmer society, politics, history and culture-all of which are freely available.

Women in Cambodian Politics

2005-12-06T21:26:00.000+09:00

After a brief search on the net with the above key words, I got the following data:

In the National Assembly, women hold only 12 out of 123 seats or 9.8%; whereas in the senate, women hold 8 out of 61 seats or 13.1% of the total .( In Thailand, women hold 53 out of 500 seats or 10.6 % in the Lower House and 21 out of 200 seats or 10.5% in the Upper House. While in Vietnam, women hold 136 out of 498 seats or 27.3% in the National Assembly) For more : Women in National Parliments
Following the 1998 election, there were only 2 female ministers among the 25 ministries and 4 female Secretaries of State out of a total of 50. At the time this was an improvement, though there are still no female provincial governors. Previously there were only 4 women in politically appointed positions and no female ministers, secretaries of state or provincial governors. ( From NGO Forum On Cambodia: Gender in Poverty Reduction)
Only 9% of the 169,000 civil servants are women, and only 8 of 110 judges in Cambodia and no prosecutors are women.
Prior to the 2002 Commune Elections there was discussion of developing a quota of 30% of seats for women. However, this suggestion was rejected and only 8.5% of the councillors elected were women.

More articles related to women in Cambodian society:

Sorcery in Cambodia: A Little Perspective

2005-12-03T01:32:00.000+09:00

At daytime she is a normal person. At night she is a strange, scary creature: half-ghost and half-human.

Shortly after midnight, when all the village people are sound asleep, she would pull her head and all her internal organs out of her body and slip out through the window of her house, leaving behind her empty figure that is separated from the neck down. She would fly from house to house, sometimes from rice paddy to rice paddy, looking for some dirty and unpleasant stuff to feed herself. A villager-if he’s not yet asleep- could spot her easily since there is a bright green light emanating occasionally from her lungs as she goes from place to place.

Perhaps you haven’t heard of this kind of grotesque creature before. Ask any Cambodian what it is called.

Everyone knows it is called Arb, although I believe not many would claim to have seen Arb in real life, except in TV series or in movies. I’ve heard stories of people seeing Arb in my hometown a few times while I was a kid. But I have never been lucky enough to meet and talk to those people.

Usually, in Khmer, the word Arb is followed by the word Thmob. We say Arb-Thmob, meaning witchcraft or sorcery. A Guru Arb-Thmob (a witch) is believed to possess evil power that can cause harm, disease, bad luck or even sudden death to anyone he or she dislikes.

Now ask the same person again if he or she believes in Arb-Thmob or sorcery. If the person is from the City or town, the answer is likely to be a negative than a positive one. But if the person is from the countryside, where the majority of the population lives, I believe you are likely to get a ‘Yes’ response than a ‘No’, or if not, the unsure yes-and-no.

TheRFA (Radio Free Asia in Khmer-2007/11/27) has recently interviewed people in my hometown -Kampong Speu- and found out that among ten people who were asked whether they believe in sorcery, six people said they seriously do; three people said they are unsure, while one person reluctantly said he doesn’t. Interestingly, one of the people who gave the positive responses was the head of Kampong Speu provincial court, who claimed that he himself was a victim of sorcery.

For some, belief in sorcery has little to do with their lives. For others, this can be harmful to both the believers themselves and to the people they accuse of practicing sorcery.

Take the case of one of my neighbor who died several years ago. She was quite a religious woman. She had suffered for a long time from diabetes. At first she did consult the doctor, using all the modern medicine to fight the illness. But two or three weeks before her death, her family somehow resorted to consult the Guru Khmer (exorcist) who said she was actually enchanted. The exorcist said the evil spirit was extremely powerful, and that there was only one effective method he could use to make it leave her body.

And the method (one of the stupidest curing method I’ve ever heard) was rapping her body with salt and chilly, and placed her on a bed under which some pieces of coal were burning. It was like they were roasting her alive. This only exacerbated her illness. She died a few weeks later. Her family, however, didn’t take any legal suit against the Guru Khmer as they believed the evil spirit was too powerful to kill.

As to how many people were killed under such treatment, I do not know. I just hope she was the first and the last victim. Still, there have been numerous cases of people wasting their time and money on witch doctors who claimed to be able to effectively cure disease without having to use any medicine.

Very often, stories of such unusual people appear on various local newspaper and magazines. The recent one has been reported in the Kohsantepheap Daily. It was about a man who claimed to have been possessed by the spirit of a ghost’s doctor. He said the ghost's spirit enabled him to perform surgery on patients from outside their bodies by merely reciting magic words. As the Kohsantepheap Daily reported, hundreds of people flocked to his house, consequently creating immediate environmental problem in the local community such as pollution and congestion. Interestingly enough, he even offered his treatment service-surgery- via mobile phone to those who could not come to his house. Such an unbelievably advancing therapy!

In short, I’ve talked about the harm it does to people who believe their diseases are caused by evil spirit and sorcery. The real victims, however, are those who are accused of practicing this sort of witchcraft.

According to the same RFA's report, during the last two months, four people in my province have been killed after being accused by villagers of practicing witchcraft. The same cases happen every year through out the province. One such case happened around ten years ago, in a village next to mine.

