WUPP Mag #15 by Pierre Rabotin

Ur Co-Founder & Managing Director Antony Hamon Ur Editor In Chief Pierre Rabotin Ur Editor Eve Watling Ur Creative Director Emmanuelle Rouvrais Ur Designer Ashley Weineberger

ADD

Ur Sales Manager Sarah Belli 0888 197 202 sarah@wuppmag.com Ur Photographers Jeremie Montessuis Sentosa Mam Ur Journalists Natalie Phillips Ur Project Manager Jéremie Courtot Lorenz Gaimard Clémence Trémol Anaïs Lamory Ur Distribution Manager Vanny Soran Special Thanks Julia Lwin

Cover Portrait of Khvay Samnang by Jeremie Montessuis

Studio: 391 Films ..... WHAT’S UP MAGAZINE contact@wuppmag.com facebook/wupp.magazine www.wuppmag.com 097 958 7338

Dear readers As the deluge of floods dies down for another year and dry season begins, we decided to check out all the different ways that water affects our lives in the Kingdom. Kipping overnight on a fishing boat, traversing the floating villages and navigating city floods – afterwards we were knackered, and hit the markets to sample our favourite liquid of all: booze. Ever wondered what the Cambodian home brews taste like? We’re pretty sure you can guess, but check out our ‘Booze Test’ feature to find out exactly which ones taste like old Red Bull, and which simply taste of bad saki. Of course, it’s not just our fun features that we have for your reading delight. WUPP is still your go-to place for finding out the hottest events, the coolest parties and newest arrivals in the city. We’ll also be updating you on all the exciting things happening in the Cambodian art world, including the artists who are going international at this year’s Singapore biennale. We hope you enjoy all the freebies and discounts that you’ll find in our coupon collection. Keep following our Facebook for real-time updates for the latest news and events, and check out www.wuppmag.com for a full agenda, past issues and more.

NOVEMBER P24 • Ur Booze Test

P46 • Ur Shopping: Must have for…

P50 • Ur Wine: Match of the Month

Raffles Personalities... BRUNCH IS BACK ON SATURDAYS! Raffles’ Personality Brunch will give you the opportunity to experience a celebration of the many famous personalities who resided at Le Royal during visits to Cambodia. These celebrated figures left their mark forever in our history. Set in Phnom Penh’s grandest dining room, Restaurant Le Royal the only Personality Brunch that offers an eclectic array of Chef’s pass around, classic guerridon tableside service, a la carte options and the largest range of cheese’s in town. 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 03.00pm www.raffles.com/phnompenh

Prices are subject to service charge and applicable government taxes. For reservations, please call 023 981 888 or email dining.leroyal@raffles.com

P58 • Ur Event: Angkor Photo Festival

P62 • Ur Nightlife: Drop Dead Disco

05. UR picture of the month 09. UR place: feel good 10. UR new discoveries 13. UR cover: drops of cambodia

14. 16. 20. 22.

one night as a fisherman anatomy of a floating village khvay samnang urban voice

24. UR booze test 40. UR hypemaker 42. UR fashion: poolside paradise 46. UR shopping: must have for a day by the pool 50. UR wine: match of the month 52. UR food: da sandro panini bar 54. UR artist: urban street night club 58. UR event: angkor photo festival 60. UR cinema: why we love…

P54 • Ur Cover: Drops of Cambodia

62. UR music: drop dead disco tour 64. UR playsist: dj tonle dub 65. UR cocktail of the month 67. UR how to… customize a shirt 68. UR 5 reasons to… 70. UR khmer games 71. UR street style 72. UR agenda

photo of the month

THE LONG WAIT by KEN EDGAR “Cambodians are paying their respects to the passing of the late King-Father Norodom Sihanouk. At the anniversary of his passing, I felt this was a fitting image to share with the people of Cambodia.” www.kenedgar.com Want to be the next Picture of the Month ? Send your best shot of Cambodia that was taken in the last month to : contact@wuppmag.com

NEW!!!

GARDEN BRUNCH ON SATURDAYS es, s , quich Crêpes ead, compote r b r ginge ats her tre and ot

Hot drink (free refill), fresh fruit juice and 3 dishes from our brunch menu for $ 8.50! #190 street 51 (Pasteur), BKK 1 between streets 360 and 370

Garden café

Home boutique

PHNOM PENH 012 505 301 (Fr., Eng.), 012 907 193 (Kh., Eng.)

UR place

FEEL GOOD Growing an Organic Business BY PIERRE RABOTIN AND EVE WATLING

Walking down st.136, you’d be forgiven missing Feel Good cafe, a slender slice of orange in the grey-hued street. You would certainly be forgiven for underestimating the size and scope of what lies behind the cosy cafe. Stretching upwards and outwards like a hidden Harry Potter-like magical labyrinth lay four floors of Feel Good’s surprisingly spacious and airy multi-faceted business. If you can bear to bypass the ground floor cafe serving delicious, healthy food and the best chai latte in town, you can climb the staircase to find out the other treats Feel Good has in store. Built up with the idea of creating a green and natural hangout space in a city with a dire shortage of just these, Feel Good incorporates an emporium selling oils, soaps and other handmade, organic produce. The top floors hold a yoga, dance and meditation studio and a spa, as well as a leafy rooftop terrace. But balancing the mind, body and soul of its patrons isn’t Feel Good’s only aim. The idea is to train Cambodian staff to become adept

in managing a business, with the eventual aim of handing the company over to them to run themselves. Already the Cambodian team have come up with Feel Good’s newest project, a cooking class, after they devised the business plan independently from the foreign-born owners. Dedicated to creating jobs on a direct, grassroots level Feel Good has also managed to squeeze in an HR department dedicated to hooking up Cambodians with jobs that match their skills. Having only opened in June, Feel Good’s scope is impressive, e s p e c i a l l y considering their laidback approach to planning, for which they take a leaf out of their own book, letting the business grow organically and relying on word of mouth to become well-known. But with their ambitious and socially conscious ethos, Feel Good’s progress doesn’t look like it’s slowing any time soon. Info: Feel Good, #78, st.136, Phnom Penh. Opens 8am-8pm. www.feelgood.com.kh

UR discoveries

new discoveries Our Latest Favourite Things Ebada Dog Cafe

Dine in the Dark Phnom Penh

Franglish Club WUPP loves this new language exchange club that promotes English/French language practice in a speed-dating style at the Plantation. English and French native speaking expats meet up and talk for 7 minutes in one language and then 7 minutes in the other. When the time is up, they switch partners for more bilingual chatting! We love that the French expats are shaking off their Englishphobic reputation... facebook.com/pages/Franglish-in-PP

Sala Bai

Ever longed to drink a delicious latte and simultaneously pet fluffy fur? Miss dogs but too lazy to keep a pet? Well, now at new cafe Ebada, you can enjoy your coffee with a side order of adorable, as patrons are free to play with the new cafe’s fluffy canine mascots. Dog owners can bring their own pups to socialise. Located on St. 306, Ebada is Phnom Penh’s new doglover’s paradise. www.facebook.com/ebada0735

Stitch ‘n’ Bitch Phnom Penh Start making your scarf for cool season with this group of Phnom Penhbased crafters. Any textile-lovers from crocheters, embroiderers, weavers and knitters are welcome to attend their coffee shop meet-ups, where they stitch, bitch and exchange crafting tips. Check out their website for the next meet up and info on buying craft supplies that are sometimes scarce in the Kingdom. phnompenhstitchnbitch.wordpress.com

