AsiaLIFE Cambodia april 2014

042014 ISSUE88

THE FUTURE OF FASHION www.asialifemagazine.com

note from the editor AsiaLIFE Group

Ellie Dyer

4 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Group Director Sales & Marketing / Director Vietnam: Jonny Edbrooke jonny@asialife.asia

Managing Editor Cambodia: Ellie Dyer ellie@asialife.asia

Director Thailand: Nattamon Limthanachai (Oh) oh@asialife.asia

Associate Editor: Marissa Carruthers

Art Director Cambodia: Joe Slater

Editorial Assistant: Joanna Mayhew

Photographers: Charles Fox & Conor Wall

Editor-at-Large Cambodia: Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen

Sales Manager Cambodia: Sorn Chantha chantha@asialife.asia sornchantha@yahoo.com

Siem Reap: Caroline Major

Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent once said that “fashions fade, style is eternal.” It’s a sentiment that I agree whole-heartedly with, and also one that the young Cambodian designers in this month’s cover feature embody.

They may all have different aesthetic visions, inspirations and life experience, but each individual possesses an innate sense of style that is evident in their designs. From punk chic to statement jewellery and tailored menswear, I get the sense that they are determined to make Cambodia sit up and pay attention to an impressive young generation of home-grown talent.

In years to come, I hope that they go onto achieve great things, and continue to make local fashion cutting edge, whatever trends come and go over the years.

With Asia, and especially China, South Korea and Japan, currently making waves on the international style scene, who knows what the future might hold for new Cambodian talent. Perhaps the next Alexander McQueen or Coco Chanel is among them.

Staying with fashion, Marissa Carruthers has gone to Siem Reap to learn more about a fascinating material being produced domestically. Lotus fibres are being transformed into a high-end fabric that garners huge prices abroad. It just shows how a little ingenuity can enable small providers to make significant inroads into international markets.

Though involved in a completely different field, the same can be said for Osja studio. The game producers based near the Russian market in Phnom Penh have topped international charts with their platform games.

Osja’s success shows that, in today’s globalised economy, talent can rise to the top even without multi-million dollar backing. It’s the ideas that count.

Overall, this edition shows that the country is, as ever, full of talented and creative individuals – both locals and foreigners. Whether its cutting edge fashion, technology development or even the tourist market in Battambang province, the Kingdom is a haven for entrepreneurs hoping to both make a mark on society and develop the nation’s economy. I think they are succeeding.

www.asialifemagazine.com

Group Editor-in-Chief / Director Cambodia: Mark Bibby Jackson mark@asialife.asia

FOR SALES ENQUIRIES: Chantha Sorn Tel: 012 576 878 chantha@asialife.asia

Sales and Accounts: Seang Seiha 012 581 455

Distribution: Sorn Chandara 096 9999 351 Printing: Sok Heng Printing House

Accountant: Seang Satya

For advertising enquiries call Chantha on 012 576 878.

Special thanks to: Darren Gall, Paul Dodd, Gemma Mullen, Clothilde Le Coz, Robery Carry, Sebastian Strangio, Dr Rathmony Heng, Anna Clare Spelman, David Preece, Ryan Drewe Taylor and Cambodian Living Arts – for their contribution to this issue.

On the Cover Design: Joe Slater Styling: The Dollhouse Photography: Cheky Athiporn for C Nation Studio AsiaLIFE is a registered trademark.

No content may be reproduced in any form without prior authorisation of the owners. © 360º Media.

Next time you're in Vietnam, check out the latest issue of AsiaLIFE or download it from www.asialifemagazine.com

042014 ISSUE88

front

12 Picks of the Month 14 Openings

food

44 Black Gold 46 Mezze 47 LouLou's

18 Dispatches 20 Phnom Penh Calendar 22 Photo Essay

getaway

48 Along the River Gambia

26 Q&A: Helen Sworn

50 Dubai

on the cover

28 The Future of Fashion

style & design

52 Behind the Design

storyboard

34 Everyday Artists

back

55 Listings

38 Ahead of the Game 40 Ghost Money

88 Phnom Penh Map 96 Pub Quiz

42 Flower Power

34 6 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

40 42

46

Apr 2014

Ancient Inspiration

Artist Bo Rithy’s second solo exhibition at Romeet Gallery consists of a fascinating reference to 16th century Cambodia.

The talented Phare Ponleu Selpak School graduate has created an installation entitled Longvaek’s Bamboo, referencing the ancient city of Longvaek, chosen as a capital by King Ang Chan following the fall of the Angkorian Empire.

According to legend, when Siamese failed in an attempt to take the city, retreating soldiers deliberately left small pieces of silver in a bamboo forest that protected the community.

Over the following years, motivated by greed or poverty, local people cut down the bamboo to retrieve the silver. This is said to have left Longvaek vulnerable to attack and the city fell to Siam in 1594. Bo’s installation

8 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

utilises bamboo to create two connected structures, one a flying naga serpent and the other an elevated platform for a golden seat protected by razor wire.

The installation is on show at the Street 178 gallery until Apr. 21.

Porsche Gears Up For Launch

Luxury car brand Porsche is set to launch in Phnom Penh after an official groundbreaking ceremony was held for its new centre, which is set to include a showroom and workshop at a location near the capital’s airport, on Mar. 17. The facility represents a $2 million investment and will measure 1,879 square metres.

“This investment is also a sign of the confidence that we have in the Cambodian economy, and the ever increasing automotive sector,” said general director Graeme Hunter, calling the industry “more professional and increasingly competitive.”

Sommeliers Compete for Award

Din Oun from Raffles Le Royal, Leourng Nimol from Sofitel Phnom Penh, and Hak Seyha from Topaz Restaurant have been named as the three winners of the 2014 Best Cambodian Sommelier competition. They were among 16 candidates competing for glory during the Mar. 19 contest. The wine stewards were measured on speed, professionalism and

talent. Hak Seyha won gold and Cambodian sommeliers are now set to compete in this month’s Southeast Asian Sommelier competition in Thailand, and the Asian Sommelier competition in Hong Kong in August.

US Tech Project Aims at Change

The United States Agency for International Development, with the help of an organisation called Development Innovations, has launched a three-year project designed to help increase the use of technology for social change. The group will work with local partners and innovators to respond to the challenges faced by civil society organisations that hope to inform and educate the public. “Information is power,” says USAID mission director Rebecca Black. “Whether it is health information, voter education, or the price of rice – technology has proven repeatedly that it is the most cost effective and reliable avenue to deliver information to all who need it.”

Film Scoops Top Award A documentary following the life of spoken work poet and deportee Kosal Khiev scooped the top prize at a prestigious US film festival last month.

The compelling Cambodian Son made its debut at San Francisco’s world-famous CAAMFest 2014 on Mar.

17, and went on to fight off fierce competition from other international films to walk away with the best documentary award. Kosal Khiev says, “I feel like everything has in a sense started to come full circle on many different aspects in my life, and to have Cambodian Son go to the States and be well received as well as winning an award for best doc is just icing on the cake.” The 90-minute film documents the struggles of 34-year-old deported poet Khiev. The Cambodian was born in a Thai refugee camp before his family moved to the US, where as a teenager Khiev was jailed for 14 years for attempted murder. For more information, visit cambodianson.com.

New Night at Riverhouse The Riverhouse Asian Bistro on Sisowath Quay is launching a new concept this month called Velvet Nights. Some of the city’s most exciting DJs will be taking turns from 10pm to provide guests with some delicious musical delights. On Sundays, Lewis Pragasam and Phil will be taking listeners on a jazz journey that will morph every week into a different musical expedition, featuring local and international guests. This will be accompanied by exceptional cocktails and cuisine from chef David De Wolf. For reservations, call 023 212 302.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 9

Feb 2014

SR news & events Angkor Sangkran Returns Concerts, traditional games, performances and cultural events marking the end of harvest season before the monsoon rains set in are to be held for a second year in the heart of the Angkor Archaeological Park for Angkor Sangkran. Organised by the president of the Federation of Cambodian Youth following the success of 2013, locals and international visitors alike will be able to enjoy the events and food exhibitions to be held outside iconic temple sites including Angkor Wat, Bayon and the Elephant Terrace as part of the countrywide Khmer New Year festivities. Angkor Sangkran takes places from Apr. 14 to 16.

10 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Siem Reap Sk8 Park

Inspired by no less than AsiaLIFE magazine’s recent feature on skating, Siem Reap is now home to Cambodia’s first dedicated daily skate and street arts park.

Creative minds came together to launch a dedicated facility for all street sports and arts thanks to a collaboration between the owner of the town’s recently re-built inline skate park and The Hand In HeART Project. Wall mural workshops and mentored skateboard sessions are planned from April onwards by The Hand In HeART Project, which has its own gallery space and youth club, called The Hub, within the skate park, providing access to the arts from photography to design.

Memories of Angkor

There may be as many ways to photograph an individual Angkorian temple as there are crumbling ruins. With numerous resident experts in Siem Reap offering tailored tuition, Czechborn photographer Anna Bella Betts, who has lived in the Kingdom for over five years, has instead launched a new photo service called Memories of Angkor. Capturing visitors as they explore the Archaeological Park with an unobtrusive approach and creative eye, the result is expert, natural shots in a stunning setting ideal for family snaps or couples looking for professional portrait photos well worthy of their mantelpiece.

Charming City

A Dutch pancake café meets computer training club is the latest venture to spring up in the Charming City complex on the road to Angkor Wat. Coffee and crêpes can be taken alongside a weekly Saturday morning coding club and regular web development classes, open to local and expats techies alike. For years, the complex where the new venue, I Teach, is located had stood quietly deserted, but it has increasingly gained popularity as an up-an-coming area with a wide variety of businesses now calling it home, from Eric Raisina’s haute couture fashion house to newly opened boutique hotel Nita Vo.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 11

PICKS OF THE MONTH Visit: Khmeroldies.net If you’re a fan of the “golden era” of Cambodian music, khmeroldies. net is the website for you. The simple site provides links to videos and songs that feature the biggest names of the past, including crooner Sinn Sisamouth and the legendary Ros Sereysothea, as well as modern-day stars like Preap Sovath. For those unfamiliar with their classic tunes, it’s an excellent resource to browse the best of the country’s musical legacy.

Watch: Moone Boy Set in 1980s Ireland, Moone Boy charts the adventures of cheerful 12-year-old Martin Moone and his invisible friend and advisor Sean (played by Chris O’Dowd). While not exactly politically correct, the series takes a light-hearted look at both the era and the painful transition between childhood and those uncomfortable, and often highly embarrassing, teenage years. Comedian Steve Coogan also makes an appearance in the delightful coming-of-age tale, as Martin discovers girls, bras and a mafia of altar boys, all while being terrorised by his big sisters.

Follow: Humans of Phnom Penh The Internet has long been harnessed to connect people, but the Humans of Phnom Penh project is exploring the lives of Phnom Penh citizens in a new way. Inspired by a similar scheme in New York, the project sees short interviews with passers-by in Phnom Penh regularly posted to Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter in both Khmer and English.

From fruit vendors to visitors to the Royal Palace, it allows an insight into the wonderful diversity that makes us human.

Visit humansofphnompenh.tumblr.com for more information.

Listen: Sounds from the Cambodian Wild Phnom Penh-based sonographer Adrian Stoeger has released a new digital album that allows readers to appreciate the sounds of Cambodia’s natural environment. From gentle waves splashing against the beaches of Koh Thmei in Kampong Som, to the powerful song of Great Hornbills in Virachey National Park and haunting Yellow-Cheeked Gibbon calls from Siem Pang forest in Ratanakiri, the recordings transport listeners to largely inaccessible habitats. The result is a relaxing album that can be downloaded for $7 at adrianstoeger.bandcamp.com.

12 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Surf: Diynetwork.com Is there anything more attractive than a partner who is handy around the house? But for those of us who are not handymen, there’s the Do It Yourself Network. It’ll teach you basic stuff, like how to unclog a sink easily, or spruce up a table you found at a sale.

There are plenty of advanced projects too. The site also sometimes strays away from pure home improvement.

In February, there was no shortage of posts on ideas for romantic dinners and self-made Valentine's Day cards.

Giant Squid Japanese fishermen catch more of the mammoth cephalopods, prompting concerns that they represent some kind of omen.

Party Games Khmer New Year is on its way, so dust off your party shoes and join in the traditional games taking place all over the country.

Besties Meaning best friend, ‘bestie’ becomes the latest word to make it into the Oxford English dictionary, along with beat boxer, scissor kick and honky-tonker.

Prince Norodom Ranariddh Veteran Cambodian politician returns to the fray with the launch of the Community of Royalist People Party.

BabyMetal Japanese pop/thrash metal girl group becomes surprise musical sensation with the single ‘Gimme Chocolate.’

GOING UP GOING DOWN Ukraine The Eastern European country set to shrink after Crimea votes to return to the Russian motherland in contentious poll.

Temple Thieves Thieves target local temples again, following the theft of relics from Oudong Mountain, as the capital’s Wat Ounalom suffers a break-in, according to local reports.

David Moyes After losing 3-0 at home to main rivals Chelsea, what hope now for Man Utd and manager Moyes.

Mercury Researchers conclude that the planet closest to the sun is shrinking, measuring 8.6 miles less in diameter than a billion years ago due to cooling.

Parisian Smog French government announces that half the cars in Paris will be banned from the roads on any given day to tackle smog.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 13

OPENINGS JAPANESE TREATS

FUWARI Japanese-style pastries cooked up by a chef from Tokyo are the order of the day at Fuwari. The eatery offers a string of traditional Japanese pastries (3,000 riels), cakes and sweet treats. Signature dishes include the Tokyo pafu cake, a delicious pastry filled with custard cream, pancakes ($3) and Japan sakura, which is made from a cherry blossom imported from Japan. A selection of drinks is also served, including coffees, fresh fruit juices and matcha green tea. Owner Kazutuki Tsuruhara says, “We have a lot of people coming in and asking for our Tokyo pafu cakes. They have become famous across Phnom Penh.” Inside, the diner has plenty of seating and free Wi-Fi. Guests can relax on the kizuna (Japanese floor seats) or tabled seating.

79b Street 63, Phnom Penh. Tel: 023 665 5989.

BRITISH CHARM

LOVELY JUBBLY PLACE

A dollop of English charm comes in the form of a phrase picked up by guesthouse owner Ricky Rithy during his eight years working in hospitality. “I’ve worked with a lot of English tourists, especially from London, and I love the way they say lovely jubbly when they like something.” Targeting the backpacking crowd, Lovely Jubbly Place has an industrial feel to it, with concrete floors and walls and black ceilings.

On the ground floor is a bar and kitchen, which is open to outside guests. Favourites on the menu include barbecue chicken with rice and beef lok lak ($3.50). Guests are well catered for with one double room ($20), one twin ($25), a dorm with 12 beds, one with eight beds, and three with six (all $7). Two female-only dorms boast four beds ($5). All rooms come complete with private bathrooms, Wi-Fi and a locker.

149 Street 19, Phnom Penh. Tel: 078 583 811.

PAINTING PERFECTION

THE ARTIST It only seems right that a guesthouse located in the capital’s art hub has a creative edge. Aptly named The Artist, this new guesthouse offers visitors an affordable, unique place to stay. Spread across four floors, The Artist is a conceptual, contemporary creation. Each of the rooms is decorated in a crisp white, with beautiful tiled floors and red trimmings in the form of curtains, modern bookshelves and bedside tables. The spacious double rooms ($35) come complete with a four-poster bed and a balcony decorated with colourful flowers that overlooks the neighbouring Royal University of Fine Arts. Standard rooms ($26) are slightly smaller and the mezzanine room ($25) boasts two elegantly decorated floors. All of the rooms have air-con and separate bathrooms.

69 Street 172, Phnom Penh. Tel: 081 501 560.

14 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

FORESTED HILLS

vKIRIROM PINE RESORT & KITCHEN

Set around two and a half hours from bustling Phnom Penh, Kirirom National Park in Kampong Speu province offers a stunning woodland environment that provides a perfect get-away for nature enthusiasts and activity lovers alike. Bungalows, camping and barbeque facilities can be found among its tree-clad hills at the vKirirom Pine Resort.

The resort’s adjoining restaurant, vKirirom Pine View Kitchen, provides Western and Khmer dishes in an elegant building surrounded by pine trees. A bonus for healthy eaters is that the kitchen uses fresh fruit and vegetables picked from the venue’s field. The owners say it’s a great spot for families or groups to enjoy a weekend break or holiday while enjoying the beauty of nature.

Phnom Srouch district, Kampong Speu province. Tel: 078 77 284, vkirirom.com. Kitchen open from 7am to 10pm.

CLASSIC DISHES

NEEDA Stylish dining is new bar and bistro NEEDA’s speciality of the day.

Located in the heart of BKK1, the diner serves up a range of popular Thai and Khmer dishes, alongside classic and contemporary cocktails.

A Thai chef is on hand to cook dishes, including the spicy prawn soup Tom Yam Koon ($7), a Som Tum Thai papaya salad ($4.50), and Larb Moo ($7.50) – a blend of minced pork, chicken or beef with mint, shallots and chilli. A popular, classic Cambodian dish is Toek Khreng Battambang ($6), a fish paste cooked with vegetables. Seating is spread across two floors, with the downstairs laid out in a traditional restaurant style and upstairs a more relaxed space with sofas and tables, two VIP rooms and a large terrace.

Corner of Street 51 & 360, Phnom Penh. Tel: 023 654 321.

Open daily from 9.30am to 11pm.

BATTAMBANG RELAXATION

THE RETREAT

With red brick walls, warm lighting and comfy sofas, The Retreat is bringing a chilled out vibe to the already relaxed country town of Battambang. Set on popular Street 2.5, the venue is offering up both Khmer and Western food, including spicy coconut and pumpkin soup ($4), lime-seared catfish ($5) and a caramelised pear and rocket salad ($4). Imported Australian meats, including sirloin and rib eye steak, retail from $11.50 to $20, and can be washed down with draught beers from $1.25. The menu features an extensive range of cocktails ($4) or why not settle in for the 5pm-to-7pm happy hour to enjoy reduced rates.

Street 2.5, Battambang. Tel: 089 969 366.

Open from 7am to 10pm.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 15

MAN ZONE

ARTHUR & PAUL

Phnom Penh has welcomed its first men-only gay hotel, spa and bar with the opening of the contemporary Arthur & Paul boutique hotel. The hotel is the result of a year’s hard work in which a former school was transformed into a three-storey architectural treasure. Amid a tropical garden environment sits an L-shaped, chemical-free pool that hugs the side of the hotel. On the first floor is a bar and restaurant with a spa boasting steam baths, Jacuzzi and private rooms. Each of the 10 spacious rooms are decorated by Jean Cocteau-inspired art and come complete with plasma TV, private bathroom, shower and air-con (from $100 to $149). Each room is named after an iconic gay couple, such as Elton and David and Yves and Pierre.

27 Street 71, Phnom Penh. Tel: 023 212 814. Restaurant and spa open daily from 5pm to midnight.

TASTE OF JAPAN

YAKITORI JIDAIYA Adding to the offerings in Phnom Penh’s quickly developing Japan Town, situated on a small stretch of Street 63, is Yakitori Jidaiya.

Authenticity features high on the menu, with large red lanterns hanging at the entrance and the inside divided into small sections. Dim lighting and black wood gives the restaurant an intimate feel. Specialising in Japanese-style food grilled on a barbecue, the signature dish sees diners make-up skewers of their favourite food, such as chicken and scallop negima ($0.75), yakitori-ninniku ($1.25) and pork back-rib with pepper ($1.25). The menu contains a range of other Japanese tastes including deep-fried agedashi tofu with radish sauce and a series of rice dishes cooked in an iron pot called a kama.

79A Street 63, Phnom Penh. Tel: 097 230 6301. Open daily from 5pm to midnight.

16 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

DISPATCHES

Travel news from around the region and beyond

Divine Elephants

Thrissur Pooram, running from May 8 to 10, is a 200-yearold festival that takes place at the temples of the Kerala region of Thrissur, India. The celebration was first introduced

by Raja Rama Varma in order to pay respects to the deity Shiva. One attraction is the annual three-hour fireworks show, which starts at 3am. The predominant spectacle is the elephant parade, which features 30 pachyderms adorned in golden headdresses, decorative ornaments, palm leaves and feathers. Elephant riders carry ornate bamboo parasols and travel through town towards the Vadakkunnathan Temple.

For more information, visit thrissurpooramfestival.com.

Mauritius Extreme

Power-up for an off-road triathlon in Mauritius as part of the Xterra World Tour on May 24. Xterra takes place every year off the southeast coast of Africa, but this year’s race will also be set in Mauritius, near a working tea plantation and colonial gardens. The swim event will take place in the crater of an extinct volcano surrounded by tropical gardens and overlooked by tearooms. The mountain bike course is a mix of jeep roads and single tracks, and the run will pass through water crossings and challenging terrain. Xterra will support Get Active!, a local non-profit that uses sport to tackle social exclusion, physical inactivity and health issues. For more information and to register, visit xterra-mauritius.com.