In that, a middle-aged man was murdered after having long been suspected by villagers of evil practice(sorcery) causing disease, sudden death and bad luck to people in the village, including his neighbors. After his death, his wife and kids were discriminated and shunned by the whole community. She subsequently had to move out and never returned. The case has never been solved. Ironically, after the accused sorcerer died, people in the village continue to get sick, and die-either of natural or accidental cause.

In response to the increasing number of killings related to sorcery, the government has recently called on local government officials to educate people about the danger of this belief, and to stop them from believing in such irrationality.

Although this may sound easy, I believe the actual task can be rather difficult.

For one thing, belief in witchcraft or sorcery among some Cambodian has a long history-even longer than belief in Buddhism. As people started to adopt Buddhism as their religion, the two have co-existed ever since. In this way, belief in sorcery is deeply rooted in their minds. Simply telling them that sorcery is a false belief is like telling them to stop believing in their religion- buddhism.

Another thing is that the majority of those believing in sorcery -if not all- are the have-nots who receive little education. The belief will disappear when the country is economically and technologically advanced, which means more and more people will be educated. On the other hand, so long as the country remained poor and underdeveloped, with a high rate of illiteracy like today, belief in sorcery will continue to exist.

Having said that, I still applaud the move by the government to deal with problems stemming from this false belief. At least, it has started to show its concern over this long ignored issue.

---

*Author’s notes:

- There are a few recently made Khmer movies that deal with Arb, one of which is joining the 2005 Cambodian Film Festival. If you are curious to find out what Arb actually looks like, check out the movies at Angkorwat.com

- Belief in Arb-Thmob(witchcraft) in Cambodia may differ by regions. If you have any knowledge about Sorcery that is different from mine, please share it with me, either in my Comment section, or send to my mail: seserak@yahoo.com.

Unusually Quiet

2005-11-23T20:14:00.000+09:00

It’s Wednesday, and, according to my schedule, class starts from first period. I never like first period class. Early start time deprives me of my needed sleep. Well, today I woke up rather late to the sound of my second alarm, so I knew I got to rush to school.

Despite the cold morning of autumn, I found myself sweating hard as I sped my bike down the road then up the hill and up the hill till I got to my school, which is located on a hillside.

School today was unusually quiet. There were a handful of bikes on the parking site where normally you’ll see hundreds of them left there. There were even fewer cars. Not a soul, a single soul. The school looked as if it was deserted. I guess I was the earliest person to be here today.

Strangely quiet. The scene reminded me of the Langoliers, a short novel by Stephen King, in which a plane carrying a group of passengers accidentally travels back into the past. I was wondering if I had just slipped back through time while speeding my bike up the hill.

Not likely. The trees, the air and the sky were lively, fresh and clear- not as dead as the scene described in King’s novel. Besides, I could hear voices of sport trainers from the school’s playground which meant I wasn't the only person in the school.

Still there was another possibility: something wrong with my watch. Maybe it went faster than usual. I rechecked my watch. Nothing wrong. I was just right on time.

Now I began to suspect that today might be national holiday. So I checked the calendar in my phone. “Autumnal Equinox Day(秋分の日)”, it said. Well, that's it-national holiday. All I could utter was: “Oh, #$&%!!”

Misusing Royal Language

2005-11-21T21:28:00.000+09:00

Below is a short story excerpted from Katelork (Book 8) written by Sonton Preyjea En between 1910s and 1920s . I laughed really hard when reading this. I hope you too will find the story hilarious as well as inspirational. The complete book is freely accessible at Khmerbusiness.com. Unfortunately, it is entirely in Khmer , no English translation though.

* Click on each text for bigger view.

Earthquake in Cambodia or Ghost?

2005-11-13T02:09:00.000+09:00

The online Kohsantepheapdaily, reported a few days ago about rumour of earthquake in various parts of Cambodia. I initially thought it was a kind of ridiculous rumour like the eating-bean-to-prevent-SARS that circulated the whole country three years ago. I've been in Cambodia for almost all my life and have never heard of a single case of earthquake in Cambodia(neither did my grandparents and my parents).

Not untill I learned from the news that there were earthquakes in Vietnam at exactly the same time when some buildings in Cambodia were said to be swaying did I come to believe the story is not made up this time. We might be suffering an aftershock from the major quake in Vietnam.

Jackychhay, a new Khmer blogger, wrote in his site a few days ago, confirming what has happened:
On Tuesday November 8, Around 3 P.M I was sitting on a wood-made bed and watching the ghost movie on channel 9. Immediately, the wood-made bed started shaking a little bit and I thought maybe someone pushed it, but no one was behind me only me alone.Then I began to be afraid abit because no one near me, or the ghost wanted to frighten me. How can it be I never believe the ghost exists in our world. I had concluded that maybe the wood-made bed is so old that it's shaking

Poem: Behind the Smile

2005-11-07T00:38:00.000+09:00

Behind The Smile

Behind the smile,
Behind this happy face,
There seems to lie a deep sadness,
Hidden in your heart,
For you know some days,
The country that once prospered under your rule,
Will lose its light.

Behind the smile, however,
There seems to lie hope,
The hope that there will be days,
When the country will recover,
And transform itself to a new and better one,
And will be as peaceful and prosperous as in your time.