Strand Restaurant, Kep

Officially opening on the 3rd November, the Strand Restaurant in the Knai Bang Chatt Hotel is promising us fine dining by the seaside with their intriguing sounding bio-baguettes and fresh salads, along with Khmer fusion cuisine. www. knaibangchatt.com

Phnom Penh Underground

Although you might like to see what you are eating in some of the dingier street food restaurants, you can put your faith in this culinary dining experience that the food they serve you will explode your taste buds rather than your bowels. The newly-opened Dine in the Dark serves up Khmer, vegetarian and International dishes in total darkness in order to heighten your taste senses – and you won’t know what you’ve eaten till the end. Don’t worry about clumsy waiters spilling wine all over you: DID is staffed by waiters with sight impairments who are experts in non-visual navigation. A perfect pace for culinary explorers, as well as a first date venue for the very ugly. Dine in the Dark, Street 19, Phnom Penh. 3 course menu $18 exc. drinks. 077-589458

The training school that teaches underprivileged Cambodians how to work in a professional kitchen has just re-opened its flagship training restaurant in Siem Reap. Not only is the food delicious, but the restaurant funds 30% of the training program, which takes on 100 new students each year. www.salabai.com

Badminton club Part of the PP sports network, this notfor-profit badminton group meets up every Wednesday to play casual doubles games in order to keep their shuttlecock skills sharp. Every Wednesday 8.30-10.30pm at the Olympic stadium badminton courts. 1st or 2nd hour: $3, 2 hours: $4.50

Describing itself as ‘the definitive guide to Phnom Penh’s clubscene’, this website is packed full of upcoming events, blogs musing on dance music, mixes, photos, DJ profiles and lots more. A great way to collectivise the city’s burgeoning electronic scene, and to provide avid clubbers with a go-to spot for info on the latest happenings. phnom-penh-underground.com

If you discover a new place, activity, club, then send your favorite finds to: contact@wuppmag.com

11 11

UR cover

Drops of cambodia From the swathes of saturated rice fields to the rush of the Mekong, water makes up a huge part of the Cambodian landscape and way of life. To mark the end of the rainy season and the reversal of the Tonle Sap’s flow, WUPP has decided to take on the job of celebrating the vital liquid. From roving fishermen to disappearing lakes, we’re sending you on a journey down the waterways to discover the twists and turns in our relationship with the wet stuff.

> P.14

Join us as we spend a night on a fishing boat in Kep

> P.16

Illustrator Natalie Phillips reports on floating villages

> P.20

Meet the artist taking a stand against the destruction of Phnom Penh’s lakes

> P.22

Mapping city flooding : Urban Voice speaks out

UR COVER

One night as a fisherman text by PIERRE RABOTIN - photos by Sentossa mam & pierre rabotin

WUPP staffers Pierre and Sentosa spent one night on a fishing boat to learn about life on the sea.

Noun Sokun, 40, sits on the top of his $2000 second hand boat, steering with his feet while his brother Nareth, 33, knits a damaged net. After two hours of vibrating to the engine’s drum solo, we slow down the boat and finally throw the net in the sea. Sokun has been performing this ceremony for the last twenty years. Around us, everything is wrapped in darkness, and I can barely see the shadows of islands faraway. “My eyes are used to it,” says Sokun, “we don’t need any light”.

We decided everything at the last minute, driving away from Kampot city to a fishing village located near a little white mosque. We asked around until a fisherman agreed to take us on his boat for a fishing trip overnight, despite his warning of a rough ride: “There isn’t space for a lot of people, so you’ll have to find a place to sleep on the deck. Bring food and water. If you get sick, we won’t be able to do anything about it”.

The sky got cloudy, and a storm was rumbling somewhere nearby. I started considering staying at the guesthouse. It was the end of Pchum Ben, and none of the fishermen had gone out to sea for the last four days because of the weather. But today, reports coming from Vietnam had given the green light. All the boats left at 5pm, quietly sailing down the last stretch of Mekong before reaching the waters of the gulf of Thailand.

For the first time at 10pm, the brothers pour the contents of the entire net into the front of the boat, and start sorting the catch out under the flickering light of a small lamp swinging at the end of a rope. They perform this thorough work amazingly quickly, putting the shrimps together, the octopuses in one corner, and fishes for prohok in another, freeing some of them from plastic bags before throwing the bags back to the sea. On a good night in January – the best season for shrimps – they can make $150, while July and August are the most difficult times because

of the wind. Tonight, I’m quite surprised to see how poor the catch is after such a long trip. Over the years, Sokun has been the witness to the continuously decreasing amount of fishes. When I ask about the reasons, I get what in my mind has become a typical Cambodian answer: it’s all the Vietnamese’s fault. Sokun has a lot to say on the topic, telling me how Vietnamese people electrify the water to catch all the big fishes, or how they would do anything to defend their territory. “I don’t go near Vietnamese islands; I’m really scared because they sink the Cambodian boats”. After a long sleepless night, we head back to the village as dozens of other boats magically reappear around us. All the fishermen bring back the catch that their wives, sisters and mothers will sell at the market in the morning. All of these guys will go get some rest during the day before returning to the sea as soon as the sun comes down. Before we left their home, they cooked us some of the freshest seafood we just caught during the night. I didn’t know shrimps could taste this good.

UR COVER

ANATOMY OF A FL OATING VILLAGE Surrounded by water, but dying of thirst: Natalie Phillips visits a floating village to discover the unusual role water plays in the community. Illustration and text by Natalie Phillips Dark with mud and speckled with garbage, the Tonle Sap Lake will tempt only the desperate to sample its waters. This water is the foundation on which some 6,700 villagers living in the Chong Kneas floating village community sustain their lives, yet a lack of potable drinking water threatens the health of their community. In 2010 community leaders enlisted the aid of the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance (RACHA), a local NGO working to improve the lives of individuals and communities in Cambodia by making essential health services available, accessible, and sustainable to set up a sophisticated water filter station that, like the community, floats on water and migrates with the seasons. As RACHA Provincial Coordinator Dr. Thach Ly Khann puts it: “RACHA seem to deal with separate issues, but water is part of nutrition. If children do not

get good water, they get diarrhea, and if they get diarrhea often, they fall into malnutrition.” RACHA estimates that 44% of rural Cambodians lack access to clean water.

A COMMUNITY ADRIFT Though called the Chong Kneas Floating Village in guidebooks, Chong Kneas actually consists of seven villages. Dr.

Ly Khan estimates that the community is 65 percent Khmer, 25 to 30 percent Vietnamese and 5 to 10 percent Cham Muslim. “Most of the villagers were fishermen but when they had a low year, they could not catch many fish,” he says. “Many people changed their jobs and became boat drivers for tourism.” In addition to a floating water station, they have a floating gas station, bar, temple and multiple schools. Some

buildings are on stilts by the side of the road and are “fixed,” such as the health center which was build by RACHA with USAID support in 2012 and community office. In the dry season when water levels go down, villagers in floating houses use motor boats to move their homes, while villagers living in small huts by the road disassemble them by hand and move them to the water’s edge.