Mystical Massages

The Chedi Sakala, which opened in February on a less frequented but still entirely compelling Bali peninsula, is now enhancing the resort’s tranquility with the Rejuvenate in Style package. Starting at $970 and running through Dec. 20, guests can receive three-nights accommodation in a chedi or deluxe suite including a 90-minute ancient Balinese massage and a 120-minute Ayurvedic Abhyanga massage. Once a fishing village, the Chedi Sakala is run by luxury hotel brand GHM and is the group’s most expansive Balinese resort, covering two-and-a-half hectares of oceanfront property at Tanjung Benoa beach in Nusa Dua, Bali. Visit GHMhotels.com for more.

18 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Have an event coming up?

Send information and dates to ellie@asialife.asia

CALENDAR APR

Artist Bo Rithy’s second solo exhibition at Romeet Gallery on Street 178, Phnom Penh. Longvaek’s Bamboo references the ancient city of Longvaek, chosen as a capital by King Ang Chan following the fall of the Angkorian Empire

APR

Italian guest chef Romeo Rigo will be preparing special dinner sessions at Do Forni at Sofitel Phnom Penh. A cooking class will be available on Apr. 12 at 10.30am for $30 per person.

APR

Adobe Conspiracy rocks Equinox on Street 278, Phnom Penh, from 9pm.

APR

APR

Latino session at Doors, Phnom Penh. Why spend your Saturday at home or regular go-out when you could dance the whole day and night? Salsa and bachata workshops from 1pm to 5pm ($7 to $8 per class) with a Latina party with salsa, bachata and merengue music from 9pm until late.

Yoga and raw food cleansing detox at The Vine Retreat in Kep with Oskar Nery. The weekend will be devoted to gently cleansing systems with clean raw foods and imported super foods, gently detoxing yoga practices, walks or cycle rides in the local countryside, and lounging by the pool. Contact phnompenhyoga@gmail.com for details.

APR

19

Cambodia: Phnom Penh Surrounded and The Khmer Rouge: Power and Terror (Khmer versions) screen at the Bophana Centre on Street 200 from 4pm. The two documentaries focus on the surrender of Phnom Penh in 1975, and the Pol Pot regime that lasted until 1979.

APR

Riverhouse Asian Bistro looks back to the crazy years of swing. Reservations: 012 299 161,157 Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh.

01 21 04 05

Reamker, Dance with Gods (Khmer version) screens at the Bophana Centre at 4pm. We meet prince Rama and the main characters of this epic in a performance by the Cambodia Royal Ballet on the stage of Festival international des Francophonies in Limoges.

Kimchi Collective: Electronic Party Music under the Stars. The collective return to the rooftop, bringing cutting edge house, techno and disco of the highest distinction to the Terrace at Dusk till Dawn on Street 172. From 10 pm, free entry.

APR

06

The Velvet Way at Riverhouse Asian Bistro, Sisowath Quay. Barry Speirs is not only a good piano player, but a crooner set to pay tribute to Frank Sinatra.

ANZ Royal Grassroots Rugby Day, organised by Kampuchea Balopp, at Old Stadium from 9.30am to 12.30pm. In order to use rugby as a tool for education and social inclusivity, the public is invited to support and enjoy in this half-day event, which includes an under-18s exhibition game starting at 11.15am.

Oscar-nominated film The Act of Killing screens at Meta House, with support from the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia, from 8pm. The Bafta-winning film explores the history of purges in 1960s Indonesia. Entry is free for OPCC members and $2 for non-members.

20 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

11 12 12 14

20

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory themed Easter Brunch at Sofitel Phnom Penh.

Tickets $68 per adult (unlimited house wines) or $87 with unlimited Champagne, $34 for kids (unlimited strawberry ice tea). Egg hunting for kids.

APR

A Moment of Innocence (Persian with English Subtitles) screens at the Bophana Centre at 4pm. An idealistic young man manifested against the Shah stabs a policeman and ends up in jail for 5 years. 20 years later, he has grown into renowned filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf. One day, the former policeman comes to see him and asks him to make a film about the past events.

APR

APR

26

Get your bathers on for the annual Mekong River Swim.

The event began in 1996 and is now in its 18th year. Registration forms will be mailed to prospective swimmers who email mekongriverswim@ican. edu.kh.

27

Cambodia Living Arts will open an exhibition about pottery making (Chhnang) 6pm at the CLA gallery on Sothearos Boulevard, Phnom Penh.

30

It’s not just Dining,

EVERY MONDAY

Mad Monday at The Empire, 6pm • Yoga at Yoga Phnom Penh.

Classes at 6am, 8am, 12.15pm, 5.45pm and 6.30pm. See yogaphnompenh.com • Beginners level 2 salsa class ($8 dropin) at The Groove with a party from 9pm • Margarita Mondays at Riverhouse Lounge from 7pm until late • Thai chef takes over La Coupole at Sofitel Phnom Penh from 6pm ($30 per adult)

it’s a Whole New Experience

EVERY TUESDAY

Swing dancing at Doors with lindy-hop specialist Janice Wilson from 7pm. Classes are $3 or $25 for 10 lessons • Latino Time at Cabaret on Street 154 at 6.30pm

EVERY WEDNESDAY

SIN at CodeRED hosted by Kanha Paula & Angie • Trivia in the garden at The Willow, $2 entry and 7.30pm start • Acoustic music at Kep’s Sailing Club from 6pm to 9pm • Salsa lessons for beginners at The Groove on Street 282 ($5) from 8pm to 9pm, with a party until late.

• Wicked Wednesdays at Riverhouse lounge

Authentic design & flavors celebrating Arabic culture

EVERY THURSDAY

The only five star Arabic restaurant in Phnom Penh

Open Mic at Paddy Rice Irish Sports Bar • Art House Sessions at 8.30pm at The Flicks Community Movie House. Enjoy the secret treasures of the big screen for $3.50 • Steak Night at The Empire • Movie nights on the beach at Kep’s Sailing Club from 7pm • All About Jazz at Cabaret from 7pm, wine and beer happy hour from 5.30pm to 7.30pm • Ladies night at CodeRED (group of 5 ladies recieve one free bottle of Stoli vodka) • High Heels party at Riverhouse with DJ Tam and male models

EVERY FRIDAY

Seafood Haven at Korean Grill restaurant, NagaWorld, from 5.30pm to 10pm. $20 per person excluding beer, $30 per person including free flow draft beer. Tel: 023 22 88 22, www.nagaworld.com • Rhythm sessions at Doors from 9.30pm

EVERY SATURDAY

Cine Saturday at the Bophana Center, 64 Street 200, at 4pm • Art classes for children and adults at Romeet Gallery on Street 178, costing $8.50 per session or $65 for 10. Register interest with Sreymao at romeetgallery@gmail.com or by calling 077 55 07 59

Dine over 3 floors & a rooftop openair shisha lounge Rich variety of original shisha tobaccos

EVERY SUNDAY

Escape at the InterContinental hotel’s Regency Café from 11.30am to 3pm. Free-flow wine at $36 plus taxes per person • Morning meditation with Beth Goldring, a zen Buddhist nun teacher, all religions welcome. yogaphnompenh.com • Phnom Penh Hash House Harriers’ run. Meet at 2.15pm at the railway station • Sunday night chapel at CodeRED with cabaret dancers, shows, DJs and more • Fly yoga at Yoga Phnom Penh at 9.30am, with classical yoga also at 9.30am.

Fine Arabic Cuisine Prepared by our ex Four Seasons Hotel Arabic chef

EVERY DAY

Daily four-hour photography tours with Michael Klinkhamer. Starts at FCC, 363 Sisowath Quay, at 1.30pm. $35 per person (for groups of less than four people add $10pp). Call 060 873 847 or visit klinkphoto.com

EVERY MONDAY TO SATURDAY

Cultural performance at the National Museum at 7pm. Adult tickets are $15, with discounts for advance puchases. For booking and information call 017 998 570 or email events@cambodianlivingarts.org • Market fresh dinner buffet at Nagaworld from 5.30pm to 9.30pm, adults $28 or $38 with free flow beers, house wines and juices.

Authentic atmosphere

EVERY WEEKEND

Enjoy traditional food, music and costumes

Fishing trips on the Tonle Sap river from 3.30pm to 6.30pm, email fishingboattrip@yahoo.com • Kids Sessions at 2pm at The Flicks Community Movie House. $3.50 for adults, $2 for under 18 • Weekend brunch at Public House on Street 240½, from 10.30am to 2pm. $25 per person including bellinis or bloody Marys, $15 per person if you’re on the wagon. Book in advance: 017 770 754

8a, St.288 (between St.51 & St.57) Open: 11am-11pm

Tel: 023 666 3222

petrarestaurant2013@gmail.com

PHOTO ESSAY DHAKA IN TRANSIT ON A RECENT TRIP TO DHAKA TO ATTEND A WORKSHOP HOSTED BY THE ACID SURVIVORS FOUNDATION OF BANGLADESH, EXPAT ERIN BOURGOIS CAPTURED THE SOUL OF THE CITY ON HER IPAD MINI. SHE SPENT MANY MOMENTS IN TRANSIT, STALLED IN TRAFFIC WHILE SURROUNDED BY BUSES PACKED WITH PEOPLE, BRUISED SCOOTERS, RICKSHAWS, STREET CLEANERS AND BRAVE SOULS TRYING TO CROSS THE FRENETIC STREETS. “I SAW VIGNETTES OF ROADSIDE LIFE AND TRIED TO CAPTURE THE BEAUTIFUL CHAOS AROUND ME WITH ROADSIDE CHAI STALLS, COLOURFUL POSTERS, A MAN COLLECTING FARES FOR THE BUS, A TANGLE OF ELECTRICAL WIRES AND THE FLOW OF RICKSHAWS PASSING BY BELOW, A WOMAN IN A RED AND ORANGE SARI, AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL WASTELAND BEHIND,” WRITES BOURGOIS. FOR MORE, FOLLOW THE EPBOURGOIS INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

22 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 23

PHOTO ESSAY DHAKA IN TRANSIT

24 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 25

Helen Sworn What was your first exposure to human trafficking?

I moved to Cambodia 15 years ago, and my first piece of research was looking at this phenomenon occurring on the border between Cambodia and Thailand. It was 1999, and the journey from Battambang to Poipet, which now is two hours, took 17. I remember thinking, this is the most horrendous journey I’ve ever done. It wasn’t until I got to Poipet and understood the entry point into this whole horrific issue of trafficking that the journey became symbolic. It symbolised that it was a really hard road, there were loads of issues along the way, breakdowns, potholes, [but] it was worth it.

In fact, the majority of them are Asian. The top exploiter within any nationality is the local nationality. [Another] myth is that sexual trafficking only happens to girls. That’s become the typical imagery. But actually, for the foreign cases, about 60 percent of the victims are boys.

How would you describe today's trafficking situation?

There has been progress made.

Even though statistics are difficult to get in a world where criminals are operating in multiple layers, we know that the level of sexual exploitation of young minors has gone down.

However, [in] the last decade we’ve seen a shift underground.

Before, it was much more visible.

Police could do brothel raids, pick up the girls pretty quickly and get them into aftercare, pick up a lot of the customers, and some of the pimps. A lot of the cases we’re seeing are still minors. There is a large market for [the 15 to 18] age group, and that is a huge concern.

Is the increased attention on anti-trafficking helpful?

I think there is a danger point that trafficking has become the sexy issue. You get a huge influx of money, attention, organisations, but if that is not coordinated, it can create chaos.

We have seen a lot of people coming to address this, but they’re not necessarily doing it in a collaborative manner, and they don’t necessarily understand a lot of the complex issues within the Cambodian culture, within the history.

People are led by their heart on this issue, but sometimes they forget to bring their brain with them. You get lots of well meaning people, but they don’t really know what they’re doing.

And that is a huge risk factor.

A lot of people start working on this issue and get paralysed by emotion. Some people may say I’m hard-headed, but what Cambodia doesn’t need is a lot of emotional wrecks. They need people who are able to strategise for responses, to support them, to help them develop policy.

What are some common misconceptions?

I think one of the assumptions a lot of foreigners come in with is that most of the men exploiting minors for sex are Caucasian.

Why was Chab Dai created?

The rationale behind setting up Chab Dai was this influx of well-meaning individuals and organisations. I started to say, how about we develop

26 26 AsiaLIFE AsiaLIFE Cambodia Cambodia

Joanna Mayhew meets the founder and director of Chab Dai, a coalition of organisations working to end human trafficking. Photograph by Conor Wall. some kind of coalition, so we can pool our resources, so we can be more strategic. We tried to get a very diverse group of organisations – now we’ve got 57 members – but we look at the most critical piece, which is common ground and common vision. Chab Dai in Khmer means joining hands. It symbolises solidarity, that we have a voice together and that together we’re much stronger than being apart.

We’ve [also] developed a grassroots movement of advocates. We’ve got literally tens of thousands of villagers who are trained every year by volunteers [on keeping communities safe]. And that’s the dream. That’s really what we want to see happen here.

What can the average person living here do?

We have a responsibility to be the eyes and ears on the ground, and not to shut our eyes to it. There are so many ways people can begin to protect those that are vulnerable. A lot of recognising trafficking is looking at how much freedom somebody has.

Girls are not in chains very often. Boys are not in chains very often. But psychological chaining is the most powerful way to control somebody. If there is somebody who is a minor, you can pretty much guarantee they are not there of their own accord. Don’t put yourself into situations of staking out a brothel or a KTV. There are professionals who can do that. But if you see somebody who’s vulnerable, there is a child helpline, there is an anti-trafficking hotline.

These are positive ways you can interact. But don’t do it on your own. Contact the professionals.

How have your own perspectives evolved?

At the beginning, I thought I could understand trafficking very easily. I saw that children were being sold through a border, so that was trafficking.

Now, 15 years on, I feel like I know less and less. My own learning journey is always so steep; things are changing all the time, the environment is changing. It’s blown apart my simplistic view of what trafficking was. We have to address the underlying issues if we’re ever going to see an end to it. We started working on things like family values, parenting – things that seem unconnected but [are] actually the foundation of stable communities.

Is there reason for optimism?

Absolutely. I know that [survivors] have experienced horrific things in their lives, but for those around them to lose hope does them a disservice.

We need to look at where they’re going, and not just focus on where they’ve come from. We’ve seen the decline in the very young who are being exploited. We have seen prosecutions and extraditions happen here. We take what we can get. Sometimes, we don’t get much for a long time, but then when it comes, we take what we can get, and we gain hope from it.

Take action: To report suspected perpetrators, call APLE on 092 311 511; to protect young victims, call the ChildSafe Hotline on 012 311 112

AsiaLIFE AsiaLIFE Cambodia Cambodia 27 27

Up-and-coming Cambodian designers are starting a style revolution. AsiaLIFE meets five home-grown fashionistas to learn how an ambitious generation of talent is shaking up the fashion world with unique aesthetic visions. From punk attitude to casual cool and sophisticated femininity, meet the future of fashion.

Words: Ellie Dyer and Marissa Carruthers Photography: Cheky Athiporn for C Nation Studio Styling, hair and makeup: The Dollhouse Models: Soksolita Kol, Chhamy So, Sinn Chanserei Sophea, Sothy Sith and Vibol Angkor

28 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Designer: Mary Sarath Label: Mary Sara Stockists: Trunkh on Sothearos Boulevard, Paperdolls Street 2401/2 and BKK, Kolab Sor hotel on Street 310, Phnom Penh

“My concept is something chunky, colourful and popped up”

30 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Bubbly university student Mary Sarath can appreciate beauty in everything. “You just have to take a close look, and you’ll see it,” explains the 21-year-old designer.

From old keys to industrial-style screws, seeds and safety pins, her jewellery line transforms day-to-day objects into bold, modern designs. Metals and natural fibres alike are woven together to produce the statement, one-of-a-kind pieces that are making Phnom Penh-born Mary a talent to watch.

“My concept is something chunky, colourful and popped up,” she says at a rapid pace that suits her up-beat personality, before going on to explain that she launched the range around four months ago after returning from the “life-changing experience” of studying in the cold climes of Norway.

The resulting Mary Sara collection is full of touching individual stories. The key to her father’s former office, long coveted by Mary, proved the inspiration for one design, while metal links that were about to be thrown away at the Russian Market have been adapted into earrings.

Mary says that her very supportive family still cracks jokes about her turning household goods into designs.

“Actually once I made something from my cousin’s earphones that were being thrown away. They were a silver colour and just beautiful. I made a necklace,” she says, explaining that the newest line is set to incorporate uncut local stones into eye-catching pieces.

The student is now combining her two passions – design and education – by working in eclectic design store Trunkh alongside studying at university and working on her own jewellery range.

“I have two passions: one is working in the educational field, and the second is design. In the future, maybe I might have a chance to combine them together. That would be perfect,” she says.

Designer: Hung Chin Label: CHIN F Design Stockists: Dr Fashion on Street 163, Phnom Penh

“I want to offer something different to what’s already out there. A lot of young Cambodians like fashion but there’s not that much variety”

Helping Cambodians express themselves and find their individuality through style is young designer Hung Chin’s mission statement.

And that’s exactly what the 22-year-old has been doing since he decided to follow his passion and enroll in a four-year fashion design course at Limkokwing University.

Quickly making a name for himself as star style student, Chin launched his own fashion label in his second year.

Offering forward-thinking designs, the talented tailor designed and made a collection of menswear, specialising in uniquely patterned T-shirts, which were quickly snapped up to be sold by a string of stores across the city.

It didn’t take long for Chin to achieve his dream of owning a boutique, which opened six months ago in a prime location next to Russian Market. The opening of the store came coupled with a bigger collection of clothing, taking in casual wear, formal fashion with a twist and a small selection of women’s cocktail dresses.

“I want to offer something different to what’s already out there. A lot of young Cambodians like fashion but there’s not that much variety out there,” he says, standing in front of a rail of neatly hung men’s tops, including T-shirts with an array of colourful hand-designed patterns.

Inspired by the tailors who worked on the street outside his Phnom Penh home as a child, Chin was “born into fashion”. “I would watch the tailors work and grew to love embroidery,” he recalls.

Citing Alexander McQueen as his main source of inspiration, Chin defines his style as somewhere between “the real and the unreal” and draws trends from South Korea, the country he says many Cambodians look up to when it comes to fashion. He hopes that, thanks to a rise in talented Cambodian designers, the younger generation won’t have to look as far afield for fashion inspiration in the not-so-distant future.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 31

Designer: Lang Suykeang Label: Skelley Lang

Designer: Lang Suycheu Label: Lanyna

Stockists: Paperdolls 2401/2 and BKK, GG shop on Kampuchea Krom Blvd, Phnom Penh, or order online.

Stockists: Suycheu’s designs for Style Me Stylish are available at Paperdolls 2401/2 and BKK, Phnom Penh.

Architectural lines and Japanese culture are just two influences for talented Limkokwing University graduate Lang Suykeang.

With a palette dominated by blacks, whites and greys, the 24-year-old has created a strong collection that embraces the spirit of punk. “They can show off their emotions,” the Phnom Penh-based designer says of her clientele. “My brand has a young, playful style.”

Keang often scours second-hand stores and outlets to source unusual fabrics that she up-cycles to create casual, modernist collections that feature jersey, synthetic leathers and silks.

The resulting deconstructed leggings, geometric skirts and tops and chunky metal jewellery are already proving a hit, with her work appearing at multiple catwalk shows in the capital despite the brand only launching last December.

“My inspiration is from architecture – the shapes,” she says, flicking through photographs of her designs on an iPad, showcasing a long black gothic dress, alongside T-shirts and skirts with bold colourful patterns, and green and brown camouflage tops paired with flared skirts and knee-high socks.

“My designs aren’t always punky,” she emphasises, adding that she also produces accessories, including necklaces and bags. “Sometimes I also design elegant shapes, but it’s kind of casual wear.”

And after a childhood that involved regular travel around Southeast Asia to destinations including Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, the Cambodian hopes to one day attract an international market.

“In the future I want to expand the brand... and, if I can, export to other countries,” she says.

32 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

While her older sibling Keang firmly embraces a punk style, Lang Suycheu’s aesthetic couldn’t be more different. Citing nature, art and jewellery as major sources of inspiration, the fashion student’s whimsical designs are a study in romance, embracing the use of light and delicate fabrics such as lace.

“Our designs are different, but in the way of making it – the structure and everything – we help each other. The only difference is the style, “ she says of her relationship with her big sister, with whom she shares a workshop.

“My style is more into fairy-tale stories – something very emotional, elegant and romantic. My designs are inspired by flowers, that’s why I love lace and embroidery,” she adds softly, referencing the feminine work of top international designer Elie Saab, known for his show-stopping embellished dresses, as an influence.

