Tag Archives: culture
Festival PhotoPhnomPenh
The Institut Français of Cambodia is organizing the fourth edition of the Festival PhotoPhnomPenh from 26 November to 2 December 2011. 8 Cambodian and 16 international photographers (France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Estonia, India, China, Korea) will present…
Bassac Theater
The latest casualty in the government’s drive to sell off important parts of Cambodia’s heritage is the impending loss of the Bassac Theater. It was designed by Mann Molyvann, Cambodia’s most renowned modern architect. The building, damaged by fire in…
A Cambodian History Lesson
You may well have noticed, since it’s been widely reported in the global media, that some interesting conclusions have been drawn from research into the downfall of the Cambodian empire centred on Angkor Wat. For those of you who missed…
Trouble at the Rumour Mill
It’s not that I have a fixation with The Twilight Zone, it’s just that bizarre stories are so common in Cambodia. In this article we expose the vampires of Phnom Penh before revealing the tale of the villagers who consumed…
Four Cambodian Weddings and My Funeral – part 2
I was up at 4.30 the next morning, three hours after my poor wife. After the Chinese ceremonies, sometime after nine I was able to consume a small bowl of rice porridge. My wife had no time for a mouthful…
Four Cambodian Weddings and My Funeral – Part 1
My advice to you is this: if you decide to get married in Cambodia, first undertake an intense six-month regime involving military training for stamina, monkhood to learn superhuman patience, and a crammer for fluent Khmer. Even then, make sure…
Modern Life Is Rubbish
After steeping myself in classical and traditional Cambodian music for the first few months that I was in the country, I’ve then discovered an amazing genre – the Cambodian rock scene of the late 1960s and early 70s. In the…
Tum Teav: The Classic Cambodian Story
The Documentation Centre of Cambodia has recently made some excellent and recent monographs on the Khmer Rouge period available for free download in *pdf format*. I was looking for two works on the fate of the Cham under the regime…
Cambodia Book Reviews: The Lost Executioner by Nic Dunlop
Although it doesn’t set out to be one, this book is probably the most thorough biography ever made of a top level Khmer Rouge cadre. Nic Dunlop first visited Cambodia as a student in 1989, a time when visitors per…
7 Reasons Why I Should Probably Marry a Cambodian Woman
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I’ve had a lot on my mind the last few months. What has been troubling me the most is the realization that later this year I’ll be turning 40. This impending entry into middle age naturally makes a man start…