(Picture above:King Jayavarman VII who reigned from 1181 to 1219)

17th Century's Japanese Inscriptions in Cambodia

2005-11-04T20:16:00.000+09:00

I just came across this site .Cambodia-travel while searching for articles on Post-Angkor Era. Was surprised to learn that there were Japanese settlers in the Angkor city in the 17th century

Moreover, in the 17th century there were Japanese settlements residing with the Khmer people in the Angkor city, as at least fourteen Japanese inscriptions had been found in the area. One of the most renowned Japanese inscriptions belonged to Ukondafu Kazufusa who had visited the Angkor and celebrated Khmer's New Year there in the year 1632.

I really want to know what the inscriptions are all about. Will check my school's library tomorrow to see if there is any book that contains informations about these inscriptions.

Pictures of the Day: To the other Side

2005-10-27T22:15:00.000+09:00

Poem: Autumn

2005-10-21T00:03:00.000+09:00

Picture of The Day: The Monorail

2005-10-16T20:57:00.000+09:00

A Beautiful Day

2005-10-06T23:23:00.000+09:00

Yesterday it rained like crazy. I’ve got to hate rain so much since I came to Japan. Here it rains more frequently than in Cambodia and it seems to rain throughout the year no matter what season it is.

Right after I woke up this morning, I checked the weather forecast. It said no rain today. That was wonderful because it meant I wouldn’t have to bring my umbrella with me.

Birds were singing as I pulled out my bike and started cycling toward my school. The sky was clear and the air was cool. The trees were changing their colors and shedding their leaves. It’s the beginning of autumn.

I got to my class five minutes early. Many students were already there. I took the back seat. Whilst waiting for my teacher, I took out Stephen King’s [Four Past Midnight] that I bought two months a go and intended to read a few pages. As I was about to read, I noticed a girl sitting just right in front of me. She was wearing a pink T-shirt; she got a pink notebook, a pink highlighter, and a pink portfolio. “Girl in pink”, you’d say.

On a bright and clear, blue-sky day like this, [pink] is cool all right.

I got back to my book. As I began to read, I noticed some sorts of blue letters on the back of her pink T-shirt. I decided to read as I believe designers spent a whole lot of time just to make a few attractive phrases, and why can't I just spend a few seconds reading?

The letters go like this:

I want you here in my room. Now we're
gonna be face-to-face
and I'll lay right
down.Luxury.

For the next 90 minutes of my class, whenever I looked at the teacher or the blackboard, I couldn’t just keep my eyes off her pink T-shirt, of these blue characters. I read and smiled; reread and smiled.

Yes…

It’s a beautiful day.

Poem: The Kitchen Garden Or The Song

2005-09-29T19:26:00.000+09:00

Picture Of The Day: Apsaras In Japan

2005-09-27T22:19:00.000+09:00

I took this pic in early March, 2003. These young Apsaras were invited to perform in several cities of Japan. Me and a group of Cambodian students volunteered to assist this event. Some were assigned the task of translating for these kids, whilst the rest were responsible for selling Khmer noodle and souvenir. I joined the noodle-selling group.

I also took time to watch these young dancers. First time in my life to see Apsara dancing live in front of me. I used to see them, of course, on TVs.

Beautiful indeed. I guess their perfomance must have impressed the Japanese people as much as it has impressed me.

Justice for the Weak

2005-09-24T04:08:00.000+09:00

Finally my friend’s case was settled. He was released from police custody yesterday, after spending exactly ten days for a crime he did not commit (well, I must say he did commit crime against tradition though).

He said it was like he was born again.

But the settlement came only at the expense of his dad’s hard-earned money. 800 Dollars were paid as compensation to his girlfriend’s family, whilst judge received 150 Dollars for agreeing to close the case.

Best actor of this real life dram should be awarded to the judge, who was very quick to alter my friend’s crime- from a usual runaway teen’s case to kidnapping and rape, serious enough to put him at least 8 years in jail if convicted; and who was very quick to decide he is not guilty and closed the case after easily pocketing $150.

His girlfriend deserves the best actress award. She has demonstrated a great ability in performance. She could act as a love-crazed girl, a runaway daughter, and at the same time a heartless girlfriend, an innocent and obedient daughter, and a victim of kidnapping. After all, she’s the winner.

My unfortunate friend might or might not deserve the title as the worst performer, who expected too much from the power of love, from the dream he was sure enough it was not going to come true. Yet he told me he is not angry at his girlfriend at all, and he still loves her no matter what she’s done to him. “She just did what her parents made her do!”

But, whether he is willing to or not willing to, between him and her, it has to be over. I really pray this love to be over. For the last words from his girlfriend’s family was: “No kidding. Next time you will be shot in the head.”

Alone And Drinking Under The Moon

2005-09-23T15:22:00.000+09:00

Amongst the flowers I am alone with my pot of wine drinking by myself; then lifting my cup I asked the moon to drink with me, its reflection and mine in the wine cup, just the three of us; then I sigh for the moon cannot drink,

and my shadow goes emptily along with me never saying a word;with no other friends here, I can but use these two for company;in the time of happiness, I too must be happy with all around me; I sit and sing and it is as if the moon

accompanies me; then if I dance, it is my shadow that dances along with me; while still not drunk, I am glad to make the moon and my shadow into friends, but then whenI have drunk too much, we all part; yet these are

friends I can always count on these who have no emotion whatsoever; I hope that one day we three will meet again, deep in the Milky Way.