Despite still being a student at Limkokwing University, with one year of her course remaining, Suycheu’s career is already developing step by step.

A designer for local brand Style Me Stylish, she is developing concepts for her own label Lanyna, which the 22-year-old hopes to grow further after completing her formal studies.

“I need to learn more,” she says, emphasising the highly skilled work involved in sewing delicate satins and chiffons and handling embroidery.

But for Suycheu, fashion plays an important role in people’s lives by affecting how they feel and perceive themselves. “I want to design something that people will wear and feel confident in,” says the young designer. “If women don’t have confidence in themselves, they will lose everything. They first have to have confidence in themselves to feel beautiful.”

Designer: Ou Kosal Label: Kool As U Stockists: Paperdolls 2401/2 and BKK, Phnom Penh

“Here in Cambodia, we have a young, modern population, and I aim to reflect this in my designs”

Working in a garment factory with international designer labels for nine years fuelled Ou Kosal‘s passion for fashion.

Helping to create clothing for brands such as Gap, Mulberry, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger equipped the 33-year-old with insider’s knowledge on the standards, design and sewing of good quality clothing.

In 2008, he quit his job to start his own tailoring business while receiving private classes on fashion design in his spare time. Kosal, who also goes by the name James, went on to impress his peers so much that last year he launched his own menswear line, Kool As U. Trying to bridge the gap between expat and local fashion, Kosal produces a range of casual slim-fit T-shirts, shirts and trousers that can also be worn to party in.

“I’ve loved fashion since I was young but here the majority of brands are imported. I want to showcase good quality, Cambodian-made clothing to the world,” he says.

“Here in Cambodia, we have a young, modern population, and I aim to reflect this in my designs.”

It hasn’t taken long for the designs to catch on.

Paperdolls stock his line, which he makes in a small workshop in his Phnom Penh home. He also exports many of his jackets to the United States. Calling on inspiration from Paul Smith and Ralph Lauren, Kosal also looks to the United Kingdom. “The men there have great style,” he says.

Looking forward to what looks set to be a bright future, Kosal says he wants to build up his brand to sit in between UK high-street store Topshop and designer Paul Smith.

“In Cambodia, people are starting to think about what they wear when they go out or to parties a lot more than compared to two years ago, and this is a great thing,” he says, adding that the next step is bagging himself his own boutique. Watch this space.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 33

Among Battambang’s peaceful meadows, Clothilde Le Coz takes to two wheels to discover that ordinary lives are precious gems, as everyday artists demonstrate their craftsmanship and ancestral techniques. Photography by Conor Wall. P

34 34 AsiaLIFE AsiaLIFE Cambodia Cambodia

AsiaLIFE AsiaLIFE Cambodia Cambodia 35 35

As the sun slowly rises in the sky, scents breathe life into the uncoiling road. Travelling by bicycle allows me to enjoy the flowers, fruits and foods of the countryside, and the pace to appreciate the livelihoods of people living in Battambang, the nurturing mother of Cambodia.

The westerly province is well known for its agriculture and convergence of artists, but with high youth unemployment, life is sometimes difficult. After leaving Pursat province to study international relations in Battambang, tour company owner Mot Sopheap slept in a city pagoda for three years – perhaps one reason why he feels such compassion for those he meets on his guided trips.

Passionate about politics and the wind of change surrounding Cambodia, the 24-year-old did a year of research before launching Butterfly Tours in 2013 and creating a small office with the help of a Westerner. The local business now offers four bicycle and walking trips, and helps other students to survive by becoming guides.

Together, they want to introduce country folk to tourists.

“I thought we could just have others discover what we are and what people do in Battambang,” says Sopheap, humbly introducing me to what he knows best: Cambodian livelihoods.

Cycling along roads that I would not have explored without the eyes of a guide, snapshots of farmers’ lives appear and turn into intimate moments with everyday artists.

Local scenes provide the canvas and brushes to paint a picture

“There is a humble magic that changes all these ordinary gestures into a master's touch” of Cambodia that I had never experienced before.

The thinness of melt-in-themouth banana slices gently placed on a bamboo board and baked under the sun for a few hours; the fragility of rice papers turning on bamboo sticks before drying on a modern art installation in the garden of a family; the vapours inebriating the shed of a local brewer using a secret recipe to slowly concoct rice wine. There is a humble magic that changes all these ordinary gestures into a master’s touch.

Sopheap’s name means “gentle” in Khmer, and it is a word that embraces my experience of the Butterfly tour. Stopping to enter a typical wooden house to learn how to dry sweet bananas, Sopheap shows us respectful gestures and words of greeting before inviting us to join a mother holding a baby in her arms while cutting fruit. She explains that we can find her produce at the local market, where she sells banana slices every day.

The mother also tells us that she sold her plantation because she needs the money. At that point, visitors also understand

that touring with Butterfly is not only about discovering a country through its faces – it is about understanding the economic realities of daily life.

By allowing us to enter people’s lives, Sopheap says he and his friends help us to know the “real” Cambodia of today.

We also learn of the patience that each of these unique arts requires. “Everything is handmade, fresh and organic,” insists Sopheap.

In Western countries, we sometimes regretfully see traditions disappearing. The Butterfly tour never stops showing the

contrary. Here, every technique has been inherited and will continue in future generations.

That is how you learn that there is a man making his own rice wine with a “secret recipe” passed on from his grandfather.

As we enter the small room – actually more of a tin roof over three walls – packed with rice in different stages of fermentation, we find ourselves in front of a home-made distillery.

During the trip we taste everything from wine and bananas to rice noodles prepared in front of us, and fermented prahok for the most audacious.

At each turn, Sopheap is there to explain every step of the process.

As we stop at a noodle shop next to a small market to enjoy the local delicacy, Sopheap recreates the early morning toil for the family who made them – from mixing the flour to serving them on a plate. As a matter of fact, it’s a process he knows well, as his family has been doing the same back home. And if you have ever wondered why rice papers have square patterns on their skins, the answer is at the next stop: it’s the bamboo board that they dry on.

Ending the tour, the Well of Shadows – a genocide monument explaining Battambang’s experience during the 1975 to 1979 Khmer Rouge regime – makes us remember that every art that we encounter was once destroyed by barbaric acts.

Like caterpillars transform into butterflies, local traditions have had to be re-built. Handicrafts provide an everlasting statement of who people are.

Butterfly Tours did not only show us what life is like; it makes us feel it.

For more information, visit butterflytour.asia

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 37

Phnom Penh’s Osja Studio took the gaming industry by storm when its creation, Asva the Monkey, topped charts in Brazil and Cambodia alike. As its latest release hits the market, Marissa Carruthers discovers how a locally grown company has created waves across the world. Photography

by Charles Fox.

Tucked away on an inconspicuous alley near Russian Market, a talented team is working away to feed the passions of techies across the globe. On the ground floor of the former villa, 14 young Cambodians are putting the finishing touches to what they hope will be the latest hit in the gaming world.

Artists sit over sketchbooks crammed full of evolving characters that will star in games tailored for both Android and iOS. Designers work at screens to bring 2D drawings to life, as programmers write code to cover the technical side of the process.

It might not be Silicon Valley, but Phnom Penh’s Osja Studio is proving that you don’t have to be based in America’s famous technology hub to capture the imagination of the world.

Fuelled by their love of games, childhood friends and Osja co-founders Ear Uy and Chivalry Yok became Cambodia’s first home-grown developing team when they launched the business in November 2011.

“My hobby and passion has always been games. Ask any gamer and they will tell you their dream is to make their own game,” says 31-year-old games producer and management graduate Uy, recalling how, as a youngster, he would skip high school to visit arcades.

With Yok, a banking and finance graduate, the pair set about turning their dream into reality. They spent the first three months of the business creating a trio of Christmasthemed puzzle games to test out their audience.

“When we launched the company, we released three simple games to prove that we could do it,” Uy remembers. “We really didn’t know what we were doing, and they were very simple platform games.”

Wanting to take their talent to the next level, they soon recruited and trained a team of young graduates, who created and developed Osja Studio’s first global success – Asva The Monkey.

Within two weeks of its release in December 2012, the game shot to the top of the Cambodian iTunes chart, becoming the country’s most downloaded game on the online Apple store. It also hit number one in Brazil and is extremely popular across China and the United States.

Chivalry Yok

38 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Ear Uy

“Ask any gamer and they will tell you their dream is to make their own game” “We certainly weren’t expecting that,” Uy says with a smile. “Neither of us are from IT backgrounds and we haven’t studied abroad. We both love games and my business partner is a very good artist.”

The game took six months to develop, including four months during which Yok sketched ‘Asva’ and more than 90 levels of the game. The program is based around a monkey, who lives in a secret location in a forest close to Siem Reap’s Angkor Wat complex. Players must collect jewels and solve puzzles to progress to the next level. “For us, it was also important to inject our culture into our games, so foreigners playing can learn about Cambodia as well,” says Uy. It is a concept that Osja has continued in its second major

game, Yak Aww, due for release this month. Around 80 percent of the characters are taken from traditional Khmer folk tales and stories, which are then retold to players.

The game’s main man, Yak, is modelled on the popular character of the same name, which means giant, in the traditional opera form of lakhaon.

Normally portrayed as evil, Osja has given the traditional tale a twist. Yak is a small giant who starts the game as an orphan living in the jungle with the elders. Slower paced than its predecessor, the game takes players on a series of adventures as Yak sets about finding more about his birth.

And, as in any good game, he hits problems along the way.

“We are very happy with the

success so far. This is always what we wanted to do,” Uy says, adding that the team has travelled to South Korea and Tokyo, Japan, to showcase its work. ”When I go to other countries, they’re always surprised to find out we’re Cambodian. They never expect something of this quality.”

But if it wasn’t for the mobile revolution, Cambodia wouldn’t be producing this calibre of games, Uy explains. “We wanted to make a game earlier but the problem with being in Cambodia is distribution.”

When the Apple store launched in July 2008, it broke apart such barriers by opening up global markets to techies in developing countries, such as Cambodia.

“Suddenly, it became easy for everyone to make and sell games from anywhere,” he says.

Flappy Bird is an example of how bedroom boffins can create a simple game that takes the world by storm. Developed in just three days by Vietnambased Dong Nguyen, the highly-addictive game was released in May. A sudden spike in popularity at the start of the year led to it becoming the most downloaded free game in Apple store history.

Dong claimed it earned $50,000 a day from in-app advertising, but got fans in a flap in February when he removed the game from the store because he felt guilty about his creation’s addictive nature.

“It just goes to show,” Uy says with a grin, before running through his hundredth practice run of Yak Aww to iron out any problems. “Anything is possible nowadays.”

For more information, visit osjastudio.com AsiaLIFE Cambodia 39

Ghost Money

After spending his adult life haunted by the decisions he made in wartime Vietnam, a former American soldier seeks peace by searching for his past - and a child who may not even exist.

By Chris Mueller. Photos courtesy of Lawrence Johnson Productions.

wrong person. “When I found out the Lien I’d been following for a year was not the right one, I was just crushed,” he tells me in an interview from his home in Portland, Oregon. “It was like my child was taken away from me again.”

Love and war

When filmmaker and former American soldier Lawrence Johnson returned to Vietnam in 2012, he had hoped to put the ghosts he’d carried with him for 40 years to rest. Instead, he got a lead on where his lost love - and perhaps the child he fathered with her - was living.

Over the next year, Johnson travelled to Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, trying to track her down, but the trail went cold. He returned to Vietnam in 2013 to find more clues, only to discover that the woman he had been chasing was the 40 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

It was 1972 in Saigon, and for 22-year-old Lawrence Johnson the dangers of the American War were never very far. As bombs exploded only a few kilometres away, the Nebraska native spent most of his time on duty in an old Frenchdesigned compound, where he pushed more paper than pulled triggers.

As a member of the Command Military Touring Shows, Johnson’s duties were to play drums and organise entertainment for troops.

“People were suffering all around us, but we were in this little bubble - Saigon,” he says.

“The only thing we had to worry about were the cowboys [thieves].”

At night, instead of standing watch in dark jungles or deep trenches, he headed to the Continental Hotel in District 1.

The café and bar was nicknamed "the Shelf" at the time, and was

the preferred haunt of journalists and CIA types. “It was a pretty rowdy, weird place and I loved it,” he says.

That’s where Candy first caught his eye. Struck by her exotic beauty, Johnson had his wingmen - kids selling beads outside the hotel - make an introduction. Once the conversation began, he invited her for a cup of coffee.

Johnson was wary at first and worried Candy - whose real name, he would later learn, was Truong My Lien could be running a scam. “She wasn’t a call girl. She wasn’t a prostitute,” he says. “But I do think she was trawling for an American boyfriend.”

But he quickly warmed up to her. From that point on, rather than partying and smoking weed in the barracks with his fellow soldiers, he would spend time with Candy. They would go out for coffee, just sit and talk or escape the tropical heat by ducking into local cinemas, where Johnson remembers watching Romeo and Juliet dubbed in French, with three sets of subtitles.

It didn’t take long before he fell in love. “I think the thing that really captured me about her was the mystery,” he says.

“I didn’t believe her because she never showed any signs of pregnancy, so I just wiped it out of my mind” Angry ghosts

It didn’t stay a fairy-tale love story for long. As the war raged around them, the relationship had its ups and downs. Millions of Vietnamese and tens of thousands of Americans had already been killed, and Candy came to believe she had been possessed.

With carnage wreaking havoc on the country, so many people died badly or were killed violently far from home that many Vietnamese believed their spirits became angry ghosts trapped in some type of spirit hell, destined to wander without rest and become jealous of their surviving friends and family.

Candy believed that she was possessed by the ghost of a Buddhist nun, and it had a clear effect on her relationship with Johnson. “I believe that she believed it was real,” he says.

Although their relationship was sometimes turbulent, they decided to get married. Shortly after that decision, Johnson was preparing to return to the US

with his unit and wasn’t able to cut the red tape to bring Candy home with him.

The army made him leave before they could tie the knot and right before he was to ship out Candy gave him some startling news: she was pregnant.

“I didn’t believe her because she never showed any signs of pregnancy, so I just wiped it out of my mind.”

Life goes on

By December 1972, Johnson was home. Over the next 40 years, he would marry and divorce twice, and have two children and five grandchildren. Professionally, he became an award-winning filmmaker.

Despite his success, Johnson says the emotional scars of Vietnam affected his entire life.

“I’ve never been able to really have a happy family. I’ve tried, but it’s always been chaotic. I feel that I’ve just carried that chaos with me and it emerged out of that war.”

A 2012 trip to Vietnam was supposed to be a way for him to make peace with himself.

Being a filmmaker, he decided to make a documentary about the search for Candy. The film is titled Ghost Money, after

the votive paper that many Asians burn as an offering to make peace with the dead.

But why did he wait so long to start looking?

“I think there’s a stage of life that a lot of GIs are entering,” he says. “The natural thing is to look back at your life because you see the end.”

On both trips, he brought his long-time friend Gerald Lewis, who has been shooting films since the ‘70s, including years as a BBC cameraman. “I think it’s been emotionally draining for him. It’s been a real rollercoaster for him,” Lewis says. “But I think he’s strong enough for it not to have lasting effects. But if he has a child, he desperately wants to find out.”

Lewis says he thinks the documentary team, which includes an American translator and Vietnamese producer, has exhausted all possible ways of finding Candy. They’ve done everything from placing ads in newspapers in Vietnam and the US to appearing on television, without any luck. Johnson, however, is still hopeful.

“I don’t feel like I have come to a place where I feel like I have to accept that I won’t find her,” he says. “I still believe I’ll find her.”

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 41

flower power

Business is blooming for lotus fabric producer Samatoa. Marissa Carruthers discovers how the humble flower is being transformed into one of the world’s most expensive materials. Photography

by Charles Fox.

42 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

A sea of pretty pink flowers decorates an expanse of water.

The sound of looms echoes around a wooden platform, where women huddle over stacks of stems as they work away to create one of the world’s most expensive fabrics.

“Thanks to the lotus, we are connecting some of the richest people in the world with some of the poorest people,” says Frenchman Awen Delaval, pointing at a farmer wading through knee-deep water, plucking out ripe plants along the way.

On a reservoir on the road to Phnom Krom, Siem Reap, sits this stunning, six-hectare blanket of more than 600,000 pink and white lotus plants. Despite the flowers being a familiar sight in

Cambodia, unbeknown to many is that fact that they can be used to make material.

When Delavel, who relocated to Cambodia from Brittany 11 years ago, was told in 2009 about robes made from lotus fibres worn by Burmese monks during an annual celebration, the designer of eco-friendly fashion decided to investigate further.

He set up a laboratory at his Siem Reap home and hit the Kingdom’s roads in search of the perfect lotus to create the unique fabric. As soon as he set eyes on a spectacular 15-hectare lotus lake at Kamping Poy, near Battambang, he knew he had to set up shop.

“My main objective was always to provide something sustainable for the local environment,” he says. “This is why I wanted to work in Battambang, because some of the people who live around the lake are the poorest in Cambodia.”

Delaval’s next step was to recruit two Cambodian weavers, who spent almost two years collecting the fine fibres found

inside the flower’s thick stem and transforming them into soft threads that can be woven into a material that, in terms of touch, sits somewhere between silk and linen.

“At first we used a traditional Cambodian loom but because the fibre is so fragile, it just snapped,” he recalls of thousands of unsuccessful trials.

“We had to adapt and change about 30 pieces of the loom in order to create a long, strong, continuous and rigid thread of the highest quality.”

However, their patience paid off and now Delaval champions the Cambodian material across the world, selling jackets for more than $2,500 and dresses worth much more in Hong Kong, America, Europe and Singapore.

“The lotus in Cambodia is probably the most beautiful in the world,” he says. “And it creates one of the most exclusive fabrics in the world.”

Selling at more than $350 per metre of fabric wholesale also makes it one of the most

expensive materials in the world. The pain-staking, slow and meticulous process involved in creating the thread justifies the price, Delaval explains.

Four times a day, stem collectors hit the lakes to collect ripe plants, which are replanted every three years. The stems are cut from the flower heads and then washed before being carefully snapped to reveal about 30 delicate fibres contained inside.

Skilled workers place the fibres on a damp table and gently roll them into a tight, single thread. A further 11 layers are then twisted together. Then there’s the complicated process of connecting the short lengths of thread together to form one long, strong fibre which can be woven on the adapted loom. Fabric is then coloured using natural dyes such as eucalyptus, water lily and bougainvillea.

In one day, a weaver can produce around 200 metres of thread. But it can take a month to produce the 3,000 metres needed to make just one metre of fabric.

“Making the thread takes 90 percent of the time,” weaver Srey Toch says. “It takes two months to make the fabric and it can be tailored in a couple of days.”

The result is well worth the wait and comes in the form of a soft, breathable fabric. Other benefits are that it is water and stain resistant, wrinkle-free and quick drying. Its exclusivity has led to Samatoa taking orders right up until mid-2015.

“We’re a very small company and the problem is producing the volume people require with the resources we have,” he says. “Everything has to be done by hand and one metre of fabric uses 17,000 flowers so you also need to grow a large volume of plants.”

This, coupled with providing

employment and skills, is something Delaval is well on his way to achieving. The Battambang farm now employs 40 people, with a further 10 working at the Siem Reap farm and visitor centre, which opened in November. A third Phnom Penh farm is also being planned to help him hit his target of employing 500 people in the next five years.

And with the lotus, nothing goes to waste. Petals are dried to make infusion tea, soaps and oils, and seeds are transformed into jewellery. “The lotus flower truly is the most amazing flower in the world,” Delaval says.

For more information, visit samatoa.com. The Siem Reap visitor centre is open daily from 10am to 6pm

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 43

BlackGold

The colonial-era French - captivated by its complex, distinct flavour - once exported pepper grown in Kampot by the tonne. Shipments of the spice, prized as the world’s best, continued until the 1970s, when production was suddenly wiped out. Forty years later, the fabled spice most thought lost to the culinary world is making a dramatic comeback. Robert Carry reports.

Photography by Charles Fox. 44 44 AsiaLIFE AsiaLIFE Cambodia Cambodia

“The Khmer Rouge just wanted to grow rice,” says pepper producer Anna Him, owner of Starling Farm in Kampot province. “They destroyed all the pepper plants, but we found some still growing in the wild.

There were very few left, but we replanted them.”

The earliest accounts of pepper production in Cambodia come from Chinese diplomats who visited the Angkorian Empire almost a millennium ago. It later came to the attention of the West in the 19th century, when French colonists identified it as a key export commodity.

At the height of its power, only pepper grown in the Kampot region was seen as good enough to grace the tables of the French empire’s finest restaurants.

The spice remained a key ingredient in French cuisine until the 1970s – when disaster struck. With much of Cambodia’s population pushed to the edge of starvation on collectivised rice farms under the Khmer Rouge regime of 1975 to 1979, there was no room for a luxury like pepper.

