What's Up Magazine #19 March issue by Pierre Rabotin

#19 03/14

Ur Co-Founder & Managing Director Antony Hamon Ur Editor In Chief Pierre Rabotin Ur Editor Eve Watling Ur Designer Vandy Ros Ur Designer Assistant Sok Sochetra Ur Sales Manager Sarah Belli 0888 197 202 sarah@wuppmag.com Ur Photographers Nick Sells Wei Ramos Mauricio Rubio Mona Simon Ur Journalists Celine Gail Wong C.M. Griffin Jonas De Schrijver Ismail Vora jee Anna Mischke Daniel Jenkins Ur Project Managers Klicia Schubert Louise Couchaux Ur Distribution Manager Sorn Vanny Special Thanks Sopheap Chea Cover Portrait of the clay character from The Missing Picture by Rithy Panh Photo by Vandy Ros ..... WHAT’S UP MAGAZINE contact@wuppmag.com facebook/wupp.magazine www.wuppmag.com 097 958 7338

Dear readers It’s a great month for cinema in the Kingdom! As we’re writing those lines, Cambodian director Rithy Panh is flying to Hollywood to represent The Missing Picture, the first ever Cambodian movie nominated for an Oscar. The Missing Picture isn’t only a key piece in the puzzle that is the troubled history of the country, it’s also a message sent to the world that art in Cambodia is alive and ready to explode. We wish you the best of luck Mister Panh and hope you will come back to us with the statue your movie deserve. A wind of creativity is blowing in Cambodia and we, at What’s Up magazine are dedicated to introduce you to the people who lead the way. This month again, discover what is boiling in your country from the monk who fights to protect the forest to the people building the visual art scene. Enjoy this really rich issue and don’t forget to share the experience; this is your magazine. The What’s Up team

Content The Missing Picture

Photo Of The Month

New Discoveries

Reportage little life

Tryouts alternative therapies

Environment the struggle in the wilderness

Exploration ghost park

Society scamming the scammers

Hypemaker

Fashion moonlight

Beauty skin savers

Wine & Food la residence

In Conversation visual arts

5 Reasons why expats hate backpackers

Opinion a backpacker strikes back

How toâ&#x20AC;Ś recycled art

Playlist dj donabelle

Cocktail strawberry daiquiri

Geek new apps

A Day in a Life garnment factory worker

raelism in cambodia

Street Style

Next Stop Chiang mai

Reviews

Gurus

Agenda

Column

SOS Page

P10

P30 P40 P64 NÂş 19-March 2014

the

picture by mak remissa

missing picture By Eve Watling

For many years, I have been looking for the missing picture: a photograph taken between 1975 and 1979 by the Khmer Rouge when they ruled over Cambodia... On its own, of course, an image cannot prove mass murder, but it gives us cause for thought, prompts us to meditate, to record History. I searched for it vainly in the archives, in old papers, in the country villages of Cambodia. Today I know: this image must be missing. I was not really looking for it; would it not be obscene and insignificant? So I created it. What I give you today is neither the picture nor the search for a unique image, but the picture of a quest: the quest that cinema allows for.

his month’s Oscars will be a special one for Cambodia: Rithy Pahn’s tour de force film The Missing Picture is nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. This is the second award ceremony nod for the film, which picked up the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes Film Festival last year. Following this slew of nominations, The Missing Picture will get a full Cambodian cinema release on the 6th of March. Make sure you book in advance: when it screened last year at Panh’s audiovisual centre, Bophana, it sold out every night. The film is a reconstruction of Panh’s memory of the four years he spent labouring in the countryside under the Khmer Rouge. Death, despair and tiny but powerful acts of resistance form an impression very different from the uniform smiles of the regime’s propaganda films. Using small clay models to reconstruct his experience, The Missing Picture reflects not only on the still tender wound inflicted by the Khmer Rouge, but balances out the discrepancy between the regime’s story and his own, making a handspun patchwork of impressions to fill the smothering void of oppositional image making from that time. The film is a must see for anyone with even a passing interest in Cambodia’s recent history, and it’s gratifying to see both the country’s story and Rithy’s exceptional filmmaking brought onto the global stage. French-Cambodian filmmaker Davy Chou is also excited: “The film deserves it, and, in my opinion, is really the best among the 5 nominees”, he says, “I want to believe that it will win! Needless to say that it is an amazing thing for Cambodian cinema, and that I am not sure it will happen many times in the future, so fingers crossed!” The 2014 Oscar award ceremony takes place on March 2nd (American time), and is streaming live in Phnom Penh on Monday March 3 from 8AM at the Riverhouse Asian Bistro. The Missing Picture is screening in Legend cinemas and Platinum Cineplex in Phnom Penh cinemas from 6th March.

pictures of the film courtesy of bophana center

photo of the month

‘Metafiction’ by Vuk Kahvedzic This photo was quite spontaneous, and I feel the only way describing it as “metafiction”. I was quite lucky to seize this moment, observing the observer, capturing a photo within a photo (or a postcard within a postcard). Beauty truly lies in the eyes of the beholder. Send your Photo of the Month to contact @wuppmag.com

SATURDAY BRUNCH with André Malraux Take pleasure in experiencing the most fascinating brunch at Phnom Penh’s most elegant dining room with family and friends every Saturday. Enjoy a wide range of Chef’s pass around, classic guerridon tableside service, a la carte options, buffet selection and the largest assortment of cheeses in town. This month’s personality is the talented avant-garde French writer and art lover, André Malraux who visited Cambodia in 1923 with his wife Clara. Malraux spent most of his time at the now known Writer’s bar writing his novels. Don’t miss the monthly LOBBY BRUNCH on 29th of March in the heart of Raffles Hotel Le Royal. US$ 55 - inclusive of a glass of Personality cocktail US$ 75 - inclusive of unlimited Signature wines and Personality cocktails US$ 85 - inclusive of unlimited Taittinger Brut Champagne, Signature wines and Personality cocktails Restaurant Le Royal Every Saturday from 12.00pm to 3.00pm

www.raffles.com/phnompenh

For reservations, please call: +855 23 981 888 or email us, dining.leroyal@raffles.com

discoveries

new discoveries Our Latest Favourite Things

conekla

Queenco Palm Beach

Phnom

This Otres beach pub has something for everyone. Set right on the white sand beach, visitors can relax in the sea breeze in the bleached wood cafe, whilst adrenaline fiends can enjoy a spot of flyboarding – the super-fun jetpackstyle contraption that propels the wearer across the surface of the sea. Kite surfing, mini golfing, catamaranging and wind surfing are amongst the myriad of other activities Queenco offers.

penh

©Vincent Rufo Offering burgers, board games, bubble tea and sweeties galore, this new cafe is as shiny and fun as a K-Pop video. Going beyond the usual coffee shop remit, visitors can rent rooms to hangout and play on the Xbox and PS3s. The milkshakes – using fresh fruit and milk – are the cherry on this colourful treat of a cafe.

Otres beach, Sihanoukville - queencopalmbeach.com

Ripple Cafe Phnom

penh

No. 168, St. 51, BKKI, Phnom Penh - facebook.com/ConeklaCambodia

Pure Bar Lounge Pure is bringing a touch of creativity to Sihanoukville’s sometimes standard dining scene. Inside its crisp, minimalist dining area, guests are invited to sample a range of Khmer and western food or some fun tapas, which includes some adorable mini cheeseburgers.

This brand new BKK cafe, housed in a revamped French Villa, distinguishes itself through its excellent menu and well presented dishes. Enjoy everything from a crepe to seafood spaghetti on its airy terrace, which is candlelit at nightfall. No.34, St 360, BKK1, Phnom Penh

pure-cambodia.com

TEAV Boutique Hotel

Temper

Phnom

penh

This brand new boutique hotel in the heart of BKK has created a minimalist but warm environment through its stunning architecture. The arty factor is amped up even further by the unique murals adorning the walls. The pool and delicious food mean that it’s not only the coolest boutique hotel in town, but also makes for a seriously relaxing stay. No. 14, Street 310, BKK1, Phnom Penh facebook.com/teavboutiquehotel 023 98 18 18

Making exquisitely designed ‘understated statement’ pieces, this new jewellery line brings ethical fair trade products up to truly chic, high-fashion standards. Designed in Cambodia and Seattle, they are for the moment only available in the US (boo!), although the crafters promise their wares will be coming to Phnom Penh very soon. Keep your eyes peeled! www.temperbrand.com

Victory Castle Hotel & Spa

Mango Mango

If you’re visiting Sihanoukville but the thought of a rickety beach shack sends you into cold sweats, Victory Castle is probably for you. Not only is this brand new hotel gorgeously luxe, but it’s sushi bar serves fresh and crispy wasabi-drenched meals over a view of the pool and the surrounding rolling countryside. Pop in for a fresh, healthy lunch option.

Set to become one of Phnom Penh’s hottest new venues, Mango Mango is a live venue, cocktail lounge and restaurant, serving a mix of Asian and European cuisine. Due to open early this month.

victory-castle.com SIEM

REAP

The Furniture Den

This second-hand shop sells all kinds of furniture and household goods, from bathtubs to weight benches to bicycles to china. Great for eco-conscious decorators who love a good scavenger hunt. Located 400m past BBU (Build Build university) on the right hand side - facebook.com/secondh and.furniture. shop.siem.reap

No.8, National Phnom Penh

Assembly

Boulevard.

Chanrey Tree Think that Khmer cuisine consists solely of dry white rice and unidentifiable meat? Siem Reap’s Chanrey Tree is changing that perception. Unlocking the amazing flavours of true traditional Khmer food, it serves up lovingly prepared classics such as Knorb Trei (grilled and marinated baby fishes), Lok Lak and stuffed frog in a lush garden setting. Pokombo Ave, 50m before Preah Phrum Rath Pagoda, Siem Reap - facebook. com/ChanreyTree

reportage

little

life From dreamland to reality By Eve Watling Photos by mona simon

The pathway through Preah You Vong pagoda is winding and narrow. A small slum community has grown within its walls: ramshackle wooden houses are built into every gap; vegetable stands seemingly sprout out of the walls between ancient monk tombs and K-Pop posters. It’s not just the medieval crookedness that makes this community special – nestled at its core is Phnom Penh’s community of little people (also known as the un-pc term of midgets). Last month’s W.I.L.D. party generated some controversy with its inclusion of a ‘minibar’, a bar selling shots staffed by the little people. Some found it hilarious, some thought it was crass, and some were offended: should we really be treating these people as a freakish novelty? We decided to track down the minibar staff and ask them ourselves what it’s really like to be little in Phnom Penh. Sivon, Sopha, Phannorn and Lyly all live together in a raised wooden house inside the pagoda. Aged between 21 and 30, they all barely skim the 3ft mark. Holding hands and giggling, they are obviously a closeknit household, but sadly out in the wider world they don’t face the same degree of acceptance.