By Li Po( Chinese Poet 701-762)

Translated by: Rewi Allen

For more of Li Po's poems go here: Selected Poems of Li Po

Pictures of the Day: Sushi（寿司）

2005-09-20T23:36:00.000+09:00

The Plaintiff, the Judge and the Money

2005-09-19T22:25:00.000+09:00

So here’s the latest development in my friend's case.

I was told he was denied bail and is still being detained in the local police station with one of his legs chained to the wall. The reason he is being chained is because the local police department does not have a proper detention room. They are afraid he might try to escape.

His case has reached the stage of mediation. That is, if he agrees to pay the money to the plaintiff-his girlfriend- he will not have to stand trial. In other words, the case will be closed.

For the meant time, the compensation for emotional distress damages sought by his girlfriend has dropped to $1000(previously $5000). Still, his dad could not afford $1000 and is bargaining for lesser indemnity. He was told that either paying the sum of money they are asking for or seeing his son going to jail. They said the longer he delays the case the more the amount of money is going to increase.

I initially advised him not to pay, not even a penny. As far as this case is concerned, I believe he is definitely innocent. First, his girlfriend is not a minor; she is already 21 year-old. By law she is entitled to go anywhere she wants with whomever she chooses to. With her consent to run away from home, neither my friend should be held responsible for luring her out of her home. Second, the fact that both exchanging phone messages setting out the date and time to runaway from home, not to mention the piles of phone messages both exchanged for over a year, makes the accusation that she was kidnapped sound somewhat ridiculous. There are several other evidences- of which I don’t have to write it down here- because I believe the two above are enough to prove his innocence

I said “initially” because I now am worried about the outcome of the trial if his case is brought to the final step - that is, the ultimate trial. The credibly of the judge is questionable, particularly when it comes to the case of the rich against the poor – a sad fact that I have come to believe over and over again. It would be too risky for him to go on to further step, even though I could assure him that he has a great chance to win the case should the judge truly committed to the impartial application of law. On the other hand, if the judge is corrupted(of course, they are in most cases)he would risk going to jail, paying indemnity, losing his job and after all having his life totally ruined.

In fact, his dad did go to consult the judge who’s going to handle this case. The judge said whether my friend is guilty or innocent, $2000 would settle the case. So wouldn't it be much better to return to the primary mediation with his girlfriend's family?

It’s obviously unfair to compensate for the crime you didn't commit. But is there any other option?

I'll write more tomorrow...

The Force of Love, the Runaway Decision and Its Consequence(1)

2005-09-17T04:52:00.000+09:00

I called a friend in Cambodia three days ago to say hi, only to find out that he was arrested two days earlier on charge of kidnapping his girlfriend (of course, it wasn’t him who was answering the phone but another friend of mine). Shocked at the news, I curiously asked if he really committed the crime and how it happened.

His explanation as to how thing happened was inconceivable. I could hardly believe this.

I’ll try to sum up the whole story. He’s been dating his girlfriend for over a year. He is from an ordinary background whose family is neither rich nor powerful. She is from a higher class of society - wealthy as well as influential. In December last year, her parents realized she was having relationship with him. They strongly opposed their dating and tried to keep them apart. She was briefly locked up in her room. Nevertheless, they both were still able to secretly keep in touch.

When the force of love was getting stronger and deeper, both decided to runaway as it was the only option left for them. They set out a date to run away from home. And that was last week. They didn’t go anywhere far but his home, hoping that should her parents found out they would understand their deep and profound bond of love, and eventually let them live together.

But the result would not come as easily as he had expected.

Her parents found out where he lives a day later. They got him arrested on charge of kidnapping their daughter. At the police station, when asked if she loved him, the girl said she didn’t, and accused him of luring her out of her home; that he had her handcuffed, and then had her kidnapped. She demanded $5000 from him as compensation. My friend was totally devastated at how thing had turned out. For one thing, he has always expected that she would demonstrate her love of him in front of her parents under whatever circumstance; that her parents would understand; and that love will finally win. He couldn’t believe she would make up such horrible story. Moreover, he does not know how he’s going to afford $5000 to compensate her.

The saddest thing is her family is powerful enough to send him to jail should they want to do so. If he is convicted he could be locked up in prison for at least five years.

Why did she do that? It is because she was pressured to do so? Is it because she had already planned it? Or is it because she suddenly got to hate him?

He doesn’t understand.

I do not understand either. Perhaps the only reason is he believes too much in the power of love.

I’ll write more tomorrow when I got more updated information from my friend. Now I’ll have to call him again.

Oil Be Damned

2005-09-16T15:53:00.000+09:00

Stan, the columnist for Khmer440, wrote a fascinating article on the future of oil price, how it's going to affect Cambodian economy, and also offered alternative solutions to the problem:

Actually, getting back on subject, this article is more about Cambodia and its energy future than oil. Gasoline is now about $3 per gallon here; this will likely double in the next year or two and then keep going up from there. Furthermore, those of us old enough to remember the oil crises of the 1970’s understand that the difficulty, even more than high prices, is availability. There were times when people would wait in line for hours to fill their tanks only to have the station run out before they reached the pumps.

In addition to difficulty in the transportation sector, Cambodia also gets nearly all of its electric power from diesel generators. This should be cause for alarm and a crash program to set up a biofuels economy.

