Around Town

I couldn't help myself but to laugh when I saw an amazing site in Phnom Penh the other day. I was on a motobike stopped at a red light and on the corner was a gas station. And what was at the gas station filling up? An ambulance. Okay, ambulances need gas, too, but this one had a patient on a gurney! The door was open for some fresh air (I guess) so I could see her. Only in Cambodia!

 

Last night I had a short adventure. I was scheduled to meet some friends at a restaurant called Metro on the Riverside. At the appointed time, I walked downstairs and discovered that the entire street was flooded. I don't mean inches - I mean feet!

 

I went back upstairs and put on my dairy boots that I brought from California, carrying my dress shoes in my hands. I went along the curb in one direction, but it was too deep and the water would have started filling up my knee-high rubber boots, so I went the other direction with the same result.

 

Not one to give up, I stood there trying to think of a solution (no - I didn't have a boat), as cyclos and dead motos were pushed through the hip-high water down the street. My neighborhood tuk-tuk driver decided to drag his tuk-tuk from the opposite side of the street where it was engulfed to the alley on my side of the street. Bingo! I offered him $5 to drag his moto with me in it to the end of the street (or how ever many necessary to get to a water level where I could walk. He thought about it for a minute then decided the money was worth the effort. So, I climbed in with water higher than the floor-boards and sat on the dry seat  as he huffed and puffed along the river/street. He made it to the next alley, which had access to dry land unlike my alley which is a dead end. This was a very short distance so I negotiated a $3 fee.

 

I made it to the restaurant to meet my friends and we had a fun (and dry) evening!

Preah Vihear in the World News

I'm a Grandma!

Hello Everyone!

 

I know it's been forever since I've written, I was getting wi-fi in my apartment for a while, but the signal isn't strong, so I haven't been getting it regularly.

 

But the real news... my son, Danny had a baby! His name is Sephiroth Deacon Frost Duncan Arthur. He was born at 9:07pm on June 27. He weighs 7 lb 8 oz, is 20 inches long and has lots of hair! See for yourself:

 

Daniel, Sakura and Sephiroth

Finally a Lazy Day!

Interesting Morning

Today is the first-ever City of Ghosts location tour. It starts in about 3 hours. We have sold 14 advance tickets. I know this will be a very busy day. I was up at 7am to start running errands. I picked up t-shirts, ordered a few more programs (I originally only ordered 10), and ate some breakfast. Then I walked to the Internet Cafe to check email.    

 On the way,  I encountered a few people standingaround a very small kitten lying on the edge of the street. It had just been run over across the belly by a motorbike. It was clearly alive but unable to function it's bottom half. There was no blood or open wounds.     

I bent down to look at the kitten and tried to communicate (me with limited Khmer and the others with limited English). I tried to ask what is done in Cambodia - kill the cat or take to doctor. I know that people wouldn't normally take a stray (assuming that is why it was in the street to get run over), to a vet, but putting it out of it's misery is certainly the humane thing to do. A few more people came over since the barang (me) had stopped.    

One of the new people could speak more English and this time I asked HOW does one kill the cat in Cambodia. He said it can be taken to a vet and asked if I would pay. I then asked how much would that cost and he said not much which is most likely true. I'll try to find out but I guess only a dollar or two. By this time I was cradling the kitten in one hand and gently petting it with the other. As the man was on the phone. It started to go limp, and then have a few jerks and limp again. I interrupted him (as well as the other people who could also figure out what was happening), and told him I thought the cat was dying in that very moment and there was no need to go to the vet.

I continued to pet the kitten through a few "limps" and "jerks" until it was limp for the final time. I put my hand over it's chest and in front of it's nose - nothing. Then a flea jumped on my hand. This is a sure sign of death because a parasite will not stay on a dead host. I gave the dead kitten to a Khmer man to take to the garbage heap, and asked the restaurant we were in front of if I could wash my hands.     

As I handed the kitten to the Khmer man, I said to those who could understand, "I am happy to show love to the kitten as it died instead of letting it die in the street." "chma subai" - "cat happy."    

Compassion. Love. What is life without these?

 

How Could a Month Have Gone By?

Wow! I apologize for not writing on this blog more! I have written for the Cambodia Pocket Guide and Khmer440.com. In fact, the first story on Khmer440 has been #1 for two weeks, "I thought Cambodia Would Be Dangerous." They just published my second story "What we have here, is a failure to communicate" and it's already #5.

I have also been writing my own newsletter. I orginally planned for it to be a single page so it could be used like a poster, but there was so much information it filled four pages! The first one was June and it is available online at www.FilmCambodia.org. I'll be adding July this weekend.

I got a cat for my birthday and finally named it Tigger. He is very well. My assistant thinks I treat him too well, "He's only a cat?!"  Pets in Cambodia are pretty much left to fend for themselves. The exception is those little"yappy" dogs. They always seem to be on a leash and groomed.

I'm helping a low-budget film production scheduled to start shooting between August and October. We should nail it down by next week. I'm helping a different production company choose the best film festivals they should submit to for the best results.

