It’s the holidays, and I want to talk to you about a very, very annoying Christmas song, one that nevertheless has a special, perverse place in my heart thanks to my time in Cambodia. It’s called “Last Christmas,” and was created by those British songster scamps “Wham,” who you’ve probably never heard of outside of […]
Category: Cambodia
Buffalo Racing in Cambodia: So Very Majestic
You know it’s a damn good holiday when there’s a chance you might get run over by frightened livestock. At least, that’s how it is in Vihear Sour Cheung village in Ksach Kandal district in the Cambodian countryside. Falling in either late September or fall on the Western calender, Pchum Ben is Cambodia’s Day […]
Anti-Vietnam Protests in Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Oct 6th
Protests against a Vietnamese officials statement about the historical ownership of Kampuchea Krom – what is now Southern Vietnam – continued into a third day on Monday, as members of various groups allied against the Vietnamese presence in Cambodia gathered outside the Vietnamese Embassy on Monivong Boulevard. By my estimation, around 100 people were at […]
Anti-Vietnamese Protests in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Anti Vietnamese sentiment has been part of Cambodian culture for an exceedingly long time, and has only been on the rise since the hotly contested 2013 elections, in which the opposition CNRP party made animosity towards the Vietnamese, and their supposed colonial desires, a central tenet of its platform. Spearheaded by Khmer Krom minority groups, […]
Flying a Drone at Olympic Stadium – Cambodia
Phnom Penh’s Olympic stadium is saddled with a bit of a misnomer. Begun in 1963, the earthworks-heavy structure was crafted by revered Khmer architect Vann Molyvann, and was originally intended to host the 1963 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games. Politics got in the way, but the stadium and its 50,000 person capacity persist to this day. […]
Why I Hate Backpackers: An Illustrated Guide
I am regularly asked by acquaintances and friends why I hate backpackers. They are used to seeing my anti-backpacker screeds on Twitter or when they meet me at the bar, ready with my latest story about those horrible people who wear elephant-patterned pants and talk incessantly about spirituality. They conclude the obvious: I loathe backpackers […]
Cambodia’s Areng Valley: Mother Nature Activists
I was just in the Areng Valley in Koh Kong Province to scout out a potential drone video, with the gracious assistance of the Mother Nature NGO. Wet weather and bad road conditions precluded any aerial footage from happening, but I did shoot a few stills. The beautiful and hard-to-reach Areng Valley is in danger […]
Bearded Men With Kramas – Phnom Penh cartoons
If you live in Phnom Penh, you’ve seen this guy. You may be this guy. The krama symbolizes exoticism and a sense of adventure, while the beard symbolizes rakish virility. The Moleskine and large, unwieldy camera indicate they are serious Travelers who are not to be lumped in with the backpacking riff-raff. I think it’s […]