The complete article is here: Oil Be Damned

Urban Cambodian Wedding

2005-09-12T17:19:00.000+09:00

Traditional Wedding:

Wedding lasts three days
Both wedding ceremonies and the reception are held at the bride’s house
Traditional clothes
Traditional Music
Food: Cambodian Food
Religious Ceremony: Buddhist
Conservatives have criticized the newly mixed cultures, stating that wedding is one of the many should-be -preserved forms of cultures, and therefore should be strictly followed　according to tradition only. They also say that the new cultures are poisoning the pure Cambodian customs, and are destroying our national identity.

Modern Wedding

Wedding lasts only one day and one night
Traditional wedding ceremonies are held at the bride’s house, while the reception is conducted at the restaurant
Some traditional ceremonies are no longer practiced, some new ceremonies are added.
Chinese influence: Tea ceremony, Chinese Lion dance, Wedding costumes, food...
Western influence: Wedding gown, Music, Wedding cake, Food and drink…
Religious ceremonies: Buddhist, Confucian, Christian ceremonies( if couples have converted to Christianity)...
Liberals argue that traditional wedding -the kind that lasts three days- is both time and resource consuming. There are too many ceremonies, some of which are complicated and dull, and thus should be abolished. After wedding, both newly-wed couples are extremely exhausted. Moreover, the newly mixed wedding culture is more fascinating, and seems to please modern couples more than the old wedding forms.

I personally agree with the liberals for I believe we should move on; what is good should be preserved, and what is no longer useful should be discarded or let go of. I do believe however that while seeking to enjoy the diversity of new cultures, we should preserve some parts of our traditions for the next generation and never completely let go of all the old forms;otherwise, we'll face the danger of losing our national identities.

Picture of the Day: The Country Road

2005-09-08T01:01:00.000+09:00

The Earthquake

2005-09-07T02:38:00.000+09:00

10 per cent of the world's earthquakes take place in Japan alone. It is the world's most earthquake prone country. The recent major quake was the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, in which 6,433 people, mainly in Kobe, lost their lives. Judging from this fact, I have reasons to be afraid of such natural disaster when coming to study in Japan.

Indeed, at the very first week of my arrival , I did spend time contemplating how I would immediately take cover under the table once the building started shaking, how I would run as fast as possible to the emergerncy exit before the building collapsed, and how I would open the window and jump down directly from my third floor in case too many people flocked to the emergency door consequently blocking my exit.

But months and years passed by, there had been no such major earthquake, not even a little one in the area -where I’ve been living- that I could notice. Of course, several minor quakes did occur whilst I was sleeping, so I wouldn’t be able to notice at all.

I had almost forgotten that there are earthquakes in Japan, untill September last year.

I was visiting my friend who lived on the fifth of the 14 floor building. There were three people in the room: me and another two friends of mine.It was around 10 at night. We were watching TV and chatting over various topics when suddently the TV started shaking;books started falling from the shelf;the table , the teacups and everything on it started rocking as though they were moved by the magic power of the martial art masters that you can see in Hong Kong wuxia films, or martial arts fantasies; or as though it was the act of God expressing his outrage against some people who had committed serious sins. I then could feel the whole building was swaying violently back and forth.

I had never been in an earthquake before. The firth thought that struck me was: “Ghost! We are haunted by some evil sprits!” For a few seconds, I found myself stunned, unable to speak.

- “What are you waiting for? Let’s get the hell out of here!” one of my friends who had experienced the quake yelled out with a trembling voice.

- “What?” saidI ( still had no idea what the hell was happening).

- “ Earthquake! Don’t you know it’s earthquake!”

And we three began to panic .

“Run! Run out now?” asked another friend.

Basically, during an earthquake, if we are indoors, we are advised to stay indoors and take cover under a table, bench or desk and hold on, or go to an interior wall or hallway, and expect fire alarm and sprinkler systems to activate.

We then decided to stay in the room and wait till it stopped shaking. Sadly enough, there was only one table, and my friend had put some stuff under it. No other free space enabled us to take cover except for a tiny cupboard where we could hardly put our heads in, let alone our whole bodies. Nevertheless, one of my friends was trying to dive his head inside it, and thus leaving the rest of his body out.

-“What are you doing” I asked him in a bit amusement( still frightened,though).

-“I’m taking cover”, he said, “Head is important, I gotta protect my head.”

For that moment, the fire alarm started sending warning sound.

The building, however, wouldn’t stop oscillating, so we decided to run downstairs through the emergency exit. I didn’t even have to wear my shoes. Either shoes on or no shoes on was no longer necessary at this very moment; but life is. We made it so fast that we probably had never done before. There were already people on the ground; some with their pajamas on, looking just as pale and terffified as us.

The shaking lasted almost one minute.

As far as time is concerned, one minute isn’t that long. But one minute with the quake was long enough to scare the hell out of me, made me realize how great is the fear of death and injury human instinctively has, and how the Japanese people have to endure such frightening moment several times in their lives.

My Seventh Poem: Lonesome Moon

2005-08-31T18:09:00.000+09:00

Picture of the Day: The Sea of Siem Riep

2005-08-30T22:04:00.000+09:00

This picture was taken at West Baray, Siem Riep. The largest manmade reservoir of the ancient Khmers, the West Baray measures 8km by 2.1km. The lake construction project was started by King Suryavarman I (reigned 1001-1050) and completed by King Udayadityavarman II (reigned 1050-1066).

It looks just like the Sea of Kompong Som. So huge that I could hardly believe it was built 1000 years ago. And I have to agree it 's one of the greatest archivements of the Angkor Empire.

