I want to tell you a real bummer of a story about Facebook. The kind of no-fun, downer tale that Alex Mosseri, the head of Threads, Meta’s new social media service, said he doesn’t want his website to support. I arrived in Myanmar for the first time in November 2012, the same week that the […]
Tag: southeast asia
How Drones can Protect Indigenous Land Rights – Latest for Slate
Drones to the Rescue: how unmanned aerial vehicles can help indigenous people protect their land – Slate My latest on Future Tense, documenting how inexpensive UAVs can help indigenous people (and other people without much access to resources) document where they live and what they own. From an interview with Irendra Radjawali, a fascinating Indonesian […]
“Last Christmas” or Cambodia’s Inexplicable Favorite Christmas Song
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 […]
Some Things I Approve Of in Chiang Mai – Sausage, Khao Soi, Night Markets
Khao Soi Khao soi is my favorite noodle dish in Asia, and that’s really saying quite a lot, considering the dizzying biodiversity of noodle soups in this region of the world. Thought to be of Burmese origin, the dish has been modified in Northern Thailand, and is, I think, superior to the original. The essential […]
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 […]
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 […]
Why You Should Pay Attention to Political Unrest in Thailand – UN Dispatch
Thailand Has Ousted Its Prime Minister – Here’s Why You Should Care It’s over: Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has finally been ousted by a Thai court after a contentious and occasionally bloody political standoff that has dragged on since last summer. In office since the summer of 2011, Shinawatra rode the Thai political […]
Manila and Intramuros
The Philippines is looked over. The visitor to the Philippines from the US is confronted with a large archipelago full of people who are very much aware of your homeland, who you yourself remain distinctly unaware of. All Californians grew up with Filipinos at school and in the neighborhood, but somehow we still looked […]
War correspondents of legend and song unveil memorial in Phnom Penh, Cambodia – GlobalPost
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Many of the most prominent surviving correspondents who covered Cambodia’s civil war gathered in Phnom Penh on Wednesday for the unveiling of a memorial to the “at least” 37 journalists who perished on Cambodian soil between 1970 and 1975. Buddhist monks performed religious rites and Cambodian information minister Khieu Kanharith […]