I guess that's it for now. Did you see the new Photo Gallery link? It's at the BOTTOM of all the links and is called Cambodia 2007.

Happy Birthday To Me!

I came to the Internet cafe with flash drive in hand so I could add lots of photos and text I have written, but go figure...the flash drive was not recognized by this computer.

 

So rather than leave you waiting to anything at all, I am writing this post from scratch...just for you!

 

I'll tell you about the last day. June 13th is my birthday, so I celebrated by going to Fanny Ice Cream for a treat with a couple of friends. I also gave myself a gift - I adopted a cat! I haven't named him yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I do. I came to the cafe with the express purpose of putting up his photo for you to see. I can try a different one later this afternoon.

 

Things are well. Feel free to post a comment and let me know how you are doing!

Mariam 

More Photos!

I've tried a couple of times to add new posts, but there were technical difficulties. Therefore, I'm keeping this one short to increase the chances of it getting to you!    

So, to get the scoop, go to the Photo Gallery on the right and click on "Cambodia 2006" This is where I am posting photos with captions (even though it is 2007). The new stuff is currently on page 5 and 6,  but if you haven't seen it in a while, you may want to start on an earlier page.

Ronan Keating Concert

When I arrived in Phnom Penh, I saw concert posters everywhere for "Ronan Keating." I had no idea who this was, but I discovered he is like the "Justin Timberlake" of Europe (he's from Ireland). Back whenever, there was a boy-band and now he is outon his own, singing mostly covers. The two songs attributed to him are both songs I know in the US by other artists.    

 But this was the first big "International" concert in Cambodia, so I wanted it to go well.     

 

I went to the concert to observe how the event management was handled and see for myself who attended. I paid the cheapest admission, which was $15.    

They had about 3-4 checlpoints where official looking people checked my color-coded plastic "credit card" type ticket. Food vendors were past the first checkpoint and I bought some popcorn for $1. Just outside the doors they had catered sandwiches, water and coke. I bought a sandwich for $1.    

Once inside, I was impressed to see fans with water reserves creating a cool mist. Every kind of uniform was present. As people trickled in, I saw 60-70% Khmer and 30-40% Westerners (expat/NGO/tourists). I was surprised how many families with teens and young children were there. I never see barang children around town. I suspect people even came from Siem Reap if they were fans - but I have no knowledge of such.     

The floor seating filled up and at least of half the second level on all three sides was full. An interesting note was the chirping sound which I finally identified as bats. They could occasionally be seen flying through the light. I felt sorry for the bats for little did they know, their feast would be interupted by decibels unheard of before. (I couldn't help but think it would be funny if the only spotlight being on Ronan would lead a bat or two to do a flyby - but alas, the noise would keep them at bay, for sure).     

The opening act was the "Khmer Idol" winner, a girl who sang three Khmer songs and whose stage presence was bland. When she was done, I was dismayed to see the lights come back up while the crew spent another 15 - 20 minutes setting equipment and doing sound checks. These were not the Khmer roadies, they were the pros who are part of the regular team. Surely they know this should have been done before the doors opened. I arrived at 6pm. They had the time to do whatever they needed earlier - I'm sure nothing was stuck in customs. It's not like they had to set up the drum set. What I saw during those 15-20 minutes was extremely unprofessional. But the rest of event management was handled fine.     

Everyone had red glow sticks given to them, so when Ronan finally came on stage and the lights went out, a sea of waving red allowed the band to see the fans. Cameras were everywhere. I took out my camera and took photos of other people using their cameras. This is Cambodia where licensing and copyright don't exist even though the required "No Camera" signs were posted and bag checks were done at two checkpoints.     

After three songs I left. The concert was a smash success and everyone was having fun. I've worked too many concerts in my day to just hang around and watch a guy perform who I had never even heard of before arriving in Phnom Penh almost 4 weeks ago. It was loud and flashy like a real concert should be.     

Of course, no one could understand why I was leaving. I didn't bother trying to explain. I got the info I had paid for. And didn't feel the need to get stuck in the traffic jam when the concert was finished. Especially if the rain picked up agian. It was still drizzling when I walked to my friend and his moto waiting for me outside the stadium grounds.

A Week has Gone By Already?!
My meeting with Kulikar and Nick Ray was nice. I have also met several other people involved with film, documentaries and local TV.     I had a few friends over for the plowing ceremony. The cows only ate corn, nothing else. This is supposed to mean a good year for corn, but bad for water, rice, peas & beans, and other crops. The royal astrologer gave his prediction of a hard year ahead at the New Year's  celebration last month. Let's hope they're wrong. Maybe they should add oil to the list of items for the cows to eat?     I've been frequenting Broken Bricks and Rory's Pub. They each have a different style, but good folks to hang out with. I'm looking forward to meeting a few other Khmer440.com posters tonight at the Jungle Bar. "Starving Pelican" has announced drinks are on him as he is in Phnom Penh for a few days and wants to meet folks. Should be interesting.     I got my 6 month visa extension today. It cost $145, which I suspect includes a little padding for the person processing it.     Adding a few more photos (check the photo gallery on the right).