Khmer Fashion: The Khmer Kroma

2005-08-29T03:20:00.000+09:00

I found this Khmer Kroma's article quite interesting. Thought you might like it too. Here are a few excerpts:

The Khmer scarf, woven from cotton or silk, has been a fashion staple since Ancient times. While some claim the thin cloth, wrapped around one's head or neck, is used primarily to wipe the sweat from a hot face, others say wearing a kroma is as 'Khmer' as wearing a necktie is American.

[........]

Although its not nearly as popular as the western necktie, the traditional Khmer kroma appears to have international appeal. "When foreigners come to visit Cambodia, they sometimes pick up the Khmer style. They take the kroma to fold around their head like Khmer people in the countryside do," Srey Yar Phout Savdy said. Much to the delight of its guests, the Angkor Hotel in Siem Reap distributes the kroma as tourists check in.

[...]

Long or short, the multi-purpose kromas can be found in nearly every Cambodian household. Even babies know the benefits of the colorful scarves, as kromas are placed The Kromas also are used to shield children from the cold or dreaded mosquitoes. Adults too make use of the kromas in many ways, using them to clean their bodies or wear while taking a bath. As Cambodians head to work in the rice fields, they can be seen wearing a kroma folded around their head as a sun protector. The kroma has even kept the lustful stare of young boys off the faces of blushing girls.

For the whole article go to:
Whole article
Additional reading about Krama:
About Krama

Am I actually living in the dream of a butterfly?

2005-08-27T02:28:00.000+09:00

Butterfly Dream

Chuang Tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly.
All day long, he floated on the breeze
Without a thought of who he was or where he was going.

When he awoke, Chuang Tzu became confused.
"Am I a Man”, he thought, "who dreamed that I was a butterfly?
Or am I butterfly, dreaming that I am a man?
Perhaps my whole waking life is but a moment in a butterfly's dream!.
This is a story of transformation"

(By Chuang Tzu, the great Toaist master of the fourth and the third century B.C)

Chuang-tzu dreams he's a butterfly,
and a butterfly becomes Chuang-tzu.

All of transformation this one body,
boundless occurrence goes on and on:

it’s no surprise Eastern seas become
western streams shallow and clear,

or the melon-grower at Ch'ing Gate
once reigned as Duke of Tung-ling.

Are hopes and dreams any different?
We bustle around, looking for what

( From the "Ancient Song", by Li Po, one of the greatest poets of China)

No Future for Teachers

2005-08-19T01:52:00.000+09:00

* Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia: Bunna puts down his chalk. He has just finished explaining a math solution to his students. He glances at his watch.

Ten past eleven.

All the classrooms at Tnol Bott Primary School are already empty, except for his. “Those who have completed all the note-takings can leave,” he says, turning toward his seemingly　bored, tired, a little irritated, and ready-to leave-even-if-they-have-yet-to-complete-their-note-taking students. “By the way, is the rice cooked?”

It’s not an unusual question, and Bunna’s been repeating the same phrase during or after his session for almost a year now. The students, too, know the question well. Sometimes they’d tell him that it’s already cooked without even having to be asked.

About 20 metres away in front of Bunna’s class, lie several piles of bricks, arranged in two triangular shapes, an old dirty cooking pot, an old rusty, antique-like kettle, and a piece of used window covering the bricks.

His kitchen.

This is where the students cook him rice and boil him water. Adjacent to the “kitchen” lie two old dirty tables joint together;this place has no cover, nor roof. His open dining hall. This is where he has lunch and sometimes his dinner at night if he doesn’t return home.

His school---Tnol Bott Primary School---is located in a rather remote area of the province, 27 Km from the central town (where he lives) and 7 Km down from the National Road 4. Everyday he’d wake up early in the morning, pull out his second-hand Honda Daelim and drive 27 Km down to his school.

It usually takes him 40 minutes to reach his work place. The road to his school is still in its bad condition: bumpy　and dusty in dry season; muddy and slippery in rainy season. He says the worst thing is when he has to sail his vehicle across the flooding road during some rainstorm days. Occasionally, though, when Bunna wakes up late, it takes him lesser time as he’d speed his Honda Daelim as fast as possible to get to school on time, no matter how dangerously bumpy or slippery the road is.

He’s a new recruit. He’s been teaching here for only a year and a half, but he wanted to quit teaching since the first sixth month.

“Basically, all new primary school teachers like me earns as much as 70000 Riel (18$) a month,” Bunna explains, “but I have to spend 6000Riel (1.5$) a day on gasoline for going back and forth, not to mention the money I have to spend on lunch everyday. I see no gain in doing this. So, what's the point of continuing to teach?”

The school knows his problem; they are already in shortage of teachers. So, to encourage him to keep coming to school as well as to help reduce his every day’s expense , on a voluntarily basic, students agree---despite the fact that their families are so poor--- that each of them would bring one or two kilos of rice each month to school and cook for him. In one or two weeks some students would hand him one or two of their home-raised chickens as a bonus for his dinner.

Most of the students come from rural, impoverished families with low educational backgrounds. Yet, Bunna says he could still see in their eyes--- the eyes that hunger for knowledge and the need for proper education.

Being an educator himself, he says, he is very well aware of the value and the role of education. He doesn’t want to see those kids quitting school at such an early age. Yet, anywhere, anytime, hunger and basic needs seem to be ahead of every thing else.