UR COVER

ANATOMY OF A WATER FILTER STATION:

1 A solar-powered pump sucks surface water from the lake 2 Chlorine and alum sanitize the water 3 Pre-filters remove sediment, improving clarity

4 The main tank drains water through gravel and sand, cleaning it further 5 pH control 6 UV light zaps the water, killing harmful microbes 7 The final product: clean drinkable water Dr. Ly Khann says they sell about 2,000 to 3,000 units in the dry season. In the rainy season that number drops to 1,000 units, as villagers can supplement with rainwater. A 20-liter jug is a steal at 500 riel. “In the beginning, we invite the community to come to the station and to buy at the station,” Mr. Ly Khann says. “But we still have a problem: the poor do not have a boat to come buy the water. So now we have a local contractor who can distribute by boat.” Info: Thanks to Mr. Ly Khann and RACHA for their help. More info about the organization: www.racha.org.kh/ facebook.com/rachacambodia

UR COVER

Khvay Samnang TAKING BOEUNG KAK LAKE TO THE SINGAPORE BIENNALE ‘Newspaper man’, 2012

BY EVE WATLING

SOUTHEAST ASIA IS IN FLUX. HIGH-RISES SHOOT FROM THE GROUND AND SHANTY TOWNS SWELL WHERE LOW SWEEPS OF RICE PADDIES ONCE LAY. WATER BURSTS FORTH WHERE ONCE IT ONLY TRICKLED, WHILE SOME PLACES THE EARTH BECOMES PARCHED AND SANDY. But while some changes happen naturally over time, the warping landscape of Phnom Penh is very much man-made. Cambodian artist Khvay Samnang believes that it is his role to address this rapid development. “The artist thinks about the different aspects of events, and presents them in a new way to the public”, he says.

Samnang is showing his work in the current Singaporian Biennale, which is looking at this exhausting whirl of social and environmental transformation happening around us through the eyes of the region’s artists. Under the theme ‘If the World Changed’, the massive exhibition collects works from Southeast Asia’s most exciting

“

‘‘Untitled’, 2011

”

SAMNANG ENVELOPS HIS BODY IN A PHYSICAL TRIAL IN ORDER TO ENGAGE WITH THE ACTIONS OF POWERFUL POLITICAL FORCES

artists, giving them a space in the context of the global art scene as they address the region’s most pressing issues. The exhibition is running for the 4th time and features over 50 artists, including 3 from Cambodia. Khvay Samnang is thrilled to be one of these artists. “I’m so proud of myself that my work is in the biennale and that what I do is being shared,” he says, “People are learning what happens in my community and my country”. Untitled, his work displayed in the biennale, addresses the change happening in Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake area, which was recently filled in with sand to make way for property development. Samnang’s artwork addressed the development directly: going to the lake during the process of its destruction, he filmed and photographed himself pouring a bucket of sand over his head. Untitled recalls the powerful images of selfimmolating Vietnamese monks in the 1970s, who set themselves on fire to protest the Vietnam war and give a visual image to the suffering of the country. Rich with absurdist humour, Untitled is playful rather than

brutally final, but there are parallels in how Samnang envelops his body in a physical trial in order to engage with the actions of powerful political forces. The subversive humour that so often shines through in his work helped him out for his later project Newspaper Man, in which Samnang wrapped his entire body in newspaper and walked blindly around the now filled-in lake. “The local news just didn’t write about the lake, so I really want to write it myself through my body. Some security people asked what I was doing. I told them that I’m there to sell newspapers. ‘But there are no people here!’ they said. I replied: ‘Business people always think ahead. You are developing this lake. I am just here first!’”. Info: The Singapore Biennale: 26 October 2013 - 16 February 2014 at various locations in Singapore. www.singaporebiennale.org. See more of Khvay Samnang’s work at the Sa Sa Bassac gallery website: www. sasabassac.com Photos courtesy the artist/Sa Sa Bassac

UR COVER

URBAN VOICE TRACKING THE FLOODS IN PHNOM PENH by eve watling

We’ve all had the Phnom Penh flood experience: being suddenly immersed in knee deep water while trying not to think about what may lurk beneath the grime-grey waters below. Previously, all you could do was sigh and scurry into the nearest coffee shop, but now Cambodia’s first crowdmapping website, Urban Voice, is providing a new outlet for your flood woes. The open source organisation now has a number and an email address for residents to report any flooding they experience. All verified reports will be compiled and made into an interactive online map, showing worst hit areas and problem zones, allowing a visualisation of the city’s flooding problem and sowing the seeds for its potential solution. This focus on flooding is just the latest in Urban Voice’s host of campaigns. Previously, they mapped electricity blackout zones and potholes, and proved that the government’s plan to close all internet cafes within 500m of a school would result in the closure of almost every single internet cafe in the city. Standing up for the interests of Phnom Penh’s citizens, the Urban Voice team wants to see the city change for the better. “We were inspired to start this project as many NGOs had lots of information, but Photo : Nicolas Imhof

didn’t have a web-based centre to display it”, says Urban Voice member My Sovann, “We are not working with the local government to enact positive change yet, but there is a plan to do so when we have enough information.” Urban Voice is also making a public information video about the problems that flooding causes. It is tackling one of the sources of the floods – drain-clogging rubbish – by organising monthly litter-picking events, as well as hosting forums for potential map-makers interested in the project and the technology behind it. Raising awareness while collecting solid information on the places and people that flooding affects is the first step in solving the problem, and thanks to the participation of the city’s residents, Urban Voice is on the path to make a real difference. urbanvoicecambodia.net

4/10

BANANA BOOZE: ‘Good for the stomach’ Best verdict: “It’s good! Wait, no it’s not. It’s really bitter, strange and yeasty. It tastes like old alcohol and unripe banana”

BOOZE TEST

DEHYDRATED WEE-COLOURED BOOZE: ‘Also good for the stomach’

GOOD FOR THE BODY OR BAD FOR THE BRAINCELLS?

4.5/10

Best verdict: “It tastes musty, like sour beer and old furniture. I would call this ‘grandma juice’.”

text by eve watling - photos by sentosa mam

TRADITIONAL HERBAL MEDICINE IS STILL HUGELY POPULAR IN CAMBODIA. TO MAKE THE MEDICINE MORE PALATABLE, THE BITTER HERB TINCTURES ARE COMMONLY MIXED WITH ALCOHOL. The WUPP team headed down to Psar Chas, and found a rickety market stall with plastic jars full of multicoloured herbal homebrews lined up on the shop front. Each medicine was explained, and our selection was poured into old empty plastic bottles, and we took them to a nearby noodle stall to try them out. We included a few

extras in our test – a couple of rice wines, and a fortified wine with an alarmingly muscle-bound man gleaming on the label, which we found at an off licence. Would the medicinal booze give us a new lease of life, or get us so drunk that we just temporarily thought that they had ?

7/10

ORANGE STUFF SERVED IN A COLA BOTTLE: ‘Good for your muscles’ Best verdict: “[Gags] Really good! Very fruity. Sweet and bitter at the same time. I would drink this for fun. They’re starting to taste the same though. I feel drunk”

BROWN LIQUID: ‘Good for your veins’

6/10

Best verdict: “This is different. It tastes like bread and smells like garlic. Actually, it tastes Christmassy, like cinnamon and cloves. Is it ginseng?”

BONUS ROUND: RICE WINE In the interest of the investigation’s accuracy, it should be noted that we had all consumed many generous sized shots in quick succession, and everyone is quite tipsy at this point.

6.3/10

WHITE RICE WINE: Best verdict: “This one is the most honest – it doesn’t try to mask the taste with other fake tastes. It just tastes like rice. It also tastes like crappy off licence booze I used to drink as a teenager. [massive coughing fit] But I love it! It tastes like bad saki. It tastes like Celine Dion!”

4/10

DARK BROWN LIQUID: ‘Cools down your body’ Best verdict: “This one smells funky. [Coughs, chokes] it tastes like bad water that has somehow turned into alcohol. You can’t really taste anything, but you still get drunk. A hint of ancient red bull that has been left open for ages. And there is a plastic bag taste followed by a certain sweetness. I do feel cooler though.”

