Khmer rouge trial a "novel approach to international justice"

Just read this interesting article on how victims of the Khmer Rouge want money and the precedent this sets for international justice. But you can hardly fault the Khmers for demanding money - they learn from their leader, from their police. Besides, what meaningful alternative is there since most of the KR leaders are dead? There's no justice left to extract.

From the article by the Christian Science Monitor :

"It's a novel approach in the field of international justice," Clint Williamson, the US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, said at a recent press conference in Phnom Penh. "We think victim participation in the process is a positive thing, but it should not be taking place because people are seeking some type of monetary remuneration at the end of the process."

One of these people is Chum. "I want money," he told CSM. "I lost five family members – my wife and four children – and some property under the Khmer Rouge. The court needs to calculate what this equals with money."

"Some of the victims are even jealous of the defendants – they have a nice place to live, a car that brings them to the court," says Mr. Kong Pisey, a Cambodian attorney representing Chum.

"[Duch and the other defendants] don't have to sleep with small containers filled with their own urine and [excrement]," Chum scoffs, describing his life while inside Duch's prison. "If S-21 was hell, they live in heaven."

One German lawyer, Silke Studzinsky has requested the creation of a trust fund into which third parties might donate money for reparations. Awarding individual financial reparations, she tells CSM, "is part of the justice process. It is not complete if you miss this very important part" even though the court has twice declined her requests.

Siem Reap Tonle Sap boat tour scams

I'll have to find the old photos to show how the place has changed. Before, it was a menagerie. When you arrive, boat men will come up to you to tout their services and you hop on a boat. There was no jetty like today.

The boatman told me why. A Korean company now operates the Tonle Sap boat tours in Siem Reap.

To get to the Tonle Sap, you need to take a tuk-tuk from Siem Reap town. We paid Phern USD15 for the whole day but a return trip by an independent tuktuk is just USD6 or 7. If you book with a travel agent it is USD10.

The boat ticket itself is another matter. Of course, they tried to scam us Singaporeans. My aunt and her friend were charged USD15 per person. I refused because it was ridiculously expensive. I argued and tried to bargain but the corrupt, arrogant man running the ticketing sales said it was "fixed price". Just as the boat was about to leave, he let me on free, partly because Phern asked on my behalf, but mainly because he had profited enough from my friends and it would not have cost him anything to let me go on.

The REAL PRICE is USD12 PER BOAT if there is one or two persons on that boat. If there are three of you, it becomes USD5 per pax, which makes it USD15 PER BOAT. That means the asshole made a profit of USD18 for that trip. And you can bet the boatman who does the actual work gets zero of that.

The other scam happens halfway on the boat, when the boatman will try to get you to visit a school so you can buy supplies for the children. Fine - except what they charge for the supplies. Here is one traveller's experience, as posted on travelfish.org:

I agree that the floating village is not worth to see. We got there with a Tuk-Tuk, payed the entrance fee ($ 20 pp!!!), got a small boat (we were the only 2 tourists), we shiped around the village for half an hour, but there was nothing special to see. After introducing a little of their lifestyle we were asked if we want to visit a school. We agreed because there was nothing else to see. But they nearly forced us to buy some pencils, pens and books for the school (they insisted to bring something for all 40 pupils). We would love to do it, but the "shop" in the floating village asked $ 1 for 1 pencil! Here you really get ripped off! So we bought only 4 pencils and the crew (2 young boys) got really angry and the didn't speak to us anymore! I would not recommand to go there!

I had already known about this school scam so I told the boatman, since I speak Khmer. He kept saying, "mian p'new chet la-or, chong jouy k'meng k'meng" or "some tourists heart good, want to help the children."

I despise this Cambodian tactic. The tour guides, the NGOs and the boatmen use it. They imply your heart is not good if you don't help, or rather, fall for the scam. I know exactly how my heart is, and what I do everyday for a group of Cambodians working at Bloom, and then some--thank you very much. I don't need your pathetic, transparent attempts at blackmail.

Still, some tourists find it hard to say no. See this one on travelblog.org:

A bit further along our driver asked us if we were interested in buying some stationery and books for one of the local very poor schools. Well, what can you say to that without sounding like a total jerk? Of course we agreed and before we could say "Boat House" we were moored alongside the local General Store - floating variety. Now this is where the fun began. The shop proprietor was obviously well versed in this scenario as she met us with a package of books and pencils - asking price US$25!!! "You must be joking", I said. "Do I look like a fool?" After a bit of haggling, during which time I was feeling like we'd been totally scammed we finally settled on $10 and not a penny more! What a con - and for some reason, I felt like I should have known it was going to go down like this. Anyway, we were then dropped off at the local school comprising of one floating classroom complete with basketball court on the top to present our "gift" to the eagerly awaiting principal. I only hope the kids actually get to use the books, which by the way would have cost little more than a $1 in Siem Reap."

Anyway like the travelfish poster, our boatman became sullen after repeated attempts to get me to buy the stationery. Well, I give as good as I get and I stopped chatting with him. Despite the unpleasantness, I tipped him USD3! (10% of his monthly wage!) See how crazy I am. Heart of marshmallow. I pity him because I know USD30 is too little to live on.

Other things I can share is: wear sensible shoes when going on this trip. The metal plank leading from the jetty to the boats HAVE HARDLY ANY GRIP. It is very slippery and dangerous. Thank goodness there are bars you can hold onto when making your way down. If you wear high heels you will regret it.

Along the way, a small child will suddenly appear on the boat. Our young girl was rowed by her brother. Their boat comes really close so she can hop on with a bucket filled with cold drinks. You can buy if you like, I think for USD1 a drink. We didn't so she hopped onto the other boat. We were just amazed at how quickly it all happened.

In two days I have heard two scams that happened to two groups of backpackers in Scambodia. I'm sure many Khmers are just as angry at their compatriots for being so short-sighted. As the tourists told me, they will return to their home countries and tell people of their troubles in this country. Do you think people will be encouraged to come?

Some Cambodian friends tell me these people "kert klai, ot kert vwairng" (think short-term, not long term). Other Cambodians tell me it is the government's fault. Because it corrupt and takes what it can, the ordinary Khmer also wants his/her own share.

Angkor Wat, Killing Fields, now the Tonle Sap boat tour

Is there nothing the Cambodian government will not privatise?