We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel a n y prejudice against us; we were all having fun together. It made us feel as though we actually can do normal jobs Sopha on the W.I.L.D. party

reportage

I know Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m never going to be big, life got easier once I accepted that 18

“We feel sad and depressed a lot of the time. Some people obviously don’t want to associate with us because of our appearance”, Sivon tells us. However, despite the discrimination and bullying, LyLy has come to terms with her height: “I know I’m never going to be big”, she says, “life got easier once I accepted that”. Aside from everyday prejudice on the street, it can be difficult to find a job as a little person. The women are all originally from the provinces, but gravitated towards Phnom Penh due to the occasional novelty jobs that become available for little people. The original attraction was an offer of some Wizard of Oz-type extra roles in a Hollywood movie, but other niche employment opportunities have since arisen. At the moment, the women all work together in the Haunted House at Dreamland Amusement Park. Anyone offended by the minibar gig should look away now: at Dreamland their job is to stand in a darkened room, jump out and frighten the customers. Not only is the job physically demanding, but by casting their disability as something freakish and terrifying, it possibly perpetuates the prejudice that they face in their daily lives. Sivon has a more equanimous attitude to the job. “I quite enjoy it, it’s become normal for me”, she says. “We can’t get any other jobs as people say that we are too small to do things properly. Sometimes we can even send a bit of money to our families, but most of the time we don’t have enough as we only get $90 per month”. “It can be scary”, says Phannorn, “We saw some real ghosts inside the Haunted House while we were working there”. When asked about the W.I.L.D. party, their faces light up. “We really liked doing that job”, says Sopha, “some foreigners saw us at Dreamland and approached us and asked us to work behind their bar. It was really different to what we’re used to doing. We didn’t feel any prejudice against us; we were all having fun together. It made us feel as though we actually can do normal jobs”. Sivon and Sopha’s dream of a regular job takes the form of starting their own business and running a market stand near their house. “It would be easier for us to be self employed, and it would be less physically demanding. But we don’t have the capital yet. We will stay in Phnom Penh as there are more opportunities here, but we miss our families.”

reportage That night, I pay the Dreamland Haunted House a visit. It’s a typical walk-through fairground labyrinth, full of loud bangs, cobwebs and various creepy creatures lurking in the corners. At the entrance, a little person gets our attention. “If something jumps out at you, don’t punch it”, he says, indicating that the actors inside are convincing enough to provoke actual selfdefence. We enter the house with trepidation – it’s a genuinely frightening experience, which is possibly even enhanced by its rickety, cheap Halloween costume feel. Rounding the first corner, we see our first little person – it’s too dark to recognise who exactly it is – lurch towards us, crying, dressed as a demonic baby. She drags a giant stick across the bars of her playpen enclosure as we run by. Later we encounter the rest of the pagoda community of little people – usually playing possessed children.

In fairness, there are also a few usual-sized people working in the haunted house. And as the little people are playing children, it’s not exactly their disability itself that is on display as being freakish or horrifying. What seems to be the main problem with the haunted house is one that encompasses the ma jority of Cambodians, regardless of stature – working in difficult conditions for very little pay. Sitting in the pitch black acting like a possessed child for hours on end must surely have some kind of psychological toll – especially when some people respond with fear towards you even outside of work hours. Yet unable to save enough money to start an independent business and carve a space in the world on their own terms, it looks like Phnom Penh’s little people are condemned to being marginalised figures for the foreseeable future.

try out

Alternative Therapies

in Phnom Penh From coining to cupping, the WUPP team tries the kookiest cures in the city. By Eve Watling & Pierre Rabotin

Energy healing

During the day, Adrian from Willow Tree Resources is a teacher, but arriving at my house with a bagful of crystals and twigs, he has already transformed into his second life as an energy healer. Having studied reiki in New Zealand, acupuncture in Taiwan as well as Thai massage and Iowaska shamanic rituals (to name a few), Adrian uses his intuition to gauge which methodology and techniques to apply to each individual client. Unfortunately, he finds me sprawled on the couch cut down by some tropical gastric illness, in desperate need to a shower, having completely forgotten that he was coming. Still, it is a testament to his dedication that he didn’t recoil when he began the healing process, laying his hands on my sweaty back in order to intuit which of my 22 energy levels needed some spiritual irrigation.

After conferring with my spiritual guide, who is apparently a fish resembling Dory from Finding Nemo (but hopefully without the verbal diarrhea of its animated cousin) he senses that my Dantain chakra is blocked. Not just any regular ol’ blockage mind you: it’s gunked up with a black gooey substance all the way down through the other chakras and right into the centre of the earth. It will take more than the spiritual equivalent of Mr Muscle and a plunger to fix this mess. “It’s negative energy from your ancestors or past lives”, Adrian tells me, before giving me a stone to hold in my right hand. I then have to visualise love flowing up from the centre of the earth, through the blocked chakra and down through my arm into the stone. Results: Immediately after the healing is over, I don’t feel particularly different, although Adrian tells me that the stone felt charged with a sparky heat. However, half an hour later I have a huge surge of hyperactive energy and my stomach bug seems to be in remission – I’m cured, hallelujah! – but whether it was the two days rest and electrolyte chugging or Adrian’s healing hands that did the magic we may never know. E.W. $12 per session - facebook.com/WillowTreeHealingResources - 090 270 193

Intuitive Massage When Gabrielle enters my house, I have no idea what kind of secrets lie behind the intuitive massage (I’m not even sure I know what the word intuitive really means). It turns out that the idea behind this massage technique is that the therapist will get all the info they’re seeking from your body and, in some cases, visualize the mental cause of a physical symptom. As it is our first meeting, Gabrielle would need more time to “understand my body”. She starts with my feet using fingers and palm as she softly presses the skin, slowly and precisely in order to wake my energies up. Gabrielle learned this technique among other massages during seven months of training with a Thai master. She is also specialized in stomach massage: a good way to reduce aches, improve digestion or eliminate toxins. The massage works like a wave, starting soft, and getting stronger as she spots the un-zen parts of my body. “Yesterday I had to stand on a guy because

Reiki When it comes to alternative therapies, I’m not much of a believer. So when I discovered this process of healing by transferring energy through the palms of the hands I was skeptical. The first time I heard of the word Reiki, I was pretty sure it was a Turkish alcohol. I sit on Alyssa’s couch as we start talking about my daily habits, what I think is wrong with me, how I sleep, how I interact with people. “With the information I get from you and my own knowledge I’m able to reach your deepest layers, where the problems lie. You could compare Reiki to peeling an onion”, she explains. I then lay on the mattress on the floor, staying still; eyes closed waiting for the healing process to begin. At this moment, there’s only one thing I can think of: the keys I left on my moto – not the best conditions for relaxing.

it was the only way to ease the tension in his body”, she explains. At some point she indeed changed gear and the massage got a bit painful as her tiny hands revealed an impressive and unexpected strength. Result: I am definitely stoned and don’t really feel like going back to the office. A light headache also starts kicking in, which is actually normal since intuitive massage aims at making your energy flow again (my energy isn’t used to be moved around: it’s more of a ‘sitting in a soft chair smoking the pipe’ kind of energy) but a zen feeling is noticeable as well. P.R. 10$ per hour - 078977946

Alyssa puts two fingers on each side of my head, and doesn’t move an inch for a substantial amount of time. For the first two minutes, I’m a bit suspicious and start wondering if it’s going to take long, but after a short time I feel an invisible bar linking her fingers right through my brain. The feeling is new, not painful, just not connected to any previous experience. The key drama still floats around but the thought can’t take shape anymore. I’m forcing myself to think about it but the image disappears, like I was trying to carry water in a sieve. I’m now in between being awake and asleep, still in the room - but not really. My ability to relax being quite low, I get mentally agitated after 40 minutes. Alyssa picks it up instantly and decides to stop the session. Result: I feel a bit like I’m wrapped in cotton and am completely relaxed, a state I’ll keep until the following day. The next morning I wake up easily, feel really energized and am in a good mood, which never happens. It was worth peeling the onion. P.R. 35$ per session - holistichealingcambodia@gmail.com

Acupuncture Before the session, I sit down with Korean acupuncturist Dr Kim to talk about what I need curing. We decided to target a recurring tingling sensation in my left arm and my bad skin. Dr Kim helpfully explains that, in Chinese medicine, blemishes are actually due to build-ups in the digestive and reproductive systems that find an escape route elsewhere. In short, spots are literally trapped poop and period blood oozing through your face. Soon, I’m lying apprehensively on a bed at the back of the clinic. Dr Kim approaches, and without further ado, abruptly inserts a needle into my foot. He works like a painter, swiftly hurling a needle into my skin almost intuitively, before stepping back, surveying my body or taking my pulse, and then making the next swift jab. The whole thing would be absolutely terrifying if he didn’t have such a Shaolin monk-style poise and air of authority – luckily, Dr Kim clearly knows what he is doing. Sometimes he twiddles the needles like radio dials while watching my reaction, as if fine tuning the energy flow. My left hand gets a serious stabbing. However, placing in the last needle seems to create a circuit of electricity all the way up my arm and back again – exactly where I had the tingling. It’s incredible. After about 10 minutes of this, he leaves me to relax on the table, looking like a semi-plucked porcupine with 20 needles still sticking out of my arms and legs. I actually managed to fall asleep, although as I was nodding off I was plagued by visions of rolling over in my sleep and embedding a bunch of needles 6 inches deep in my arm. I was awakened by Dr Kim’s assistant plucking a needle out of my foot – this is probably not a treatment for the highly strung or jumpy. Results: Changes should be noticeable within 3 days of the treatment, and the very next day I’m told I look ‘fresh’. However, my skin remains less than glowing, although I’m told it usually takes a few sessions for a total cure. E.W. $20 per session with Dr Kim at the Oriental Medicine Acupuncture Clinics, tel: 012 620 210, kihoon1999@hanmail.net

Coining Ever seen people walking round with huge linear welts on their backs, looking like they’ve been run over a few times by a tuk tuk? Chances are, they just got coined. Coining is a form of traditional Chinese medicine. It’s original name, Gua Sha, literally means ‘scraping bruises’, which is pretty evocative of the treatment’s process: repetitive rubbing of a coin down the patient’s back in order to release the ‘bad wind’ trapped in their body. Pierre and I arrive up to an unsigned massage parlour on Sothearos Boulevard. We have a piece of paper with ‘coining’ and ‘vacuum cupping’ written on it in Khmer – Pierre does a mime show indicating that I should get the cups, and he should get the coins. After peeing themselves laughing at us, they usher us down onto some beds. Pierre goes first. I’m lying in the next bed, staring transfixed at the skin on his back as its sucked up into little mounds inside the vacuum cups – it looks horrible. It only dawns on me at the last moment that if Pierre is getting the suction cups, then that must mean – I squawk with surprise as the first coin grinds down my back. After the initial shock, I have to say that being coined is more of a generally uncomfortable sensation rather than an actually excruciating one. I only scream a few times, mostly when the coin runs for the hundredth time over a particularly bony area near my ribs. The worst thing about it was wondering if they ever washed the coin currently biting into my flesh– judging by the grimy surroundings, it’s unlikely. Results: Afterwards, I felt a rush of energy, but whether it was just adrenalin-tinged relief it’s hard to say. My back was tender and covered in red welts: it may have got rid of bad wind, but it made it bloody hard to wear a backpack. E.W. $2.50, including a post-coining massage on your swollen flesh.