‘MR MUSCLE’ FORTIFIED WINE

‘drink for relaxation’

3.8/10

BROWN RICE WINE:

5.2/10

Best verdict: “[Fishes out a piece of wood before drinking] It smells like wood. [drinks] uuugh... it tastes like tree. Or like cinnamon. And feta. It tastes just like the market smells.”

Best verdict: “Ew! It tastes like Thai whiskey and pee. Its very oily, like expired medicinal syrup. Grape syrup ! Twerk juice! Aw.... tastes like ASS!”

>> CONCLUSION: The orange liquor was the clear winner of the night, charming us with its subtle Fanta-like notes. However, the headaches and dry mouths in the morning indicated that we didn’t experience their full medicinal value– we’re sticking to Paracetamol!

UR events

HYPEMAKER WHAT WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT IN NOVEMBER BY EVE WATLING

CULTURE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ‘Do-It-Yourself/Exhibition by Artists For Artists’

Photo by Christine Fenzl

The esteemed curator Ute Meta Bauer arrives in Southeast Asia for a series of workshops, and a public talk at the Meta House. Sa Sa Bassac and the Goethe institute came together to facilitate her ‘Do-It-Yourself’ talk, which discusses the paradigm shift in perceptions of the nature of art that occurred when avant garde artists such as Yves Klein and Gilbert and George began curating their own groundbreaking exhibitions. This talk is a rare opportunity to reconnect with the global art world, and is a must for art lovers. Meta House, November 6, 6:30pm

SINGAPORE BIENNALLE>>>>>>> Khvay Samnang isnt the only Cambodian artist featured at the biennale. Here’s a sneak peak at the work of the other two artists representing the Kingdom. SVAY SARETH From afar, Sareth’s biennale piece looks familiar to anybody who has been to Angkor Wat – a huge 3D rendering of the Hindu myth The Churning of the Sea of Milk in earthy toned material. But when seen up close, the piece becomes paradoxically stranger – we see that it is a huge stuffed toy made of camouflage material most commonly seen in soldier’s uniforms.

MUSIC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10th International Music Festival Classical music comes back to the Penh for this 5-day festival. Highlights of the 5 concerts include a choir performance of Broadway classics and a night of modernist and impressionist classical performances from a trio on flute, piano and violin. Various locations around Phnom Penh, 7th-11th November, www.music-festival-phnompenh.org

Jazz in the City: 2nd Anniversary The weekly jazz night Photo credit: © Oyen Rodriguez at Siem Reap’s Heritage Suites hotel celebrates its second birthday in style, with a 1920s themed night with a variety of different jazz styles from musicians that have made the last two years so special. An extra special performance from hype band Jazhad will top off the night, as well as prizes for the best roaring 20s costumes. Heritage Suites Hotel, Siem Reap, 28th November, 6.30pm

Toy (Churning of the Sea of Milk) [pictured below] comments on powerplay, deceit and destruction: stories of creation and decimation that repetitively play themselves out today as much as in ancient times.

ALBERT SAMRETH

You’ve probably never heard of Carolyn Hopkins, but it’s likely you’ve heard her. The most prolific public announcer’s comforting tones have been telling you to mind the gap and watch out for suspicious bags in airports and stations for decades, but for the first time ever the famous voice will be heard musing poetically about time and reality. The Khmer-American artist Albert Samrath has recorded Carolyn reading his poems, and then chopped them into a soundscape that comments on the vulnerability of certainty and everyday reality. Named The Voice, this piece will be played at the entry of the biennale.

26 October 2013 - 16 February 2014 at various locations in Singapore www.singaporebiennale.org

Rom Bak Battle This hip hop dance battle featuring a mix of Khmer and international dancers returns due to popular demand. The battle is the only of its kind in Cambodia, and falls into two categories – poppin’ and breakdancing – followed by DJs playing great music into the wee hours. Slur Bar, Saturday 16th November, www.facebook.com/ RomBakBattle

UR fashion

POOLSIDE PARADISE

The Sexiest Swimwear in the City

Photos Jeremie Montessuis/ Film Noir Studio Lights: Gilles Sainsily Lighting gear: I-Qlick Studio Model: Suon Daroth and Kate Sutherland Makeup: Syna Styling Location: Le Blanc Boutique Hotel

Clothing: Promesses Boutique 20B, St. 282, 12202 Phnom Penh Tel: 023 993 527 HP: 011 527 074

UR shopping

MUST HAVE …

4 Cover up with this luxe Kensington cotton shirt-dress $28, Binky Higgings, Sok San Road, Siem Reap 5 Loop a statement necklace over your bikini Rhombus Pendant necklace, $19.90, Mango (mango.com)

for a day by the pool

Make the most of tropical living by kicking back poolside at least once this month. Here’s our guide to things that will make your dip all the more delicious...

BY EVE WATLING

06 07 02 03

46 46

8 Secretly check out the hotties behind these shades $10, 10k Skateshop

2 Get a colour-popping bikini Top, $35.00 – bottoms, $22.50, Promesses Lingerie no.20 st.282, Phnom Penh 3 Dive into the latest in the series of Laosset mystery novels, featuring the famous Dr Siri The Woman who Wouldn’t Die by Colin Cotterill, Released mid-November, Monument books, $12.99

7 Stay shady with this floral snapback Haters snapback, $15, 10K Skateshop, facebook. com/10kskateshop

1 Plug into these headphones Plattan Coral headphones, $79.90, urbanears.com

6 Stop by Blue Pumpkin on the way over for some poolside treats Lemon tart with raspberry sorbet, $3.75, Blue Pumpkin

08 47 47

True taste of Italy, unique to Cambodia ! Natural flavours and textures. Terrazza is the combination of this culinary holy trinity of dining exellence. Our Chef will prepare Italian culinary masterpieces that will take you on a dream journey across Italy. We also deliver !

Opening time: 12pm - 10:30pm daily

High quality Italian products for your business ! We are importing highest quality products from Italy that can nicely complement your offer at your restaurant, shop… True “dolce vita” style! Please check www.terrazza.asia.

Fresh and authentic Italian products ! Our Deli shop is a home to the authentic Italian products of highest quality. Stop by whenever you feel like preparing an awesome Italian meal at home should that be a romantic dinner, family lunch or a little bite.

Opening time: 9am - 10pm daily 1c, Street 282, BKK1 Phnom Penh, Cambodia +855 (0) 23 214 660 reservations@terrazza.asia

UR wine

Wine & Food

Roasted Lamb Rack

with Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Medley and Port Jus

•Trim 200g lamb rack, salt before searing. Sear all sides to crisp brown crust. Place in 200 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes until medium rare. •Boil potatoes, add butter and season to taste, blend for smooth consistency •Dice king browns, shiitake and enoki mushrooms. Sautee in butter with cracked pepper •Wilt spinach in pan with oil and seasoning •For the Port Jus-Reduce beef stock (6 – 8 hours) until thick consistency. In another pan reduce 200ml Port and 400ml red wine by 70%. Add to beefstock and reduce again by 50% or until sticky consistency. Season to taste.

“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.

marinated feta Salad Preparation

•Marinate 100g feta in olive oil with 2 cloves of roasted garlic. •Roast red capsicum at 100 degrees for over 1 hour. Peel and slice into 1cm strips •For the pesto, blend a quarter cup roasted walnuts, 2 table spoons powder parmesan, 3 quarter cups of fresh basil, half a lime juice and extra virgin olive oil to a paste-like consistency. Season to taste •Cut approx. 100g cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise •Wash approx. 10 – 15 leaves fresh basil •Reduce half cup balsamic vinegar with 2 table spoons sugar by 70% to form syrup

Assembly Assemble using 10cm diameter tube. Decorate plate with pesto. Layer in capsicums, feta, basil leaves and cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with balsamic syrup and extra virgin olive oil.