I once met an engineer from mainland China who was sent by the Chinese government to restore some temples at Angkor Wat. He found it puzzling that "the Cambodians have no pride" [his words, not mine - and I am saying this upfront because I am sure I will be flamed for this entry by overseas Khmers, as I do every time I am critical of this country ]. He said this because he believes China would never "sell" the Great Wall and other national treasures to foreigners, unlike Cambodia, where the main tourist sites are privatised to foreign in addition to local companies.

In fact, most Cambodians are extremely proud of their heritage (misplaced pride, as I've written before). However, it is true that for some Khmers, these objects have less significance than money which is why Cambodia is in the situation it is.

In May, I took my aunt and her friend on the Tonle Sap boat tour to see the floating villages here in Siem Reap. The place has changed remarkably since I was last there a couple of years ago. It is now organised and you have to pay USD15 for an hour's trip (previously it was USD10). You get the tickets from a ticket booth and get assigned a boat.

I found out why it was so organised. The tours are now operated by a single company, a Korean one. The company is Sou Ching Investment Co. Ltd, part of a large investment fund established by two major Korean companies - SK Securities and Golden Bridge Asset Management.

"SK Securities asset manager, Yim Yeo Ngijin, was quoted as saying that the companies were expecting returns on their investment of up to $1 trillion. He described the Sou Ching Port Investment as part of a "cultural exchange package." [yeah, right.]

"According to an April 2007 tourism working group meeting at the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), about 60,000 tourists now visit the Chong Kneas area each month in high season. By charging $1 dollar per tourist, the working group estimated that revenues of $120,000 every two months could be achieved rapidly.

USD1? Well, we paid USD15 - each.

Read this and how the villagers tried to protest the bulldozing (with no success, as usual -- I'll upload photos later so you know what I mean) here on the tonle sap database. The article is a Phnom Penh Post report dated Dec 14, 2007.

The Killing Fields is licensed to a Japanese company, JC Royal Company, which has a 30-year contract starting in 2004 for USD15,000 a year, with graduated increases. The Cheung Ek killing field was the main execution site for prisoners from Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, about seven miles away. Says the New York Times:

Based on figures provided by an official here, the company stands eventually to earn about $18,000 a month in entrance fees. The profits are to go to a fund that is half owned by Cambodian government officials. The company has agreed to clean up and organize the site. Some fear that will dull the raw immediacy that gives the area its haunted.

And of course, there is Angkor Wat, which earned Sokimex (or Sok Kong Import Export Company) , a Cambodian conglomerate, an estimated USD50 million in 2007 alone. Sokimex apparently pays the Cambodian government USD10million a year for the right to operate and manage Angkor Wat.

Here I have to re-iterate that Sokimex, also Cambodia's largest petroleum company and owner of the upmarket Sokha Hotels is a Cambodian company and NOT a Vietnamese company. All the tuk tuk drivers and tour guides will tell you the money goes to Vietnam. It does not. It stays in Cambodia (the bulk, if not all of it)-- only it goes private individuals instead of to the national treasury.

The allegations are made by Cambodians because the owner Sok Kong is Cambodian, born to ethnic Vietnamese parents. And if you think that makes him Vietnamese, then you must consider me a mainland Chinese instead of a Singaporean, and a Malay born in Singapore to be Malaysian instead of Singaporean or an African American to be from whatever African country instead of the USA. If you do, you're ignorant. And if you don't, yet consider an ethnic Vietnamese born in Cambodia to be Vietnamese, then you're a hypocrite.

Phnom Penh in Dragonair's Silkroad magazine

I write freelance to earn some money since I don't get a salary from Bloom (although I have been thinking this must change, after almost 3 years). This one was on business in Phnom Penh for the carrier Dragonair, a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific. The in-flight magazine is called Silkroad. Dragonair has daily flights from China to Phnom Penh and most of its passengers are business people, hence the business angle. (Don't you just love the photo of Phnom Penh's Monivorng Boulevard? It's by Anthony Gibbin for Lonely Planet Images)

It was a great opportunity to meet some businesspeople in Phnom Penh and I made sure to get all different nationalities in different industries. In the end I wrote about ANZ Bank (with New Zealander James Lowrey, head of corporate and institutional banking), the Pavilion Group in the hospitality industry (with French owner Alexis de Suremain), web design company House32 (with American owner John Weeks), publishing company AsiaLIFE Guide (with British owner Mark Jackson).

I need to get permission to upload the entire story on my blog, but there was a lot of information and insight the gentlemen gave me about business in Cambodia, which was fascinating to me, since I also run a social enterprise here. I'll write those up as separate entries when I can, to share with others interested in business here.

Writing is fun, and is the only thing I really enjoy these days in Cambodia.

Creepiest vintage ads of all time

I think Pears was trying to say the baby had so much fun during bath time he toppled over!
The Gilette razor: so smooth it can even be used on babies, by babies!
Eeeps! What a creepy little girl!
Suicide pork.
All photos from retrocomedy.com. Go check it out, the author's got some great lines! My favourite...
6. Locked Out
You better wash out your privates with Lysol, or your husband will install cartoon locks on the door. Hahahah!
Thanks to souryoghurtsupergirl for adding to reddit!

Electronic cigarettes

Hahahaha! Check out the electronic cigarette. It seems one Dr Murray Laugeson of Health New Zealand found the ecigarette "...very safe relative to cigarettes, and also safe in absolute terms on all measurements we have applied. Using micro-electronics it vaporizes, separately for each puff, very small quantities of nicotine dissolved in propylene glycol, two small well-known molecules with excellent safety profiles, – into a fine aerosol. Each puff contains one third to one half the nicotine in a tobacco cigarette’s puff. The cartridge liquid is tobacco-free and no combustion occurs."
Check out the cigarette pack which you can plug in to charge!
The site is convinced "electric cigarette technology is the future of smoking". It's better for you than real smoking in number of ways! It's safer because "each puff contains one third to one half the nicotine in a tobacco cigarette’s puff. The cartridge liquid is tobacco-free and no combustion occurs." Which means you won't burn your house down in case you fall asleep smoking!

Our True Colours

A great article pointing out that Indians who accuse Australia of being racist should take a look at themselves. Racism Indian Style:

- A Madurai sessions court sentences Farook Batcha to two years' RI ["Rigorous Imprisonment" apparently, whatever that means in India] in 2008 for harassing his wife so much about being dark that it drove her to suicide.

