Author Archives: Dermot Sheehan
A Reporter’s Dangerous Guided Tour through Democratic Kampuchea
During Cambodia’s most desperate hours, Elizabeth Becker, along with a few other journalists, was given a tour of Democratic Kampuchea in 1978. For the first time ever in Cambodia, Elizabeth Becker presents her multi-media exhibit from that trip. The exhibit…
Land, Cops, the Rich and the Poor
The morning of Chinese New Year Day, on my way to the pharmacy, I happened up a street on which the owner of one of Cambodia’s controversial land development companies lives. The road was lined with cars and motorcycles and…
Phnom Penh Restaurant Reviews: La Cita
Phnom Penh’s expat community is sufficiently large that the opening of a place that serves a fine English breakfast or good value for the money pizza is hardly noteworthy, certainly not cause for excitement. On the other hand, the emergence…
Phnom Penh Restaurant Reviews: The Lost Room
Getting there is rarely half the fun in Cambodia (dirt bike enthusiasts excepted). Even if you have your own chauffeured transport, a very good speaker system and an ice chest of beer under your feet, it still doesn’t mean you…
A Good Cop, a Wild Driver and a Weird Ride Home
Outside the minimart at 2am was a tuk-tuk driver; mid thirties, furious, waving his fists and gesticulating wildly as he glared at me as if to suggest; ”Barang – you are only scratching the surface of my righteous anger, so…
Cambodia – Anything Can Change in a Blink of an Eye
Anything can happen in Cambodia – life is very uncertain and therefore different (and possibly exciting) to what we are used to living in the modern world. This is why for many Cambodia is an attractive location for those wanting…
Prahok: My Secret Addiction to Cambodia’s Infamous Fermented Fish ‘Cheese’
For the past few weeks, I’ve been staying in a guesthouse in Phnom Penh, writing every day in the restaurant downstairs, and trying to get the printed version of my book sorted. It’s a relaxing place, filled with backpackers all…
Phnom Penh Coffee Smackdown
Phnom Penh. 6:00am. Sun breaking over the Mekong; ladies in pajamas flapping their arms in synchronized ecstasy to Akon along the river, chickens scratching, café workers stoking their charcoal fires in the cool morning air. Time to slog off to…
Shame of Cambodia’s Memorial to Slain War Reporters
Anyone who knows anything about the Cambodian Government will know they never do anything quickly. But it’s appalling how slow they’ve been honouring the more than three dozen journalists who were killed or went missing during the bloodshed and turmoil…
An Irishman, a Screwdriver and a Phnom Penh Rat
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As you might expect in a sweltering tropical climate, creatures of all sorts abound here. The city center is a bit barren; it has plenty of trees but not much else as most ground is built on or paved and…