Fleur du Cap, Unfiltered Semillon

Full flavoured Semillon with smoky, toasty oak and leesy characters, rich flavours on the palate with some complexity, creamy mouth-feel and flavours of wild honey, cut straw and roasted nuts.

Why they match perfectly The fullness of the wine matched the full flavours of the feta and sweet peppers in the dish, whilst the smoky notes complimented the tomatoes nicely.

Preparation

Assembly

Decorate the plate with the mashed potato, add spinach and mushrooms. Place lamb rack on plate. Drizzle with port jus.

Lindemans Pyrus Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot

Tight, concentrated wine with lovely ripe, dark-berry fruits and classy oak, (mostly new French with a small portion of seasoned barrels). On the palate, the wine is all class with lovely cool-climate, forest-fruits, (blackberry, mulberry) and a hint of tobacco leaf, all wrapped up in fine tannins and dusty oak.

Why they match perfectly

The cool climate fruit was a delightful match with the flavor of the lamb and the overall balance between dish and wine was superb.

The Owner/Chef

Dah Lee is a restaurateur/chef with over 25 years experience in the hospitality and entertainment industry in New Zealand and Australia. Lee has created over 15 trend setting concepts for restaurants, bars and clubs, as well as working with many talented chefs. Now settled in Phnom Penh, Lee and partner Nic Sturrock have launched their first venture “the Duck.”

About the Duck

The Duck serves dinner, lunches and brunches of modern bistro food in a contemporary yet classic environment. The Duck is a hip eatery where a warm ambiance, best quality ingredients and big flavours are always on the menu.

No49 Sothearos Boulevard - Tel 089823704 - email: info@the-duck.net www.the-duck.net

These wines are exclusively distributed by Celliers d’Asie, available at Red Apron Boutique and in many other restaurants and outlets in Cambodia...

Red Apron Wine

Boutique & Restaurant No. 15-17Eo, St. 240, PP 023 990 951/017 588 191 facebook.com/ RedApronSt240

UR FOOD

Da Sandro Panini Bar PHNOM PENH’S PANINI PARADISE BY EVE WATLING It may be in BKK rather than Milan, surrounded by motos rather than Vespas, but one bite from a sandwich from Da Sandro panini bar will whisk you straight to the heart of Italy, where fresh baked bread and the tastiest delicatessen cuts rule the roost. Warning: you might never want to eat fried rice again.

which sold fresh local farmer’s produce. Food has always been a big part of our family.” The Da Sandro staff handpicks fresh vegetables from the markets every morning, but their cheeses, cold cuts and other specialities are imported straight from Italy. A French baker bakes their fluffy, crunchy paninis from Chiara’s own recipe.

Milan native Chiara de Lucia is sitting in her newly opened cafe, which manages to combine airy minimalism with typically Italian warmth, with whitewashed wooden furniture and Polaroids of friends and family on the walls. ‘These pictures are of the people my paninis are named after’, she says, explaining the anthropomorphic menu. ‘For example, the Raffo Panini is named after a friend of mine’. If he is any bit as incredible as his panini, I want to meet this guy. Tangy cheese, spicy salami and fresh rocket are balanced perfectly between the crispy crunchy bread. There can be few marks of friendship as flattering as this.

Aside from paninis, Da Sandro also makes salads, toasts, juices and other special dishes. We tried the Parmigiana de Melanzane, a deep fried aubergine baked with homemade tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and parmesan. Resembling a kind of aubergine lasagne, it has an impossibly smooth texture, balanced out by crispy, flavoursome potatoes on the side. Da Sandro may be a little on the pricy side by Cambodian standards, but the genuine Italian flavours and welcoming ambience means it is worth every riel.

Chiara explains how she became a panini perfectionist. “Da Sandro is named after my grandfather, who opened a delicatessen in Milan in the 1950s,

Da Sandro Panini bar: No. 162 Eo St. 63, Phnom Penh 010 644 987 Da Sando – Panini Bar on Facebook

UR artist

URBAN STREET NIGHTCLUB fences, fantasies and free-market development

by eve watling

In the commercial heart of Phnom Penh, artist Lim Sokchanlina has found an unusual new muse: the Naga World construction site. The length of fencing is plastered with tourist board images of Cambodia Angkor Wat, rice paddies, flowers - and at night time is illuminated with multicoloured lights. In his new exhibition at Sa Sa Bassac, a gallery and resource centre for contemporary art, Lim Sokchanlina (or Lina for short) has constructed a similar fence, on which he projects 15 short videos taken of the Naga world fence. The gallery is transformed into a bustling urban space, surreally throbbing with neon colours, with shadowy tuk tuks and pedestrians gliding in and out of sight. The exhibition, named Urban Street Nightclub, is a continuation of Lina’s recent project Wrapped Future, in which he photographed the fences that sprung up across the city at the start of Phnom Penh’s rapid development. There is a sense of frustration and obstruction when looking at the still images of the hard coloured fences, as though the real picture lies tantalisingly behind them. Lina indeed intended the images to convey an outrage, a public loss. “The land enclosed is no longer a presence” he says of this series, “Memory has been traded for development. These fences are wrapping

East wall, Olympic Stadium, 2012

Untitled, 2013

(from Wrapped Future)

(from Urban Street Nightclub)

Memory has been traded for development

the future, standing in place of what was forgotten or never even known”. Urban Street Nightclub is an interesting next step in the project. This new exhibit explores the surreal phantasmagorical world of nationalistic advertising that developers have started to display across the fences in order to distract the public from the disappearance of the very land they are idealising. By blocking from view of what is really occurring behind the corrugated iron, the construction of the ideal image is a distracting veil

that promotes a mythical Cambodia. Urban Nightclub suggests that it isn’t just buildings being constructed, but public consciousness as well. Lina is critical of this imagery, and believes that relying on the idealised Angkorian glory days of Cambodia is contradictory. “They are using ancient images to promote globalisation”, he says, “and using these images isn’t inspiring young Khmer to do anything new. In Cambodia, they really care about heritage images and buildings but less about other sectors affecting modern day people”.

Will Lina ever erect his own fence in a public space? “I was thinking about putting one in a rice field or something” he grins, “somewhere unexpected”. Whether this fence materialises or not, we can’t wait to see in what direction Lina’s future wrapping will take.

INFO: Urban Street Nightclub is showing at Sa Sa Bassac gallery from 7th Nov 2013 – 11th Jan 2014, opening on Thursday 7th Nov at 6-8pm. See more of Lim Sokchanlina’s work at : www.sasabassac.com Photos : courtesy of the artist and Sa Sa Bassac

Redefined and refined party venue

PANAM

Reintroducing a classic

NOVEMBER 2013 57

PAN’AM restaurant • No. 196, St. 19 • 010 733 210 or 023 212 170 Closed on Mondays

UR EVENT

ANGKOR Photo FESTIVAL The not to miss event returns to Siem Reap

that the festival tries to reach its impact beyond the exhibition week, and plant the seeds for more great Asian photography. This year, the hub of the festival will be at the Loft, a spacious restaurant in the Old Market district of Siem Reap. Housing the Festival and Workshop Center, every afternoon promises a variety of activities for photography lovers, including free portfolio reviews, photo talks and seminars and artist sharing sessions, and all events are free of charge. Whether you are a novice or an expert, the sheer range of the festival means there will be something for everyone at Cambodia’s photography event of the year. ‘Our Coastline’ by Weixiang Lim

by Eve Watling Siem Reap is getting ready for one of the biggest event on its cultural calendar: the 9th Angkor Photo Festival is about to bring new international talent to the ancient Khmer city. The week-long festival will show the work of 130 photographers, half of whom are Asian, in a series of indoor and outdoor exhibitions and projections.