- The information and broadcasting ministry issues a notice to Nimbus Communications for a racist ad during the 2007 India-West Indies series. The promo featured a West Indian running around for water after eating spicy food. No Indian comes to his help. The ad's punchline: "It's tough being a West Indian in India."

- Bilyaminu Ibrahim, a Nigerian student at an engineering college in Greater Noida, is spat at by one of his Indian seniors.

- Robert, a Kenyan student in Pune, is denied entrance to a pub. He is asked to return on Tuesday for an "all-black" night.

- A controversial ad for Fair & Lovely cream features a father who is unhappy because his daughter is dark and unsuccessful. The cream changes her complexion and lands her a glamorous job.

One of my close Cambodian friends, a woman around 30, was pursued by an African man. She went out with him for a while, but could never really accept him, even though she tried her best to accept him, "as a good Christian". She kept saying he is a "black man". They soon broke up. I have no idea which country in Africa, since my friend herself did not know.

Cambodians in general are racist towards black people. It's not hard to believe, since even among Cambodians, darker-skinned people are discriminated against. Just ask Knila who writes: "When I was in primary school, my friends called me 'black' because of my skin color. "Black" was said instead of "brown"; I guess, their parents didn't teach them to distinguish between colors very well. Very sad. Half-blood chinese children were proud of their white or pale skin color. Some of them behaved superior to others in the class."

"Many women told me that to have white skin is to show a wealthy status in Cambodian society," she continues. "I thought, 'Oh, so Cambodians have disliked Cambodians themselves and 'brown' means dirty or of low status.'

It's a great article and I encourage you to read it yourself. I know one Cambodian father who calls his daughter Srey Mao as a nickname, "K'mao" being the Cambodian word for "black" because he says, she is dark. Like Cambodia, Thailand too, stimatises dark skinned people. One common insult I learnt from this article is "tua dam," or black body, a rude term to degrade someone of lower social standing. Also "e dam" (black girl) or "dam tap pet" (black like a duck’s liver).

So obsessed are Cambodians with skin colour you can find questions like "What is the actual descendant of a Cambodian who have white skin?" and Light Skin Vs Dark Skin Cambodian at groups and forums online.

Cambodian women use skin-whitening products, some of which are harmful. This led the Ministry of Health to declare in 2008 that it would control powders and lotions that promote skin whitening especially those that contain hydroquinone. Although commercial whitening products are widely available in Cambodia, they are also sold on the black market where they are incorrectly labelled or not labelled at all.

Of course the women do this also to attract men. Chhun Hy always tells me he wants to marry a girl with "white-skin". He categorises every girl he knows - me and Chantou are "white skinned", Rath and Thyda are "black skinned" etc.

In India, Cambodia, the whole of Asia really, people admire fairness. In a survey carried out in June 2004 by Synovate, 61 percent of respondents in Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan said they felt they looked younger with a fair complexion. Half of Filipino women, 45 percent of Hong Kong women and 41 percent of Malaysian women said they were currently using a skin-whitening product. I am sure the percentages are higher now, not lower. In the last few years in Singapore, I have noticed magazines carrying advertisements for *more* whitening products.

The Taiwanese show "Meteor Garden 2" featured a Singaporean actress, Michelle Saram, of Indian-Chinese parentage (we say "Chindian" in Singapore). She was slammed by Taiwanese netizens for "looking like a Filipino maid" because of her darker skin. She has Indian blood, what do you expect? She is still a very pretty girl, but apparently not enough for Taiwanese audiences who expect their leading ladies to be snow-white.

Argh! I have to stop now. Just writing this makes my blood boil. People are just so stupid.

My tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap 2

I've written about Phern, my tuktuk driver here in Siem Reap. He is 54 and speaks very little English. I mentioned in my previous post that is the reason why I use his tuk tuk. It is almost impossible for him to compete with the younger tuk tuk drivers who speak English. They are the ones who get the tourists and the big tips.

Whenever friends visit, I always suggest they help him out, because he is a sweet old man and is very honest. Recently he told me because of the low season he gets sometimes only 2000 riels (50 cents) a day. Phern has 4 children so it is hard for him. I try to help him out by giving him odd jobs. More recently, I asked his wife to try making necklaces out of recycled paper which I can buy to sell in the Bloom shop.

Anyway I visited Phern and his family recently. This is his home, a single room for which he pays 50,000 riels (USD12.50) a month. His place is only one room, with one door, not the whole building. It is the one with the table and the plastic chairs, which Phern's wife (pictured) took out for me, my aunt and her friend. I had bought them different varieties of fruit and they insisted we have some (of course we felt shy). Cambodians are very hospitable. Even if they have nothing in the house, you can be sure they will offer you at least water.

You can see in the second photo his home consists of 2 beds, one for the parents and the other for the 4 kids. He has a gas stove which is kept on the bed during the day as the wife prepares the day's meals. At night it is put on the floor to make space on the bed. The red bucket on the bed contains drinking water. Underneath the bed in a basket are plates and bowls and cooking utensils. Clothes are put in baskets (behind Phern's wife in the photo).

The house is unbearably hot during the day because of the zinc roof, so the family usually sits outside the door. The shared toilet, the one made out of bricks, is used by three families, so 10-12 people. Phern is showing my aunt the chicken coop in the next photo.

My aunt and her friend were quite affected by the visit. They were dismayed at the living conditions. I explained that as far as Cambodians go, Phern is actually ok. He has a concrete house, which means the family is protected from the monsoon rains. They also have mosquito nets and access to a toilet and running water. It is hard for Singaporeans to imagine anything worse. My aunt says even in the 50s in Singapore, people were not so badly off.

The last one photo shows firewood. In case you think it is shared--it is not. The wood all belongs to the landlord, who sits on a huge wooden double storeyed house in the same compound. I wanted to take a photo of his house, but his wife who was sitting under the house (it is raised on stilts) was eyeing me suspiciously.

Sex and the Cambodian artiste/artist

From romony.blogspot.com, a Cambodian blogger living in Japan who is a follower of this blog. I just checked out her site, which I found interesting for its pan-Asian coverage. Among other things, Romony writes about entertainers in Korea, Taiwan as well as Cambodia. Here is one, with a youtube video of Cambodian singers "playing behind the stage" with a sex toy.