When the Khmer Rouge was finally driven from power, pepper production was long gone and many of those with knowledge of how to farm the spice had died. However, as peace bedded in, Kampot pepper was about to make an unlikely comeback.

In 2002, Anna Him began clearing the land that would become Starling Farm – now

the largest pepper producer in Kampot. “We started with nothing. We had a few wild plants we found and we got a few others from farmers in the area who had also just started growing pepper again,” says the businesswoman.

Crucially, some of the expert pepper farmers – men and women who had knowledge of the ancient growing methods – had survived. “There were still some people living in the area who knew how to grow pepper. Farmers from before the Khmer Rouge years,” she says.

“They had some experience that they could share with the other

hectares prior to 2013.

“It’s incredible,” says Tom Gordon, co-founder of The Pepper Project – a not-for-profit organisation that sells Kampot pepper on behalf of small Cambodian producers to buyers in the United States and beyond.

“We’re a small business, but our second year doubled our first. Now we’re now on track to double the second year.”

Kampot pepper boasts more than just a fascinating backstory. The spice is grown using traditional farming methods and was awarded a protected Geographical Indication from the World Trade Organisation

“They destroyed all the pepper plants, but we found some still growing in the wild” farmers who wanted to start growing pepper again.”

In order to safeguard their knowledge of production methods, the farmers founded a pepper growers’ association and today, after a decade of painstaking work, Kampot pepper is again coming to the attention of the world.

Producers are struggling to meet demand for exports, with increasing prices giving those involved in production a good living. According to local reports, cultivated pepper plants now cover more than 90 hectares of land, up from 32

in 2010. In the same way that only sparkling wines made with grapes from France’s Champagne region can legally be labelled as such, only pepper grown in Kampot using organic methods gets to bear the province’s name.

The spice comes in four main varieties – black, red, white and green. Green pepper, known for its mild, almost citrus taste, is harvested when the peppercorns are still young on the vine.

However, it must be eaten within four days of picking.

Black pepper, the most popular variety, has a stronger

taste that can range from intensely spicy to mildly sweet with hints of flower, eucalyptus and mint. The red variety, created when the peppercorns are allowed to fully ripen on the vine, is sweeter, more full and rounded, but with less heat than the black variety. It can be used to season anything from red meat to desserts. White pepper, meanwhile, is created by soaking ripe peppercorns in hot water, prompting the red skin to fall away.

The pepper’s unique flavour first struck Tom Gordon and his wife, Cris, during a visit to Southeast Asia in 2008, some 38 years after he first arrived in the region as a 20-year-old conscript during the Vietnam War. “We made our way out to Kep and Kampot, and we stopped and visited a small pepper farmer. We were just blown away. It was incredible – it was like nothing we had ever tasted,” he says.

It was through that first meeting that the seeds of what would become The Pepper Project were planted. “Cris asked what we could do to help, and the farmer said, ‘Sell my pepper in your country’,” adds the veteran.

Thanks to the efforts of such individuals, and the estimated 126 families now involved in pepper production in the province, the legendary Kampot pepper is at last reclaiming its position at the top table of world spices.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 45

Mezze It was a mutual love of Lebanese food that brought husband and wife team, Thierry and Kim Immergluck, together.

As a Lebanese Frenchman, Thierry has always been familiar with Middle Eastern food. However, it was an alien cuisine to Cambodian Kim until she came across it while managing Thierry’s mum’s restaurant in the capital six years ago.

“I didn’t know how to cook any of the dishes or use many of the ingredients,” Kim says.

“But I’ve always loved cooking and really learnt a lot from Thierry’s mum while I was in Phnom Penh.”

Wanting to open their own restaurant and bar, the couple decided to introduce a new concept to Temple Town and 46 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Love led to lip-smackingly good Lebanese food being served up in central Siem Reap. Marissa Carruthers finds out more during a visit to Mezze. Photography by Charles Fox. opened super-stylish Mezze in Siem Reap in December 2011.

With the setting more of a lounge bar than a restaurant, the aim is to offer a series of light bites throughout the evening and well into the night.

“We don’t serve big mezze platters, we like to experiment more with finger food,” Thierry says. “This also means people can sample more of the different dishes and flavours.”

It’s Kim’s love of experimenting in the kitchen, combined with her creative flair, that has led to Mezze’s culinary success. A string of traditional dishes with a contemporary twist are being added to the menu. Take the tahini, a sauce that accompanies Kim’s equally tasty hummus ($3).

“Tahini is difficult to find

“We like to experiment more with finger food” here, so we have to improvise and it works really well,” Thierry says. Kim’s solution is to blend white sesame seed with olive oil, buying the remainder of the ingredients fresh from the market each day.

Other speciality dishes include Kim’s caviar tuna, where shot glasses are elegantly filled with her recipe of tuna, tahini sauce, lime, garlic and olive oil, puréed into a light and creamy mousse ($3.75). Then there’s the tasty tabbouleh ($3), a refreshing salad made of diced tomatoes, parsley, mint, bulgur wheat, onion, lime and olive oil.

“It can be difficult to source

some of the ingredients we need,” Thierry says. “We have a lot of friends who visit from France and Lebanon so we get them to bring a load of ingredients with them.”

This guarantees an authentic taste when it comes to using traditional goods such as parsley, spices and bulgur wheat.

“We went to Lebanon in May for the first time in four years,” Thierry says, as Kim heads into the kitchen to rustle up some of her famous hummus before concocting more mini-mezze platters. “We tried the hummus there and couldn’t find anything anywhere near as good as the stuff Kim makes. Just don’t tell my mum.”

13A Street 11, Siem Reap. Tel: 097 766 7343. Open daily from 6pm to late.

LouLou’s As a child, the distinct jingle of the ice cream van was enough to transform me into a salivating ball of excitement.

Now, thanks to Hong Srey Sambatha, Cambodian children can also whip themselves into a frenzy at the familiar sound of the ice cream man.

Having spent several years working for the ice cream department of global confectionary giant Nestlé, he has made it his mission to bring top quality ice cream to Cambodia. Three years ago, he launched his own business, LouLou’s, in the form of a small fleet of pushcarts selling ice lollies on the streets.

But it was during a trip to Thailand that he came across the concept of ice cream vans and vowed to introduce

Cambodia first ice cream van is proving a hit.

Marissa Carruthers meets the ambitious team behind the business. Photography

by Conor Wall. them to Cambodia. Market research then led him to Malaysia, where his passion was further fuelled by the vans frequenting the streets of the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

After several more field trips to Thailand, the entrepeneur commissioned his 22-yearold son, Lou, to compose the music that he hopes will become synonymous with his van, before unleashing the idea on Phnom Penh.

At the end of February, the cute pink and white minivan hit the capital’s streets.

With a large ice cream cone sat on top, the only way of missing LouLou’s is when it’s surrounded by a mob of students desperate for a daily dose of home-made ice cream during the school break.

While there may not be a 99 in sight, LouLou’s – which is driven and operated by chirpy seller Rayuth – serves up some great ice cream. Made fresh each day, it is stored across three houses in Phnom Penh and delivered to Rayuth when needed.

Coming in chocolate, strawberry, choc-chip and vanilla flavours, the ice cream is creamy and smooth.

Although the flavour is rich, it’s far from the sickly sweet taste common in many local desserts. Punters can get their hands on a cone (4,000 riels) or carton (2,000/3,000 riels), with both served with a delicate dusting of hundreds and thousands. In the cone, a crunchy wafer roll replaces the chocolate flake familiar to some parts of the Western

world. LouLou’s also boasts a freezer stocked full of ice pops, including an Angry Bird lolly and a traffic light lollypop.

Coffee is also served.

“I’m very happy with the way things are going because there are a lot of people who see my ice-cream van and are interested, especially school children who love it,” Hong Srey Sambatha says.

“Even the older generation, who aren’t so familiar with it, are enjoying it.”

With grand plans to expand the empire to 10 vans and a fleet of tuk-tuks, LouLou’s tune could soon become one ringing right across the city.

Various locations but usually outside Raffles Hotel Le Royal on weekdays from 12pm to 2pm, then on the Riverside in the afternoon.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 47

Along the River Gambia

With the advent of responsible tourism, Katie Jacobs visits one of the few places in the world where tourists can see wild chimpanzees. Photos by Sylvain Lequere.

If it weren’t for the facial hair and long arms, I could have sworn the creatures peering out at me from the forest were human. The wild chimpanzees gave me wary looks of curiosity and slight pity that I, too, wasn’t able to stuff an entire mango into my mouth. The sun was setting on our evening boat ride through the River Gambia National Park. It’s nearly 300 kilometres inland from Banjul, the coastal capital of the Gambia, a tiny west African country embedded within Senegal except for 40km of coastline.

Although a small number of tourists visit the Gambia every winter to enjoy the beach resorts along the Atlantic 48 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

coast, the country is fairly unknown. But eco-lodges are now promoting responsible tourism with retreats where you can eat local food, learn about the culture, and experience the natural beauty of the coast, river and forest.

Baboon Islands, in the River Gambia National Park, not only provides these services, but is also one of the few places in the world to see chimpanzees in the wild.

The park was established in 1978, and in 1979 the chimpanzee rehabilitation project was founded on the five-island archipelago in the river. Along with elephants, chimpanzees became extinct in the Gambia in the early 20th

century. The project aimed to reintroduce chimpanzees to the wild by rehabilitating animals that had been confiscated from illegal trade and captivity.

Today, they live and breed on the islands with minimal human contact. Visitors can view these amazing creatures from the boat, but only authorised park workers are allowed on the islands.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

The rickety boat putted up to the bank at Kuntaur, the fishing village where we were waiting, watching the local kids play an improvised game of football with a rolled up piece of fishing rope. I had been living in the

Gambia for the past eight months and was excited to show my visiting parents a new part of the country.

As we made our way slowly up the river, the vegetation changed from the dry dusty banks of the village to the lush, dense forest of the National Park. “There are hippos in the water,” the captain said. “If we’re lucky we might see some up close.” I wasn’t so sure being close to one of Africa’s most aggressive animals would be considered lucky.

Baboon Islands has six luxury tents perched on low cliffs overlooking the wide river and chimpanzee habitat.

As we followed the forest-

shaded path leading up to the tents, I certainly felt as though we were in the African wilderness. This feeling was cemented the next day when my morning wash in the private outdoor shower was accompanied by the sound of bird calls and a couple of curious monkeys.

After settling into our tents, we headed to dinner in the main river house. There were few guests, making us feel more like part of the family than visitors.

Keen to experience the Gambia’s famous birdlife diversity, we took a prebreakfast hike the next day to a bird-viewing platform with expansive views high above the river. Armed with binoculars and a field guide, we watched as kingfishers darted towards the water, groups of weavers fluttered in a tree nearby, and a violet turaco swooped in front of us, the crimson feathers catching the morning light. We counted 20 different bird species that morning, but there could have been hundreds.

of the Baboon Islands camp and the chimp rehabilitation project. That afternoon was spent in a haze of red dust and drumming as the local people came out in force to party. Men were dressed in special costumes, brandishing machetes and spinning on their heads. The women, with their colourful patterned fabric, matching head wraps, and babies strapped to their back, danced like I know I will never be able to. The sight of feet kicking up dust, hips jerking and hands clapping, made it impossible not to join in.

Later that day, I took an hour-long boat ride around the islands, watching the families of chimpanzees lounging in trees, inspecting each other’s hair, cradling babies, eating fruit, and, quite literally, hanging out. Hundreds of baboons lined the cliffs, colobus monkeys played in nearly every tree, a snake swam through the water in front of us, and groups of hippos lurked in the shallows, their tiny ears and beady eyes just visible above the water line.

FRIENDS AND FESTIVALS

THE LAST VISIT

A few months later we were back. We’d been invited to a village celebration in honour

Our final visit to Baboon Islands was in the cool of early March, where nighttime requires a blanket and the days are pleasantly sunny. My husband and I were soon to leave the Gambia, and it seemed the perfect chance to get in one last trip while my sister-in-law and her boyfriend were visiting.

Heading out for what would be our last boat ride, I was just as excited as I was on my first.

It turned out that our visits to Baboon Islands were a major highlight of the two years in this small, amazing country, and there was no better way to end that chapter of our life.

Photo by Katie Jacobs

I wasn’t so sure being close to one of Africa’s most aggressive animals would be considered lucky

HOW TO GET THERE

Baboon Islands is approximately five hours from the Gambian capital of Banjul and can be reached by car and ferry. Tours can be booked through Tilly’s Tours, or most hotels can arrange a private visit on arrival. An overnight stay at Baboon Islands costs approximately $150, including all meals.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 49

hew Photos by Joanna May

The World’s Playground

The United Arab Emirates draws millions of visitors to its sandy dunes each year. Joanna Mayhew enters the mega malls of Dubai to find out why.

The wind slaps against my face, causing my cheeks to ripple violently as gigantic, roaring fans shoot me up into the air. Facing stomach down, my arms and legs bend unnaturally above me like an upside-down spider. When the 200-kilometre-per-hour force propelling me upwards suddenly cuts out, I free-fall eight metres before being flung skywards again. I shriek with delight, only to have saliva whip back at my face.

Drop. Soar. Drop. Soar.

Yo-yoing back and forth, 50 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

I look out through the wind tunnel’s acrylic walls to see shoppers gaping back. This is simulated skydiving, in the middle of the mall, in the middle of the desert.

The experience forms just another day in what must be the world’s most bizarre and extreme playground: Dubai.

As one of seven Islamic emirates that make up the UAE, the city has made a global name for itself over the last decade, thanks to insanely fast growth and ambitious undertakings. It is a land of superlatives, with

the fastest, highest, longest, costliest… everything.

Dubai is an uncontested hub for Western tourists in the heart of the Middle East and – though considered the most tolerant emirate – limits alcohol, dress, dancing and displays of affection. But with Russian tourists storming the beaches, it has become common to spot bikini-clad visitors mixed in with Emirati males in long white tunics, or kanduras.

Despite there being next-tonothing historical to explore, the city attracted 9.89 million

international overnight visitors in 2013, the seventh highest figure in the world.

Diverse Offerings

Dubai offers almost unlimited experiences. Dune bashing?

Race car driving? Skiing?

Sand-boarding? Shark diving?

The world’s tallest building?

The world’s most luxurious hotel? Check them all.

Take SkiDubai in the Mall of the Emirates. A slope covered in real snow is maintained at -4 degrees Celsius even during the summer months when outside

temperatures soar to the mid40s. With the biggest run at 400 metres long, it’s an impressive indoor feat. But there are few skiers and snowboarders on the slope compared to the sheer number of observers who pay simply to experience the winter wonderland. Women covered head to toe in black abayas circle the ski lift as ‘Baby, it’s cold outside’ plays over the soundsystem, occasionally interrupted by blaring calls to prayer via a loudspeaker.

At Dubai Mall (the biggest mall in the world) you can ascend the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world).

If Dubai gives the impression of a computer-generated city – which it does – then the Burj’s iconic scraggly finger outline resembles a caricature of an evil ruler’s towering lair. The 360-degree lookouts, set about three-quarters the way up the 828-metre building, offer views of Dubai’s 900-strong skyscraper skyline and endless stretches of desert.

Cultural Desert

With more than 200 nationalities making up Dubai’s 2.1 million residents, including multitudes of South Asian workers, who are paid little and live in crowded camps on the city’s outskirts, it can seem far easier to engage with other cultures than with the Emeriti one. I found it frustratingly difficult to get authentic experiences amidst the expanse of shopping malls and glittering hotels.

At Dubai’s Global Village, you can “visit” up to 37 countries by watching cultural performances or browsing for imported knickknacks and clothes. Though popular, the gaudy lights and commercialised atmosphere give the impression of simply having been tricked into another mall.

Similarly, desert safaris are offered by numerous tour companies as a chance to experience bedouin living.

But rather than a personalised experience, the small tours collide with dozens of others that descend on a neon-lit desert enclosure featuring shisha tents, Eastern European belly dancers and techno music.

The sunset getaways do, however, provide opportunities for sand boarding and offroading on the massive sand dunes. SUVs come equipped

with roll cages, as the hazardous driving “often” results in rollovers, according to our jolly and unphased Pakistani driver.

The Beaten Track

I finally found a reprieve, and the trip’s highlight, in the form of camel racing. Around 20 minutes from downtown, past scrubland desert and small dunes, the sandy Al Marmoun racetrack sits behind two white mosques. The sport has a long and rich history in the UAE, and you can view the daily races up-close and at no cost.

Each heat features approximately 15 camels, their awkward gaits kicking up a fury of sand in the direction of goggle-clad camera crews. As the animals take off, an even more impressive fleet of white SUVs peels out behind them, filling seven lanes of highway both sides of the track.

Inside the vehicles are the owners, who are not simply tracking their prized possessions, but controlling their movements via robot jockeys. The small robots, strapped to the saddles, are now commonly used as a result of laws banning child jockeys. The devices can whip and steer the camels and have options that emit body warmth and even traditional jockey perfumes in order to simulate a rider.

I was surrounded by local men, and a VIP-section of sheikhs, as an excited commentator described each slow-paced race. The rarity of tourists means the owners are more than willing to oblige visitors with a ride on the champion beast. The racetrack had a marked lack of trinkets and even snacks or drinks to purchase, and I couldn’t have been happier.

By the end of my trip, Dubai had hosted the world’s largest firework display, and more records are sure to follow. The emirate continues to push limits, and any visit – whether taking advantage of its thrills, architectural wonders or shopping – is certainly worth your time, if not always your money.

But if I’m honest, leaving Dubai felt eerily similar to emerging from the wind tunnel.

I was exhilarated, fatigued, over-stimulated, and grateful to be back on solid ground.

“At Dubai Mall (the biggest mall in the world) you can ascend the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world)”

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 51

BehindtheDesign

SHINTA MANI

A Siem Reap hotel paying homage to the neighbouring temples is undoubtedly a cliché, but it’s a feat that Shinta Mani accomplishes with a sense of subtlety and taste, delicately giving tradition a contemporary twist.

Since opening in 2003, the upscale boutique hotel has been catering for tourists and, thanks to a recent renovation by world-renowned architect and landscape designer Bill Bensley, every twist and turn pays testament to the sacred temples.

Take the open-air corridor to the front of the hotel, which leads guests from the reception area to the restaurant. General manager Christian De Boer says, “The long corridor has the same number of columns as the ones found at Angkor Wat.” Even the tiled floor has been given a used feel to resemble those in the temples.

Shinta Mani’s 39 rooms are spread across three sprawling buildings that guests can easily lose themselves in. “There were a lot of chambers in Angkor Wat that we don’t even know about,” De Boer says.

“That’s what we’ve tried to recreate here.”

A blend of modern and traditional art hangs on the walls, with artistic photos of the temples positioned on the ceiling of each opulent room. Throughout the building, little nooks and crannies hide relics of a lost era, from brightly painted pottery to stunning floral displays.

“This is my favourite part,” De Boer says, proudly.

“We have four women who create these absolutely magnificent bouquets that people are always commenting on. It’s incredible to watch.”

Tucked away to one side of the reception entrance sits a small area for prayer, similar to the sacred rooms found in the temples. Offerings of flowers and food are left there every day, with Cambodian staff using the area to mourn after King Father Norodom Sihanouk died in 2012.

Close by, plumes of black smoke have left marks on the white wall. Closer inspection reveals a small hole in the wall with a small smouldering log fire inside.

“This is a testament to the ancient offerings found in the temples,” De Boer adds.

The restaurant, Kroya, which means food in the royal Khmer language, showcases how new can sit next to old, with a giant plan of Bayon covering the ceiling. Parts of the hotel’s roof have also been laid out to resemble the temples’ peaked tops, blended in with a mixture of contemporary design.

“That’s what is so beautiful about the hotel,” De Boer says. “It has all of these historic features while also having a really modern feel, which is what our guests love.”

Words Marissa Carruthers Photography Charles Fox

52 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 53

052013 ISSUE77

Sanitation Marketer

Curious jobs in Cambodia

Rugby Referee

Bomb Diver

Chocolate Artist

Jungle Sonographer

www.asialifemagazine.com

www.asialifemagazine.com FOR SALES ENQUIRIES: Chantha Sorn | 012 576 878 | chantha@asialife.asia

LISTINGS

hotel & travel Airlines & Agencies

Air Asia Domestic Terminal Arrival Office NºA17, Phnom Penh International Airport Tel: 023 890 035 Asiana Airlines Room A16 at Phnom Penh International Airport.

Tel: 023 890 441 Bangkok Airways #61A, Street 214, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 722 545 Cambodia Angkor Air Branch Office in Phnom Penh #206A Preah Norodom Blvd.

Tel: 023 6666 788 Cebu Pacific Air No. 333B, Preah Monivong Blvd, Sangkat Orussey 4, Khan 7 Makara, 12257 Phnom Penh Tel: 023 219 161 China Airlines #32, Preah Norodom Blvd, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 222 056 China Eastern No. 68, st. 606, Sangkat Beung Kak 2, Khan Toul Kork, Phnom Penh Tel: 016 985 668 #304, Steung Thmey Village, Siem Reap. Tel: 063 965 229 China Southern Room F-G-H-I,Ground floor Nº53, Phnom Penh Hotel, Monivong Blvd.