“Even with the help of the school, I still could not support myself; meaning I still live on my parent’s money,” he says, “I feel the need to live a proper life, an ordinary life, if not a luxurious one, just like others.” With the salary as little as 18$ a month he knows his life is too far below the so-called “ordinary line.”

Hence he’s now divided between the ideas of staying on with the job waiting for the government to increase the salary, and finding a second job with just a slightly better salary and quit teaching.

There is, however, good news for Bunna. Last year the government promised to increase 15% of the total salary to all civil servants by 2006. But such a raise is too small for him and, as he says, “it won’t make any thing better.” He says he’d probably be much happier with the plan if he earned 2000$ a month just like all the Cambodian parliamentarians do.

The Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, which was founded in 2000 and now counts 2,500 teachers as members in several provinces, has urged the government to raise teacher salaries to $100 per month[The Cambodia Daily , WEEKEND Saturday, January 10-11 2004]. But prime minister Hun Sen mentioned again in a speech last month that the government is too poor to afford to do so. “If we want to raise 100$ for teachers, we’ll have to reduce the numbers of the whole teachers from 70000 to 10000,” he says.

Back to Tnol Bott Primary School, Bunna just got back from a nearby shop with a small plastic bag full of local foods in his hand. He usually spends about 1000Riels (0.3$) a day on food. “The foods are almost the same everyday, but the dining hall is cool, completely open with fresh and natural air,” he jokes.

But Bunna says he doesn’t know if he will have to buy the same food, have lunch on the same old dirty tables, drive the same old second hand Honda Daelim, and live on his parent’s money for the rest of his career. And yet for him the hope of getting 100$ a month seems far away.

Picture of the Day: My Friend's Nephew

2005-08-10T23:29:00.000+09:00

Photo Essay: taken by my friend, I have no idea what should be the central theme of this photo.

Khmer Slang

2005-08-10T01:01:00.000+09:00

Every language has its special expressions, slang as well as idioms. Some of these expressions, if translated word-for-word to another language, you’ll definitely find out that the results you got are surprisingly odd, nonsense, sometimes meaningless, and sometimes hilarious new phrases. Cambodian language is no exception. I’ve just tried word-for-word translation of some Khmer slang into English. And it confirms my above hypothesis. Below are the results: (Two of them are originally the work of Pheakdey Cheat, a funny, yet bright and intelligent friend of mine at IFL)

An Embarrassing Experience of Learning a Foreign Language

2005-08-09T15:29:00.000+09:00

It happened whilst I was studying Japanese at a Foreign Language University.

It was Tuesday which by schedule was a conversation day, and the new subject was about animal and the sounds of animal. There were eight students in my class, three from Mongolia, two from Romania, one from Hungaria, another one from Philippine, and me from Cambodia. My teacher was asking every student to imitate the sounds of dogs barking in their respective languages.

On that day my eyes were kind of half-shut and half-open, as a result of late night party, chatting and drinking ; that is to say, I wasn’t quite following the teacher. All I heard were “bow-bow," " wow-wow," and "how-how." Those were actually the sounds of dogs barking in Hungarian, Romanian and Mongolian language. Then I heard the teacher said: “…It sounds like 'wan-wan'”. She then turned to me and said, “what does in sound like in your language?”

I caught only her final phrase “wan-wan” which was in fact the sound of Japanese dog makes when it barks, and I had no idea it sounds that way in Japanese. So I assumed she was asking me to pronounced number one in my own language, since "wan-wan" sounded somehow like "one-one."

“It sounds like 'mouy-mouy',” I replied.

“Mouy-mouy?”my teacher mimicked, looking a little surprised and suspicious.

“Are you sure it’s 'Mouy Mouy'?”

"I’m absolutely certain that it’s 'mouy-mouy'," I said.

Although I am a bit sleepy, I still remember my own language perfectly well, I thought.

Then she turned to other students and said,“they bark 'mouy-mouy!" Don’t you think Cambodian dogs are weird? ”

Now you can tell how embarrassed I felt. Of course, the dogs never bark "mouy-mouy." They make the sound " woh-woh," “wow-wow” or “bow-wow” just like Japanese, Romanian or American dogs!

Picture of the Day: Roast Beef with Prohok Sauce

2005-08-08T00:46:00.000+09:00

This is one of the most famous disheh which is indispensable for any drinking shop in Cambodia. It's also one of my favorites. A dish like this usually costs about 6000 Riel( 1.5 Dollars).

My Sixth Poem: Romdoul Or Sakura?

2005-08-07T17:16:00.000+09:00

Fifth Poem: Homeland

2005-08-07T16:32:00.000+09:00

Laws in the Country

2005-08-07T15:28:00.000+09:00

* Enlarge the pic by clicking on it

My Third Poem: For Sale

2005-08-07T15:27:00.000+09:00

Second Poem: Nationalism

2005-08-07T15:17:00.000+09:00

A Poem

2005-08-06T22:36:00.000+09:00

Counting Weddings

2005-08-06T22:09:00.002+09:00

It was ten in the morning when my plane landed at Phnom Penh International Airport."The Hair Cutting Ceremony" from a wedding, held in a village nearby along National Road 4, was proceeding.