Says Romony in her post:

I remember these people; popular or not, they were Cambodian singers I used to see on the stage. They used to step on to the stage from the room behind and greet audiences with their gentle words and gesture traditionally (matching their acts to Cambodian culture). However, the video footage below shows their hidden faces and acts - things that are still unacceptable to Cambodian society (at least to the conservative Cambodians)....Many people in Cambodia are now playing more with camera embedded within their hand-phones, thanks to what is termed technological diffusion. When camera-ing something like their own naked body or own sex scene, however, these people totally forget or never think of the consequences, particularly in the age that internet is far beyond our control.

I found Cambodia actually has a Maxim model! For those of you who don't know, Maxim is a men's magazine, like FHM and Stuff, and they feature sexy and sexily clad women. Meng Lau, born in Phnom Penh but now lives in San Francisco has been featured in more than one men's magazine.

Khmerbird says "people know her as America’s hottest doctor’s assistant on Maxim Magazine and as Neighborhood Knockout Meng Lau on Stuff Magazine." Here is Khmerbird's interview with Meng Lau as well as photos of her.

Then there was this hoohah of the drawings of Reahu, who draws Apsara dancers with big boobs. Really, which Cambodian woman has a chest like this? It's all in Reahu's fantasies, which I find laughable. But some people take him seriously.

Quoted in the linked article above: "Mr. Chuch Phoeung, secretary of state of the ministry of culture and arts, said that the website was not based in Cambodia. He said that the Cambodian authority cannot do anything. If it is based in Cambodia we can invite them to explain to us. He agreed that those drawings can cast a bad image of the Khmer culture but said that the Khmer authority is unable to do anything (to stop them)."

Well, they obviously can. If you try to go to reahu.net, you'll see this message:

ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved
While trying to retrieve the URL: http://reahu.net/
The following error was encountered:
Access Denied.
Access control configuration prevents your request from being allowed at this time. Please contact your service provider if you feel this is incorrect.

How NOT to install a Wifi transmitter

Hahahaha! Thanks to Lukadium for adding to reddit.

I love Cambodian Monkeys

Awwww...Check out this cutie-pie. It seems it is an old monkey that lives in Siem Reap town. I spotted her at the Soria Moria Hotel one Wednesday when I went there for drinks (all drinks and tapas $1!). The waiter tells me the monkey is not owned by anyone. She (I think it is a she) is so beautiful I really thought someone was looking after her. She often comes by the restaurant, the staff tell me. One time she turned her nose up at a spoiled banana. Only when the waitress returned with a fresh banana did she take the fruit. I keep smiling looking at these photos because it is so cute. :)

Here are more photos of urban monkeys, this time taken in Phnom Penh, as they did a hire-wire act.

Cambodian insect

I took this a few days ago. It was at night (hence the flash) and on the floor in our living room.

I was fascinated at the two, beautiful, fan-like feelers at the top of the insect's head. But I could not find what bug it is. Anyone knows? If you like insects, insects.about.com has a Bug of the Week contest. Maybe I should enter this Cambodian bug.

How to cut the grass in your Cambodian garden

We have 5 Cambodian dogs (Austin, Nessie, Sunshine, Buster and Sooty). For this reason, we rented a house with land. We are lucky to have fruit trees, sweet potatoes, beautiful bamboo etc. The only problem is keeping the garden tidy. It is a lot of work, weeding, cutting the grass and overgrown shrubs and trees.

Bamboo is crazy - if you have ever had bamboo you would know it just grows and grows. Also, snakes like to sleep under the bamboo because the shed leaves make a cool bed. I took these photos last year at the very spot - they show a green snake trying to swallow a gecko. There is also a 2 metre black snake which hunts for small animals in our garden, which really freaked out our helper.

I don't mind the snakes. I think they're more afraid of us. The only thing I worry about is the dogs getting bitten because they like to annoy the snakes. Austin once bit a smallish one and swung it around before flinging it. Amazingly the snake survived. Our landlord says the only snake we should be afraid of are cobras (!)

Anyway, snakes also hide in the tall grass, so my mom convinced me we had to cut the grass when it was overgrown. The landlord recommended I hire some Khmers to do it. The cost? USD25 a day for a couple to do the work.

Of course I overpaid. It does not sound like a lot for a foreigner, but you have to remember this is a country where most people earn USD1- USD2 a day. And grass cutting is unskilled labour, using sickles. Indeed, subsequently 3 young men offered to do it for 15,000 riels (USD3.75)--that is in total, not each.

Our landlord is not a mean man, on the contrary, he has been very kind to us. A few months ago, he volunteered to cut our rent because "the economy is bad". I don't think for a second he intended to rip us off. What I think is he was just trying to help his relatives, which is a very common Khmer trait.

Anyway, I also explored the option of buying a strimmer (string trimmer). My landlord picked me up on his motorbike to see the shops, along the road to Psar Leu. There are petrol and electric ones, but you can only get petrol ones in Cambodia, which go for USD90 new (made in China) and USD40 second hand. There is also a Japan made "Honda" that you can get for USD200 new.

The landlord advised me against getting a second-hand one because he said "you pay 40 dollars, but it works only 40%". I find in general, richer Cambodians have an aversion to second-hand things, whereas I always think second-hand because I want to save money. Maybe they are speaking from experience though, who knows?

I got a friend to compare prices in Singapore and found electric strimmers to be cheaper than the petrol ones found in Cambodia. On the other hand, the petrol ones in Singapore are more expensive, twice the price, but they are good ones.

Usually people use electric ones for their homes, because most people live in a country where land is expensive. Electric ones are not available in Cambodia because land here is cheap and many people own large tracts (our rented place sits on about 16,000 square feet of land).

Anyway, I had a spot of good luck recently. A woman came and asked if she could cut the grass to feed her cows. We had already considered this as a solution: letting in a few cows to eat our grass. Except our five dogs go barking mad when they see the placid creatures (Austin was kicked by one for annoying it).

Here are the photos of the woman at work. You can see curious Sunshine looking on and also how the woman transports the cut grass home, in a basket on her bicycle. She came twice this week. I wonder how many cows she has?

Pirate Bay sold to software company

Interesting. I wrote previously about Pirate Bay getting its 22 million users to pay a buck each for its legal fees and how one of the co-founders, Anakata, was rumoured to be in Cambodia. Well, here's the latest.

From torrentfreak.com:

The Pirate Bay Sold To Software Company, Goes Legal
Written by enigmax on June 30, 2009

According to gaming company Global Gaming Factory X (GGF) , it is in the the process of acquiring The Pirate Bay for $7.8m (SEK or Swedish Krona 60 million). The acquisition is scheduled to be completed by August and will see the site launch new business models to compensate content providers and copyright owners...GGF claims to have the biggest network of internet cafés and gaming centers in the world.