Cupping We park before a Chinese-style house in front of which sits a woman with a face way too white to be natural. Behind her, we can see the open living room where low beds covered with dubious kids’ sheet and pillows await. Seeing my white and delicate skin the women in charge of our treatment giggles, as does the toothless grandma sitting in the corner. They know what’s going to happen. I lay on the bed as my persecutor-to-be starts digging about in a dirty box. I close my eyes and hear the noise of glasses knocked together. Before I realize I’m going to get cupped she sets a long metal spoon on fire next to my face (safety first) and put it in the cup to burn up the oxygen inside. As the warm glass lands on my back my skin gets instantly sucked up. Cupping is actually a renowned treatment all around the world. Thirty years ago in western countries you would easily get four or five cups on your back to treat a cold or a flu. The technique is used to remove the mucus stuck on your lungs when you get sick. It’s almost completely disappeared in Europe but remains quite common in Cambodia... unfortunately for me.

a single spot left behind. My skin is now equally pulled up by thirty-something glasses and I begin to feel really oppressed and have trouble breathing. The lady massages my legs and I do my best to focus on that for the next 15 minutes until she decides to release me from this painful treatment. I think I’ve never been so happy in my life than when she plucked off the first cup. As I give her a good handshake after putting back on my shirt, ready to remove myself far, far away, my “therapist” stops me. This was just the first round and she’s expecting me to continue. After negotiations, I finally get back on the bed, but this time I won’t go further than half my back - the feeling of not being able to breathe makes me panic and I piteously beg her to stop. To make sure I get a full service for the 10 000 riels I’m about to pay, she trades the last part of cupping with some coining on my chest and arms, which turned out to be quite bearable in comparison. P.R. Result: I look like a cheetah and I want to cry.

But four or five cups are not enough for this lady. Instead my back gets completely covered - not

$2.50 for everything

environment

The Struggle

in the Wilderness Monks join the fight to preserve the Cardamom Mountains By Jonas De Schrijver & Eve Watling The Cardamom Mountains lining the southwest of Cambodia are one of South East Asia’s last remaining strongholds of biodiversity, harbouring an enormous amount of nearly extinct plants, crocodiles and tigers. It’s filled with huge waterfalls, towering trees, and whole forests believed to be enchanted by the indigenous communities who, in some parts of the mountains, still preserve their ancient way of life, untouched by the modern world. Unfortunately, the ever-growing Cambodian capitalist tiger is now slowly encroaching, ready to devour the mountains and its people. Cambodia’s rainforest cover went from over 70 percent in 1970 to 3.1 percent today, and deforestation is accelerating at an alarming rate. This threat has created a new breed of activism. The Mother Nature Network is a movement of monks, locals and activists that combine creative protest and information projects with constructive ecotourist projects in order to protect what remains of Cambodia’s wilderness.

Photo by Jonas De Schrijver

Two driving forces behind the project are Alex and Dhamma jat, who live in two different threatened regions in the Cardamom Mountains. Alex is an activist residing in Areng Valley, and is passionately fighting a proposed dam that, according to him, would have devastating consequences to the area. “If the plan goes ahead, the villagers will be removed from their ancestral land, the trees will be logged and the whole valley will be flooded”, says Alex, “Areng river carries so little water, it would be far less productive than other dams in the region”.

environment Dhamma jat, a forest monk since childhood, was convinced by Alex to come out of the forest and join their fight. He lives on Phnom Aoral, Cambodia’s highest mountain, which is being rapidly encroached by sugar cane plantations. Locals are also logging the mountains, as it is often their only source of income. Dhamma jat even struggles to keep the forest surrounding his temple untouched. After hanging up a ‘Mother Nature Network’ sign near his home, he was shot at by unknown assailants. Mother Nature Network is linking up the struggles of these two areas. The monks in the group bless and ordain the oldest, rarest trees most vulnerable to logging in order to deter the destruction. Clearly marked with orange robes, the trees stand out as holy beings, and many religious loggers refuse to harm them. When we met him, Dhamma jat was planning to take around 15 monks from Phnom Penh up to Aoral to take part in the blessing ceremonies. The activists also organise treks in both Phnom Aoral and Areng Valley in order to raise awareness of the cause and prove that a living can be made from communitybased ecotourism. Loggers become guides, village homes host and feed tourists. Once trekkers penetrate the forests deep enough to be far from the loggers and farms, they enter a silent, untouched paradise. Depending on the length of the trek, visitors to Areng can see everything from enormous twin waterfalls to ceramic burial jars containing the ancient remains of village elders. Every now and again, the colossal Hornbill flies overhead: like something out of Jurassic Park, the deep bass sounds of air being pushed from their wings get louder at every flap, until they

After hanging up a Mother Nature Network’ sign near his home, he was shot at by unknown assailants. finally disappear over the hills. After night falls, trekkers string up their hammocks and gaze upwards, trying to find an inch of bare space in the glowing, star-strewn sky. Throughout the trek, the Mother Nature guides inform trekkers about the local biosphere and culture – and tell some very scary ghost stories. Being affiliated with monks, the Mother Nature treks also have a spiritual aspect. “Our aim is to strengthen the communities of the Areng Valley so they can protect their homeland” says Dhamma jat. “Our activities involve taking guests into the surrounding jungles and introducing them to meditation techniques to pacify their hearts in the stunning natural surroundings.“ It’s a decisive time for Cambodia; time to choose whether to continue with their policy of almost unchecked development and let this incredible place disappear forever, or make a greater effort to preserve the area. For Alex, the decision is easy. “There is no choice but to keep fighting”, he says, “Areng Valley is the last place left in this country in which nature, and the people that live in harmony with it, remains at its mightiest”.

Info: A trek from Phnom Penh to Areng Valley will be organized over the Khmer New Years holiday in April. To join, contact jonasdeschrijver@gmail.com, or visit mothernature.pm. If you would like to climb Phnom Aoral with Mother Nature, also contact jonasdeschrijver@gmail.com

Photos by Mauricio Rubio

An ordained tree. The robes read: ‘We are ordaining this tree for immortality, I love you’

“A great sunset bar & restaurant”

A fishermans house on the beach serving Asian and international lunches and dinners.

Open: 7 days/week 10am-10pm Happy Hour: Mon-Thu 5pm-7pm Wednesdays: Live music 5pm-9pm Fridays: Happy hour all night long Saturdays: Beach BBQ 6pm-9pm Sundays: Brunch 11am-2pm

ACTIVITIES • Swimming • Volleyball • Pingpong • Petanque • Pool

RENTALS • Sailing • Bicycles • Motorbikes

TIP: Book your lunch or dinner well in advance to secure your best waterfront table. Reservations: +855(0)78 333 686, fbm@knaibangchatt.com w w w . k n a ib a n g c h a t t . c o m

Kep’s signature restaurant

Chef Janine, our South-African 5-star Executive Chef, and her Cambodian team fuse international and local flavors to lift your senses and invoke a sense of adventure. Open 7 days, Noon-10pm. The Strand, at Knai Bang Chatt resort (next to Sailing Club, 300 meters from the crab market). Dress code: smart casual. Reservations: +855 (0)78 333 686, fbm@knaibangchatt.com

exploration

Park A Prehistoric Wasteland in the Heart of the Mountains By c.m. griffin In the heavily wooded rolling hills shaded by the Kirirom National Park lies the Kirirom Hillside Resort. The place is a ghost town—or ghost resort to be more precise—a post-apocalyptic festival of abandoned cartoon favorites, space ships, and massive concrete dinosaurs. There’s even a small zoo (yes, with live animals). The property is part crumbling theme park, part dilapidated picnic area, and all creepy. And it’s well worth a visit.

exploration he manager is a kindly, gaunt, laconic, part-time military man, and when pressed, he quietly assures that the resort still fills to capacity and the theme park bulges with thousands of visitors during the ma jor Khmer holidays. He says the Hillview Restaurant - its bar now dusty and occupied by a lone empty cigarette display - churns out food and drink. The silent turntables spin to life for the gyrating bodies on the dance floor, and all is colorfully lit by disco lights that currently hang like dead, tentacled things from the rafters. He says that in the daytime, the now-childless playground is a frenzy of activity, that the wonderland characters that appear forlorn and forsaken in this emptiness are the playfellows of hordes of scampering imps. And while these young boys and girls clamber up ladders and down slides and around on metal carousels, their parents take turns fastening themselves to the zip-line that stretches from high above the tree tops all the way down into the Dino Park in the dense greenery below. But it’s hard to envision those breathless zipliners celebrating their bravery in the unpeopled quietude. The life-size dinosaurs are there still, and they do everything they should—T-Rex stands a ferocious watch over a brood of hatchlings; brontosaurus stretches an endless neck into the foliage overhead; a pair of velociraptors crouch in the looming dark, ready to pounce— but these prehistoric beasts roar and munch and growl mutely into the silent jungle. For the throngs who would hear them, the giddy kids whose excited shrieks would lend credit to their grandeur, are not to be found. Gone, too, are the children’s families who would fill the picnic pagodas that dot the surrounding landscape. If the falling placards speak true, there are over 38 of these thatched-roof wooden huts. Some are strung along the banks of the small lake at the heart of the property; others fall away in clusters down into hidden dales. All are still now except for an occasional abandoned

hammock shifting, as if by preternatural force, in a subtle breeze. All are like fading relics. And the memories made beneath their peaked roofs are slowly torn apart by an untended vine here and an errant tree limb there. At the resort’s compound, the cabins, pathways, and pool deck also see few visitors these days. Other than an occasional passer-through or, in my case, an over-night guest, the only souls on property belong to a skeleton crew of maintenance workers and kitchen staff. And they are an elusive group. They materialise to take care of your needs—a kayak, a horse ride, a spare towel, dinner, a drink—and then they vanish. Back in your room, just look out from behind the ever so slightly drawn curtain. Everyone is gone. Everything is silent. And it’s hard to imagine it otherwise. But as you turn into the room and see your partner napping in bed, it is easy to imagine that you are the last survivors, two of the few destined to roam the desolate landscape in search of something useful out in the melancholic madness beyond your door.