tribes in the Laos-Thai forests. Aside from the exhibitions, there are also educational events to help foster local talent. The Angkor Photo Workshop is a tuition-free workshop for 30 selected Asian photographers, while the Anjali Children’s workshop offers up a chance for kids from the local NGO Anjali House to explore their own talent behind the camera. The fifty kids will be brought on fun trips around Siem Reap and taught practical photography skills. It is through these workshops

Unlike many festivals, the Angkor Photo festival never has an overarching theme, and this year organisers received 1000 submissions of work from 75 countries.Covering all kinds of peoples, places and photography genres, the festival reads like ‘Behind the Mask’ by Subrata Biswas a multi-faceted snapshot of the world in 2013. A deeply personal photo series sees an American man heartbreakingly documenting his wife’s battle with breast cancer. An equally wrenching as well as fiercely political photos show children living in slums and working as slaves in Haiti. Documentary photography also makes an appearance with portraits of one of the last surviving

//9th Angkor Photo Festival @ Siem Reap: 23-30 November 2013 www.angkor-photo.com info@angkor-photo.com The Loft: SivathaBld, Siem Reap

Close Up: ‘Little Stories from Phnom Penh’ Among the final 130, four entries represent Cambodia. These too vary wildly in subject, from steely portraits of Khmer boxers to John Fink’s black and white pictures from around three river dams. Marylise Vigneau’s series ‘Little Stories from Phnom Penh’ (pictured left) particularly stands out. The French photographer has created a world of muted pastels; a stilled and dreamlike vision of the city, with subjects often caught hanging uneasily in a moment. The suspended longing in her work adds depth to what would be interesting photos in themselves, which find quietly contemplative pockets in hectic Phnom Penh.

UR cinema

WHY WE LOVE...

CAMERALESS CINEMA

by eve watling

If you’re poor and don’t own a camera but want to be the next Spielberg, there is a solution for you: cameraless cinema. WUPP revisits some overlooked cinematic stunners. Bridging the gap between artists and filmmakers, cameraless films are made by making paintings, burnings, scratchings or collages onto the tiny strips of blank film celluloid, which are then animated as they are run through a projector. Although they sometimes resemble traditional animated ‘cartoon’ images, which are drawn on paper and then photographed onto celluloid, cameraless cinema brings the screen to life entirely without the mediation of the photographic process. This meticulous procedure makes the jubilant ease of the end result of the films even more impressive. Pioneer celluloid painter Len Lye made films bursting with such colour and joy they seem brashly larger than life rather than painstakingly small. In A Colour Box (1935), handpainted aquamarine squiggles waver like light in a swimming pool, and jazzy fresh

soundtrack indeed makes it revitalizing as a summer swim. Lye was dissatisfied with the static medium of canvas and wanted to explore the movement that new cinema technology allowed. ‘If Constable painted his quick oil sketch notes to convey cloud movement, he, in a sense, only pretended’, he once wrote, ‘why not create cloud shapes that move in reality?’ It wasn’t just painting that cameraless directors brought to life through movement, but collage as well. In his seminal film Mothlight (1963), Stan Brackhage covered his celluloid with tiny transparent moth wings, along with leaves and other garden detritus. When run through a projector, the result is a flickering, textural screen that feels as though moths were flying against the projector light, or right into your face. It also comments on film’s ability to preserve

even the most flimsy matter – one step away from decomposition, these delicate moth wings and leaves are now instead preserved forever and even given a fresh life at every screening. The disappearance of celluloid means that cameraless cinema seems to be a sacrifice on the altar of digital. No amount of techy SFX manipulations can recreate the thick paint splotches of Lye or the natural chaos of Brackhage, even if they wanted to. Yet modern artists are finding a bridge between the two.

American artist Stephanie Maxwell makes handmade films a la Lye and McClaren, before photographing them and running them through editing software, marrying the original abstract organic shapes with the pixelated splintering of digital manipulation. In this computerised world, perhaps there is still a space for cameraless film after all. See also: The psychedelic cinematic lava lamp of the ‘The Joshua Light Show’ // Norman McClaren’s synthesiac jazz film ‘Begone Dull Care.’ All films can be found on Youtube.com.

UR NIGHTLIFE

DROP DEAD DISCO TOUR by PIERRE RABOTIN

After only two gigs, Drop Dead Disco Tour has become one of the most exciting electro projects in Cambodia. Coming from the sick mind of Simon C Vent, resident DJ at Top Banana, the idea was simple: bring a mobile party focused on house and techno music with different DJs to different locations all around Cambodia. The tour that started in Phnom Penh at the Eighty8 Photo © Zeeshan Haider 2013 guesthouse was an instant success, and was followed by an insane party at Naga House in Kampot. This month sees the next installment hit Sihanoukville. Drop Dead Disco was created to bring exciting parties to the people, and it seems that local DJ’s are no longer satisfied to rove between clubs, but instead are collaborating to create projects with a strong identity of their own, coming up with exciting new events every month. And it seems to work, as a crowd is now following the branded Drop Dead Disco parties as well as their favorite DJs. WHERE THEY’VE BEEN “We’re offering WHERE THEY’RE GOING new options so SIEM REAP people don’t get bored”, says C Vent. The collaboration is due to hit up Siem Reap before coming back to Phnom Penh for what PHNOM PENH will surely be an u n f o r g e tt a b l e party. SIHANOUKVILLE 16 NOVEMBER

KAMPOT

meet the drop dead disco family SALMON ALL STAR “I like to throw a few different genres into a set, but it also depends on how much time you have, where you’re playing, who’s there. For me it’s about playing tunes that people want to hear but aren’t necessarily expecting. I think the fact that people are choosing to spend their weekends listening to us instead of the usual EDM stuff is great for the PP music scene and it’s awesome to be a part of it.”

“The first time I met Simon, I knew we’d get along. I started an ongoing party in Philadelphia seven years back called Hurrah. The name pays homage to NYC’s downtown scene that peaked in the early 80s. The genre is as gritty and transgressive as the house music that reflects it. And it’s with this underground spirit and mutual taste for disco and deep house that makes spinning DDD such a riot.”

CHRIS ROGY

©Jeremie Montessuis

JAVA & STITCH JAVA TECH

GREG MARINO (STITCH)

“Java & Stitch create a sonic experience which aims to elate the listener with flawless electronic beats and experimental guitar. The Berlin-techno-live-instrument fusion creates a fresh, funky, friendly sound to connect with the audience and keep those dancing feet moving all night.”

“It’s hard choosing one single moment that stands out. But our 3rd party at Eighty8 really sticks out ‘cause Lizzie and I really synergized and created these alternate personas with our costumes that added a lot to the experience for everyone. Being enveloped by the groovy crowd that night is something I’ll never forget.”

©Juhis Koponen

DJ BELLO “I play a mix of Deep House, House, Tech House and Techno. That’s a lot, right? Best memory: I really enjoyed the crescendo of the party, the transitions were perfect between us and we really came up as a team. And the crowd was amazing, it was really a big thing for Kampot.”

©Nicolas Heu

SIMON C VENT “I have an abiding love for deep house and techno. My best musical memory is playing on Otres while the sun was coming up, looking out across the waters…”

facebook.com/dropdeaddisco

COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH

T OF S I L H PLAEYMONT TH

DJ TONLE DUB

“Cherry Sour” More info & music at : facebook.com/tonle.dub soundcloud.com/tonledub

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 cocktail-slurping night that tastes great, but doesn’t break the bank.