The changeover of ownership is scheduled for August 2009, whereby GGF will take over the operation of the site...

“The Pirate Bay is a site that is among the top 100 most visited Internet sites in the world. However, in order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary,” said Hans Pandeya CEO.

What happens when today's teen uses a Walkman instead of an iPod

I love, love this BBC Magazine experiment! What a great idea!

Pictured is 13-year-old Scott Campbell, from Aberdeenshire in the UK:

"My dad had told me it was the iPod of its day. He had told me it was big, but I hadn't realised he meant THAT big. It was the size of a small book...

"It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape [Side B--haha!]. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette.

"Another notable feature that the iPod has and the Walkman doesn't is "shuffle", where the player selects random tracks to play. Its a function that, on the face of it, the Walkman lacks. But I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down "rewind" and releasing it randomly - effective, if a little laboured."

Hahahaha! I remember my Walkmen (yes I had a few). This does bring back memories, including the time I was so desperate for music while backpacking alone in Europe for 3 months, I bought a metallic pink Walkman in the UK.

iPhone: Khmer unicode, water proof and porn

In February, channelasian asked on discussions.apple.com when the iPhone will support Khmer unicode. This led to a back and forth with another user who insisted to: "You bought a hacked phone. There are no authorized resellers of the iPhone in Cambodia at this time which is also why you don't have language support." [You can get officially unlocked iPhones in Cambodia, imported from Singapore.]

Another user weighed in: "You can keep track of where the iPhone is available here. Cambodia is not yet anywhere on the list. As for Khmer, this script is not yet included by Apple in the full version of OS X, so I think support on the iPhone is quite a long way off. But tell Apple you want it apple.com/feedback/iphone."

But all is not lost, channelasian noted "now there's someone can build khmer font and keyboard for iphone, but he sell too expensive. it's not the real version from apple."

Cool. Where there's a will, there's a way.

I found this youtube video where a man using his iPhone 3G S accidentally dropped it into a pool--"Wait, it still freaking works!"


Chanroeun (currently doing his PhD in Australia's ANU), who also left a comment on my earlier post, reviews the phone here: "unbelieveable latest iPhone 3G S".

A poster to the video says this is what to do if any phone, including your crummy non-iPhone falls into water:

"Take it out of the water as quickly as possible, do not press any burrons, turn it off, or any of that - get some uncooked rice and a ziploc bag, fill the ziploc up half way with the uncooked rice, place your phone inside the bag, fill the rest of the bag with rice. This will suck the moisture out of your phone overnight and has worked for everyone I know who has tried it."

Finally, there was a chance Cambodia would not be able to enjoy the iPhone. Anyone remembers Prime Minster Hun Sen's ban on 3G networks in 2006, a few months after operators started offering the service? All because his wife received porn on her phone. It made international news:

According to Reuters, Hun Sen announced the clampdown today to an assembly of Buddhist monks in Phnom Penh, with: "I have written to the Minister of Telecommunications to delay the use of certain mobile phones. We can wait 10 more years until we have managed to improve morality in society."

Hahahaha! I have no idea when this blew over but thank goodness we didn't have to wait 10 years to get 3G back. [For some great comments on this see CNET].

iPhone 3G S in Cambodia: $1100 for 16GB (!)

"Khmer" (you can't see his blogger profile so no point linking him) left me a comment on my post iPhone in Cambodia. He says the iPhone 3G S is available in Cambodia! You can find it here and here.

But there is a price to pay, specifically, USD 1100 for the 16GB and USD 1270 for the 32GB (!!). This is how much it costs in the US: USD199 for the 16GB version and USD299 for the 32GB. (But of course you have to sign a contract with AT&T...) But still, you would be paying 5.5 times more to get the 16GB iPhone 3G S in Cambodia.

What it says to me is there are people in this country rich enough for money to be no object in getting the latest coveted toy. Children of government officials, anyone? The last time I was in Phnom Penh (March, I think), I saw a teenage girl driving a huge, black Mercedes (not a baby Benz I can assure you, more like the 500 series). Phnom Penh's different from Siem Reap in that way. Siem Reap has more of a middle class, but Phnom Penh, where the seat of government is, is where you see the really rich Khmers.

The iPhone 3G S was available in the US just over 2 weeks ago, on June 19 and already it is available in Cambodia. Cambodia is not even on the list of scheduled countries:

June 19
United States
Canada
France
Germany
Italy
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom

June 26 (just a week later…)
Austria
Australia
Belgium
Ireland
Japan
Netherlands

July 9 (nearly three weeks later…)
Bulgaria
Colombia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Estonia
Finland
Greece
Guatemala
Hong Kong
Hungary
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
Sweden
Uruguay

August 9
Argentina
Botswana
Brazil
Cameroon
Central Africa
Chile
Ecuador
Egypt
Guinea
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Jordan
Kenya
Madagascar
Mali
Mauritius
Nicaragua
Niger
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela

Source: simonblog.

Building collapsed in Shanghai - awesome pics

This building collapsed in Shanghai yesterday. One workman was killed but no one was injured when the 13 storey building fell. It is a new building. More pics here.

In last year's Sichuan earthquake, a disproportionately high number of school structures collapsed, especially in rural areas of Sichuan. Chinese netizens have since invented a new term "tofu-dregs schoolhouses" (Chinese: 豆腐渣校舍) to mock the quality of these school buildings. The tragedy was all the more poignant because families lost their only child, due to China's one-child policy.

Swaminathan Krishnan, assistant professor of civil engineering and geophysics at the California Institute of Technology said: "The earthquake occurred in the rural part of China. Presumably, many of the buildings were just built; they were not designed, so to speak."

Sounds just like Cambodia--buildings just built, not designed (architecturally, not aesthetically, he means, although one can make a case for both in Cambodia!). I am sure many Cambodian buildings don't have proper foundations, especially with the double storeyed houses in the villages where zero piling goes on.

Fortunately, though, they don't build as high in Cambodia, although they are starting to. I just hope the buildings, built mostly by foreign companies, are built properly.

Black or White

Yesterday I wrote Chhun Hy said this about Michael Jackson: "You are saying before he is black man?"