Tel: 023 424 588 DragonAir #168, Monireth Boulevard, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 424 300 Eva Air Suite 11-14B, Street 205, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 219 911 Jet Star Asia #333B, Monivong Blvd., Phnom Penh Tel: 023 220 909 Korean Air #254, R03, Monivong Blvd., Phnom Penh. Tel: 023 2240 47-49 Lao Airlines #58B, Preah Sihanouk Blvd.

Phnom Penh Tel: 023 222 956 Malaysia Airlines #35-37, Street 214, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 218 923-924 Myanmar Airways International No. 90-94Eo, Charles de Gaulle (St. 217), 12257 Phnom Penh Tel: 023 866 404 Qatar Airways Ground floor, Intercontinental Hotel, Phnom Penh. www.qatarairways.com Skywing Asia Airlines IOC buld, Monivong Blvd, Beoung Riang, Doun Penh. Tel: 023 217130 Silk Air

Regency Complex C, Suite 2-4 Samdach, Monireth Blvd, S.k.

Tomnoubteouk, Khan Chamkarmorn Tel: 023 988 629 Thai Airways #294, Mao Tse Toung Blvd., Phnom Penh. Tel: 023 214 359 Tiger Airways No. 296, Mao Tse Toung (St. 245), Intercontinental Hotel, Suit 16B, 12306 Phnom Penh.

Tel: 023 5515 888 Vietnam Airlines #41, Street 214, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 215 998

Battambang

Cafe Eden Located along the River Tel: 053 731 525 www.cafeedencambodia.com Eclectic cafe with incredible food that overlooks the river. EspressoWifi- A.C.-Local Art. Non-Profit that focuses on training Cambodian People. Boutique with handmade local crafts. Happy hour 3pm-7pm. Open Wednesday - Monday 7:30am-9pm Bambu Hotel Phum Romchek 5 Tel: 053 953900 / 053 953 905 bookings@bambuhotel.com www.bambuhotel.com 16 rooms arranged in four traditionally inspired buildings with swimming pool, bar and restaurant.

Battambang Resort Wat Ko Village, Battambang Tel: 012 510 100/053 666 7001 info@battambangresort.com www.battambangresort.com Jaan Bai restaurant Road 2 near Psar Nat Market Tel: 097 398 7815 Located in the heart of downtown Battambang, Jaan Bai is a home for folks who share a love of gatherings around the table, a passion for food and an interest in supporting Cambodian youth. Using seasonal organic produce sourced from own kitchen garden, local farmers and neighboring markets. Open Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 9pm.

Kinyei cafe Street 1 and 1/2, Phum 20 Osaphea Tel: 017 292 119, www.kinyei.org Social enterprise, best coffee in town, serving snacks, lunch, breakfast and other drinks, friendly staff, free space for small open workshop. Won the National Barista Championship two years in a row 2012 and 2013. Open 7am-7pm, 7 days.

La Villa 185 Pom Romchek 5 Tel: 017 411 880 / 053 730 151, lavilla.battambang@gmail.com, www.lavilla-battambang.com Beautifully restored 1930s colonial house with six rooms is the premium hotel in the country’s second city and with an excellent kitchen and bar.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 55

Sangker Villa Hotel Pool Restaurant 200 Street, Romchek4 Village, Ratanak Commune Tel: 097 764 0017 www.sangkervilla.com Sangker Villa has 7 rooms and 1 Balcony Suite. It is located 10 minutes walk from the city center. The hotel combines the charm of the countryside with the advantages of the city. Swiss management, speaking English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Kampot

Blissful Guest House Tel: 012 848 390 www.blissfulguesthouse.com Small guest house, with 18 rooms, set in guest house street with downstairs garden bar and restaurant and bar, Sunday roast, home-baked bread.

Bokor Mountain Lodge Riverfront Tel: 033 932 314 / 017 712 062 www.bokorlodge.com Beautiful French colonial building situated on riverfront with well-fitted air-conditioned rooms. Has a good restaurant and bar.

Epic Arts Café Old Market Street Employing deaf staff, this café next to the old market has a good range of bagels, shakes, brownies and coffee. Is also the centre for the community arts programme.

Open from 7am - 6pm.

Les Manguiers 2km north of Kampot.

Tel: 092 330 050 Small resort with bungalows and rooms set in beautiful gardens overlooking the river with a

56 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

restaurant which has daily changing, freshly prepared food.

Mea Culpa 44 Sovansokar Tel: 012 504 769 meaculpakampot@gmail.com Accommodation established by the former manager of Bokor Mountain Lodge set in the French Quarter. Six rooms have air con, hot water, DVD and TV. The large garden has a patio pizzeria and bar.

Kep

Breezes Route 33. Tel: 097 675 9072 Situated on the main coast road about halfway between Kep Beach and the ferry to Rabbit Island, this stylish restaurant and lounge is located right by the sea in a green, wooded area. The food is a fusion of Asian and western with a focus on small dishes with plenty of seafood. Free pick-up and return to Kep hotels.

Nataya Coral Bay Resort Prek Ampil, Kampot, Tel: 016 226 471 / 012 902 823. natayaresort@yahoo.com Only 16km from Kampot, this topend hideaway comes complete with eight beachfront bungalows, a 25m infinity pool, a 2km private beach, stilt huts off a 300m pier, and simply oodles of relaxation.

Kep Lodge Tel: 092 435 330. www.keplodge.com Nestled just below the calm Kep National Park, this boutique resort offers only 10 standard and luxury bungalows, all with private balcony, hot water and sea view. The comfortable restaurant pampers you with local and Swiss specialties and the lively bar.

The beautiful infinity salt water pool has one of the best views in Kep and is the perfect place for a sunset.

Rikitikitavi Riverfront Tel: 012 274 820 / 012 235 102 www.rikitikitavi-kampot.com Western food served in large portions in this river-facing restaurant, bar and three-room guesthouse. A more upmarket venue for Kampot, the upstairs seating affords great sunset views. Restaurant and bar open 7 days a week.

Knai Bang Chatt Resort Tel: 078888 557 www.knaibangchatt.com An exclusive resort offering personal service in private grounds housing a collection of remodelled 1960’s style colonial villas. Offering 18 rooms, infinity pool, spa and media centre. All rooms refurbished to international standards.

Choice of two dining options – upscale The Strand or the adjoining Sailing Club.

Rusty Keyhole Riverfront This British pub is the place for expats to chew the fat over a pint. Friendly British owner has recreated the atmosphere of a rural pub in outer Kampot, or at least as close as it gets.

The ribs remain as good as ever. Open 8.30am until midnight.

Le Bout du Monde Tel: 011 964 181 www.leboutdumondekep.com Individual and separate bungalows in traditional Khmer architecture located on a hill-top with good views and nice gardens. Serves French and Khmer cuisine. Rooms have hot water, minibar, fan and safe.

Saravoan Hotel Thmey Village, Kep, Tel: 036 639 3909 012 715 588 / 012 357 729 Recently renovated building with 17 rooms has all the modern amenities including an inviting swimming pool and sweeping views of the sea.

The Vine Retreat Tel: 036 633 3383 / 097 461 0711 www.thevineretreat.com Eco guesthouse and organic food.

Get away from the chaos of the city to peaceful, homely comfort surrounded by nature. Please note that the Vine Retreat now accepts Visa. The nearest ATM is 35 km distant.

Spring Valley Resort/Mr. Mab Kep City, Cambodia, Tel: 036 666 6673 www.mr.mab.com, www.springvalleyresort.com Spring Valley Resort, at the base of Kep National Park, is just a short walk to the beach. The rooms are scattered throughout vibrant green gardens, connected by walkways that wind through vines, trees and flowering plants. Their new restaurant, Mr. Mab... very delicious, takes a fresh look at traditional Khmer street food.

Veranda Natural Resort Tel: 033 399 035 / 012 888 619 www.veranda-resort.com Traditional wooden bungalows set in the hillside. Settle in for the night and listen to the jungle purr. Has a good restaurant and bar with some quite stunning sweeping views down to the coast.

Villa S’aat Tel 017 38 31 85. www.villa-kep.com Your holiday home in Kep! Elegant and spacious villa for rent in Kep during

holidays and weekends. Located around 2 km from the crab market, with spacious rooms, fully equipped kitchen, swimming pool, large terrace, garden and household staff. Maximum capacity of 12 guests.

Mondulkiri

Mayura Hill Resort (Mondulkiri 4 star Boutique Resort) Phnom Penh Office: 225 Sisowath Quay Tel: 017 711 177 / 017 811 188 www.mayurahillresort.com Mayura Hill Hotel & Resort located in Mondulkiri Province has 14 exclusive private Bungalow villas embodying the north eastern lifestyle. The first eco-tourism resort in Sen Monorom city located just 1 Km from downtown, surrounded by wonderful views of the highlands.

Phnom Penh – Deluxe

Emanates the same class as its more famous namesake in Singapore. The Elephant Bar is a popular expat haunt during the 4pm to 8pm happy hour.

Season Residence Apartments 109-133, Street 144 Tel: 023 990 628 / 012 457 408 www.seasonresidence.com Season Residence is self-catered accommodation located only 9 km from the airport. Featuring spacious apartments with free Wi-Fi access.

Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra 26 Old August Site, Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 999 200.www.sofitel.com Set riverside amongst landscaped gardens this 12-storey colonial style hotel is close to key attractions, embassies and the central business district.

Amanjaya 1 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 214 747 www.amanjaya-pancam-hotel.com Large hotel with a great central location along the riverfront. The rooms are spacious and well-equipped with tasteful Khmer decorations. The downstairs restaurant doubles up as the air-con K-West bar.

Phnom Penh – Mid

Bellevue Serviced Apartments 68 Tonle Sap Street. Tel: 023 432 999 www.bellevueservicedapartments.com www.facebook.com/ bellevueservicedapartments Located in a deluxe hotel complex on the riverbank of the Tonle Sap, Bellevue offers spacious, contemporary accommodation 10 minutes away from the city.

Asia Club 456 Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 721 766 An oasis of water and green in the city, the five bungalows and four rooms with air-con and bath, large safe and flatscreen tv. The beautiful swimming pool is tucked around the back of Man Han Lou Restaurant.

Cambodiana 313 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 426 288 www.hotelcambodiana.com Great riverside location with spectacular sweeping views of the confluence of three rivers. Large rooms with air-con, in-room safes and good bathrooms. Live band plays nightly (except Mondays) from 8.15pm until late.

The Governor’s House 3 Mao Tse Tung Blvd. nr cnr Norodom Blvd. Tel: 023 987 025 www.governorshouse.net The Governor’s house offers an exclusive 10 rooms 5-star boutique hotel embodied in an original colonial-style mansion in the heart of BKK I, surrounded by the top residential area in downtown Phnom Penh city, Kingdom of Wonder.

Himawari 313 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 214 555 www.himawarihotel.com The 115 beautifully-designed suites have air-con, cable TV, IDD, Internet, inroom safes and large bathrooms. Nice swimming pool and good gym facilities as well as two good tennis courts.

InterContinental 296 Mao Tse Tung.

Tel: 023 424 888 www.ihg.com One of Phnom Penh’s most luxurious 5-star hotels, the 346 air-con rooms have all the expected facilities including in-room safes and king size beds. Also has a large swimming pool, a fitness centre and a spa.

Patio Hotel & Urban Resort 134z Street 51. www.patio-hotel.com Close to Independence Monument, the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda, the National Museum and the river front, Patio has 45 luxurious rooms.

Modern amenities include a rooftop swimming pool, a restaurant and a bar on the 7th floor.

Restaurant open daily from 6am – 11pm.

Raffles Hotel Le Royal Street 92 Tel: 023 981 888 www.phnompenh.raffles.com

Almond Hotel 128F Sothearos Blvd. Tel: 023 220 822 www.almondhotel.com.kh 56-room hotel located close to the Royal Palace and the riverfront with spacious rooms with WiFi. Downstairs restaurant serves dim sum and Cantonese food.

Blue Lime 42 Street 19z (off Street 19), Tel: 023 222 260. www.bluelime.asia Centrally-located mini-hotel with a great swimming pool and contemporary rooms is a good flashpacker option.

Homefeel CS Hotel 23AB, Street 278.

Tel: 023 214 571 www.homefeelcs-hotel.com Located in the heart of the tourist area in the center of Phnom Penh, Homefeel CS Hotel welcomes you warmly and guarantees you will get this feeling.

Hotel Cara 18 Street 47 & 84.

Tel: 023 430 066 / 023 998 422. stay@hotelcara.com www.hotelcara.com This stylish boutique hotel has wellfitted rooms at very reasonable rates and a great sushi restaurant.

Lebiz Hotel & Library 79F Street 128. Tel: 023 998 608 / 610 info@lebizhotel.com www.lebizhotel.com Luxury accommodation with a sleek modern design offers a full range of specialty services tailored to business needs, and cutting-edge technology to maximise comfort and productivity. Has unique library.

Pandan Boutique Hotel 15A Street 282. Tel: 023 220 885 ot 016 721 207 www.pandanboutiquehotel.com Ideally located in the heart of Phnom Penh, at walking distance from the shopping and business district, 5mn walk from Independence Monumnent. 26 rooms with unqiue and classy design.

Splash Inn Hotel 5 Street 244. Tel: 023 986 174 www.splashinncambodia.com The Splash Inn opened in March 2011 after full renovations to two traditional Khmer villas, one block from the Royal Palace.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 57

Rambutan Resort 29 Street 71, BKK1. Tel: 017 99 22 40 www.rambutanresort.com Urban modern oasis located in a quiet residential area only 5 minutes from all major sights in Phnom Penh. Deluxe pool view and garden rooms with outdoor bathtubs. Salt water pool and private spa room for some unwinding treatments.

River 108 2 Street 108. Tel: 023 218 785 www.river108.com Art deco hotel aimed at the flashpacker set, the river view rooms are extremely comfortable with flat screen TV and separate bathroom and toilet. Efficient WiFi, good working space and spacious rooms make this the perfect business option.

The Little Garden 8 Street 398. Tel: 078 217 871 Stylish boutique hotel with a swimming pool. A quiet retreat from the city’s chaos. Rooms feature attractive Cambodian furniture and gorgeous colonial tiles.

The Plantation Urban Resort and Spa 28 Street 184. Tel: 023 215 151 theplantatation.asia 70 rooms – including a penthouse suite, two swimming pools, a restaurant, two bars, a gym, a spa and a meeting room. Centrally situated close to most of Phnom Penh’s main attractions.

The Quay Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 224 894 http://thequayhotel.com Five-storey, 16-room riverside boutique hotel has beautiful contemporary rooms designed by Gary Fell. The stand-out features are the roof-top jacuzzi and the very contemporary ground-floor bar and Chow Restaurant with WiFi.

Villa Borann 235A Street 19. Tel 023 211 518 www.villa-borann-boutique-hotel.com Business boutique hotel in the historical centre of Phnom Penh with 14 rooms, swimming pool, bar and restaurant.

Nicely furnished rooms. Colonial style.

Villa SALT 4 Street 294. Tel: 012 815 066 villasalt@sentosasilk.com Whether you are touring Phnom Penh or planning a long vacation, Villa SALT along with SentosaSilk, create an atmosphere that makes you feel at home. Explore 14 artistically decorated rooms, each created to give you that authentic sense of uniqueness.

Villa Samnang Street 302, BKK1. Tel : 023 221 644 www.villa-samnang.com Boutique hotel with 14 rooms, swimming pool, bar and restaurant.

Villa ey 16 Street 306. Tel: 023 213 219 www.villasrey.com Charming hotel, six rooms with terrace and swimming pool. Very quiet in the heart of Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh - Budget

California 2 79 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 077 503 144 www.cafecaliforniaphnompenh.com New guest house and bar on the river front with well-priced rooms.Downstairs bar has great Tex-Mex food and pool table.

Feeling Home Cnr. Streets 278 & 63. Tel: 023 221 522 www.feelinghomecambodia.com Stylish nine-room boutique hotel with ample rooms at competitive rates, including flatscreen TV, air-con, security box and great beds. Also has two apartments, an Asian restaurant and a Café Sentiment coffee house.

Queen Boutique Hotel 49A Street 214. Tel: 023 211 683 om@queenboutique.asia Boutique hotel located conveniently close to all the major attractions including the Royal Palace and National Museum.

L’Imprevu Highway 1, 7km past Monivong Bridge Tel: 024 390 405 Complex with twentyfour bungalows just outside of Phnom Penh. Tennis courts and excellent swimming pool make this a good break from the city.

TEAV Boutique Hotel 14 Street 310, Phnom Penh, Tel: 023 981 818 / 017 989 191 www.teavboutiquehotel.com, stay@ teavgroup.com Located in a quiet, peaceful setting in the prestigious central heart of Phnom Penh near the Independence Monument, the uniquely designed art deco style TEAV Boutique Hotel provides single travellers, couples, families, leisure and business with a relaxing and highly personalised stay in Cambodia’s capital.

Le Rit’s 71 Street 240. Tel: 023-213-160 Small & charming 6-room guesthouse with spacious rooms is managed by NYEMO NGO, part of its hospitality training. Rooms equipped with queen sized bed, cable TV, private bathroom.

58 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Sihanoukville

Independence Hotel Independence Beach Tel: 012 728 090 www.independencehotel.net Beautifully restored hotel on Indepen-

dence Beach, originally opened in 1963, reopened in 2007 following a complete refurbishment. Has sweeping ocean views from most rooms. Also has a gym, conference rooms and circular restaurant.

Mick & Craig’s Restaurant Serendipity Beach, Sihanoukville Tel: 034 934 845 www.mickandcraigs.com A small friendly restaurant serving comfort food from around the world since 1997. Open daily from 7am-11pm.

Reef Resort Road to Serendipity Beach Tel: 012 315 338 www.reefresort.com.kh Guesthouse set around a beautiful pool with well apportioned air-con rooms, in-room safe and cable TV, family rooms also available. Has a welcoming bar with excellent TV screen, slate pool table and excellent Mexican cuisine.

Scuba Nation Lane off road to Serendipity Beach Tel: 012 604 680 / 012 715 785 www.divecambodia.com Five-star PADI centre offering daily trips to the area’s many islands and reefs including the decent dive sites at Koh Rung Samloem and Koh Kon, also runs a range of PADI-certified courses, and has an office in Phnom Penh.

Sokha Beach Resort Sokha Beach. Tel: 034 935 999 With its own private beach, excellent swimming pool and fine restaurants, Sokha is the most up-market place to stay in Sihanoukville. A live Filipino band plays around the cocktail bar at night.

The Secret Garden Otres Beach. Tel: 0976 495 131 www.secretgardenotres.com Modern beachside air-con bungalows with hot water, jungle showers or baths, TV, WiFi and Otres Beach’s only swimming pool. Restaurant run by professional Australian chef.

Zoco Independence Hotel Road to Serendipity Beach Two fashion boutiques – one on the way to Serendipity Beach, the other in Independence Hotel – run by the Spanish-

born Nuria, sells dresses, skirts, bags and accessories.

Travel

Cambodia Uncovered 11B Street 370. Tel: 012 507 097 www.cambodiauncovered.com Offers village and cultural tours in Phnom Penh and surrounds including road trips, Mekong cruises, accommodation, cooking classes and other activities.

Exotissimo Travel No. 66, Norodom Blvd.

Tel: 023 218 948 www.exotissimo.com Excellent French-owned agency specialising in adventure tourism, flight bookings, package holidays and a range of tours of Southeast Asia.

Helicopters Cambodia 10 Street 310. Tel: 012 814 500 www.helicopterscambodia.com Over 12 years experience operating in the Kingdom offers scenic flights around the Temples of Angkor and beyond. Is a wholly owned subsidiary of Helicopters New Zealand Group. iDeal Reward 23 KT Tower Level 9, Street 112 Tel: 023 555 00 24 / 017 87 29 15 www.idealreward.com A website that provides the best tourist deals in and around Cambodia with up to 80% discounts on Travel, Beauty & Wellness, Leisure, Restaurant, and Shopping. Check out idealreward.com now to get exclusive tourist deals and guides of places to eat, see, and relax.

Intrepid Travel 468 Sivutha Blvd. Tel: 063 966 655 For travellers with a yearning to get off the beaten track, Intrepid opens up a whole new world of adventure travel.

With a huge variety of tours available.

Travel Indochina 43-44EO Street 108.

Tel: 023 991 978 www.travelindochina.com.au Australian-owned and managed travel company specialising in small group journeys around Asia that can tailor trips for individuals.

LISTINGS

bottle. Good music and pleasant decor in air conditioned comfort. Tuesdays, varietal wine tastings and every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday our Lady Boy Variety Show.