How to get there: Just over 90 kilometers southwest from PP on HW 4, 8 kilometers down the road leading out of Kampon Speu and toward the Kirirom National Park, lies the Kirirom Hillside Resort. The GPS coordinates: 11.31098,104.132118.

society “That’s a nice camera” said the friendlylooking, slightly overweight gentleman, “Where are you from?” After a long day sightseeing, I was flicking through some freshly-taken snaps, deploring at my pitiable attempts at photography. The man sidled up to me as I sat at the kerb opposite the Royal palace. “England” I replied. “That’s great! My niece is moving to London soon, she’s training to be a nurse”, he said in his thick American accent. As an avid traveller I have always enjoyed meeting and chatting to locals and it can, more often than not, be the highlight of a trip. However, I had done my research and read up on the plethora of notorious scams in Southeast Asia, and as the man recited his lines, I found myself guessing how soon until I became a target. Soon enough, he asked his leave and, if I was interested, whether I could meet him tomorrow afternoon for lunch, so I could meet his niece and give her tips on life in London. I agreed, well aware of the dangers - but nothing gets in the way of a good story, I thought. The next morning, I hadn’t slept much and felt panicked. I wondered if this was a good idea - would I make it back in one piece? What if there’s more of them? Didn’t he look dangerous? My mind was to-ing and fro-ing between the various possibilities, but by noon, I’d plucked up the courage to proceed with the fact-finding mission. So, for safety purposes, I told a friend what I was doing, left my credit cards, valuables and most of my cash at home and ventured out for my fateful date. We had agreed to meet back at the same spot, and sure enough I saw him waiting patiently, decked in a curiously unflattering tank-top, khakis and a faded baseball cap. Beside him was a short, waif of a woman in her early twenties, or so she told me later.

I was starting to get comfortable and as we made small talk, I’d almost forgotten that I was in the belly of the beast

Scamm

Scam

Ismail Vorajee turns Penh’s

. favour ? a I need gamble Do you Despite my insistence they paid the fare of the Tuk Tuk to their home and led me into their large living room. The TV blared in the background as we sat down to a fine meal of vegetable stew, followed by a round of chocolate chip ice cream, of which I had two servings. I was starting to get comfortable and as we made small talk, I’d almost forgotten that I was in the belly of the beast. I asked the niece at which nursing institute in London she intends to study at, “Newcastle or Manchester?” (Both cities are hundreds of miles away from London). “Uhmm…Newcastle, but I haven’t decided’, she replied somewhat hesitantly. My suspicions were thus confirmed.

ing the

mers

the tables on Phnom con artists

Soon after lunch, she promptly made her exit as her uncle began his probing and asked me about whether I liked the city and where I was staying. Then came the clincher, “I need a favour. Do you gamble? There’s this Malay businessman coming over who won quite a sizeable amount from me a few weeks ago, and I’d like to win it back. I can teach you to cheat and we can split the winnings?” At this point I’d heard enough and was formulating an exit plan. I promptly stood up and thanked him for the lovely dinner but that I must get back. The consternation on his face was profound and I quickly made a bolt for the door. “But wait…” he cried as I frantically searched for a getaway car. I had never been happier to be asked “Motorbike, sir?” I waved goodbye to the ‘niece’ as she strolled back with who I expect was the suited ‘Malay Businessman’. I escaped unscathed and with my bank balance still intact; unfortunately this can’t be said of the many that fall prey to such swindlers looking to part the gullible tourist from their money. Hopefully, my adventure will do a little something to raise awareness of this elaborate scam - and perhaps more importantly I received a delicious home-cooked meal out of it to boot.

events

HYPEMAKER What we’re excited about this march

POP-UP>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SIEM

REAP

Phnom

penh

Artwaterness What happens when you mix art, water and bicycles? According to Artwaterness, you get a four month, movable art exhibition that is pedalled around the world by steel-thighed volunteers. The project, run by Through Waters, is aiming to ‘increase world public awareness over a vital common good, water, creating an open platform for global dialogue’. The exhibition will make a stop for nearly three weeks in Siem Reap. Making the most of their visit, Artwaterness will also collaborate with artist association Tlai Tno, creating a dance piece about water performed on World Water Day. Local schools will join in to do some artwork and reflect on the amazing element. The project also includes a workshop with deaf children, and one music-soundsinstruments workshop with blind children. Exhibition from March 9th to March 23rd at Krousar Thmey Hall, Siem Reap,– Dance show on 22nd March at the village hall in Mondul 3 Village, Slor Kram Sanghat, Siem Reap - all events free of charge throughwaters.org

ReCreation Art Events This huge charity art auction returns for its second year – it’s officiated by a Christie’s auctioneer, with proceeds going to Amrita Performing Arts and Cambodia 2000. Held at Raffles Hotel on the 29th and 30th March, it will feature the works of 38 artists and designers – it’s a great chance to snap up some original Cambodian artwork. The evening is complimented by three other events: an art-themed dinner and a fashion show ($70 for the five course meal and $120 for the meal with wine pairing), as well as a Royal performance by Amrita. Over at Sofitel, a three month exhibition running from March 1st until June 1st will be displaying top Cambodian artistic talent. Various locations, Phnom Penh- recreationcambodia.com Above painting: Hazy Moon by Takakazu Yamada

The History of Things to Come Phnom

penh

The epic boutique vintage clothing sale is back! From 80’s jumpsuits to 50’s French lace bikinis, this pop-up sale will hold imported vintage threads of all sizes, shapes and colours. Stock up while you have the chance... 13th – 17th March, from 8am until 8pm - Next to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, No. 21, St. 306, BKK1, Phnom Penh

CHARITY> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Siem Reap Treasure Hunt

Be a Hero

For the second year running, Temple Town is holding its annual treasure hunt, in which teams of 2-4 people have a 2 hour time limit to answer questions, be photographed in front of landmarks and complete team challenges. Entry is $5, and all proceeds go to Angkor Hospital for Children.

Cambodia has some of the worst education rates in Southeast Asia: only 40% of children continue studying after primary school. Pour un Sourire d’Enfant NGO is hoping to make a dent in this grim statistic, with its Be a Hero campaign, which aims to fully sponsor 500 underprivileged students for a year. Participants can donate through SMS, online transfers and by organising fundraising drives – go to beahero-pse.org to join in.

Sunday, March 16th at 2pm - Hunt starts at Molly Malone’s on Pub St., Siem Reap

beahero-pse.org

MUSIC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Kep

DJ R-Wan

Cambodian Space Project

France’s hottest club DJ is ripping up Phnom Penh for what promises to be March’s biggest night out. The DJ was voted Best Format DJ by DJ List, and will certainly get the party going with his unique ‘electro groove’ style.

Is this the most exciting night ever to have hit sleepy little Kep? 60’s-inflluenced rockers The Cambodian Space Project will be making the sunset psychedelic at the Knai Bang Chatt Sailing Club, before a special dance performance from Epic arts rounds off the evening with a bang.

Saturday, 15th March – Pontoon, Phnom Penh - $8 inc. a drink

Saturday, 15th March, 5.30pm - Knai Bang Chatt Sailing Club, Kep

Model: laura angluben Designer: rian fernandez

moonlighT

scenes from the philippines photography: wei ramos

Model: raiza hidalgo Hair & make-up: paolo san juan Styling: harvic domiguez

Model: shai humphries Hair & make-up / designer: paul sanglay

Model: raiza hidalgo Hair & make-up: paolo san juan Styling: harvic domiguez

15% OFF

Present this coupon to get

n t

in al

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www.bodia- spa.com Siem Reap OLD MARKET AREA Above U-Care Pharma Tel: 855(0) 63 761 593

Phnom Penh HERITAGE SUITES HOTEL BEHIND WAT POLANKA Tel: 855(0) 63 762 428

NATIONAL MUSEUM AREA Corner Sothearos Blvd and st. 178 Above U-Care Pharma Tel: 855(0) 23 226 199

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beauty

Highlight

&Gloss Skin Savers: AvÈne, the dream cream by Anna Mischke

As a previous esthetician, I know that skin care - especially in a city full of smog, smoke, and harsh UV rays - is a thing that should not be taken lightly. While beauty products, brands, and shops continue to pop up around Cambodia from Korea and Japan, there are few products that don’t boast “whitening”, which is something I will never stand behind, both for ethical and health reasons. Searching for a lotion that actually heals wind chapped skin from scooting around town

on a moto, plumps and nourishes after one too many whiskys, or soothes after spending that extra amount under the sun (or overly air conditioned room) can be a difficult challenge. Some women opt for weekly facials at one of the many spas scattering the city, but fail to take care of their skin on a regular, daily basis. The importance of routine care and maintenance cannot be stressed enough - do you really want to resemble one of the crocodile skin bags they hawk in Siem Reap?

photo by jack malpan

While finding good skincare products can be a task, there are definitely some solid brands and worthwhile products to look out for and through this column. This month I’ll share with you my absolute favorite, can’t-live-without brand I’m thrilled I came across. I was browsing through UCare Pharmacy with deodorant and cotton balls in hand, as one does on a lazy Sunday afternoon before a run to the grocery store, and I picked up a white and peach package with Avène Cold Cream subtly marked across the box. I’m not only a sucker for quality French products, but also simple, classic branding - this looked like a product I could trust. After a look at the ingredients, I was happy to see that it lacked anything that would leave me peeling or with a rash and selected the Avéne 50+ SPF High Protection Mineral Cream for an upcoming trip to Kep.