I was thinking if you just look at MJ's recent photos without knowing anything of his past you wouldn't have a clue he is black.

Well, today I just saw this: young smoke, a 20 year old white guy from the US who thinks he is black. He writes in his My Space profile under "Ethnicity", "Black/African descent". Hahaha! Thanks to Redsnow for adding to Reddit.

Angkor Thom Issue 27.7.09 - final installment

The magazine also has more "serious" articles, like this one on Tuol Sleng or S21, the genocide museum in Phnom Penh. This was one story Thyda did not read, but she told me the headline says the authorities are planning to move the museum. I could not find anything online to confirm this speculation.
The next one is about politics: the story says Cambodia suffered in the past because it was blacklisted by the US. Because of this, foreigners did not invest in the country. The thrust of the story is Cambodia's resilience and how the country overcame the dark times to become a destination for foreign investment.
These are photos of a beautiful Cambodian celebrity. I forget if she is an actress or a TV host/compere. Regardless, this celebrity has a travel agency in Siem Reap and is divorced. The story is about her upcoming second marriage. Thyda says this lady has had plastic surgery on her boobs, bum, nose and chin (!). I don't know anything about this celeb or what she looked like before, but I guess a trip to Bangkok and enough money is all it takes if someone really wanted to change their looks in this town.
Oh, this story was quite interesting. This lady owns a restaurant and one day a man opened fire in her restaurant over a dispute with the security guard. You can see the words AK in the article and I asked Thyda "are they saying it is an AK47 he used?". She said yes.
In addition to Horoscopes (many of the Bloom women like to read the horoscope page), you can find global entertainment news. Many young Cambodian women I know think Rain, the Korean singer, is hot, so there he is. Khmers are also keen on Angelina Jolie, since she has a connection with the country (her first adopted son is Khmer). There is also something on Jennifer Lopez's pregnancy. I had to ask who the woman is in the top right and without missing a beat, Thyda said "Jordan, you don't know her?" Sad to say, I do.

Angkor Thom Issue 27.7.09 -part 2

This story really made me laugh. This is a Cambodian police man who is famous for making traditional medicine for what Thyda calls "the linga", "Linga" being the Hindu word for "penis". Apparently his traditional herbal concoctions work so he is famous and has many clients. As a point of interest, Andy Brouwer has photos of Cambodia's largest linga, built in worship of Lord Shiva. The 4m long phallus is found in Phnom Bok, 25km north of Siem Reap.
This story is about a brother and sister who had children together. The whole family and their house is pictured. The next photo tells the story of a young woman who claims she and her brother are the re-incarnation of a pair of star-crossed lovers. In one of their previous lives, the couple were lovers who killed themselves over their families' disapproval of their love (every culture seems to have a Romeo and Juliet). Before they committed suicide, they vowed to return as brother and sister, so they could be together.
And this last photo shows readers how nursing mothers should express milk. It is funny, in almost every issue there is a story on breastfeeding...

Angkor Thom Issue 27.7.09 -part 1

This is the cover of the wildly popular

Angkor Thom

magazine which was available on newsstands yesterday, the 27th June. Thyda tells me the magazine is sold out within a day. Once she went to 10 stalls to find a copy just one day after the magazine was published but they were all sold out.

The cover always has photos of Cambodian songstresses, actresses and other beautiful, famous, Khmer women. This issue had a scandal (see the bottom left hand corner). A female celebrity was caught on camera with her lover, and Thyda expressed shock because this particular celeb has always had a good reputation. (Female artistes in Cambodia usually have the reputation of being kept by rich men).
Now we get to the features and you will understand why the magazine is so popular. This story is about a mother-in-law (top left) who slept with her son-in-law (bottom left). The big picture on the right is the wedding photo of her daughter and son-in-law, and the passport sized photo is the woman's husband whom she is divorced from.
This other story is about a stepfather who slept with his stepdaughter (the one in blue) and got her pregnant. The woman in the smaller photo is the mother. These are just two of the features, I'll upload some others in Part 2.

I can't read Khmer so it was Thyda who explained the stories to me. I kept asking two questions: is it real and where is this? The first one took place in Kampong Thom and the second in Battambang, she said. She got a little impatient with me, thinking it is irrelevant where the incidents took place. "Everywhere in Cambodia it is like this," she said. And every time I expressed scepticism, she would be impatient. "Yes, it is true. Many, many stories like this in the magazines."

Gossip magazines and newspapers routinely make up stories to sell copies which is why I doubt the veracity of these stories. I can just imagine the reporter paying some poor person in the countryside and dressing them up for the story. (Maybe some are even photos of dead people.) How hard would it be to find poor people in the countryside who would be willing to do this for a few dollars? Magazines like Britain's OK and Hello magazines are willing to pay millions for some celebrity's wedding or family pic, because it makes financial sense. The millions translate into a lot more.

The other reason why I think some (not all, some are probably real) of the stories are made up is I am sure the magazine is not even available in more remote, rural parts of Cambodia. So what shame is there in participating in this charade?

Who knows, maybe I am wrong, but it's amazing how the magazine unearths sex stories all over the country three times a month (we're not done yet with this issue's--I have a part 2!). Perhaps luckily for Angkor Thom magazine, Cambodia does have an endless supply to sexual deviants.

Cambodian Reality Show: You're the Man!

Just saw this ad in the "Angkor Thom" magazine. "You're the Man!" is a Cambodian reality show in which 6 Khmer men take part in an adventure.

The show is funded by USAID's PRASIT programme ("Prasit" means "effectiveness" in Khmer), and is the acronym for the project name: “Project for HIV/ AIDS Strategic Technical Assistance. I guess they are funding it in the hopes that the show will somehow get their message on HIV/AIDS out ("I'm a real man! I use condoms!) I wonder in what ways, maybe through ads? I hope it will be more imaginative than that.

The reality show is sponsored by Starcell, Angkor beer and Southeast Asia Globe magazine.

Meet the contestants here: Panna, Socheat, Venvitou, Mony, Sesothea and Vichet. They age from 20-34. Looks like we can expect a good fight!

Dating rituals

I have always thought an online dating site for Cambodians would work well. Cambodians have a strange (to a foreigner, anyway) way of getting to know the opposite sex: wrong numbers.

In the 3 years I have lived in Cambodia, I know two young Khmer women who met their husbands this way. The guy calls their phone number, knowing full well it is a "wrong number" (they ask for someone who is not associated with the number). They end up chatting; they guy calls regularly, sometimes a few times a day; they meet up finally and end up married. I also have Khmer friends who met their boyfriends this way.