As we started to drive off from the Airport heading toward our hometown- in Kampong Speu province-I took a glance at the scence of the wedding and found myself relaxing to the sound of Cambodian traditional wedding music that I hadn't heard for almost a year. " I am home", I said to myself, and smiled. Along the road, two hundred metres away, another " hair cutting ceremony" from another wedding was procceeding. "Two weddings", I thought.

As we drove pass the second wedding, the somewhat similar traditional wedding music from ahead was coming closer and closer. "Another wedding?", I felt rather amazed. And I was right; it was another wedding. Three weddings in just 500 metres away. " No surprise. It's wedding season", said my father as we drove past the third wedding.

It was early March and my third visit to Cambodia in three years. Wedding season begins in October and March is generaly the peak season. My hometown is some 40 kilometres away from Phnom Penh International Airport. I was busily doing wedding counting all the way from the airport until I got home. Three, four, five,six...then 18, 19, and as I reached my hometown I had 20 or so weddings, held along National Road 4 alone. Busy season. Everyone is getting married. To my surprise in my village there were two weddings on the same day.

It was 11:30AM when I eventually got home. 11:30AM: for weddings it was time for reception. My aunt who lives next door was waiting for me in her wedding-goers's dress. My mother too was wearing her traditional clothes, specially designed for wedding ceremonies. My uncle-in-law was also dressing up as if he was about to attend the wedding or other party. And surprisingly so was my cousin, who is my aunt's daughter.

" Big party for me?", I thought. "Or perhaps my mother and my aunt had been invited to one of her close relatives weddings?" In Cambodia you do not bring your spouse or your kids to a wedding with you unless you are a relative of the bride or the groom, or unless you are a special guest. But her explanation was quite different." I have three weddings today", she said, looking at her daughter and her husband. " So, I decided your uncle will attend one wedding, your sister (my cousin) will go to another wedding, and me, I'll go to another one". She said last month she got more than twenty invitations, some of which she was unable to attend, mainly because they were held on the same day. Since this month is the peak season, she expected more wedding invitations to come.

Weddings seemed to have ruined much of her time. A week or two before going to a wedding, she'd spend hours at the tailor ordering her new wedding clothes. " You can't just wear the same dress every time", she said. On the wedding day, she'd spend hours making up her face and her hair at the hairdresser. " Women are a little different from men", she told me, " you can't just take a bath, comb your hair, dress up in your same ordinary clothes and head to the wedding ceremony". Then she'd spend one hour at the receptions head table. Finally, she'd have to pay; that is, politely and generaly speaking, giving her wedding gift. No wedding is free - ever. Sometimes even when she does not wish to go or can't go, she still has to pay or else she'll risk losing face, losing her friends or losing her relatives.

She is not alone. My mother too. My friends's mother too. And as it seems, everyone.

The next day when I went in the market for T-shirt shopping I noticed the same conversation being discussed by market vendors. Everyone was talking about weddings. " His son is getting married tomorrow", someone said. " So tomorrow, I'm going to have 2 weddings". And then another voice replied:" You're luckier than me. She's not inviting you. I've got three and I don't know whose I'm going to attend and whose I'm going to abandon".

Time is probably the reason everyone is complaining about weddings. Weddings are time consuming. But the real reason is probably money - weddings are resource consuming. At the moment, in the centre of my province, each wedding gift is usually worth $10. Of course, the wedding gift is usually money, no material gifts unless the wedding belongs to the upper and richer class; for example, certain high ranking government officials; in which case a modern expensive car or jewelry is expected to be the wedding gift . In remote areas it is worth less than the urban area, probably $5 or even less. Whilst in Phnom Penh, wedding gifts are now usually worth $15 or higher as it represents the most advanced and richest area of the country. Suppose you are in the centre of my province, and you were invited to two wedding's reception on the same day. You'd have to give away $20. If your income is satisfactory, you probably wouldn't care much. But if you are a high school teacher whose salary is around $25, it seems you work the whole month only to support weddings. In fact, some of my friends are primary or high school teachers, who earn less than $2 a day. When wedding season comes they say they are terrified. They even joked that [ the wedding] is the cause of poverty. Weddings have turned out to be a sad and scary story, so to say.

But then there are the good sides of wedding invitations. " I keep complaining about having a lot of wedding invitations ", said my former high school literature teacher whilst I was visiting him. "But I keep attending. And in case it's a wedding of someone I know well but they failed to invite me, I'd be rather upset as I feel I am being forgotten". He said weddings have been one of our longest and oldest, valuable traditions. We Cambodians have the culture of helping each other, any where, on any occasion. Twenty five years ago when he got married, he invited his bachelor's friends. Later on, when they got married, he was the guest. Last year when his daughter got married, that friend was the guest. At the end of this year, the son of his friend will be married and he is expected to be the guest again.

Back home, my aunt had just returned from a nearby wedding reception. "The food today was really nice", she said. "We didn't have to cook today as all of our family members had their lunch at the wedding reception".

Well, that is probably another good point of wedding invitations. Today it is her turn. When her daughter gets married it will be their turn. So goes the circle and the tradition.

We keep counting the weddings, but we keep going. Wedding invitations are nothing bad, after all.

Testing: My little niece from Cambodia

2005-07-14T17:01:00.000+09:00

Hi,

I'm just testing the page. Wonder how it looks like.

By the way, the little girl in the Pic is my niece. She's three year-old. So cute, and adorable, isn't she?