The Cold Cream is recommended for dry to very dry skin, which mine naturally is especially when I’m constantly in an air conditioned environment at work and home; I need as much moisture as possible. Extremely creamy, this rich moisturizer goes on smooth leaving a dewy, un-greasy residue that creates a perfect makeup primer or hydration throughout the night. Made with white beeswax and almond oil, I immediately feel the Cold Cream soak into my skin. I will generally start my day with a light application of the Cold Cream followed by the SPF 50 and set my makeup with the Avène Thermal Spring Water before heading out into the streets of Phnom Penh. Worry not my high sebum producing friends: Avéne carries a wide range of products, from serums to masks to cleansers, for all skin types. It’s a matter of knowing what you need and rather than wage war on your skin: work with what you have. Naturally oilier skin tends to age better (hence my slathering of coconut oil every night before bed on top of my moisturizer), so don’t strip your skin of its natural oils to the point where you’re dry as a bone. The funny thing about eradicating your natural oils with harsh products is that your body will go into overdrive and end up creating even more oil to substitute and begin an annoying and ultimately expensive process.

you can find these products at U-care Old Market Area, at the end of pub street, Siem Reap Lucky Mall Complex, Sivatha Blvd, Siem Reap No. 26-28 Sothearos Blvd, Phnom Penh No. 39, Sihanouk Blvd, Phnom Penh

When you’ve decided to put down the unhealthy whitening cream, run out of your trusty bottle of Cetaphil, or simply want to give a gift to your skin - try Avène. Trust me; you’ll be happy you did.

rambutan

wine

Wine & Food “Match of the Month”

Discover our monthly feature on how to pair wine and food. Two wines and two recipes by one chef from an exciting restaurant to make sure you become the best host in the city. This month, recipes from La Residence d’angkor in Siem Reap

Braised beef short ribs Ingredients

Braised beef short ribs with cauliflower and truffle

400g Beef short ribs on the bone, 3 sliced onions, 500ml of brown beef stock, 20g fresh thyme, 200ml red wine, salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation Slowly cook sliced onions until tender, increase the heat and caramalise until dark brown. Puree in a food processor and set aside. Trim short ribs of any excess fat, cover with the cold onion puree, thyme and red wine. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Scrape off onion marinade and add to the brown stock. Season and seal the beef ribs in a hot pan until well caramalised. Add the ribs to the brown stock. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in the oven for 8 hours at 120C. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the liquid overnight in the chiller. Remove short ribs and cut into portions. Strain the brown stock with a fine strainer and reduce to sauce consistency. Check seasoning and set aside.

cauliflower and truffle Ingredients 300g Cauliflower, 200g butter, salt and white pepper to taste, half tsp truffle oil

Preparation Blend cauliflower in a food processor until it’s in very small pieces Place 100g butter, cauliflower, salt and pepper in a pan with a little water to cover and cook until tender, add water if needed. Once tender, blend until smooth with the rest of the butter, add salt, pepper and truffle oil to taste.

To serve dust the short rib with flour, season and pan fry in a hot pan until all sides are crispy. Heat the cauliflower puree, heat the sauce and dress the plate.

Penley Estate, Pinot Noir, Coonawarra, Australia Why they match perfectly The sweet and spicy berry fruits of this Australian Pinot Noir will compliment the braised beef rib flavors perfectly. The soft fine tannin structure will go along with the smooth texture and taste of the cauliflower purée. The hint of truffle oil will be perfectly accompanied by the beautiful depth and complexity of the wine.

House cured salmon, preserved lemon and potato salad Domaine Laroche, Chablis Saint Martin, AOC Chablis, France Why they match perfectly

Cured salmon Ingredients 1 fillet of salmon, 150g rock salt, 80g white sugar, 50g lemongrass chopped, 10g lime leaf julienned

An elegant dish deserves an elegant wine. The lemongrass and lime leaf flavors embrace the salmon and are perfectly balanced by the ripe fruit flavors of this Chablis. The fine zesty acidity of the wine compliments the preserved lemon of the potato salad. The overall dish complexity goes nicely along with the lingering fruity finish.

Preparation Place salmon fillet in a deep tray, cover with lemongrass and lime leaf. Mix the salt and sugar together and sprinkle over the whole fillet. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate for 24 hours. After 24 hours wash the salmon in cold water, making sure to wash off all of the salt mixture. Slice in paper thin slices and arrange on the plate as required

Potato salad with preserved lemon Ingredients 10g preserved lemon diced, 100g baby potatoes cooked and peeled, 5g fresh mayonnaise, 1 tsp chopped mint, 2 shallots peeled and sliced, salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation Mix all ingredients together, season with salt and black pepper To serve arrange thin slices of salmon on a plate and serve the potato salad. For an interesting twist you can wrap the potato salad with the salmon to make neat little rolls.

The Place: Circle Restaurant at La Residence d’Angkor Executive Chef Richard Bias creates international dishes and Khmer cuisine with a contemporary twist. Whether eating al fresco, surrounded by lush gardens, or in the stylish yet relaxed dining room, Circle offers a unique gastronomic experience. @La Residence d’Angkor - River Road – Siem Reap www.residencedangkor.com

The Chef: Richard Bias Chef Richard Bias has worked in the UK, Ireland, Dubai, Vietnam and Cambodia. He has worked in renowned hotels such as Burj al Arab in Dubai and in his younger days worked for the likes of Gary Rhodes and Anton Mossimann. “I have a passion for cooking and travel and love to learn about new cultures, experiences and new things”, he says.

These wines are exclusively distributed by celliers d’Asie and available everywhere in Cambodia Siem Reap Sihanouk, Kep & Kampot Phnom Penh Battambang (855) 63 964 409 (855) 34 934 155 (855) 23 986 350 (855) 53 953 855

culture

IN CONVERS ATION: Vi sual Art

By eve Watling & Pierre Rabotin Photos by Nick Sells / Kampuchea Party Republic @ So Shoot Me Studio We got together three of the leading figures on the Phnom Penh art scene to discuss the past , present and future of the city’s arts culture...

How do you see the visual arts scene in Cambodia? Victor: When I first got here in 2007, Meta House and Java were the only two galleries. And now we have so much – we have X- EM Gallery, we have Sa Sa... Em: It’s growing. Victor: A few years ago, it used to be the same group of people going to these events. But recently, between the last year or two years – we saw this a lot during Our City Festival - there’s so many more young Khmer coming. At first the scene was catered to an international, Western crowd but now I see art by Cambodians, for Cambodians. Why are they becoming more interested? Em: They see from people like us that they can make a living with painting. There are many new art schools around too. Is it difficult to be an artist in Cambodia and make a living from your art? Dina: For me, it’s a little bit difficult, but the in last few years it’s got better. I still have to work as well as paint. Victor: I’ve never shown in a gallery because I feel like there are enough Westerners here as it is working in well paid jobs. I don’t want to come here and say ‘Hey, I also want to sell my artwork!’. I want the Cambodian art scene to grow and develop, so I just do work commercially. It’s good that the scene is expanding, but what about the quality of the work being produced and shown? Em: Some people don’t know how to draw, so they become abstract! Victor: In the street art scene there are very few Cambodians. There are a few exceptions: a young woman called Lisa Mam – she’s a protégée of Peap Tarr who’s slowly developing her own style. She’s incorporated the traditional ornamental style with figurative works. She’s self-taught, and training to be a dentist. However, in gen-

eral I don’t know if Cambodians can take criticism of their artworks, and that’s something that needs to be developed here: art criticism. I feel like there’s a lot of stuff that’s just done for the production line. Do you think artists are too attached to the old Angkor Wat style and imagery? Em: I am from Angkor Wat style! We learned it at art school for the first two years, and after it was our choice to develop our own style. But some artists just want to get money by painting for tourists and don’t have any other ideas. Dina: I get inspiration from Angkor Wat, especially the sculptures. How do people react to your work? Dina: In Cambodia, they like to see something realistic. If you paint abstract, nobody wants to take it home and hang it in their house. How do we encourage young Khmers to make art? Dina: When I was at school, we had almost no art teaching. We didn’t even learn shading or anything: just very simple things. But now I see that schools have arts and craft, activities. It’s slowly developing. Victor: I feel like kids here were never exposed to art, and when they get into higher education they have this desire to improve but they’re too afraid to make mistakes, too afraid of failure. Do you all collaborate together or is there competition? Em: We can work together because each artist has his own style – there’s no competition. Me and Dina have worked together two or three times. Victor: The nature of what I’m doing means that I’m constantly collaborating with people. People here don’t have such big egos – I feel I can approach whoever I like. Is the message of your artworks important? Dina: When I see people like on street 240

culture Dina Chhan Is a painter who teaches visual art in Phnom Penh. She also does regular live painting shows with the Swagger collective. Her exhibition ‘The Quiet Half of the Sky’ is showing at Equinox bar until April 5th.

Victor Blanco Grew up in the UK, where he discovered his love for graffiti. He currently teaches graphic design at a university and works as an illustrator. He is part of the Phnom Penh graffiti scene.

Em Riem Is an artist and fashion designer. He also owns XEM Gallery.

painting, it all looks the same. Even when I went to Vietnam, it all looked the same. It’s their choice what they do with their talent, but when I see someone doing something different and creative I think that’s a great challenge – big ideas are good. They don’t just see and do – they see and think. What about a political message? Em: I work a lot with Khmer Rouge victims. I want to share my experience living under the Khmer Rouge so people learn about Cambodian history. The young generation don’t know about the Khmer Rouge. How do you incorporate that in your work? Em: I use old photos and recycled materials to incorporate the past. Victor: I’m not sure that visual art can draw attention to issues as much as film and photography can. I always struggle when I think about the point of meaning in art– why not just create nice, bizarre things? Where do you see the scene in five years? Dina: I imagine in the future we need a lot of galleries – it’s very important. A lot of students do design and art, its becoming more popular.