DJ Tonle Dub from Berlin organizes the non-commercial techno party series Tech Penh at Meta House in Phnom Penh, in collaboration with DJ Mercy from Ghana. Both are linked by their deep passion for electronic music. Tech Penh is an attempt to create a more intimate and experimental music space than in the mainstream clubs. Apart from his number one choice - minimal techno and tech house - DJ Tonle Dub plays bass music during parties like Monsoon Underground, Bass:Session, and Reggae on the Rox. He is also a member of the experimental electro band Amplifire.

N’TO - Trauma (Worakls Remix)

Kiki & Silversurfer – Wasp

“One of the greatest producers from Marseille, France; his techno tracks are recognizable by the use of smooth melodies surrounded by minimal rhythms.”

“Energetic and hypnotic techno from Berlin from 2003 but still one of my favorite tracks.”

Alle Farben - Galant (Egokind Remix) “From my home quarter - Kreuzberg – in Berlin. Alle Farben definitely has a unique style bringing together different music genres. This is an uplifting remix I sometimes play during the first stages of my sets.”

Acid Pauli vs. Johnny Cash - I See A Darkness “The man behind Console and member of The Notwist. In his Acid Pauli incarnation he produces various remixes, DJ-Sets as well as own songs.”

Julian Jeweil - Air Conditionné (Original) “Another great techno producer from the south of France. His tracks are melodious and almost dream like, especially his magnificent first release Air Conditionné.”

Modeselektor - Black Block “There was a time when Modeselektor was not famous. Anyone out there who can explain this video?”

Atlantik - Live at Tanzwiese (Fusion Festival) “Atlantik is a Cologne-based producer duo and live act. The two connect their tracks into energetic live sets somewhere between Minimal and Deep Techno. Here is an example from the “Fusion” in Berlin.”

Joshua Groom Renowned Canadian mixologist Joshua Groom documents tantalizing signature and classic cocktails to showcase Ungava Canadian Premium Gin, traveling the world and wowing gin aficionados with his mixes. Groom brings with him over 15 years of gustatory know-how as a chef and mixologist, and has become a regular at several of the world’s most popular mixology competitions. You can follow him on Twitter @JoshuaGroom.

Ingredients : Instructions : • Ungava Gin 45ml • Cherry juice 15ml • Lime juice 15ml • Simple syrup 15ml • Egg white 1pc

Dry shake egg white. Add all liquid ingredients and ice. Fine strain into chilled coupe glass

by Eve Watling

WUPP intern and fashion student Sentosa Mam shows us how to easily turn second-hand market t-shirts into something cool and unique. No sewing required !

osa Sent

Mam

• 2 second-hand T-shirts (2000-6000 riels at most markets) • Scissors • A razor blade

1) Cut off the neckline seam. Pull it a little to stretch it, and if it has a tag, cut it off by the stitches with the razor.

La Croisette italian & international cuiSine

2) Cut off the seam at the bottom of the t-shirt and pull gently as before. 3) Lay the shirt out on a table. Find the centre and fold it in half along the crease.

Since 1997 on the riverSide, Phnom Penh

4) Cut a centimetre snip at the top of the fold, two in the middle and one at the bottom of the shirt.

Great cocktails & wines

5) Cut lengthways down between the top snip and the first middle snip, then down from the second middle snip to the bottom snip so you have two vertical rips down the back of the t-shirt.

ItalIan and InternatIonal cuIsIne

Large outdoor terrace

we make our own bread & pasta for you 241 Sisowath Quay Phnom Penh +855 (0) 23 220 554 info@lacroisette.asia

6) Take a second shirt with interesting fabric and cut off the best part. Cut off the seams so you have a single piece of fabric, and then cut the fabric into three long 1cm wide strips. 7) Take the first t-shirt and wrap one 1cm strip around the parts connecting the rips, and secure. Cut off any excess material. 8) Repeat in the middle space between the two back rips with the second 1cm strip of patterned material, and then the bottom space on the tshirt. Make sure to keep it tight when wrapping. 9) If you want, cut off the sleeves, including the seam.

5 REASONS TO…

will under#3 You stand the meaning

By EVE WATLING You must have seen them: the studio portraits of the couples dressed in tradition Khmer clothing, with the fake photoshopped stately home gleaming in the background. Most likely you laughed at them – but getting a Khmer portrait is actually a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Studios are all over town, identifiable by a loud display of their photographic handiwork across their shop fronts. Here’s why you should bring yourself to one soon.

#1 Your mum will love it Forget a boring old Christmas card – send this through the mail and it’s guaranteed to be received with delighted squeals before making its way onto your fridge, right next to that school picture of you with the wonky bowl cut and braces.

to get a Khmer portrait of awkward

Being arranged like a stiff limbed Angkorian Barbie by a photographer that disallows any facial expression than a beatific beam will test even the most hardened of posers. But this all adds to the dorky joy of the resulting photograph.

You see yourself in a new light

It’s not just the musty, bedazzled dress that transforms girls into a cut-price Khmer princess – most studios also throw in some hair and makeup wizardry too. Pancake foundation will mask any distinguishing facial feature, making you look like the heroine from the classic horror movie ‘Eyes without a Face’. However, the huge mane of false hair will make feel Beyoncé-ishly foxy: you won’t want to part with it. Men will enjoy being festooned in bling and inserted into the biggest pair of trousers in existence. Afterwards, prepare to slink through the city feeling like you’ve just shot yourself in the face with the Simpsons makeup gun.

OF THE profile #4 THINK picture Don’t just stop at Facebook. Dating sites, LinkedIn and your boring travel blog will all look better with your horrifically made up face beaming out from under a golden headdress. Even stick a copy onto your CV for a guaranteed call back.

the best way to #5 It’s remember your time in Cambodia

Judging by the photo studio’s walls, which are plastered with glamour shots to wedding portraits, it seems that it’s a rite of passage in most Cambodian’s lives to pass before a dodgy Angkor Wat backdrop in trousers so voluminous at the hips that even the men look like Sir Mix-aLot’s wet dream. This odd, surreal and kitsch custom surely reflects the heart of modern Cambodia – a genuine cultural experience.

KHMER GAMES KHMER POKER POOL by Eve Watling & Sochetra Sok Illustation by Eve Watling

This is normally a betting game, so each player puts in a stake. Deal 6 cards to each player. Each card represents a ball on the table (see illustration). The goal of the game is to pot all the balls that match his cards.

you need

• a standard pack of 52 cards • a standard pool table with the 1-15 marked balls

players • 2 or more

Set up the pool game as usual with the balls in any order in the triangle, but with 14 and 15 in the middle. Chose who will go first and break the triangle – he is not allowed to look at his cards beforehand. After the triangle is broken, the 14th and 15th ball will be removed as they don’t correspond to any card. The player now looks at his cards – if he managed to pot a ball he has a card for he continues, if not, the next person has a turn. During the game, if the player doesn’t pot a ball he gets an extra card. If he does pot a ball he has a card for, he continues potting until he doesn’t pot a ball, at which point it’s the next persons turn. If he misses completely or pots the wrong ball he is out, but he can buy back in by raising his stake.

If someone else pots a ball that corresponds with your card, then you can flip your card over and get rid of it. When you have only 1 card left, you have to announce it – if you are caught you are out. If you have one card left, and someone else pots the number, you don’t win – instead you pick a card one by one until you get a card which corresponds with one that is still on the table. If you miss completely or pot the wrong ball when you have only 1 card left, you are out and don’t have an opportunity to buy back in the game. When you have only one card left and you manage to pot the matching ball, you are the winner, and the game is finished.

