We do get comfortable with the luxuries we enjoy. I'm writing this from the internet cafe which fronts Coasters on Serendipity Beach in Sihanoukville. It's a perfectly lovely place, nice people, as pictured I've got a room with a killer view of the sea. But while I had rememembered them as having a pretty good internet connection when I was last here in November, it now seems abominable. I've been here 18 minutes and managed to read and reply to two e-mails and open this blog..aaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccchhhhhh.

It's a slow time of year so I'll be doing a little bit of travel the next few weeks. Not sure where to spend Khmer/Thai New Year, but take note that Jungle will be closesd for the three days.

A word of thanks to the Khmer440
reader who brought in the Eddie and the Hot Rods and the Brains tunes I requested. You made my week. Run through the Jungle music and help yourself when you'd like. You've done a beautiful thing.

Rates for International Calls

You'll find our internet phone rates here . Rates to Canada, USA and UK are 600R / minute (cheap!).

Many Mango, Many Beer

The last two days I spent near the town of Svay Rieng for my friend Aya's wedding. Svay Rieng is about two hours southeast of Phnom Penh on the road to Saigon. It's a provincial capital described in the guidebooks as "sleepy". Adequately described, though I'd put the sleepy in caps. Svay Rieng means "many mango", and indeed there are a lot of mango trees. It was a beautiful wedding, attended by about 400 at the traditional Khmer family home, a two room wood house on stilts. Exactly four (4) of the guests, excluding the groom's daughter, were of the barang (i.e. western) persuasion. There was beer, dancing, unbearable heat, costume changes, more beer, some food, more costume changes, some silly string and cake, more beer and more unbearable heat. No fights, little falling down. It was my first Khmer wedding and I was certainly impressed by the ceremony, and, most of all by the stamina of the bride and groom. Congratulations Aya and Russell.

I love TK? Ta Keo? Tokelau? Tonio K. ?

Jungle on the Small Screen

It's really been a great few days. I'm thrilled to have my camera back and have been busy shooting again, Aya's wedding was a blast, and TV3 showed the cooking show they filmed here at Jungle. The show came off beautifully. The entire 30 minute program was devoted to Jungle Bar. Both of our cooks had a chance onscreen, as did our manager and they all did so great. And the food looked beautiful, as of course it does in real life. I'm not sure what it will do for business but it sure can't hurt. I'm hoping maybe a little catering business will come as a result. And maybe movie contracts for staff now that they're TV stars.

More on Skype

The Skype phone at the Jungle is now in service and working just fine. My California cell number is being forwarded to the Jungle at no additional cost to the caller. If I'm unavailable you'll be able to leave a voicemail. Very nice, eh? You'll see the "Call Me" image here on the blog when I'm available to take your call.

Customers here in Phnom Penh are welcome to try out the phone for calls to the US/Europe/Canada at 2000R for a 3 minute call. Haven't tried Gizmo for calls out yet but will soon.

Final Four

Much to my dismay, Cambodia is again blacked-out of the Final Four in college basketball. Despite showing a number of college games on an occasional basis, there will be none of the finals on Espn Asia or Star.

You can check the scores here. If you ever want to check what's on, you'll find the schedule here. Rugby anyone?

19-Mar-06 01:00 Rugby STAR Sports RUGBY HQ ASIA
6 Nations Round 5 (Generic)(S) 00:30

19-Mar-06 01:30 Rugby STAR Sports FIVE / SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIPS
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND SIX NATIONS 2006
TWICKENHAM, ENGLAND
England Vs Ireland
Round 5(L) 02:00

19-Mar-06 11:30 Rugby STAR Sports RUGBY HQ ASIA
6 Nations Round 5 (Generic)(R) 00:30

19-Mar-06 12:00 Rugby STAR Sports FIVE / SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIPS
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND SIX NATIONS 2006
TWICKENHAM, ENGLAND
England Vs Ireland
Round 5(R) 02:00

19-Mar-06 19:30 Rugby STAR Sports FIVE / SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIPS
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND SIX NATIONS 2006
CARDIFF, WALES, U.K.
Wales Vs France
Round 5(S) 02:00

19-Mar-06 21:30 Rugby STAR Sports RUGBY HQ ASIA
6 Nations Round 5 (Generic)(R) 00:30

19-Mar-06 22:00 Rugby STAR Sports FIVE / SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIPS
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND SIX NATIONS 2006
ROME, ITALY
Italy Vs Scotland
Round 5(S) 02:00

DVD Woes

I love Netflix. No I hate Netflix. Got damaged copies of one of the Stooges and the Fear and Loathing DVD. Having subscribed to three different DVD rental services I will observe that Netflix is by far the sloppiest with their packaging. It's a miracle any DVD survives more than a few shipments. Rats.