How do we improve? Victor: From a street art perspective – graffiti’s uncontrollable, it’s like a free party, anyone can come. But it needs direction. Not just daubing and tagging – you can take areas that have just been forgotten and rejuvenate them with art. For example the lakeside has been forgotten even though it was synonymous with backpackers and tourism – but the communities still lives there. That’s one place where we could go and paint walls. But if there’s no direction it will just be fat cat tags outside of schools. I don’t want that to happen – I’m a little bit older and I’ve gone through the tagging stage! Em: Lots of people want to start an art gallery but it’s so expensive to rent. Plus, the art market in Phnom Penh is not really growing. People think about Cambodian art as something very young. Dina: Nobody talks about Cambodia – why? Em: Unless they talk about the Khmer Rouge. We do have a Christie’s auction though. Victor: I don’t know about that, man! Em: It’s just for an NGO, not for big collectors. You donate paintings to an NGO for auction and they keep the money. Victo: Do you get a percentage of the money? Em: Some artists split the money 50/50, and some artists just give away the paintings. Victor: That’s just more exploitation! Dina: I worked with a landmine NGO and they took our artwork all over the world – it was good. Victor: Yeah but it’s just back to the NGO/ charity thing – just let Cambodia develop. Let it grow.

Reasons... Dear backpackers: see that side-eye you’ve been getting from some of your fellow foreigners as you’ve been walking around town? No, we’re not admiring your infected-looking new tramp stamp – we’re wondering how long till hot season starts and you will all leave in a sweaty horde to cooler climbs. Most of our loathing probably comes from the fact that once upon a time we were one of you, doing jagerbombs in a beach shack, at once blissfully carefree and hopelessly STD-ridden. Now we’re old, boring, employed, and jealous - although you’re not exactly doing yourselves any favours either...

#1 The Uniform You know the drill: Aztec print tank top, jasmine pants, and a pair of fake Ray Bans resting on a severely sunburned conk. You’d never wear it at home, so why do you feel as soon as you step off the plane that you have to don the same ‘relaxed yet bohemian’ gear that makes you look like a giant day-glo toddler?

Talking about your spiritual awakening over a bucket of cocktails

Blissfully unaware that there’s about a thimbleful of vodka in the whole thing, of course. But maybe that’s for the better, seeing as that 6 days you spent in an Indian village really opened up your perspective on life, and you’re meditating every day and you’re...oh. Licking shots out of another backpacker’s bellybutton? Sure, I guess even the Dalai Lama has to blow off steam sometimes.

Why #3

expats hate backpackers

Cultural Insensitivity

Just because monks wear robes where you can see one shoulder it does not mean you can go to a pagoda dressed in butt shorts and a bikini top. Getting a tattoo of Buddha wearing a snapback drinking purple drank is also a bad idea. You may think that spending 3 days in a country means you are au fait with every cultural nuance, but just sometimes it’s a good idea to stop, think – and respectfully decide not to be an asshole.

up the prices #4 driving for everything Not technically your fault in a place like Cambodia where nothing has a price tag, but you realise you’re paying about 5 times too much for everything and that, much to our horror, us expats may be mistaken for one of you get charged backpacker prices. It’s a loselose situation however, as we will equally despise you when we see you haggling over a plate of rice while wearing a $500 backpack.

Jack #5 Ruining Kerouac forever It’s impossible to read ‘On the Road’ without imagining it’s an obnoxious travel blog written by an English lit undergrad who has left his suburb for the first time. Thanks, guys.

>> next page: a backpacker speaks out 55

Bloody hell mate,

we’re not that bad! An Australian backpacker hits back By Daniel Jenkins | photos by tanya cooper In the wee hours of Sunday morning, sitting at a street bar opposite Pontoon, discussing the merits of Khmer vs. Thai women with a particularly well-dressed Russian (or was he Ukrainian? Is there a difference?) – an argument which soon somehow verged dangerously toward a physical altercation – I had a small epiphany: I was, and maybe always will be, the quintessential Australian Backpacker. I was wearing a blue wife-beater, was gregariously drunk, and blissfully unaware of my surroundings. But why do we – the Australian Backpacker – inspire such vitriol in our fellow travellers?

we’re undeservedly wealthy, culturally uneducated, and…well, mate, we’re on bloody holiday. And really, we don’t behave much better at home anyway. ‘banning the burka’ and spreading a generally Anglo-centric idea of what being Australian means. As opposed to those lucky Europeans, we can’t just get in a car and visit three countries in a day – our closest neighbor is New Zealand, and…are they even a separate country? So we’re left with a shit load of land, full of minerals, but lacking in people. There’s our indigenous culture, of course, but we try our best to ignore them.

The answer is simple: we’re undeservedly wealthy, culturally uneducated, and…well, mate, we’re on bloody holiday. And really, we don’t behave much better at home anyway. But I’d like to, if I may, offer a tentative defense of the Australian Backpacker. For many of us, Southeast Asia is our first experience of different cultures. Australia is, of course, a very multi-cultural country, but unless you’re from the outer suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne, our only experience of these cultures comes from a tabloid, right-leaning media intent on ‘stopping the boats’,

We leave school. Work for a couple of years in a trade, maybe in the mines – basically earn enough to buy a small Cambodian village – then we set our sights on Southeast Asia. Not for the culture, mind you – we get enough of that from Dancing with the Stars and the Cricket – but for the cheap beer, cheap flights, cheap food and cheap women. We might be rich, but we’ll still haggle with a tuk-tuk driver over 25 cents. We’re not bad people. Honestly. Really, we’re not. We’re just not used to this travelling business. The sheer foreignness of it all.The urbanity.The diversity.The poverty. That’s why we get drunk, wear wife-beaters, fight, yell and swear. It reminds us of home.

How to...

show your better side

(after eating noodle soup) by Zoe Boyd Left side letting you down? Zoe shows you how to make a funky half-faced masquerade mask out of your old noodle soup utensils.

you need: • A plastic noodle bowl • Chopsticks • Scissors • Glue • Old material (lace, silks, old pieces of clothing - anything • Newspaper • PVA glue

5) Cover the mask with glue and cover in lace.

1) Eat your noodles. Wash the bowl and chopsticks, unless you want your face to smell of soup.

6) Poke holes in the top of the bowl and tie in strips of fabric to the top of the mask for hair.

2) Cut your bowl in half. Shape a mouth and eye. (1)

7) Leave to dry.

3) Papiermache the bowl by gluing strips of newspaper on it. At this point, you can sculpt facial features – ears, nose etc. if you like.

8) Add a chopstick to the bottom of the mask to hold to up when you’re wearing it. (2)

4) Optional: paint it to add colour. Check out Zoe’s work at SoulTEAse Recycled Boutique Cafe – No.55e, St. 240

1 57

T OF PLAYLISN TH O M E TH

Listen to DJ Donabelle‘s exclusive set on: wuppmag.com More info & music at : www.djdonabelle.com

Photo by Mounette Knoll

as the st of India that’s best described , a tiny state on the west coa ing play of m drea her DJ Donabelle comes from Goa lives currently uguese-Goan background and there. DJ′ing from e Ibiza of the east. She has a Port glob the ss acro elling n based in Dubai and trav in Southeast Asia, having bee had the potential to make it big of 17, but she never felt that she age the since ion pass has been a journey then began - creating Her se. Hou d: Deep, Techno and Tech until she finally found her soun ds. lbound with her versatile soun magic and leaving crowds spel

1) Pure - Akra This is very enchanting to me. There is a story in this track, giving me a feeling of a battle and some sort of victory at the end.

2) Blind Heart - Albena Flores, Indira Boka I love Albena Flores: all her tracks have driving bass lines.

3) Not everything is Lost - Avatism Lovely bass line in a very groovy and uplifting track. Very nicely arranged with the instruments and beats.

4) Where I’m from - Mihai Popoviciu, David Delgado I recently came across Mihai’s work and I’m absolutely in love with what I hear. It reminds me of Goa for many reasons - I can just picture myself grooving on the beach to a fantastic sunset on this song. It gives me a bit of a trancey feeling!

5) Spy - Luomo A great way to start an after party set! Again, it has a brilliant bass line. Great bass lines are a big turn on for me as I feel that crowds respond to it. The vocals sound great in this track.

6) Get Down - Selim & Armin Love the beats in this track and the vocals.

7) Tonight - Nils Koenig A very bouncy track that is full of surprises. This is Nils’ first single on Kittball records.

8) Goodbye - Dan Nolan I love the vocals and piano in this track – it’s got a jazzy feel to it.

COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH

Strawberry Daiquiri As Cambodia’s thirst for cocktails grows, bars are popping up everywhere selling everything from buckets of e-numbers to crisply mouth-watering elixirs. WUPP lends a hand to help you serve up a slice of the latter, for a fun cocktailslurping night that tastes great, but doesn’t break the bank.

Strawberry Daiquiri by riverhouse lounge

Ingredients: •6 cups ice •1/2 cup white sugar •4 ounces frozen strawberries •1/8 cup lime juice •1/2 cup lemon juice •3/4 cup rum •1/4 cup lemononade

Method: In a blender, combine ice, sugar and strawberries. Pour in lime juice, lemon juice, rum and lemonade. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses to serve.

Info: Riverhouse Lounge No. 157E2, Sisowath Quay 023 220 180 Open daily from 4pm - 4am www.riverhousecambodia.com

geek

The Geek Briefing

WUPP reviews the hottest new mobile apps By Ismail Vorajee

or those of us who had set fitness goals for 2014, it may be proving difficult to maintain the impetus and motivation we started the year with. However, Nike & Strava aims to solve the lethargy that has begun to creep into many of us by mid-March with their wonderfully useful Running apps. Both apps offer a beautifully intuitive user interface which tracks the users run by GPS, to help chart progress, or sadly in my case, decline. Distance, speed and time are all monitored giving the user invaluable visual feedback on their smartphone or through their earpiece. This allows the user to analyse their performance and set or adjust appropriate goals, and with the addition of an accessory the users’ heart rate can also be monitored. The user can join the app’s own community or link their Facebook account and challenge their friends, share their runs or even just provide motivation by commenting on a friends run. These ‘challenges’

Nike Running & Strava Run

a user can opt to participate in are perhaps the most inspiring and motivational aspect of this breed of app and you can often find yourself embroiled in a war of runs with your friends over a specific route. The social aspect of such apps are a ma jor plus in todays connected era and I look forward to seeing a flood of incredibly social and health-conscious Phnom Penh-ites utilis-

ing either of these services. God knows I could do with a challenge along my route of Neak Banh Teuk park and I’m not even hard to beat.