Luon Kimtoro

What is your style? I like both Asian and Western clothes and sometimes I mix both together, as you can see today. Simple skinny jeans with a big shirt and a snapback will do.

Where are you shopping? I mostly buy my stuff from Thailand as I frequently go there for shopping and to buy stuff to sell in my shop. Also when I feel like wearing western styles, I go to my brother’s shop “10k Skate Shop”.

What’s your current obsession ? I would say tank tops and shorts as they go really well together, and with the rainy season it’s really easy and comfortable to go out in.

graduated with a ma jor in Tourism and currently owns a clothing shop “MarioCollection”.

Photo: Jeremie Montessuis

UR events

•agenda• WUPP EVENTS >>>>>>>>>>>>> Drop Dead Disco/WUPP Sihanouk Ville November 16th

A Noctume Affair by Taittinger @Eclipse Sky Bar, 27 November In partnership with Cambodia Model Look season 1 and powered by WUPP Mag

REGULARS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> wine & cheese

EVERY WEDNESDAY from 6pm > late

Prices are subject to service charge and applicable government taxes. For reservations, please call 023 981 888 or email dining.leroyal@raffles.com

Monday Happy Mondays @Showbox, 6PM Meditation @Feel Good Studio, 6PM - 7PM Tuesday Combat Fitness @Feel Good Studio, 6PM - 7PM Salsa Night @The Groove, 8PM Swing Dancing @ DOORS, 7PM Wednesday Belly Dancing @Feel Good Studio, 7PM - 8PM Wine & Cheese @BACKSTAGE, 6PM till late Lipstick @St-Tropez Phnom Penh, 9PM till late Thursday Yoga @Feel Good Studio, 6PM - 7:30PM Queer Thursday @BACKSTAGE, 6PM till late High Heels @Raffles Hotel, 8PM X-PAT-SOUND system DJ party @Meta House, 8:30PM La Deca’DANCE @St-Tropez Phnom Penh, 9PM till late Vanity, Ladies Night @NOVA, 9PM till late Friday Hip-Hop @Feel Good Studio, 6PM - 7PM Sunset Sandpit Sessions @Le Jardin, 6PM - 9PM Saturday Raffles’s Personality Brunch @Raffles Hotel, 12PM Rhythm Sessions @DOORS, 9:30PM Sunset Sandpit Sessions @Le Jardin, 6PM Sunday Family Sunday @Raffles Hotel, 12PM Sunday Funday Brunch Buffet @Nagaworld, 12PMv

NOT TO MISS >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Scare Box Halloween @Show Box, Nov 1st, 8PM First Friday Pool Party @Eighty8 Guest House, Nov 1st, 9PM Moi Tiet @DOORS, Nov 1st, 9:30PM Halloween Party @NOVA, Nov 1st & 2nd, 9PM Vibratone @Equinox, Nov 2nd, 9PM Kletzbodians @DOORS, Nov 2nd, 9:30PM Cambodia Basketball League @BeelineArena, Nov 3rd, 10AM-5PM First Poetry Slam @Show Box, Nov 6st, 6PM Wine Tastings @Sofitel PP Phokeethra, Nov 7th, 6PM Martin Jacobsen Trio @DOORS, Nov 7th, 8:45PM An Evening w/ Euan Gray @DOORS, Nov 8th, 9:30PM Hip Hop with DJ Jedie @Pontoon, Nov 8th, 10PM Show Box One Year Anniversary Ball @Show Box, Nov 9th, 7PM Kin Overbop @DOORS, Nov 9th, 9:30PM Traditional Khmer Cooking Class @Equinox, Nov 12th, 7PM Chinary Ung Celebration @Cambodian Living Arts, Nov 13th, 7PM Johnnie Walker Gold @NOVA, Nov 15th, 9PM Keith Kenny @Equinox, Nov 15th, 9PM Dub Addiction @Equinox, Nov 16th, 9PM Bacchus Champion of the Ring @BeelineArena, Nov 21th, 5PM Grass Snake Union @Equinox, Nov 21st, 9PM Electronic House Set w/ Kasey Taylor @Pontoon, Nov 22nd, 10 PM Cambodia Basketball League @BeelineArena, Nov 23rd, 10AM-5PM Cambodian Bass Project @3 Mangos, Nov 22nd, 9PM Miles Davis - Milestones @DOORS, Nov 22nd, 9:30PM Vibratone @DOORS, Nov 23rd, 9:30PM TV5 International Boxing @BeelineArena, Nov 28th, 5:30PM Opera @DOORS, Nov 28th, 8:45PM Kokthlok - Cultural crossover of Khmer music @Show Box, Nov 29th, 7PM Kletzbodians @DOORS, Nov 29th, 9:30PM Ghetto Blasters DJ Tech 12 @Pontoon, Nov 30th, 10PM

SOSe]

[pag

7 24/

! p l he

urs all-ho does tisfying ld r o sa B W some Moni vong y - B keawa chips for h a a T e r 7 P 24/ y num d 08, rs an king - No. 3 m e deli ver o burge c enh. H en sna drunk 3) Phnom P 9 ( . afe d Bl v 000 dle C 12 911 - Noo needed s b er: 0 le od hnd no d muc ity rnet a sockets an e in the c e t In g im t lu p 24/7 e , t eadin terne h as in alore for d nom Penh h g P e , e 3 f 1 f anc.1 co .St ight d w” A, B,C r a n fe e t “ f No.67 A a g ing nackin ness enjo y (And ma ys y t r . k pa t Dark a snac After Cam a rt of t Hea surely need Swiss Food ing a l 1 , you’l beer) , St. 5 drinks cent draft No. 125-127 5 7 ll a a be aM n Sory Golde

Water F es

tival Ca

ncell ed Hang up your go ggles ev Phnom erybody Penh’s : festival annual h as be water en can the thir cell ed fo d year r r un the floo ds h ave ning. This year, been cit reason ed as th for the c e an celebra tions, w cellation of the hich we run on t re he 16th-1 8th of N due to Ma ybe ovembe next ye r. ar...?

feer!ille i Lav ukv S ano h

e t Polic Touris 80008 09777 ation Fire St 42 63 01660 ance Ambul Clinic) edical (CT M 86666 0818

Dear WUPP, Where can I buy a new nose rin g? I lost mine, and I c an only find earrings in the markets! J aniell e, Phnom Penh

Dear J aniell e , Black Star Tattoo Studio on st. 90 (near Wat Phnom) sells all kinds of body piercing jewell ery, from nose ri ngs to bell y button st uds. Love, WUPP

let’s let’s let’s let’s let’s let’s

SCIENCE GALLERY

PLAYGROUND

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!

fun! fun! fun! fun! fun! fun!

CLIP N’ CLIMB

LASER TAG

5 10

Li Savfeer!

Fire st 666 ation or 11 8 A mb 119 ( from ulance 023 phon es) Polic e Ho 117 ( from tl 023 ine phon es)

have have have have have have $

students

adults

any activity weekdays *buy-one-get-one-free laser tag on weekends

ALSO:

FOOD & DRINK

CLOTHES

BIRTHDAYS

Indoor Entertainment Center

162A Sihanouk Bvd, Phnom Penh • Tel: 023 220 088 / 095 555 625 info@kidscityasia.com •

kidscityasia • www.kidscityasia.com

ICE SKATING

www.branderz.asia â&#x20AC;˘ 097 958 7338 / 095 555 642 contact@branderz.asia