Investigators from the Battambang Provincial Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and the Protection of Minors arrested the proprietor of the Cafe Flirt at 5:30 pm (no date given, but possibly the 28th June) on his premises located in Mpay OsapeaVillage (20th of May Village), Svay Pau Commune, Battambang Town. The suspect…
A funny thing went on a couple of weeks ago. Every night I make the trip from town (read bar), back out to Rancho El Pedro and last night, taking the shortcut past the old abandoned cemetery, the electrics on my bike died: cut out completely – nothing. A quick…
“I love you and Jesus loves you,” said the pimply youth with a clean cut all-American dress sense. OK, organized religion isn’t my thing. It’s done both good and rather a lot of bad from Tierra Del Fuego up to the Arctic Circle, and I’m in no right to judge…
May 1st: International Labour Day when workers of the world unite and wave socialist banners, bearded ale quaffers watch young maidens prance around a phallus with ribbons, andeveryday folk get a day out of the office. In Cambodia it’s a time for government workers, teachers and students to knock back…
New Year comes but once a year, well, 3 times if you live in Cambodia. Finally the last one is done and dusted, ready for the rains, which made their timely appearance the day after. Most expats welcome the holiday, but dread the price hike on just about everything, the…
The last couple of articles I have written for this esteemed website could be perceived by some as being a little cynical or perhaps at times even a touch vitriolic. To even the score the following story is nicer: a pleasant piece to prove statistically I’m only 66.6% evil. Nature…
Hang Borin is a Khmer writer whom I had the great pleasure of meeting recently. He was born in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1987. His mother had made the perilous journey over the border alone with a young son. She arrived in Thailand and made her way as…
There is no better time to witness the charms and mystery of Cambodia than the first hour of every morning. As the ever punctual sun rises, promising another day of scorching heat, there is a magic in the first rays of light, a creeping mist and coolness to the gentle…
An old term used to denote areas of the sea that hadn’t been navigated, ‘here be dragons’ is an apt metaphor for exploring the sleepy backwater that is also Cambodia’s second largest city. Quaint. Charming. Old colonial architecture. Those are fitting descriptors for Battambang, a lovely if quiet escape from…
Battambang Province – An ordained monk ភិក្ខុមួយអង្គ (lit Bhikkhu) was arrested by authorities and defrocked by the Provincial Office of Religious Affairs after he had bludgeoned a fellow novice monk នេនមួយអង្គ (lit Nhen) with a pair of nunchaks ដំបង២កំណាត់ severely enough to leave him vomiting blood. The formal defrocking occurred…
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