Sometimes, the caller does not even pretend to be calling a wrong number. He comes right out and say it: "Srey Sa-at ["pretty girl"] blah blah blah..." I know because I have had to deal with such calls myself. I always say in English, "I'm sorry, wrong number" and then hang up. I can't be bothered to waste my precious time on such things. Some callers are persistent and call back (thanks to caller ID you don't have to answer the call a second time). I wonder if Cambodian men really think this would work on a foreigner? Has a female barang ever been picked up this way in this country? Do tell me if you know.

Young people also get to know each other via classifieds in magazines. You advertise what you are looking for and then list your phone number. Interested parties will then call you.

Anyway, these are low-tech versions of online dating, which is why I am convinced there is money in an online dating site.

Another way Cambodian young men and women meet is during festivals. One young man I know met his girlfriend during the water festival, when many young people throng the streets to party. Groups of young men get to know group of young women this way.

This is what it says on wikipedia's entry on Courtship, marriage and Divorce in Cambodia:

"Though adolescent Cambodian children usually play with members of the same sex, boys and girls take part in group games during festivals, offering them the opportunity to begin looking for future mates. Virginity is seen as highly valued in brides, and premarital sex is deplored. A girl who becomes pregnant out of wedlock is seen as bringing shame to her family....

Courtship patterns differ between rural and urban Khmer. Attitudes in the larger cities have been influenced by Western ideas of romantic love that do not apply in the countryside. A man usually marries between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five, a girl between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two. Marriage between close blood relatives is common. After a spouse has been selected, a go-between meets with the parents and broaches the subject of marriage. Then each family will investigates the other to make sure its child is marrying into a good family."

I think it's not easy meeting members of the opposite sex (with the aim of finding a partner, I mean) in any country and different societies develop different dating rituals to get a mate. Surely ranking among the most bizarre are the Kyrgyz. From The New York Times:

"More than half of Kyrgyzstan's married women were snatched from the street by their husbands in a custom known as "ala kachuu," which translates roughly as "grab and run"....

Kyrgyz men say they snatch women because it is easier than courtship and cheaper than paying the standard "bride price," which can be as much as $800 plus a cow....

Brutal as the custom is, it is widely perceived as practical. "Every good marriage begins in tears," a Kyrgyz saying goes

I should point out "ala kachuu" is illegal in Kyrgyzstan but the law is rarely enforced. One woman describes how in desperation, she told her abductors, she was "no longer a girl", a euphemism meaning she was no longer a virgin. The lie worked. Loss of virginity is a deal-breaker in that central Asian country, as it is in Cambodia.

There has been an increase in matchmaking or dating agencies in developed countries. As people spend more and more time at work, they find it increasingly difficult to meet a mate. So they outsource their dating life, to a professional, they hope. And why not? They already outsource cleaning their house, walking their dog, cooking their meals etc.

Singapore, always serious about being the best, even has a government sponsored matchmaking agency, the Social Development Unit (there's a euphemism if I ever heard one). From wikipedia:

"The SDU is a government matchmaking organisation in Singapore. It was established in 1984, aiming to change the cultural/social mindsets that continue to stand in the way of graduates getting married in Singapore society. As of 2006, more than 33,000 SDU members had been married because of the help they received from this organisation. The SDU has been criticized for promoting elitist ideology as it is available only to university graduates. Graduates from other tertiary and vocational institutes are ineligible."

I checked the site and in an effort to sound more romantic, the organisation's website is now called lovebyte.org.sg. It says, "Ultimately, we hope you would be looking forward to an enriching marriage and a fulfilling family."

It's all part of the Singapore government's plan to get Singaporeans to procreate. In Singapore, it pays to procreate, literally. The government website is even called babybonus.gov.sg--hilarious:

The cash payouts are S$4,000 [US$2750] each for the first and second child, and S$6,000 each for the third and fourth child. The Singapore government also contributes a dollar for a dollar matching the amount of savings that parents contribute to their child's savings in the Children Development Account, which is capped at S$6,000 each for the first and second child, and S$12,000 each for the third and fourth child, and S$18,000 each for the fifth and subsequent child.

A number of friends did joined the SDU but all came away disappointed. Their complaints were all the same: the women were beautiful but the men were ummm....They also told me during the buffet lunch, the Singaporean men would make a beeline for the table, ignoring the women, while the women looked on in dismay.

But I do know women in Singapore who found their mate through the Internet...

Cambodian reaction to Michael Jackson's death

I was surprised when Thyda, a Khmer friend, excitedly told me yesterday "You know the singer, Michael Jackson? He is dead!"

I always switch on the TV to watch the news when I wake up so had already known. I'm not a big fan of MJ's songs, although I liked the Thriller MTV because I like zombies and zombie movies. The coverage of MJ's death reminded me of Princess Diana's.

So I asked Thyda and her friend how many people in Cambodia know Michael Jackson. They say, many, many. It turns out it's not for his music that MJ is known in Cambodia; it is for his plastic surgery.

Thyda, for instance, has known about MJ for more than 10 years, she says, because he is always in the Cambodian magazines. His nose, his skin has been featured numerous times.

The photo shows a page I took from the Cambodian magazine, "Angkor Thom", which hit newsstands just yesterday. The article follows Victoria Beckham's boob jobs. The main pic says she has gone for a breast reduction, from 34DD to 34B.

Cambodia is not beyond the reaches of Hollywood.

Update: I just spoke to Chhun Hy and he told me he knows who Michael Jackson is. He asked me if MJ is rich and I said yes, but he was also lonely. Chhun Hy asked why and I said maybe everyone wanted his money or maybe it has to do with the fact he looks strange, always changing his nose, chin and whitening his skin. Chhun Hy was amazed. He said, "You are saying before he is black man?"

Who flies into Cambodia?

Some queries are so weird!

I laughed when I saw this. Someone from Auckland, New Zealand googled "who flys into cambodia" and landed up on my blog entry Pigs Fly into Cambodia!

Mu Sochua in the USA

Yesterday I met a family from Orgeon in the USA. They came in to buy a bag and while chatting with them I found out they are good friends with Mu Sochua, Cambodia's former Minister of Women's Affairs and her husband, who is a US citizen. Mu Sochua and her husband met while they were volunteering at the refugee camp in Aranyaprathet. The family actually stayed with Ms Sochua (pronounced "So-Ku-a", not "So-Ch-ua", as I always thought) in her home in...well, I won't disclose where, just that it's not in Phnom Penh.