Nike Running & Strava are both available from the Apple Store & Google Play

Couple App Couple is billed as a more intimate way to share your life and the best way to stay in touch with your favourite person. Described as a ‘relationship app’ which offers couples a private area to share special moments, pictures, messages, audio, video and stickers. In times when so much communication between partners go through the various mediums of texting, whatsapp, Line, Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram, the Couple app seeks to ‘consolidate’ an entire relationship in a single app, like a central server to all interactions with your significant other. With over 2 million downloads it is an idea which has found a niche in the current generation of lovestruck technophiles. Offering a private timeline to chart a relationships history, remember special moments, ‘Secrets’ which function like Snapchat pics disappearing after an allotted time, to the curious ‘Thumbkiss’ function, which all combine to formulate a pretty unique and interesting app experience. Definitely worth a try with the new other half that you may have wooed for Valentines.

Couple app is available from the Apple Store & Google Play

Snaptee Snaptee, the personalised T-shirt design service, has seen its popularity grow drastically over the last quarter, with company execs estimating 2014 to bring a slew of new customers from emerging markets like Asia. The Hong Kong based company enables the bespoke design of T-shirts by customers who, through the comfort of their Android or iPhone handsets, can upload designs, pictures or insignia for printing onto their very own unique piece of clothing. The item can then be shipped worldwide for a reasonable fee of $24.99. Excitingly, the company have now begun to offer sweatshirts and hoodies and although considerably more expensive they are a welcome addition to the range already on offer. Snaptee also allows buyers to purchase designs by other members of the community who, in return, receive a 10% commission when their design is purchased. Rival services to Snaptee on mobile platforms are beginning to emerge, yet as one of the earliest on the scene, it remains the market leader and a welcome addition to my app catalogue.

Snaptee can be downloaded for free from both the Apple Store & Google Play

Extra

A Day in the Life of...

A Garment Factory Worker Every month, WUPP gets the lowdown on the daily life of people in Phnom Penh. This month, we speak to a garment factory worker, 22.

text & Illustration by eve watling I live with my husband and sister-in-law and we all wake up at 6.30am. Me and my husband make breakfast and my lunch to take to the factory. I arrive at work at 7am. I’m in the tailoring section of the factory so I’m sewing all day. I make t-shirts, trousers – everything. During work we can chat a bit but not that much as it’s such hard work, and our supervisor is always pressuring us to work harder and tells us off for talking. It’s stressful, difficult work. Lunch is at 11.30am and we all eat together in the factory canteen. I finish at 6pm and then go to study – I’m training as a beauty therapist. I like to do nails and make people beautiful! In the future me and my husband might want to move back to the provinces and then I can open a little hairdressing shop. One day, I want to be able to train other people from the factories. In the evening I study more or watch movies. We go to sleep around 9pm. I get Sundays off – I do the washing and food shopping, study or meet with my friends from the factory to discuss how we can get a fairer wage.

I moved to Phnom Penh from Preyveng province to work in a factory when I was 16 years old in order to help my sick father. You have to be 18 to work in a factory but I just borrowed a friend’s ID card – nobody checked. That was 6 years ago, and back then I only earned $65 per month, including overtime. Before, people would get together in small groups and go to the supervisor to negotiate a raise. But since 2011 we’ve started to get together as a whole factory to demonstrate. I went to the recent big demonstration where people got shot and killed. There was so much violence. People were hitting us and firing shots in the air to scare us away. I saw people being hit with blocks of wood. Since the big protests started, we’ve been getting paid more. Now I get $100 per month, but we need $150. I send back half my wages to my family, so I’m actually living on $50 per month. It’s really hard. I have to work overtime just to pay for rent and food. But I’m not hopeful we will ever be able to get that much.

On Another planet Raelism comes to Cambodia text & Illustration by eve watling

In the dingy, windowless conference room in a BKK restaurant, fifteen or so people have come together to learn about Raelism. The cult was founded in 1974 by Frenchman now known as Rael, who claims to have been visited by scientifically advanced aliens. They revealed to him that they created the human race, and will return to us once we have achieved world peace – and built a $20m embassy in Israel welcoming them. So far Israel aren’t keen to co-operate – perhaps not surprising considering that the Raelian symbol is a giant star of David with a swastika in the middle. The key speaker – a French Canadian member of the Cambodian Raelist Association – freely admits that the group have trouble being accepted into mainstream society. “It’s because we challenge conventional beliefs”, he explains. Still, it hasn’t deterred the Cambodians who he brings to the stage to testify, although at the moment the total Raelian population of Cambodia stands at a modest 10.

With the aid of a Powerpoint presentation and some dodgily animated educational videos, we are explained the eccentric but seemingly benign philosophy of Rael. Aside from the alien fixation, the sex-positive and LBGT-friendly group believe in promoting world peace and harmony, particularly through meditation. “It’s like Buddhism but without the mysticism”, explains our Raelian representative. The group replaces this mysticism with a deep belief in the powers of science – in 2002 one member claimed to have successfully performed the first human cloning (although they have yet to provide any evidence of this). So will Raelism joining Mormonism in being Cambodia’s next big imported cult? The turnout would suggest otherwise – especially as half of us turn out to be curious journalists rather than potential converts. Perhaps Cambodians are not ready to be beamed up by their alien overlords quite yet...

STREET

STYLE

Victoria & Elaine are from Berlin and just quit their bartending jobs to go travelling. We mainly shop in second hand stores. Agyness Deyn and Brooke Candy have amazing style

Tonette is a lawyer from the Philippines I love the eclectic mix of Cambodian fashion

Anna is an electronic engineer from China

Romy is a student from Germany I live in China â&#x20AC;&#x201C; me and some friends are just visiting to do some volunteer work

Dubai is my favourite place in the world. Great engineering â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and fashion

Ana is a student Was spotted feeding the pigeons on the riverside

photos by eve watling

travel

>>NEXT STOP Chiang Mai saturday night market

Expats (or sometimes ex-expats) give you the lowdown on what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to live elsewhere in Southeast Asia. First in the series is dreamily delicious Chiang Mai.

By Eve Watling hiang Mai is a bit of a dreamland. Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second city is nestled in lush jungle, bathed in warm, dappled Instagram-esqe light. Rent is cheap, the food is delicious, and the vibe is decidedly chilled: hippies, NGO workers and spiritualists flock to the city to enjoy the abundance of by-donation yoga classes and top-notch meditation retreats, as well as the easy access to some stunning hot spring-strewn countryside.

An in-the-know guide to Chiang Mai Thai bars like Lism and Warmup of•ferCool an escape from the backpacker nightlife. North Gate jazz bar holds packed-out open mic improv nights once a week. The Tea Tree Cafe

shopping on Nimmanhemin road, the •artyGostreet selling stylish and painstakingly

>> But wait - let’s get back to the food. Fresh, cheap, healthy, delicious – one bite of juicy, spicy papaya salad alone knocks Phnom Penh’s street food straight to the curb. Almost every street stand offers restaurant-standard takes on the Thai classics. The readily available regional Lanna cuisine, centred on sticky rice and carefully balanced with fresh herbs, means you can never get bored of Thai cuisine in the city. If you do, international options are also delicious and cheap: most markets sell fresh hand rolled sushi at 5 baht (15 cents) a slice.

crafted gifts, often from local art students.

>> However, there’s a downside to living in a dreamland. After the initial intoxication, a realisation dawns that behind the sensory delights of the city, its heart remains an enigma. Perhaps this is due to the ultra-relaxed atmosphere – some can’t get enough of it, but for me it became lethargic. After 8 months there, Phnom Penh’s dynamic, seedy kick was almost headily exciting. >> There is also very little cultural activity – no independent cinemas, and few galleries aside from some small NGO/community project type affairs. Finding employment here is a nightmare due to rigid and expensive visa laws – any work other than English teaching or NGO volunteering is almost unheard of. >> Based around a few hotspots near the city centre, the nightlife is also far from amazing – all they play is reggae. For months after leaving Chiang Mai, I couldn’t listen to Bob Marley without dry retching. And I like reggae. >> This is Chiang Mai’s problem in a nutshell: in its attempt to be a hippy heaven, it has created a bubble without much grit, variety, or contact with reality. But as a hazy, sensory, incense-soaked dreamland, Chiang Mai simply can’t be beaten.

fresh and healthy food in the city cen•tre,Forhead to Sompet market where you will find Tip’s fruit muesli stand selling the most ginormous bowl of juicy fruit, muesli and yoghurt for just 50 baht ($1.50). Across the road is the Tea Tree Cafe, a hippy hangout serving great teas and food. Pun and Free Bird cafe are also two of •thePun best eateries in town. For a break from the city, cool off in the •Grand Canyon, a red stone quarry some 20k or so outside of the city. try the Mae Hon Song loop, a gorgeous •3+Also day motorcycle ride through the regions winding hills. a many workaway farms in the area: •weThere recommend Baan Raksa, a permaculture farm run by an ex-monk in the hills north of Chiang Mai.

Go if you are a: free-spirit wafting towards the next chilled out vibe.

Avoid if you are: an adrenaline junky who likes to live on the gritty edge.

When to go: Cool season, December - February, is generally the best time to visit. The hot season is sweltering, but Songkran festival in April is a must-see – the city shuts down completely and lets a wave of super-soaker toting revellers engulf it completely for an anarchic, 3 day waterfight. Loi Krathong festival in November sees the city sky filled with floating lanterns.

reviews new re l eases

F I L M

Her Go to any Brown’s cafe and you could be forgiven to thinking that most men have already fallen in love with their computers. In Spike Jonze’s vision of a high-tech future sees this laptop love affair taken to the next level – in this world, computers can do more than help you procrastinate and beat your ass at solitaire. Her follows the life of lonely soonto-be divorced Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) as he downloads a brand new artificially intelligent operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). This system, named Samantha, mimics human consciousness so convincingly that she can compose music, engage in flirty banter, and have existential crises over the meaning of her own existence. Theodore soon starts falling for her – but Samantha’s

Most Unconventional

Movie Couples Theodore and Samantha aren’t alone in cinemas exploration of weird pairings...

ever expanding consciousness threatens to take her out of reach of her slightly nebbish amore. It’s undoubtedly a beautiful film, soaked with a strange atmosphere; the world of the future rendered as shiny and techy, while simultaneously woozy and directionless. However, it’s never entirely clear why Twombly’s character needs to resort to dating a bodiless synthetic consciousness – in fact, it’s put down mainly to the unreasonable craziness of real women in general, showing him as the wide-eyed wounded innocent in a variety of strange romantic situations. It’s tempting to read Samantha’s overly-perfect character as a sly dig at the artificially of the ‘manic pixie dreamgirl’ indie rom-com trope, except that she remains the most human and relatable person in the whole film. Her could have been great – but as it is it seems to just pleasantly skimming the surface of human-technological interaction.