I didn't pick up much music this trip -- too many other things going on I guess, plus I've yet to make a trip to Boom Boom Room in Phnom Penh so I'm not really sure what's available there. In any event, in addition to the Tiny Yong I posted about I did pick up albums by The New Pornographers and their singer Neko Case, Iron and Wine, The Silos, Matthews Southern Comfort, Townes Van Zandt and Van Morrison. Also the 30th Anniversary Box of Born to Run.

Although they've been around for a long time, you probably haven't heard the Silos, one my favorite bands. Come by Jungle and I'll play 'em for you. Here's one song in streaming Real Audio from their most recent album. If you don't already have the bloated and obnoxious Real Audio Player choking your machine, download the lightweight alternative, Media Player Classic.

Addendum: Well, picked up some more at the last minute: Belle and Sebastian, Flatlanders, John Hiatt, a Waylon Jennings tribute album, and three Robert Earl Keen. I feel better now.

We had a TV3 film crew at the Jungle yesterday (a cooking show). I wasn't there (still in L.A.) but Guy of Sweetcucumber.com was (good man). See his blog as evidence. No photos Guy??

As exciting as the new DVD's coming are, I think the most important addition will be our new kitchen exhaust fan (ever notice it's a bit hot??). Should make a big difference in customer comfort near the kitchen.

From my trip to L.A. come more than 30 new films to add to the Jungle DVD collection (now over 1200 titles), including the new Peckinpah Legendary Westerns box set, some heretofor unreleased Avengers material, and a whole bunch of trashy 70's Japanese Pinky Violence/ Girls-with-Guns-flicks (oh boy). Here's the full list:

1900, 1977
Le Samourai, 1967
The Three Stooges: All the World's a Stooge, 1941
The Three Stooges: Curly Classics, 1945 Curse you Netflix!
Lucinda Williams: Live from Austin, TX, 2005
Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back, 1967
Pickpocket, 1959
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1998 Curse you Netflix!
In Cold Blood, 1967
Ugetsu, 1953
Laura, 1944
Fallen Angel, 1945
La Bataille du Rail, 1946
The Avengers: The Complete Emma Peel Megaset: Bonus Material, 1968
Freeze Me, 2001
Cafe Lumiere, 2003
King of Kings, 1961
A Fistful of Dynamite, 1971
Ride the High Country, 1962
The Wild Bunch: Special Edition, 1969
The Ballad of Cable Hogue, 1970
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid: Turner Edition 1988
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid: Special Edition, 1973
The Pinky Violence Collection: Girl Boss Guerilla, 1972
The Pinky Violence Collection: Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless to Confess, 1971
The Pinky Violence Collection: Criminal Woman: Killing Melody, 1973
The Pinky Violence Collection: Terrifying Girls' High School 1973
Female Yakuza Tale, 1973
Sex & Fury, 1973
Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs, 1974
Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion, 1972
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, 1972

The Peckinpah set includes the first release of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid on DVD. It's my favorite Peckinpah film, great cast, beautifully shot, and full of symbolism. There are two cuts of the film, the '88 Director's Cut and a new cut (done without Peckinpah). Apparently the '88 cut has not been restored for this release, but it's nice to have these both to replace my bootleg from Laserdisc.

Another film with James Coburn that I'm happy to have found is Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dynamite. Released as Duck, You Sucker in the States the film did poorly. Gotta think the stupid title kept a lot of folks away, as if did me. The DVD is a European only release.

The 1900 DVD is the five-hour cut, released only in Germany and Australia. Perhaps free drinks are in order for anyone who can actually make through all five...

I promised myself that the street kids would be able to learn some new Stooges routines, so the two Curly era Stooges DVD's are at the top of my must share list.

And celebrating Chad's last few days in Phnom Penh, there will be a Fear and Loathing evening at Jungle very very soon. I should also mention the new Springsteen Hammersmith Odeon London '75 DVD which is part of the Born to Run 30th Edition box. Video is just ok but the sound and the set are terrific. We'll sure be playing that one too.

"Always keep your bowler on in time of stress, and watch out for diabolical masterminds."—Emma Peel

Guy D2, a terrific photographer and observer of the human condition, is back in Cambodia and his Sweet Cucumber blog is back as well. Welcome back Guy.

