Gombay
I decided to go to teach in Korea a few years ago...
Motivations to go...firstly, it was an excellent way for me to gain teaching experience (as once upon a time, I aspired to become a teacher), a way to make money to pay off my large student debts and to LIVE in another country and truly experience another culture.
The Sereypheap Market Is Totally Demolished to Take the Land to Construct Flats for Sale; Market Vendors Can Just Cry
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 645
“Phnom Penh: There was a protest by the Sereypheap Market vendors in the Veal Vong commune, Prampi Makara district, Phnom Penh, after they received a notification from the local authorities on 29 December 2009. In the morning of 30 December 2009, the authorities, armed forces, and prosecutors of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court decided to remove the market, based on a warrant of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.
“In the morning of 30 December 2009, some armed forces were found deployed since 3:00 a.m. until 12:00 o’clock in the compound of the Sereypheap Market, when the enforcement of warrant began, while all vendors were shouting to protest, raising banners and photos of Samdech Dekchor Hun Sen and of Her Excellency [his wife]. Finally, the protest could just make them cry, as the authorities implemented the warrant by deploying security forces around the area of the market, locked the gates of the market, and totally demolished the market.
There is a Chicken at my shop
Technically, it's a rooster. I know because it has been crowing non-stop since it arrive on a motorcycle a couple of hours ago. So I shot it (geddit? hahaha!)
It's not the first time the cobbler who sits just outside the shop has brought a chicken along with him. He ties it to a pole (you can see the raffia string on the rooster's left leg in this photo) and takes it with him when he goes home.
Same same but different
I promised before I'd write a few notes on my thoughts about the differences between Australia and Cambodia...the kinds of small things that only really hit you when you've just gone from one to the other, the things you take for granted, that kind of stuff.
Well, I've kind of been too busy doing catch ups to really do justice to this topic, but for what its worth, here a few things off the top of my head that have come to mind... (please bear in mind the point score is tongue-in-cheek...I love both places...promise!)
Phnom Penh Streets ~ Théo Vallier
Theo Vallier is not the first foreigner to get lost in the shadows of Phnom Penh, but he may be the first to do it in an elegantly artistic way. Phnom Penh has had the good fortune to have several very good shows lately and Théo's vision of the urban environment stands out.
LA Star to Sing, Phnom Penh Blues
Billy Haynes lists musicians like Lou Rawls and Tina Turner on his CV. He played in the Middle East just months after 9/11 in an attempt to soothe tensions with his music. And now he is in Cambodia looking to overhaul the live music scene.
Billy Haynes is one of the top Rhythm and Blues artists to ever come out of Los Angeles.
"Well, it's a challenge - I mean, this is not a music town," he says of Phnom Penh. "But that's the great thing about it. In LA, London, Amsterdam, if you try to do this, there are already people doing it. This is a one-horse town."
Tragic Telly and the Phnom Penh Pirates
With no English speaking cinemas in Phnom Penh and only one bowling alley, watching television and DVDs plays a large part in 99% of expatriate's lives. It is a great way to unwind and relax and most expats have a DVD library that would put your average Video Ezy to shame. Many people go all the way and buy huge wall-mounted flat screen televisions and one chap I know even has a couple of rows of leather seats set-up and a popcorn machine so his mates can have a true cinema-style experience.