Harold and Maude (Harold and Maude, 1971) – A death obsessed man in his early 20s falls for a 79 year old free spirit. A real ‘oh-no-they-didn’t’ romance that blossoms into something genuinely moving. Lars and Bianca (Lars and the Real Girl, 2007) – A recluse falls for a wheelchair bound missionary – odd enough in itself – except the missionary turns out to be a blow up doll. Ew. Lee and Edward (Secretary, 2002) – Lee and Edward make S&M look as tender as a spanking bruise as they express their love by sending bugs to each other and peeing in a wedding dress. Belle and the Prince (Beauty and the Beast, 1991) – Because she’s a hot French chick and he’s a 7ft bear with anger management issues.

mu s ic

Songkites-Songkites 

Songkites, a collective of young Cambodian aspiring musicians, have been teasing us for a while with their amazing live shows. At last their debut album is here: a completion of the last year’s work with the art therapy centre/creative hub Ragamuffin Boathouse. Encouraging creativity in their protégées, Ragamuffin made sure that each song is a completely original composition – there are no covers to be found here. After some workshops and individual time with song writing coaches, each of the Songkiters’ songs were recorded at the Ragamuffin studio and then professionally mixed and mastered. The overall quality of the album is remarkable. The upbeat banjo-strummed opener by Propey has a sunny melodic hook that wouldn’t be out of place on any

ma jor commercial radio station. Ex-WUPP intern Sentosa Mam transforms herself into a sultry husky-voiced lounge siren on her song ‘What If?’. One of the breakout Songkites stars, the irrepressibly funky Jimmy, is reliably soulful on his track ‘Baby I’m Sorry’, although it misses some of his on-stage charisma. The album ends with an exciting track from Yorn Young, who plays around with his Cambodian musical heritage by using traditional instruments to create a looping offbeat, going beyond the international pop sound of the rest of the album. Songkites and Ragamuffin had better be proud - it’s impossible not to get excited about the future of Khmer music after listening to this exceptional album. songkites.com

Sliten6ix – Nevermore  By our charmingly bonkers music fan friend Celine Gael Wong In my interview with the band last month, I said that Sliten6ix lead singer Tin ‘has a voice that is explosive, a volcano ready to engulf this city’. Drum rolls! On the band’s spanking new EP, entitled Nevermore, he doesn’t disappoint. The eclectic variation of the track caught me right off the train track (pun intended) as it escalated towards the end with a drop I never saw coming. “Oh shit! “ Kuddos to the electric guitar. And if you still can’t figure the words after 5 listens,

Tin is at your disposal. Tin’s lair is Showbox bar, where he hangs out every Mondays to raindays, afternoon preferred. Download Nevermore if you haven’t already, because otherwise it is you on the losing end. What more do you need to ease the bashing traffic during mid-afternoon? Oh another day in Phnom Penh! Download Nevermore at sliten6ix.bandcamp.com

reviews

Tropfest SEA Winner:

Rice

(dir. Sothea Ines)  It’s an exciting time for Khmer movies: the latest Tropfest SEA award for short films saw the top two prizes being awarded to Cambodian filmmakers. The winning film, Sothea Ines’s 7 minute film Rice, is the debut film from this young director. It tells the story of a young boy living in the Khmer Rouge regime who steals some rice for an improvised picnic with his friends. Despite the heavy subject matter, Rice manages to pack the emotional punch while remaining light and fresh. I asked the filmmaker how she created this balance. “As a young person I’ve never been in the regime. People say how lucky we are, but when I listen to some stories they’re quite funny. The human spirit shines through: especially stories of young kids, sharing things and enjoying the moment together. It was hard to decide whether to make it a very dark and sad story – but even in a bad situation people still find joyful moments together.”

Like Rithy Panh’s The Missing Picture, Rice also sets itself cinematic limitations in order to express the hardship of those times, and the ultimate futility of attempting to represent such a huge trauma. Rice is a silent movie (other than a sparse instrumental soundtrack) and is filmed in black and white– “life in the Khmer Rouge regime had no colour” says Ines, “it was a time of polarity: black and white, live or die, right of wrong. The silence shows that people cannot talk or express their feelings or opinions about what is wrong, to ask for what they should have. I used the Khmer instruments on the soundtrack to express that feeling in music. The music is not smoothly made: it reflects the roughness of their life.” It’s a beautifully shot film, and especially impressive considering Ines’ training is in media and communications rather than fiction film directing. She learnt the technicalities of the trade purely through observing others, often with the filmmakers collective 4K. However, she doesn’t find it easy to be a woman in such a male dominated industry: “I could’ve started at a young age, but as a woman people say I should be based in the family, or work in a better place. They say “what are you doing on the set where all the crew are guys?”. The technicalities of it are intimidating, and it really put me down. I thought I wasn’t tough enough. Even now my family don’t really have an idea what this film is about.” Hopefully the Tropfest win will help prove her value and a filmmaker: she has already begun working on another low budget, historical film. Thank goodness: Rice seems to promise the arrival of a serious new talent in Cambodian cinema.

St Vincent – St Vincent  Sitting regally on a pink plastic throne, hair dyed grey and teased out in an Albert Einstein puff, St Vincent’s latest album cover shows an artist transfigured – but into someone who is even more strongly herself, as suggested by the self-titling of her fifth album. Even if you’ve never been drawn by bloodlessly twee, smart alec-y indie rock, in which direction St Vincent’s back catalogue occasionally threatened to veer, her latest offering is a refreshingly bold and satisfying. From the funky grooves of Rattlesnake to the unexpected metal shredding on Huey Newton, St Vincent is a complex, sparkling, tour de force of an album.

Battambang-based artist Nicolas C. Grey has teamed up with frequent collaborator James Farley to tell the stories of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most (in)famous gurus.

agenda · · march 7 Tipsy Tuk Tuks Relaunch Party

Hollywood Awards Live 2014

Tickets are 10 dollars and include: Transportation to the best parties in town Drinks on the Tuk Tuks. A free shot at each of the bars

Riverhouse Asian Bistro and the Cambodia Oscar Selection Commitee bring to you “Hollywood Awards Live”; a morning of glitz and glamour. Join us on Monday March 3 from 8AM at the Riverhouse Asian Bistro, hosted by Cambodia Oscar Selection Committtee, and watch the Oscar’s live, partake in fun games where you can win prizes, feast on the delectable breakfast buffet and socialize with friends, family and new aquaintances. Come dressed in your finest gowns and suits, parade around our very own red carpet and you can be your very own special celebrity for the day.

The Cambodian Space Project

women international day

Dj Illest CORONA (CP5/ghettoblasters) hip hop trap electro at Pontoon.

Celebrate, support and enjoy.

@ Meta House, Drop Dead Disco presents re-wind old school house and garage with premier of the video lets go by Simon C Vent and Zeeshan Haider.

Siem Reap treasure hunt Drop Dead Disco

at 2pm - Hunt starts at Molly Malone’s on Pub Street, Siem Reap

Exhibition: Animals

@ Show Box. A contemporary look at animals

Release of The Missing

Legend Cinema 1 & 2 and Platinum Cineplex, Phnom Penh

Grass Snake Union @ Equinox

(CP5/ghettoblasters) hip hop trap electro.

6Picture by Rithy Panh

DJ R-wan @Pontoon

16DJ ILLEST

Come support Rithy Panh’s The Missing Picture, first-ever nominee from Cambodia is indeed a great achievement.

Tickets ($5) can be purchased from Monday February 24 at The Riverhouse Asian Bistro Reservations: 015 868 101 / 023 212 302 157 Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh.

@ Knai Bang Chatt Sailing Club, Kep

Feraliskinky

The Cambodian Space Project @ Equinox

(elected best dj by UK DJ MAG) for a showcase at shameless PONTOON CLUB

Fire - Dancing - Singing and Wine by the bottle!

@ Show box, Get dressed up an Gypofied for this friday night party! Come dance around our oil drum fire and as we blast out Gypsy Beats and BBQ meat! Specials on the Night: $2.00 wine and $1 Whisky Shots

dj luke cool hands & Chantal ( Australia) @ pontoon pulse

Jazhad

27-30

Chaktomuk Short - Film Festival The association Kon Khmer Koun Khmer organizes for the fourth time a three-day set of screenings to showcase the young talents from both Cambodia and Southeast Asia, in multiple venues throughout Phnom Penh. The program is enriched this year with an open door filmcamp on March 23rd and a one-week workshop for selected young filmmakers. The program will be soon released.

@ Equinox, A powerful Ska band that is fast gathering some of the best musicians in town. The result is a hectic and festive sound that stubbornly refuses to leave your brain for days after the party is over.

Ticket to Ride Trying out Phnom Penh’s new busline by Eve Watling

A UNIQUE SPARKLING WINE 100% CHILEAN

It looks legit: shiny new bus stops dotting the length of Monivong Boulevard promising a round trip circuit of the street for the low, low price of 1500 riels. A project run by Municipal Hall and the Japanese International Cooperation agency, the bus line is a running for a month as a prototype for a city-wide public transport network. The bus stops optimistically promise no less than a 1015 minute waiting time. However, after 25 minutes of the novelty of waiting for the bus evaporating in the midday sun, the bus finally pulled up, and I hopped aboard with glee. As it’s only a day after the project launched, I’m surprised to find the bus is almost full – until I clock the matching team t-shirts of the passengers and realise that the bus is full of other journalists, including two full camera crews. The few non-journalists who dare to board look understandably surprised that sitting on a bus could possibly be such a source of fascination. “I prefer taking the bus to motos, they are so dangerous”, an older lady in the seat behind tells us. “I don’t care if it takes a bit longer – it’s cool and keeps me out of the sun.” It’s a great idea, and the congested city is clearly in need of some alternative means of transport – although this bus can take a full hour to complete its one-road circuit, meaning it’s actually quicker to walk. However, the reduce in traffic if the full city-wide bus network means that hopefully one day bussing in the city will be zippier – and no longer seen as such a novelty.

EXCLUSIVELY DISTRIBUTED BY

Phnom Penh (855) 23 986 350

Siem Reap Sihanouk, Kep & Kampot Battambang (855) 34 934 155 (855) 63 964 409 (855) 53 953 855

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- Buy one get one free cocktail from 6PM to 7:30PM @ Mezze Bar, Siem Reap

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Got a funny WUPP story, a question, a problem, or a dire emergency that for some reason can wait until the next issue comes out? Email eve@wuppmag.com and we’ll sort you right out!