The Warehouse Old Market Tel: 012 530 227 Popular expat bar plays great music with good Asian-Western fusion cuisine. Best stocked bar in town and homemade infused vodkas. Open 10am to 3am.

siem reap Siem Reap - Bars

AHA The Passage. Tel: 063 965 501 Sophisticated and beautifully designed wine bar selling a wide range of wines from around the world and tapas, as well as great cheese and Lavazza coffee.

Open 10.30am to 10.30pm.

Angkor What?

Pub Street. Tel: 012 181 4001 “Promoting irresponsible drinking since 1998,” this graffiti-laden bar is the mainstay of Pub Street. A healthy mix of loud rock, punk and grunge, buckets of vodka and red bull for $6.

Laundry Bar Old Market Extremely chilled music bar just off Pub Street with great mellow decor and extremely cool t-shirts. Free drink during the 6pm to 9pm washing hours.

Open 6pm until late.

Linga Bar Alley behind Pub Street Tel: 012 246 912. www.lingabar.com Laid back, gay-friendly bar with extremely chilled Buddha Bar tunes and some amazing light boxes that serves a great range of cocktails.

Free WiFi. Open 5pm until late.

Mezze 13a (1st floor) Street 11 Tel: 097 7667343 mezze.siemreap@gmail.com www.mezzesiemreap.com Escape the heat and dust to be warmly welcomed by attentive staff at one of Siem Reap’s unique venues. Enjoy signature cocktails, original cuban cigars, fine champagnes, luxury shisha and fusion tapas. Open every day from 6pm-1am.

Miss Wong Lane off Pub Street. Tel: 092 428 332 Imagine yourself in China at the turn of the last century and you won’t go much wrong in Miss Wong with excellent and original cocktails and dim sum. Open late.

Nest Sivutha Blvd. Tel: 063 966 381 A step up for Siem Reap, Nest is high level drinking and dining, serving light Mediterranean and Asian food in a unique, highly stylised setting, with loungers and table settings.

Picasso Alley West A very cosy wine and tapas bar, with artful décor and a curved bar making conversation easy and fun. Good selection of wines and delicious tapas make this a regular haunt for expats.

Open 5pm until midnight.

The Station Wine Bar Street 7, close to Pub Street Tel: 097 850 4043 www.thestationwinebarsiemreap.com For lovers and lovers of wine offers a selection of fine wines, always 20 by the glass and a list of over 100 by the

Siem Reap - Cafés

Blue Pumpkin Old Market Tel: 012 946 227/ 063 463 574 www.tbpumpkin.com Popular café with a great range of freshly baked breads and pastries, shakes and coffee. Also at Angkor Wat and the airport. Open daily from 6am to 10pm.

Free WiFi.

Siem Reap - Galleries

Diwo Galleries One at Vat Svay, Tonle Sap Road and another between Monument Books and Ta Prohm Hotel on the riverside Features a selection of refined Khmer statues and Buddhas. The larger Vat Svay location features a gallery exhibition of Thierry Diwo’s photography, as well as sells home decor and books. Drinks are available in the garden and on the terrace.

Happy Cambodia Gallery 2 Hospital Street, between Psar Chaas and Pub Street Tel: 063 963 114 www.happypainting.net McDermott Gallery I & II FCC Complex Pokambor Avenue, Alley behind Pub Street. Tel: 092 668 181 www.mcdermottgallery.com Two galleries devoted to photographic works. with permanent exhibition of photographs taken by John McDermott.

Open 10am to 10pm.

Siem Reap - Hotels

Golden Banana Boutique Resort Phum Wat Damnak, Kum Sala Komreuk, Krom 10, Siem Reap Tel: 012 654 638 / 063 766 655 goldenbanana2@gmail.com, www. goldenbanana.info Deluxe suites & villas in modern Asian style build around a salt-water pool.

Private balcony or terrace with outdoor bathtub/splash shower. Gay-friendly.

3mn walk to Old Market.

Golden Orange Off East River Road Tel: 063 965 389 reservations@goldenorangehotel.com www.goldenorangehotel.com Mini-hotel with good sized air-con rooms that tends to have customers when others are empty. Nice outside bar makes for a good place to sit and have a few beers.

Raffles Grand Hotel D’Angkor 1 Charles de Gaulle Tel: 063 963 888 www.raffles.com Elegant hotel with opulent gardens and a spectacular swimming pool in its grounds.

Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort Vithei Charles de Gaulle Tel: 063 964 600/ 610 www.sofitel.com Ultimate in comfort and refinement, combining the traditional architecture of Cambodia with elegant French colonial style. 5-star accommodation, 5 bars and restaurants, swimming pool, spa and international standard18-hole 72-par golf course, 16km outside Siem Reap.

Siem Reap - Leisure

Angkor Silk Farm Puok District (20min from Siem Reap downtown) Open daily from 8am to 5pm

Tel: 063 5555 768 www.artisansdangkor.com Learn about the meticulous process of silk-making and traditional silk weaving.

A free shuttle bus departing from Artisans Angkor’s shop in Siem Reap center to the Angkor Silk Farm is available daily at 9.30am and 1.30pm.

Body Tune 293-290 Pokambor Av. (next to the old market along Riverside) Tel: 063 764 141 www.bodytune.co.th When you need to re-balance and rejuvenate your body in between daily routines, BODY TUNE is the perfect place to regain your energy. Open daily 10:00am - 10:30pm.

Helicopters Cambodia 658 Hup Quan Street.

Tel: 063 963 316 Professionally run company that has flights over the temples and beyond in modern, safe helicopters.

Phare, The Cambodian Circus Behind Angkor National Museum on Komay Road. Tel: 015 499 480. www.facebook.com/PhareCambodianCircus A unique professional Cambodian theatrical circus show mixing traditional and modern artistic skills. Emotion guaranteed every night for only $15.

7.30pm daily.

Phokeethra Country Club Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Vithei Charles de Gaulle Tel: 056 396 4600 reservation.angkor@phokeethragolf.com International standard 18-hole, 72-par golf course 16km outside of Siem Reap.

Clubhouse facilities: pro shop, rental equipment, restaurant.

Sam Veasna Centre Wat Bo Area.

Tel: 063 96 37 10 Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Award winner. Some of the rarest birds in Asia can be seen at Prek Toal and Ang Trapang Thmor, a day-trip from Siem Reap, or combine bird watching with temple trips to Koh Ker and Beng Melea.

Siem Reap - Medical

Royal Angkor International Hospital National Route #6 Phum Kasekam, Khum Sra Ngea.

Tel: 063-761-888. Fax: 063-761-739 www.royalangkorhospital.com Royal Angkor International Hospital is part of the well known Bangkok Hospital Network. We offer high quality care for all eventualities from routine care to emergency treatment 24 hours a day.

Siem Reap - Pharmacies

U-Care Pharmacies Old market in front of Pub Street. Tel: 063 965 396; Inside Lucky Mall. Tel: 063 966 68; Siem Reap Airport. Tel: 063 766049; Sivatha Street. Tel: 063 763 399 www.ucarepharma.com Provide international cosmetic brands, leading imported health & beauty products, only certified medication. Professional advice and convenient and strategic location.

Open daily from 8am to 10pm.

Siem Reap - Restaurants

Chanrey Tree Pokombo Ave. Tel: (855) 63 76 79 97 www.chanreytree.com Traditional Khmer food in a beautiful contemporary setting. Alongside the river, 50m brfore Preah Phrum Rath Pagoda. Open daily. Lunch 11am2.30pm, dinner 6pm-10.30pm.

FCC Angkor FCC Complex, Pokambor Avenue Tel: 063 760 280 Elegant bar and restaurant serves a mix of Asian and international cuisine. The complex includes shops, the McDermott

60 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Gallery, Visaya Spa and boutique hotel.

Khmer Ways Wat Svay Village. Tel: 077 367 790 www.khmerways.com Ride specially adapted motor-scooters to explore parts of Siem Reap nobody else gets to, including villages, temples and waterfalls. No previous experience required. Lunch, water, sunscreen and snacks provided.

siem reap

Maharajah Indian Restaurant Next to Pub Street, btwn CAB bank & provincial hospital. Old Market Area Tel: 063-966221 / 092-506622 Authentic Indian vegetarian and nonvegetarian food. Maharajah believes that exclusivity with a touch of simplicity is important in the creation of every dish.

Open daily 11am – 10pm.

Marum 8a Route B, btwn Wat Polanka & Catholic Church. Tel: 017 363 284 contact@marum-restaurant.org Great food, good service. Part of the Friends International group that trains marginalized and vulnerable young people for a career in the hospitality industry. Profits go back into the training programme. Open Mon-Sat 11am-10pm.

Palate Angkor Acha Sva Road, Wat Bo Village www.palateangkor.com Tel: 063 965 252 Palate Angkor Restaurant & Bar, the newest addition to the Siem Reap culinary scene. Serving delectable Pan Asian cuisine, Palate Angkor is centrally located in the leafy French Quarter between The Royal Gardens and the Riverside. Open daily from 11.30am-11pm.

Siem Reap - Shops

Artisans Angkor Boutique and Workshops Stung Thmey Street (2min from the Old Market) Open daily from 7.30am to 6.30pm Tel: 063 963 330 www.artisansdangkor.com Boutique offering a large collection of handmade souvenirs such as high-quality silk scarves, clothing and accessories, wooden and stone sculptures, lacquer paintings and decorative items for all contemporary lifestyles. Also offers free guided tours of the handicraft workshops to see some of the secrets of traditional Khmer craftsmanship.

Eric Raisina 53 Veal Village Tel: 012 965 207 / 063 963 207 Accessories, decor, textiles and clothing created by Madagascan-born and French-trained designer. Phone in advance for an appointment.

Jasmine Boutique FCC Angkor, Pokambor Avenue Tel: 063 760 610 Same sophisticated, stylish boutique as on Street 240 in Phnom Penh.

Smateria The Alley West Tel: 063 964 343 www.smateria.com Boutique specialising in accessories made from recycled materials including a range of bags and wallets made from old cartons, plastic bags and mosquito nets.

Siem Reap - Spas

Sokkhak Spa Sok San Street, next to Haven Restaurant, Old Market Area Tel: +63 763 797 www.sokkhakspa.com In Khmer, Sokkhak means ‘tranquility’.

A nature-inspired décor with a soft, warm and tranquil atmosphere in which to relax, refresh and indulge and using carefully chosen natural botanical and marine-based products.

Open daily 11am - 10pm.

The Little Prince Caroline Major “All grownups were once children… but only few of them remember it,” wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the French author of children’s classic The Little Prince. Thanks to a new exhibition held at Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort from Mar. 15 to May 15, it will be possible to connect once more with the childlike wonder and sense of exploration that the book inspires the world over.

The concepts of travel and discovery in The Little Prince have been captured in a series of colour photographs

by French-Vietnamese photographer and journalist Vincent Nguyen, who has framed a figurine of The Little Prince in images of his own travels on land and air.

In a vintage yellow plane, Nguyen traced the footsteps of pioneering pilot-turnedwriter Antoine de SaintExupéry for French television.

The novelist’s own aviation voyages inspired the tale of The Little Prince, where a pilot is lost in the desert and meets a prince that has fallen to Earth.

The modern photographs are to be exhibited alongside original manuscripts by de Saint-Exupéry and a short colour film featuring original footage of the author. The exhibition commences in Siem Reap before moving to Phnom Penh for two months, then continuing on its own journey across Sofitel’s Asia-Pacific properties.

The tale is the world’s most translated non-religious text, printed in over 260 languages.

The title was first translated into Khmer in 2003 bringing together the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Foundation, of which Sofitel is a prominent supporter, and the NGO SIPAR, an educational Cambodia-based charity that develops learning centres and mobile libraries and publishes the book.

Olivier d’Agay, the grandnephew of de Saint-Exupéry and president of the family’s philanthropic foundation, visited Siem Reap for the grand opening of a new school building in collaboration with SIPAR and to mark the commencement of the touring exhibition.

“The number of translations means the universality of the book. His message has been transmitted to all cultures,” he explains enthusiastically, adding that this is “the dream of all writers”. D’Agay poignantly points out that his grand-uncle died before knowing the success he had in spreading his message.

Now in its seventh edition in Cambodia, The Little Prince is a timeless story that transcends cultures. A 3D film of The Little Prince is planned for next year, as well as the launch of a new musical in the West End of London. They count as just some of the international adaptions of the work that reflect its everlasting popularity.

LISTINGS

food & drink Arabic

Beirut Resto-Café 117 Sisowath Quay, (after night market) Tel: 023 720 011/ 092 483 759 The only authentic Lebanese halal cuisine and Sisha Lounge in the town. Offering middle east flavours including mezze tapas – hummus, shish kebab, baba ganouj, falafel, vegetarian and non-vegetarian kebab wraps. Delivery, takeaway, catering.

Open daily 10am until late.

Harem 157 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 015 868 104 Let us transport you to a world of opulence that inspires relaxation in the authentic and lavish setting of our Shisha lounge. Harem is the perfect place to find yourself again.

Operation from 2pm to 3am.

Petra 8 Street 288 (between St 51 & St 57) Tel: 023 666 3222 / 089 990 150 Authentic Arabic cuisine, ambiance and chef with rooftop shisha lounge.

Located in the heart of BKK1.

Special dining experiences with great costumes.

Open daily from 10am – 11pm.

Cambodian

La Table Khmer 11E Street 278. Tel: 012 238 068 Taste the flavour of tradtional Khmer specialities and fusion cuisine.

Cooking classes also available. www.la-table-khmere.com Khmer Surin 9 Street 57.

Tel 012 887 320 Elegant restaurant featuring wood and silk décor with a tropical garden that serves Cambodian and Thai favourites. Dishes are well prepsred and large enough to share.

K’NYAY The Terrace on 95, 43 Street 95 (corner of Street 348) Tel: 093 665 225. www.knyay.com Modern Khmer restaurant tucked away off Monivong Blvd, with a menu including a selection of freshly prepared vegan dishes, along with traditional Cambodian specialities.

Offers a selection of cakes, ice creams and sorbets, using all vegan ingredients. Open 12-9pm (Tue to Fri), 7am-9pm (Sat & Sun), closed Monday.

Malis 136 Norodom Bvd. Tel: 023 221 022 www.malis-restaurant.com Beautiful modern Khmer restaurant with a courtyard set around narrow water channels and decorated with terracotta floor tiles. Has air-con rooms inside for those who find the midday sun too much. The cuisine is modern Khmer, with no MSG. Open 6am - 10pm.

Restaurant Le Royal Raffles Hotel Le Royal Tel: 023 981 888 (see also restaurants, French) Romdeng 74 Street 174.

Tel: 092 219 565 Come to Romdeng and order some delicious Khmer food for you and also for your children from our new kid’s menu, serving creative and healthy treats for little one! While waiting for your dishes, let you kids enjoy the playroom while you relax by the pool… And before leaving don’t miss our new gift shop in the first floor. Special lunch set menu everyday. Open 11am - 9pm.

Chinese

Emperors of China 19 Street 163 Tel: 097 929 2699 Up-market Chinese restaurant, popular with the capital’s large Chinese community, private dinning rooms, specializes in Peking duck and dim sum.

Fortune Palace NagaWorld, Hun Sen Park Chinese restaurant with authentic Greater Chinese cuisine and all-youcan-eat Dim Sum buffet on Sundays.

Open from 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 10pm.

Fu Lu Zu Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra 26 Old August Site, Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 999 200 x 6613 Elegant Chinese restaurant specialising in contemporary Cantonese delicacies and dim sum with private rooms for intimate ambience.

Open from 11.30am - 2.30pm, 6.30pm - 10.30pm. Dim Sum weekend from 8am - 2.30pm.

Hua Nam 753 Monivong Bvd. Tel: 023 364 005 Large Chinese restaurant that specialises in seafood and duck and has a good selection of wines, with VIP rooms.

Open 11am - 2pm, 5pm - 10pm.

Man Han Lou Restaurant 456 Monivong Blvd.

Tel: 023 721 966 Micro-brewery with four types of German-style beer. Has extensive Chinese, Thai, Khmer and Vietnamese menus, as well as dim sum breakfast.

Open from 6am - 10am.

Sam Doo 56-58 Kampuchea Krom Tel: 023 218 773 The place for dim sum in Phnom Penh, baskets of steamed prawn dumplings, pork buns and more go for a pittance. The wonton soup and other tasty meals are a steal.

Open 7am - 2am.

Xiang Palace InterContinental Phnom Penh 2/F, 296 Mao Tse Toung Blvd.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 61

Tel: 023 424 888 x 3562 Xiang Palace is locally acclaimed for its authentic Cantonese cuisine and delicious dim sum, all prepared with the finest ingredients.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.

available at reasonable prices. Open daily for lunch and dinner, Brasserie’s long wooden bar is the perfect spot for enjoying a sea breeze and the restaurant’s comprehensive wine list.

Open daily, 8am – 10pm.

bistro has two adjoining rooms (one non-smoking) creating a relaxed, cosy atmosphere. Serves excellent fish, steaks and offal as well as daily specials, for a taste of real home-cooked French cuisine.

Open 11am-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm.

Le Jardin 16 Street 360.Tel: 011 723 399 Beautiful shaded restaurant with large garden and spacious outdoor play area for kids with excellent ice cream.

Open 8am - 10pm (closed Mondays).

Yi Sang Chinese Restaurant 128F Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 220 922 www.almondhotel.com.kh Set on the ground floor of the Almond Hotel, this stylish restaurant specialises in Cantonese food and dim sum that fuses the traditional with the contemporary, including excellent dim sum.

Open from 6.30am - 10am, 11.30am - 2pm and 5.30pm - 10pm – Dim Sum not served in the evening.

Comme à la Maison 13 Street 57. Tel: 012 951 869 www.commealamaisondelicatessen.com Sophisticated French restaurant with a beautiful outdoor terrace area at the front, yet secluded from the street. One of the best French kitchens in town. Small delicatessen at the back of the restaurant.

Open daily from 6am - 10.30pm.

La Residence Restaurant 22/24 Street 214.

Tel: 023 224 582 Fine dining on an international scale in this sophisticated restaurant, where French classics meet gourmet, modern cuisine. Open from 11.30am-2pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm.

Le Vôtre caterer 9A, Street 178.

Tel: 092 638 683/092 24 88 16 levotrecambodia@gmail.com Caterer specialising in fine French cuisine preparing both fresh and frozen meals for wholesale, private events and walk-in customers.

Products include foie gras, terrines, salmon gravlax, French cheeses and deli goods. Open daily 7am - 7pm.

Sunday 7am - 12pm.

French

Armand’s 33 Street 108. Tel: 015 548 966 A true bistro experience in a cosy wood-panelled space, despite the informal and relaxed ambience it has the menu to even satisfy high-rollers.

Open 5pm until late. Closed Mondays.

Brasserie du Port 49E Sisowath Quay, cnr Street 84 Tel: 066 821 224 Seaside bistro featuring eclectic menu of haute cuisine mixed with pasta and ish specials. French classics including flambéed duck, pork filet mignon and home-made fois gras

62 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

K West 1 Street 154, cnr. Sisowath Quay Tel: 023 214 747 Stylish aircon bar and restaurant below the Amanjaya with an excelllent steak menu and good value happy hour from 6pm to 8pm Fridays. Now has a brasserie menu with daily specials. Also has free WiFi. Open 6.30am until midnight.

La Creperie 12C Street 208. Tel: 023 640 7600 www.lacreperie.com.cn Serving Brittany-style crepes since 2007.

La Marmite Cnr Streets 108 & 51. Tel: 012 391 746 This small, reasonably priced French

Le Café Mith Samlanh French Institute, Street 184 Tel: 092 471 791 Set in the lush garden of the French Institute (formerly CCF), Le Café offers an extensive à la carte menu with Khmer and French dishes. All proceeds go towards Mith Samlanh’s programmes for marginalised youth.

Open 7am - 5pm, closed Sundays.

Le Gourmet NagaWorld Hotel and Casino, Hun Sen Park.

Tel: 023 228 822.

Quality ingredients come together in beautiful presentation on the plate, with the luxury of the surroundings complemented by professional and attentive service. Open daily from 12pm-3pm and 6pm-10pm.

Restaurant Le Royal Raffles Hotel Le Royal Tel: 023 981 888 www.raffles.com/phnompenh dining. phompenh@raffles.com Treat yourself to the finest French & Khmer cuisine in one of Indochina’s most elegant restaurants. The Chef’s Degustation menu allows you to try a myriad of dishes in a single meal in a refined atmosphere. Private rooms are available on request.

Open from 6.30pm-10.30pm.

The Wine Restaurant 219 Street 19.

Tel: 023 223 527

Excellent fine dining restaurant in the same grounds as Open Wine deli. The fresh food and extensive selection of wines make this one of the exclusive places to dine in town.

Topaz 182 Norodom Blvd.