The family told me Mu Sochua is now in the USA where she is among the guests of honour at a performance of the play "Seven", which depicts the lives of 7 amazing women, including Mu Sochua's. The women are all members of the Vital Voices network, a non-governmental organization which offers disadvantaged women training and the opportunity to become leaders. You can read here for CNN's coverage. There is also a Facebook group on "Seven" and it has updates on Ms Sochua current defamation suit against Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The family told me the Cambodian government lifted her immunity on Monday the 22nd, on the very day she was to fly to the US for the play. (Mu Sochua has a US passport as well as a Cambodian one as Cambodia (unlike Singapore) allows dual citizenship.) For the whole day she was kept in suspense as to whether she would be arrested on the way, or at, the airport. Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.

The Phnom Penh Post reported last week that "The president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, Rong Chhun, said parliamentary immunity would be worthless if it could be lifted so easily, and threatened mass protests if the Assembly went ahead with the move. "If Mu Sochua is arrested, we will lead mass demonstrations throughout the country with teachers and workers." Read the full report on ki-media.

I told the family Mu Sochua to me is Cambodia's Aung San Suu Kyi, a brave woman standing up for her people and the father said "I think she will like that you said that". I also told them to let Ms Sochua know she has supporters even among Singaporeans.

LA band Dengue Fever

A while back I received this email:

"Hi Diana,

My name is Larry Kraut and I am a social media marketing manager for the company M80 based in Los Angeles. I just wanted to tell you that I really like your blog; I've always found casino culture to be so fascinating, and I don't even know what to do with that description of Century Eggs!

Given your unique perspective in Cambodia, I also wanted to let you know about a new documentary that I really think you would enjoy. Sleepwalking Through The Mekong chronicles the Los Angeles-based rock band Dengue Fever, and their fascinating tour through Cambodia in 2005. The film delves into the unique relationship that Cambodians have with music due to the intellectual genocide overseen by the Pol Pot regime and marks the first time an American band has ever played Khmer music in Cambodia.

The film is slated for DVD release on 4/14, so let me know if you are interested in checking out the documentary and reviewing it on your site; I would be more than happy to send you a copy of the DVD and original soundtrack. You can find more info on Dengue Fever, including video clips, photos, music and more here: denguefever

Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you."

For those of you who have not heard of the band, you can read wikipedia's entry: "Dengue Fever is a six-member band from Los Angeles who combine Cambodian pop music and lyrics with psychedelic rock. They were formed in 2001 by Ethan Holtzman and his brother Zac after Ethan was inspired by a trip to Cambodia. As Ethan and Zac were searching for a vocalist to sing in Khmer, lead singer Chhom Nimol was discovered in a nightclub in Little Phnom Penh area of Long Beach."

The DVD was sent to a friend who works at a luxury hotel here in Siem Reap, as the house I live in, in a small village, has no house number. I will be getting the DVD today- finally! and will review the documentary soon!

iPhone in Cambodia: 8GB for USD599

I went to check out this special offer by iOne in Siem Reap. There are banner ads advertising this deal. The iPhone was going for USD650 previously, it says.

The phones come from Singapore so they are "officially unlocked". What this means is you can pick your network and get full use of the handset and all its official functions no matter which carrier you choose. Contrast this with iPhones bought in the US where you can only use one carrier, AT&T, or in the UK, where you have to use the carrier O2. (The apple store in Hong Kong sells officially unlocked phones for USD579, just USD20 less.)

It seems there is one caveat with the unlocked phones. After inserting your SIM card, and connecting to a 3G network, you need to connect to iTunes to complete activation. But at least one person is having problems with his iPhone in Cambodia. Pisethdara Keo on Twitter: "Buying iPhone in Cambodia is crazy!!! you'll never be able to access itune store or even get free application!!!! 7:09 PM Jun 18th from TwitterFon"

I drool over my friends' iPhones. It is so great to be connected all the time. I remember checking out digital cameras in Singapore and my friend promptly started Googling the models I was interested in, to read reviews. As you can imagine, it was most helpful in helping me make my choice.

Anyway, as with a previous post on cameras and printers, the cost of the gadget is one thing, and subscription or other on-going costs, another. In Singapore, you can even get free phones as telcos try to get you to sign on to a contract, from which they extract more money than they could with a one-off sale. Anyway, phones, like printers and PCs, are commodities, and prices just go one way.

So, what are the additional costs to owning an iPhone in Cambodia? 3G has been available in Cambodia since 2008 despite Prime Minister Hun Sen's ban of the technology in 2006, because his wife received porn on her 3G mobile phone. Hahaha!

Borin chose Cellcard over Cube (or QB). I was told by the staff at iOne that I would have to pay USD30 (or was it USD35?) a month for 1.5GB data download. That killed it for me. Not much point in having the phone if I can't surf much. 1.5GB is nothing and I am on a budget.

The alternative if I really wanted a mobile Internet device is the iPhone touch, which you can surf with wherever there is wi-fi. Not much point in that for me. I'd rather get a netbook.

Update 30.06.2009: 3G S is available in Cambodia, more than 10 days before Singapore, Malaysia etc!

The World Diabetes Foundation replied!

I love, love the Internet.

Ok, so we can get proper help for Chhun Hy's father, finally. After my email to the Foundation's Communications Director, I received an email from the Hospital Director at Kampong Thom.

Dear Diana Saw,
I got your message forwarded from Dr. Varoeun, Chief of Diabetes program in Cambodia asking the contact number and address for Kampong Thom Diabetes clinic. The Diabetes clinic in Kampong Thom is located in the compound of Kampong Thom Provincial hospital along the Stung Sen riverside in the midle of Kampong Thom town. The chief of the clinic is Dr. Nget Bochum. His contact number is [...]. You can directly contact with him or write a message to me via my e-mail address [...] . Don't worry about the cost of treatment it is cheap. But one thing I have to tel you that if the condition of the patient is not serious, he or she can just take medicines home if not they have to be admitted in the hospital for intencive care.

Yours Sincerely

Dr. Srey Sin, Hospital Director, Kampong Thom

Super. To all those who helped at the Foundation - thanks so much!

I removed the phone and email address cos I don't want the good doctor to be spammed, but if you need the information, please do email me.