As usual I'll come back to Phnom Penh with an armload of new music and films. I'll provide a complete list of the new stuff next week, but one CD I'm happy to pick up is the complete studio work of Tiny Yong (1961-65). Born in Phnom Penh and discovered in a Saigon restaurant as I recall, she had a number of hits in France as one of the Ye-Ye girls (see Francoise Hardy). She appeared in a number of films as well. I've only had a dozen or so tracks from three re-released EP's so it's nice to have found this import CD with everything out there. I've played Tiny Yong quite a bit at Jungle but if you haven't heard her there are three tracks posted on the Filles Sourires blog here.

In the mediocre French film "Holy Lola", filmed in Cambodia and released last year, one the characters offers another an Alain Delon cigarette, to which she responds, "no thanks, I don't smoke French actors...". So as to satisfy my own curiosity about this rather bizarre iconic figure here in Cambodia, I'm bringing back on DVD one of the actor's better reviewed films "Le Samourai" c.1967. It's been reviewed quite favorably on my favorite DVD site so it'll be fun to watch. Says DVD Beaver: A razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s American gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture—with a liberal dose of Japanese lone-warrior mythology—maverick director Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece Le Samouraï defines cool. We'll have an Alain Delon evening perhaps with cheap smokes and Pastis...with pre-film music from the Ye-Ye girls.

....and I'm Gizmo'd

We'll see which of these VOIP services works best. Gizmo calls to the US are even cheaper than Skype at $.01. But, and there had to be a but, although I do have a US number through Gizmo (both Skype and Gizmo numbers appear at the bottom of the blog page), Gizmo blocks calls into Cambodia. I don't know whether I can forward calls to the Skype number or not; if not I'll be using Skype to receive calls and Gizmo to make them from Cambodia. Fun stuff however it sorts itself out.

I'm Skyped

I now have a Skype phone number which will allow US friends and family to contact me in Cambodia by dialing a local (US) number from a regular land or mobile phone. You can also see from a status indicator on this blog whether I'm connected to Skype. If not, your call will go into voicemail. I'll also be able to offer internet calls from the Jungle (at competitive rates of course). When it's all functioning -- I'll be back at the Jungle in three weeks -- I'll post the news here. I'm pretty excited about both features of Skype. For those of you who make international calls and have a headset for your computer it's highly recommended, as is the Jyve plugin which works with it (Jyve will allow you to call me using Skype directly from this blog). You can download the Jyve plug in here and Skype here. Calls to Cambodia using Skype run $.26/minute, those to the US just $.02. Yippie!

Cambodia PM pledges better governance at donors meet
02 Mar 2006 09:40:26 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH, March 2 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pledged on Thursday to improve governance as his government sought more than $500 million from foreign donors demanding action against rampant corruption and mismanagement.

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has led the impoverished Southeast Asian nation for 20 years, said that the National Assembly would soon pass an anti-corruption bill which has been talked about since the early 1990s.

"We need to work on improving governance further if we are to make more of a dent in poverty. We have no room for complacency," Hun Sen said at the start of the two-day annual donors meeting in Phnom Penh.

Donors gave the government some credit for gains against poverty in the past year, thanks to a stronger economy on the back of agriculture, garment exports and tourism.

But graft continued to plague the country ranked 131 out of 158 countries -- below Albania and Sierra Leone -- on Transparency International's 2005 corruption index.

World Bank country coordinator Ian Porter told the meeting: "Corruption in Cambodia has been described variously as a disease, plague and cancer".

The call for improved governance was echoed by U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli, whose government donated $60 million to Cambodia last year.

"I think the government would agree that the overarching issue is corruption which impedes the development of this country," he told Reuters. "It's going to be a long battle."

Hun Sen said the anti-corruption bill was undergoing a final review and he expected parliament to ratify it soon. The Cambodian leader made a similar pledge to donors last year.

Donors welcomed the improved political climate after Hun Sen patched up his differences with opposition rival Sam Rainsy, who returned from self-imposed exile in France last month.

However, some rights groups noted the reconciliation came after pressure from foreign donors led by the United States, which had accused Hun Sen of using the law to crush the opposition.

"Donors should not be lulled into thinking the situation has improved," the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission said.

"This is a decade-old pattern: assurances by the government right before the donor meetings, followed by a return to the old ways afterward."

Hun Sen has denied his reconciliation with Sam Rainsy had anything to do with the donors meeting, which ends on Friday.

Jane Nye has been released from the hospital in Bangkok where she was being treated for her knife wounds, and is back home in Phnom Penh. She appears to be making a good recovery. Story here.