Tel: 012 346 555/ 023 221 622 Sophisticated, air-con restaurant with outside dining, upstairs bar, wine shop, cigar room and private rooms. One of Phnom Penh’s finest restaurants. Has a popular piano bar, night club upstairs.

Open 11am-2pm, 6pm-11pm.

Van’s Restaurant 5 Street 102. Tel: 023 722 067 French fine-dining in a grand setting awaits at Van’s, located on the second floor of a well preserved colonial era building near the city’s Post Office. Open daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 5pm-10.30pm.

Indian Sub-Continent

Dosa Corner 15 Street 51. Tel: 012 673 276 This small south Indian restaurant opened in January. True to its name it has a wide range of very good value dosa as well as thali and biryani dishes. Air-conditioned.

Open 7am-10pm.

East India 9 Street 114. Tel: 023 992 007 South Indian cuisine predominates in this pristine restaurant with excellent breads including nine types of dosa.

Open 11am-2pm, 5.30pm-10.30pm.

Flavours of India 158 Street 63.

Tel: 012 886 374, Relaxing Indian and Nepalese restaurant with friendly staff and a good range of dishes including good value vegetarian and meat thalis.

Open 10am - 11pm.

Indian Delight 115Eo Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 023 724 885 / 098 776 543 Delicious North Indian tastes served at a modest yet clean and bright on riverside. Opposite Titanic restaurant.

Open everyday 11am – 1pm.

Shiva Shakti Street 63, between Mao Tse Tung Blvd. and Street 466 Tel: 012 813 817 / 023 213 062 Decidedly upmarket and sophisticated Indian restaurant in a beautiful setting with prices to match.

Good place for an Indian treat.

Open from 11am - 2pm, 6pm 10.30pm. Closed Mondays.

Indochine

Indochine NagaWorld, Hun Sen Park With a focus on Southeast Asian cuisine, Indochine offers tradition dishes from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand in a sophisticated space.

Open 11am - 11pm.

Irrawaddi 24 Street 334. Tel: 012 979 510 Authentic Myanmar food at very reasonable prices in a clean setting with paintings of the Burmese countryside decorating the walls.

Open 10am - 10pm, closed - Mondays.

Lemongrass 14 Street 130.

Tel: 023 222 705 A boutique Asian-themed restaurant with an intimate, casual ambiance featuring classical Thai and Khmer cuisine with affordable price. Known for authentic flavours and attractive presentation, only the best local produce and choice seafood and meats are prepared fresh daily. Open daily 10am - 10pm.

Le Wok 33 Street 178.

Tel: 092 821 857 Light and modern pan-Asian and French eatery with dishes such as prawns with lime and wasabi and Mekong lobster thermidor, and a comprehensive list of wines and cocktails. Open daily 9am - 11pm.

Ngon 60 Sihanouk Blvd. Tel: 023 987 151 www.ngonpnh.com Open air restaurant that features a vast range of Vietnamese food in a garden environment. Meaning delicious, although the food does not live up to its name, the ambience makes up for it.

Pangea Fusion Restaurant NagaWorld Hotel and Casino, Hun Sen Park.

Tel: 023 228 822 Pan-Asian fusion restaurant with a western flair that specialises in allyou-can-eat dinner buffets.

Open daily 6am - 10.30pm.

International

Aussie XL Café 205A Street 51.

Tel: 023 301 301 Aussie style bistro food with quick lunch menu and a good selection of house wines and retail wines.

Open 7am - 11pm.

Botanico Gastro Bar 9B Street 29, Tel: 017 862 992 Botanico is located in its own habitat surrounded by over 2,000 plants and offers a provocative menu of tapas, salads, burgers & sandwich, and straightforward food.

Open on Tue – Sun all day menu from 10.30am-8.30pm Brooklyn Pizza + Bistro 20 Street 123. Tel: 089 925 926 A slice of Brooklyn right here in Phnom Penh. In addition to authentic pizza, Brooklyn serves pastas, burgers, ribs, chicken wings and more.

Byrd Cafe & Restaurant 23 Street 288.

Tel: 023 997 255 Japanese run restaurant in BKK1 where comfort meets a good atmosphere. Guests can enjoy dishes including appetizers, salads, grill, side menus and drinks.

Open daily 11am-midnight.

CABARET 159 Street 154, near Central Market Tel: 092 650 980 info@cabaret-restaurant.com Restaurant and lounge bar with live music.

Enjoy trendy food, tapas, cocktails and wine in a modern setting encompassing two elegant areas, bar and patio. Fine and casual dining available. Live music four to five times a week, sumptuous variety of wine and cigars.

Cafe Monivong Raffles Hotel Le Royal Tel: 023 981 888 Wicker armchairs and marble tables covered with crisp white tablecloths create the perfect place to relax and linger over a delightful alfresco breakfast, lunch or dinner. Western and Asian cuisines are available buffet-style or a la carte. Private rooms are available on request. Buffet from 6am - 10am, 12pm - 2.30pm, 6pm - 10pm, A la carte from 11am - 11pm.

Doors Restaurant 18, Street 47 & 84. Tel : 023 998 114 www.doorspp.com New tapas restaurant, with live music. Open 11am until late Equinox 3a Street 278. Tel: 023 676 7593 www.equinox-cambodia.com marco@equinox-cambodia.com anthony@equinox-cambodia.com French-run bar and restaurant.

International menu, pool tables, splitlevel bar. Art exhibitions each month and live music gigs most Saturdays.

Bachata class on Tuesdays, Salsa class on Wednesday and swing nights on Thursdays. Open daily 11am – late.

FCC Phnom Penh 363 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 724 014 The first stop for newcomers and it’s easy to see why. Set in a beautiful colonial house with sumptuous views across the river on one side and the National Museum to the other, it’s best to come at sunset when the streets below are most crowded, the cocktails are half price and draft beer goes for $1. Open daily from 7am to midnight.

Fish Sisowath Quay, cnr of Street 108, Tel: 023 222 685 www.fishphnompenh.com Contemporary, modern restaurant specialising in all things oceanic.

Menu includes everything from lobster through sushi to gourmet fish and chips for upmarket, but reasonable prices. Open 7am-late.

Flavours Corner St 51 and St 282 Tel: 017 765 896 Relaxing restaurant and popular bar run

by Quebecois with comfortable chairs that fall out onto the street. The mix of Asian and western cuisine has proved so popular that they have a copycat restaurant opposite. Open 7am - late.

64 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

FOX Wine Bistro 104 Sothearos Blvd & St. 266.

Tel.: 098 78 99 61 Casual wine-dining. For passionate food and wine lovers who want an unforgettable dining experience or even just a place to hang-out that’s unlike elsewhere in Phnom Penh.

Serving simple yet thoughtful dishes and drinks in a comfortable, hip and trendy atmosphere.

Friends 215 Street 13. Tel: 012 802 072 Non-profit training restaurant where all the proceeds go to the neighbouring street-kid school. Food is a reliable mix of Mediterranean and Asian with tapas thrown in if you are not feeling too hungry. Great juices. Another one of Phnom Penh’s places designed to take it easy, but this time with a clear conscience.

Open 11am - 9pm.

Gasolina 56/58 Street 57. Tel: 012 373 009 The largest garden bar in town has an extensive menu. Crèche facilities make this a popular choice with families at weekends. Has regular events with live music and DJs, even fashion shows.

Open from 8am - 12am.

Irina Russian Restaurant 22 Street 29 Tel: 012 833 524/092 833 524 www.irinacambodia.com Russian restaurant of iconic Phnom Penh status. If you can walk out of the restaurant after hitting the vodkas then you are doing well. Open daily from 11am until the vodka runs out.

Java Cafe & Gallery 56 Sihanouk Blvd. Tel: 023 987 420 www.javaarts.org Great coffees, salads, mix-and-match sandwiches and juices served in an elegant setting. The upstairs terrace, overlooking the Independence Monument, is a good place to watch the chaos below, while the downstairs space is a great place for coffee and catching up on your emails. Has exhibitions both upstairs and down.

Open 7am - 10pm.

La Coupole Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra 26 Old August Site, Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 999 200. www.sofitel.com Casual and authentic Indochinese and French cuisine with live cooking

by chefs in an open kitchen concept.

Offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and the Sunday brunch, all set in a stunning restaurant with high ceilings and natural light.

La Croisette 241 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 023 220 554 Riverfront restaurant with an ample outside dining area screened off by trees that serves good, reasonablypriced food, also has a cool, air-con restaurant inside. Often arranges special events. Open 7am until late.

La Plaza Spanish Tapas Bar 22b Street 278, nr cnr Street 57 Tel: 012 825 443 Recreates to perfection the best known and most delicious Spanish tapas, making of seafood Paella its signature dish. Tapas are the result of hundreds of years of Spanish culinary history and evolution. Simple, tasty and healthy dishes have become a standard to be enjoyed with friends while drinking large amounts of sangría.

Open 11am - 2pm,5pm - 10pm. All day on the weekend.

LA ROSE Restaurant 164b Norodom Blvd.Tel: 023 211 130 / 080 900 900 www.larose.com.kh Revive your strength and restore your health with La Rose Restaurant’s healthy option menu.

Cozy ground floor restaurant with experienced chefs serving both Asian and Western cuisine.

Latin Quarter Cnr Street 178 and Street 19 Tel: 093 319 081.

Latin restaurant and bar that serves excellent tapas and mains with extra salsa. Beautiful courtyard often hosts live music and salsa dancing while the air-con restaurant is available for private hire. Open from breakfast until the music stops.

Le Quay Café Cnr. Sisowath Quay & Street 110 Tel: 023 998 730, www.amaraspa.hotelcara.com Enjoy the menu of sushi, salads, paninis, crepes and Asian specialities, with a wide range of healthy power juices, smoothies, cocktails, coffees, beers and wines, either beside a relaxing water feature or on the riverside terrace. Smoke free environment for lunch and dinner. Open 10.30am-10.30pm.

Lime Restaurant + Bar 79F Street 128Tel: 023 998 608/ 610 info@lebizhotel.com, www.lebizhotel.com Located in Lebiz Hotel Lime serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, offering a stylish mix of Asian and western favourites with a focus on fresh, healthy and local ingredients, with regular changes to the menu.

Lotus Blanc 152 Street 51. Tel: 017 602 251 Run by local NGO Pour un Sourire d’Enfant, this centrally located training restaurant has a monthly changing lunch menu as well as a la carte Khmer dishes. Serves both Asian and continental breakfast.

Open Monday – Saturday, 7am - 10 pm.

Meat & Drink Street 308 alleyway.

Bar and grill. A casual setting

for drinks and a bite to eat. No reservations. Open Tuesday Sunday, 5pm - 11pm.

Metro Café Cnr. Sisowath Quay & Street 148 Tel: 023 222 275 Cool east-meets-west decor and a chic menu offering tapas, starters and mains, comprehensive cocktail menu, favourite among which is the Espresso Martini, Metro also offers a range of classic breakfasts and an elegant lunch spot with free wifi in an air-con and smoke-free (until 10pm) atmosphere.

Open daily 9:30am - 1am.

Mike’s Burger House Russian Blvd, inside Sokimex Petrol Station. Tel: 012 633 971 Hugely popular burger bar that serves food with plastic knives and forks and equally plastic French fries with cheese sauce. Ideal for those who believe that American culture starts with a Mc. New York Steakhouse 264 Street 63 cnr Mao Tse Tung Blvd.

Tel: 023 987 500, www.steakhouse.com.kh Indulge in a seductive dining experience in the famed Phnom Penh Steak restaurant. The innovative menu features New-York Steakhouse signature prime cuts of beef charred to perfection accompanied by decadent sides and desserts.

Open Daily from 11am-2pm and 13pm-midnight.

Ocean 11 Street 288. Tel: 017 766 690 European managed Mediterranean restaurant that dishes up some of the best fish and seafood in town.

Try the red snapper or the squid with rocket. Often has exhibitions around the understated walls.

One More Pub 16E Street 294.

Tel: 017 327 378 (see bars) Paddy Rice 213-217 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 023990321. www.paddyrice.net (see bars) Public House Street 2401/2. Tel: 017 770 754 Offering fresh, simple and delicious cuisine set in a modern take on a pub. Open seven days, 5pm until late.

Regency Cafe InterContinental Phnom Penh 296 Mao Tse Toung Blvd.

Tel: 023 424 888 ext. 3603 Regency Cafe features sumptuous international and Asian buffets as well as a la carte dining for the most discerning palates. Open daily 6am-10.30pm Restaurant Tell 13 Street 90.

Tel: 023 430 650 Up-market eatery that re-creates the genuine feel of an Alpine chalet, has a spacious indoor restaurant and outdoor terrace with rotisserie and bar. European menu with imported steaks, fondue, raclette and an extensive wine list.

Open 11.30am - 2pm, 5pm - 11pm.

Cafe Yejj Opposite The Russian Market

Rising Sun 20 Street 178.

Tel: 012 970 718 (see bars)

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 65

Riverside Bistro Cnr. Sisowath Quay & Street 148 Tel: 012 277 882/ 023 213 898 Popular restaurant with expats and tourists alike mainly due to its large outdoor terrace area to view the river. Serves a mixture of Asian and western food with an emphasis on German cuisine. Has rock music videos and a pool table in the music bar at the back. Open from 7am 2am.

Riverhouse Asian Bistro 157 Sisowath Quay, Tel: 023 212 302 www.riverhousecambodia.com Well known as one of the oldest French colonial buildings on the riverfront with breezy views along the Tonle Sap & Mekong River. The elegant restaurant and bar offers a special beverage menu, featuring delectable cocktails, quality wines, single malts and freshly squeezed juices. Open daily from 10am - 2am Samba Brazilian Steakhouse 64 Sihanouk Blvd.

(Nr Independence Monument).

Tel: 023 222 599 Experience the unique Brazilian Churrasco way of cookingwith a large variety of meats skewered and roasted to perfection and served piping hot direct from the skewers to your plate! Open daily 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 10:30pm.

66 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Stella Restaurant 55 Street 75 Tel: 099 574 188 / 012 735 002 A cosy restaurant located near Wat Phnom, Stella serves pizzas, grilled food and Asian cuisine in a peaceful garden atmosphere.

Steve’s Steakhouse 8 Street 240.

Tel: 023 987 320 Longstanding restaurant specialising in local grain-fed beef as well as a large variety of imported steaks, hamburgers, ribs and Greek cuisine.

Has a terraced lounge with pool tables upstairs as well as a sports bar with large screen TV and happy hour from 12pm to 7pm.

Open daily 11am - 10.30pm.

Stonegrill 649 Sisovath Quay.

Tel: 023 999 950 www.stonegrill.com.kh Stonegrill offers a unique interactive dining experience where diners meals are served cooking at the table on a natural volcanic stones heated to 400C (752F).

Open daily 11am - midnight.

T-Bone Steak House 392 Monivong Boulevard & Street 360 Tel: 012 900 138 Contemporary restaurant serving a premium selection of both

imported and Cambodian beef, in a sophisticated air-conditioned setting – a carnivore’s delight.

Open 12pm - 2pm, 5pm -11pm.

Tepui Restaurant Lounge Chinese House, 45 Sisowath Quay Tel: 023 991 514/092 553 300 Located on the second floor of Chinese House, Tepui offers a mix of Mediterranean and South American small plates with Asian accents.The skilled Venezuelan chef is considered one of the city’s best culinary talents.

Open Mon to Sat, from 5pm until late.

The Exchange / The Vault 28 Street 47.

Tel: 078 886 889 Large colonial mansion contains The Vault, Phnom Penh’s first private member’s club for thoses who have $1000 to burn. Underneath, the Exchange has elegany exposed brickwork and low lighting as well as an impressive fusion menu.

Open daily, 10am - midnight.

The Quay 277 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 023 224 894 Rooftop deck with spectacular views of the river is a great place to enjoy a drink during half price 4pm-8pm happy hour. Food is a mix of tapas and more substantial offerings, including an excellent duck confit.

Open daily 7am – 11pm.

The Lost Room 43 Street 21 Tel: 078 700 001 A hidden gem, with eclectic food in an urbane environment. This small restaurant and bar owned by the former owners of Talkin To A Stranger offers small plates of food for sharing. Using imported and local foods, the menu encompasses global foods and unique cocktail and wine listings at reasonable prices. Caring and experienced staff makes for a pleasant evening. Come find The Lost Room and ring for directions. Open from 5pm Monday to Saturday. Kitchen closes at 10pm.

Closed Sundays.

Lunch by appointment only.

The Taste Khmer Dessert & Café The Taste Khmer Desert & Café collection which appeals to your eyes and mouth you will be charmed by lovely Khmer Dessert. 9 Street 310, Phnom Penh, Tel: 023219498 / 012476012, axchoeun@yahoo.com Open daily from 7am – 9:30pm. vKirirom Pine View Kitchen Tel: 078 777 284, www.vkirirom.com The restaurant is surrounded by pine trees, located in Kirirom National Park.

Our chef’s will serve you special Khmer and western dishes, overlooking this beautiful nature. Open daily from 7am to 10pm.

Zino Wine Bar and Restaurant 12 Street 294.

Tel: 023998 519 FB: www.facebook.com/zinowinebar Zino offers a comprehensive wine list by the glass and bottle, professionally made cocktails and a constantly evolving Mediterranean and Asian menu. Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. Kitchen closes at 11pm.

Italian

Aria D’Italia 41EO Street 310.

Tel: 012 840 705 Cute little Italian pizzeria tucked away between Street 57 and Street 63. Well-priced lunch set menu and homemade ravioli. Home delivery available.

Open 10.30am-2pm, 5.30pm-10pm.

Bistro Romano NagaWorld Hotel and Casino, Hun Sen Park. Tel: 023 228 822 Best known for its sumptuous Sunday Prosecco Brunch, this stylised Italian restaurant in the NagaWorld complex specialises in Italian cuisine.

Open daily 11am - 11pm.

Cafe Monivong Raffles Hotel Le Royal.

Tel: 023 981 888 Indulge in home made antipasti, fresh prepared pasta and risotto as well as oven-baked, crispy pizzas and pair it all with the finest selection of Italian wines, every Saturday night 6pm - 10pm.

Da Sandro 162 Street 63 (near Sihanouk Blvd) Tel: 010644987. www.sandropanini.com contacts@sandropanini.com Daily homemade authentic Italian sandwiches in the heart of Phnom Penh. Delicious cold cuts and cheeses directly imported from Italy and fresh baked bread. Open 7 days, 11am - 9pm.

Do Forni Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra 26 Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 999 200 Sophisticated Italian diner set in the grounds of the Sofitel hotel, dishes up much more than your basic pizza and pasta. Excellent range of wines, dimmed lighting and plush surroundings make this an excellent romantic meal for two option.

Open daily 6.30pm - 10pm.

Genova Italian Restaurant 19Eo Street 154.

Tel: 012 390 039 This small restaurant has the feel of an Italian trattoria with food just like mamma made. The spaghetti al pesto Genovese is its signature dish.

Good range of meat and fish dishes as well as some Khmer dishes.

Open daily 10am - midnight.

La Volpaia 20–22 Street 13.

Tel: 023 992 739 Part of a global pizzeria chain that includes Florence, Tokyo, Seoul and Phnom Penh, the cuisine is excellent with pizza and pasta cooked fresh in front of your eyes.

Limoncallo 81E0 Sisowath Quay Tel: 081 800 210 / 081 800 240 Authentic Italian cuisine with pasta, risotto and pizzas prepared in the traditional way and baked in a blazing wood-fired oven.

Open daily 11:30am- 2:30pm, 6pm- 10:30pm Luna 6C Street 29. Tel 023 220 895 Stunning garden courtyard with day beds and couches as well as outdoor tables and chairs or air-conditioned interior. Excellent homemade pasta, woodfired pizza and contemporary Italian cuisine. Great selection of wine from climate controlled cellar. Now also offering brunch on weekends.

Open 11am-11pm Mon-Fri and 9am–11pm Sat & Sun. Pasta & Vino 45 Street 288.

Tel: 086 314 400 Cosy Italian spaghetteria that specialises in well-priced authentic Italian pasta and wines in a smokeless air-con environment.

Open daily 12pm - 2pm, 6pm - 10pm.

Pop Café da Giorgio 371 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 012 562 892 Sophisticated, small Italian restaurant located next to the FCC that serves light, contemporary Italian cuisine including fresh pasta and pizzas. Delivery service now available at yourphnompenh. com last orders at 9.30pm. Open daily 11.30am - 2.30pm, 6pm - 10pm.

Terrazza 1c Street 282.

Tel: 023 214 660 www.terrazza.asia Experience Italy in Phnom Penh. Fine Italinan restaurant and Deli shop. Open daily 12pm-10pm, Deli shop: 9am-9pm

Japanese & Korean

Fusion Sushi Cnr. Streets 47 & 84 Tel: 023 986 114 Located inside Cara Hotel this beautifully decorated restaurant dishes up excellent Japanese and Korean food.

Hachi Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra, 26 Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 999 200 ext.: 6612 A taste of Japan in a Zen atmosphere with tatami rooms and sushi bar. Open daily, 11.30am 2.30pm, 6.30pm - 10.30pm.

Kan Ji Japanese Restaurant 128f Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 016 318 383 / 016 312 828.

Kan Ji is three floors of Japanese culinary delight in a bright and modern setting. Open for lunch and dinner, it features a stylish mix of ancient and modern creative cuisine. Open daily, 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm.

Le Seoul 62 Monivong Blvd. Tel: 012 971 516 Popular up-market South Korean restaurant specialising in BBQ, each table is equipped with its own charcoal burner, with all beef imported from the U.S. Open daily, 11am - 2.30pm, 5pm - 10pm.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 67

imbibe

The Cape Crusaders Darren Gall As I type, the South African cricket team is fighting for survival in a third cricket test match against Australia.

Should they lose (which seems inevitable) it would be their first series defeat on home soil for many years, putting their current ranking as the number one cricket team in the world at grave risk.

However, two wines I have enjoyed recently suggest that the South Africans are in fine form when it comes to producing high-quality whites and reds at affordable prices.

The first was a white unfiltered Semillon, and the second a red Pinotage.

Semillon is more commonly used as a blending variety, most notably with Sauvignon Blanc in Bordeaux and outside of the Hunter Valley in Australia, where the variety is highly regarded for its ageing ability.

Few single varietal Semillons are seen in the world market.

This South African Semillon is from the Fleur du Cap winery in the Western Cape region. It is interesting that whilst certain varieties have in an artisanal manner become fashionable to bottle unfiltered, I cannot recall ever drinking an unfiltered Semillon.

Wines are generally filtered to remove certain unstable elements in the wine (such as proteins) and there is a raft of fining and filtration agents available to winemakers, many almost as old as winemaking itself. However, one of the criticisms of filtration is that it can strip a wine of aroma, flavour and complexity.

The Fleur du Cap Semillon starts off its fermentation in stainless steel, but is then transferred to oak barrels to finish off the ferment, and allowed to mature in oak for a further seven months. This gives the wine some smoky, oaky character and a slightly creamy texture. The absence of filtration leaves the wine rich and complex in flavour.

Pinotage – a crossbreed of the Pinot Noir and Cinsault grape – is South Africa’s own variety, having been created in 1925 by Abraham Izak Perold, the first professor of viticulture at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University. It can present significant challenges to winemakers both in the vineyard and in the winery. In the past, the wines were often very rustic, spicy and brambly in character, with oxidation sometimes an issue and acetone a common fault.

Fast-forward to current times and South Africa has definitely seen the benefits of investment and development in the wine industry, producing award-winning wines on the international show circuit.

The Nederburg Winemaker’s Reserve Pinotage shows rich, ripe cherry and plum notes wrapped in smoky, charred notes with a touch of vanilla and a whiff of the veld. Try it with game, barbecued meats, duck or venison.

Win, lose or draw in the cricket, the South African wine industry is definitely starting to get some big scores on the board in the Cambodian market.

Darren Gall has spent a quarter of a century involved in virtually every aspect of the wine industry and the passionate pursuit of the next great bottle continues. gall.darren@yahoo.com

68 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Ninja Dining & Bar 14B Street 278. Tel: 088 861 623 Traditional Japanese cuisine including sushi, ramen, BentoBox. Japanese chefs prepare authentic dishes amid a great atmosphere.

Open daily 11:30am-2:00pm, 5pm12am.

Origami 88 Sothearos Bvd. Tel: 012 968 095 Up-market, contemporary Japanese restaurant with a spacious air-con area downstairs and four private rooms upstairs. Specialises in sushi and tempura, and has Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo beers. Open daily 11.30am - 2pm, 5.30pm - 9.30pm.

Rahu 159 Sisowath Quay.

Tel 023 215 179 Stunning, upscale atmosphere with a mix of modern Chinese décor, high ceilings, muted colors and rich woods.

Japanese food takes the main stage but there is also Khmer and Western fusion cooking. A good place to go late night for sushi or a bowl of congee. Open daily 5pm-2am.

Shangri-La 477 Sisowath Quay opposite Cambodiana Hotel Tel: 077 773 022, www.facebook. com/ramen.shangrila Japanese noodle bar serves the best Ramen from Hokkaido, Japan.

You can taste Japanese special soup and noodle collaboration like eating in Japan with affordable price. Open daily from 11:00am-15:00pm.

Shiro-Fukurou 37 Street 310, Tel: 077 773 022 www.facebook.com/shirofukurou Shiro-Fukurou is the special Japanese soup restaurant!

The soup made by Japanese chef, cannot be taste in any other restaurant.

Open daily from 11:00am-11:00pm.

Udon Café Green Bowl 29B Street 288. Tel: 086 426 530 Freshly made Sanuki-style udon noodles offer a real taste of Japan.

Noodles and accompanying soups and sauces from are prepared from scratch using traditional methods and fresh ingredients. Open from 11am-2.30pm and 5.30pm-9pm.

Closed every 2nd Wednesday.

Mexican & Tex-Mex

Alley Cat Café Off Street 19 (side street behind Royal Art School) Tel: 012 306 845 Small, friendly patio café serving good Mexican food and claiming to have the biggest burgers in town.

Hard to find, Alley Cat is tucked down an alley at the back of the National Museum, the first on the right if you are coming from Street 178.

California II 79 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 077 503 144 American-style bar with some of the best Mexican food in town, the excellent pool table and great tunes make this a good place to while away a few hours on the riverfront. Open 24/7 with good rooms upstairs.

Cantina 347 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 222 502 A mainstay of the riverside scene, this is a popular meeting place for local expats with a large selection of Mexican beers and tequilas, and sinfully good margaritas. Serves good Mexican fare, and features photographs that capture the changing face of Cambodia.

Kitchen open 3pm - 10:30pm.

Closed Saturdays.

Casa Lika 16 Street 136. Tel. 012 429 542 American-run family restaurant serving up good Mexican fare in an authentic setting with rustic brick walls and colourful Mexican artwork, great music and even better tacos make this a good place to share some Coronas with friends.

Open 10am - midnight, closed on Mondays.

Freebird 69 Street 240. Tel: 023 224 712 Aircon American bar with neon lighting, a variety of memorabilia, comfortable seats and rock music.

International menu with good lunch offers, an excellent range of bottled sauces, excellent International, Mexican food and burgers.

Be prepared for some good solid R&R. Open 7am - midnight.

Taqueria Corona 14E Street 51 (btwn Sihanouk Blvd and Street 242) Tel: 089 281 626 / 012 629 986 Enjoy our mexican specialties, barbacoa, al pastor, texas chile, carnitas, pollo and carne asoda in our festive dining room. Open daily from11.30am - 2pm, 6pm - 10pm (Sunday evenings only).

Vegetarian

K’NYAY (see restaurants Cambodian) The Vegetarian 158 Street 19 Tel: 077 900 210 / 012 905 766 With a lush garden space in the heart of Phnom Penh, The Treez provides a relaxing dining experience.

Whether it be amok, curry or tom yam, The Treez, creates vegetarian versions of popular Cambodian, Indian and Thai dishes.

Open 10:30am - 8:30pm, closed Sundays.

Vego’s 3E0 Street 51 & 21b Street 294 Tel: 012 984 596 Salad bar with an emphasis on greens and a menu of healthy western items. Also offering bagels, salads and wraps with a wide array of super fresh toppings. Choose from ready-made or d.i.y. options.

Also on offer are a vegetarian soup of the day as well as fresh-squeezed juices, yogurt and granola.

Cafés

Art Café 37 Sothearos Blvd. Tel: 012 834 517 Elegant bistro in the style of a European coffee house is now transposed to the Meta House with regular classical music performances.

Blue Pumpkin 245 Sisowath Quay and at Monument Books on Norodom Blvd Tel: 023 998 153 Siem Reap’s favourite café also offers multiple locations in Phnom Penh, serving breakfast sets, Asian and Western entrées and an array of ice cream flavours in air-conditioned comfort. Open daily from 6am - 11pm.

Botanic Cafe-Art gallery 126 Street 19. Tel: 077589458 botaniccafe@yahoo.com, www.botanica-gallerycafe.com Cafe set inside 80 year old building with garden displaying art and premium souvenirs. First floor exhibition and event space promotes

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 69

Inspiring Arts

Marion Gommard

local artists. Lunch and dinner menus for your special times.

Open daily 8am – 9pm.

Pin Peat Cambodian Living Arts The ceremonial music of Cambodia’s royal courts and temples, Pin Peat, boasts a distinctive sound as rich and nuanced as its history.

Classical Pin Peat is based on a five-tone pentatonic scale, with traditional orchestras utilising between nine and 12 wind and percussion instruments.

These include Cambodian analogues of the xylophone and oboe (roneat and srolai, respectively), as well as various gongs, drums and cymbals.

An ensemble will often feature multiple versions of the same instrument, constructed for different pitches.

Pin Peat’s history in Cambodia is a long, murky one that dates back over a thousand years. Bas-relief carvings on Bayon, among other ancient monuments, depict ancient Pin Peat orchestras playing virtually the same instruments as their modern counterparts.

French ethnomusicologist Patrick Kersalé states that according to legend, Pin Peat was originally known as Siem Peat – this would account for its semblance to Piphat, a similar musical ensemble from Thailand. Supposedly, a prominent monk insisted on changing the name from Siem Peat to Pin Peat to better reflect its Khmer roots. (According to some sources, the monk himself may have been named Pin!) This legend is but one example of the uncertainty

and mystery that surround Pin Peat’s true origins.

The art form emerged from Cambodia’s tumultuous 20th century battered, but remarkably intact. Pin Peat’s rich oral tradition – with essential knowledge being imparted directly from one generation to the next – helped it to endure despite the loss of many master musicians during the Khmer Rouge era. Bolstered by the current climate of peace and relative stability, Pin Peat is seeing a resurgence of popularity as young Cambodians seek to reconnect with their cultural heritage.

One talented young ensemble from Kandal has seen particular success. Led by teacher Sour Vanna, Dantrei Mangkol (which translates to “happiness music”) began as a CLA-organised Pin Peat class, and has since broken off to become an independent Pin Peat collective.

While Dantrei Mangkol is available for private bookings, weekly performances at Phnom Penh’s Green Palace Hotel might be your best opportunity to take in a traditional Pin Peat performance in the Cambodian capital. Solo artists from Dantrei Mangkol perform from 5pm to 7pm each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in the lobby of the Green Palace Hotel, at the intersection of Streets 111 and 232, near Olympic Stadium.

Cambodian Living Arts celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. To mark its achievement, CLA will be submitting a regular column to AsiaLIFE to explain the world of traditional art forms to our readers.

70 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Brown Coffee & Bakery 17 Street 214, and other locations throughout they city.

Tel: 023 217 262 Stylish, locally owned café with bakery on the premises serves a variety of coffees and pastries, with the green tea latte a house speciality. Open 7.30am - 8pm.

Café El Mundo 219 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 012 520 775 Affordable and stylish riverside café and restaurant with adjacent apartments for short-term hire. Seating available on the mezzanine lounge, groundfloor restaurant and on the streetside terrace. Open 6.30am - 10.30pm.

Café Le Point Tel: 077 974 921 Enjoy the cosy and relaxed atmosphere under a big mango tree.

Located near KFC on Norodom Bvd, next to La Clef de Sol shop. Healthy, natural and delicious. Open Mon Sat, from 7am to 9pm.

Café Yejj 170 Street 450, Tel: 012 543 360 / 092 600 750 Quiet, cosy café serving bistro-style western cuisine, with extensive range of coffees, pasta dishes, pannini and wraps and fabulous cheesecake making this an ideal spot to escape the bustle of the nearby Russian Market.

Open every day from 7am - 9pm.

Coffee Room 385 Street 215. Tel: 098 518 888 The first coffee house in Phnom Penh to have an electronic menu, at the Coffee Room you simply tap in your order and wait for your order to arrive. Serves coffees, juices.

Pastries and breakfast.

Open daily from 7.30am - 6pm.

Cross Town Café 193 Street 29.

Tel: 017665204 Japanese-owned restaurant with welcoming wooden interior. which spreads from floor to bar. A recently opened venue serving traditional Japanese cuisine with an added twist, the restaurant aims to add new dishes to its menu every week. Open daily from 11am - 10pm.

Daughters of Cambodia 65E0 Street 178. Tel: 077 657 678 www.daughtersofcambodia.org The cafe, called Sugar ‘n Spice, serves light lunches, a few main courses, home baked goods, desserts, coffee and some original smoothies. The cafe is a place for vocational training, where trainees will train and then have the opportunity to graduate into working in top end restaurants and hotels. Value for money. Free Wifi. There’s also a shop selling clothing, accessories and jewellery made on site. Or relax in the spa which offers head, shoulder, face and foot treatments.

Gloria Jean’s Corner of Street 51 & Street 310, Tel : 092 404 365 Sisowath Quay along Phnom Penh Port, Tel: 092 555 973 Canadia Tower Monivong Blvd., Tel: 092 555 937

Popular cafe serving hot and cold drinks and snacks.

Hahahoho Board Game Cafe 74 Street 456, 2 blocks from Russian market Tel: 096 737 2955, hahahoho.cafe@gmail.com, facebook. com/hahahoho.cafe Come and enjoy lots of board games like genga, monopoly and catan. Free wi-fi. Air conditioned and comfortable.

Variety of drinks, sandwiches, beer and Korean specialties including bibimbap, bulgogi rice. Open daily from 11:00am – 9:00pm Java Café & Gallery 56 Sihanouk Blvd. Tel: 023 987 420 (see restaurants, international) Kiriya Café No.174, St.51 Cnr St.370 Tel: 016 363 730.

This Japanese café chain offers good locally sourced coffee, delicious desserts and a relaxing atmosphere.

Open daily 6am - 2am.

Café Tin Tin Tango A cosy restaurant located in the Toul Kork area Serves Asian and Western food including bakery and apartment services. Open daily from 6:30am – 10:00pm. 38 Street 592, Toul Kork Tel: 023 982 109 / 012 808 816 The Deli 13 Street 178. Tel: 012 851 234 Chic delicatessen, bakery and small restaurant serving excellent bread and pastries, with take-away menu. Open from 7am to 9pm (closed Sundays).

The Shop 39 Street 240, Tel: 092 955 963 / 023 986 964 Stylish café, with a wide range of fresh bread, tempting patisseries and juices, excellent salads and sandwiches.

Crowded at lunchtime, but the small, cool courtyard at the back creates a perfect haven from the sun. Has a Chocolate Shop three doors along, and a second outlet in Tuol Kork. Open 7am to 7pm (Mon. to Sat, 7am to 3pm Sun.)

Bars

Aristocrat Cigar Bar NagaWorld Hotel and Casino, Hun Sen Park. Tel: 023 228 822 Club aimed at attracting wealthy expats and Khmers who like a good cigar and glass of wine. Not as stuffy as you might imagine with cigars from $10. Open daily from noon to midnight.

AQVARIVM Bar 23 Street 55 Corner Street 254, Tel: 077 536 342 Drop by for Happy Hour drinks and nibbles from 5:00-9:00 PM. Available for special occasion and group discounts. AQVARIVM: Drink like a fish!

Bar.sito Street 2401/2. Tel: 077 960 413 Cocktail bar, serving especially designed cocktails, ice-cold beers, red and white wines, champagnes and spirits. Open seven days, 5pm until late.

Cadillac Bar and Grill 219 E0 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 011 713 567 Riverfront air-con bar and restaurant.

Has good American cuisine as well as a riverfront vantage.

California II 79 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 077 503 144 (see Mexican & Tex-Mex restaurants) Cantina 347 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 222 502 (see Mexican & Tex-Mex restaurants) Chez Rina Cocktail Lounge 6 Street 98, Round the corner of Brown’s Riverside Tel: 017 259 955 Phnom Penh’s coolest lounge in a beautifully restored 1890s space in the historic old French Quarter around the Post Office. The focus is on cocktails and conversation hosted by the lovely Chanrina.

Open Monday - Saturday 5:00pm 12:00pm.

Chow 277 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 023 224 894 Contemporary and sophisticated riverfront restaurant that serves Southeast Asian cuisine, a wide range of cocktails, juices and Illy coffee. The rooftop deck with spectacular views of the river is a great place to have a drink during its half-price 4pm to 8pm happy hour.

Open daily from 7am to 11pm.

Do It All Pub & Bistro 61 Street 174. Tel: 023 220 904 Dishes out African, Asian and Western cuisine, with hip hop and reggae played into the early hours of the morning. Open daily 9am to 4am.

Elephant Bar Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Street 92 Tel: 023 981 888 Flamboyant carpet, comfortable wicker chairs and hotel pianist provide a sense of a time gone by, you can imagine Jackie Kennedy drinking here. Its many signature cocktails, including the femme fatale make this a popular place with expats especially during the two-for-one happy hours (4pm to 8pm). Open 2pm to midnight from Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to midnight.

Equinox 3A Street 278, Tel: 012 586 139 / 092 791 958 (see Restaurants, International) FCC 363 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 724 014 (see Restaurants, International) Freebird 69 Street 240. Tel: 023 224 712 (see Mexican & Tex-Mex restaurants) Howie’s Bar 32 Street 51 Air-conditioned and open until very very late, this is the Heart’s unofficial chill-out bar although the sound system could give its neighbour a run for its money.

Tends to be a popular late night hangout, especially around the ‘mini’ pool table. Open 7pm to 6am.

K West 1 Street 154 (Cnr. Sisowath Quay), Tel: 023 214 747 (see Restaurants, French) Le Bar Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra, 26 Sothearos Blvd. Tel: 023 999 200 A modern colonial style lobby bar with a fine selection of comfort food, tapas, champagnes, wines, premium spirits and large selection of coffees and teas.

Le Moon Cnr of Sisowath Quay and Street 154 Tel: 023 214 747 Rooftop terrace bar at Amanjaya Hotel has arguably the view of the river of any of the city’s rooftop bars. Full bar and small food menu, while the service is slow enough to afford you sufficient time to soak up the view.

Liquid 3B Street 278. Tel: 023 720 157 Welcoming open air bar on golden street run by the same owner as Flavours. Has one of the best pool tables in town with happy hour from 5pm to 8pm.

Lobby Lounge 296 Mao Tse Tung Blvd (InterContinental Hotel) Tel: 023 424 888 An elegant lounge situated in the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel. Reasonable prices and excellent service.

Open daily from 10am – 11:30pm.

Meta House 37 Sothearos Blvd, opposite Phnom Penh Centre Tel: 023 218 987/010 312 333 www.meta-house.com Multi-media arts centre established

by German film-maker Nico Mesterham has a very cool bar. Open from 2pm till midnight.

Closed Mondays.

Metro Café Cnr. Sisowath Quay & Street 148 Tel: 023 222 275 (see Restaurants International) One More Pub 16E Street 294.

Tel: 017 327 378 English-style bar with comfortable wooden bar stools. No hip hop or techno, only great classic 60s & 70s music. Has terracotta-tiled terrace and 3 guest rooms upstairs.

Open from 5pm to late, happy hour from 5pm to 7pm.

Closed Sundays.

Paddy Rice 213-217 Sisowath Quay Tel: 023990321 www.paddyrice.net Irish sports bar on riverside with big screen live sports, serves home cooked western and Asian favourites alongside a fully stocked bar including Guinness and a fine selection Irish whiskeys with daily happy hour from 4pm to 8pm. Often has live music events and a weekly pub quiz. Open 7.30am to late.

Rising Sun 20 Street 178. Tel: 012 970 718 English-style pub with reliable breakfast, meat pies and hamburgers.

Has a regular following around the bar at night especially on Fridays.

Great posters of British films and TV classics adorn the walls. Ideal for that touch of nostalgia and good fish and chips – though not wrapped in a newspaper.

Open daily from 7am till late.

Riverside Bistro Cnr. Sisowath Quay & Street 148, Tel: 012 277 882 / 023 213 898 (see Restaurants International) Seibur Street 308. Tel: 092 839 440 Aperitif room. Open seven days, from 5pm to 11pm.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 71

Sharky Bar 126 Street 130.

Tel: 012 228 045 , www.sharkybar.blogspot.com Countless pool tables and a large balcony to look out over the street. Guaranteed to be lively – a place where anything can happen, especially if you get a bit too close to the local clientele. Serves good Mexican food, and has frequent live music.

Open 4pm to 2am, take away 5pm til late.

The Rainbow Bar 73 Street 172. Tel: 097 741 4187 Intimate bar designed to get to know people better has a range of welldesigned cocktails to make the night go with a swing.

The Chinese House 128 Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 356 399 Decadent cocktail bar set in beautiful old Chinese house. Has art exhibitions, film nights and parties down stairs and opulence upstairs. Open from 6pm until late, closed on Tuesdays.

CodeRED

By Koh Pich Bridge, opposite Naga World.

Tel: 017 800 642 Launched by veterans of PP clubland, CodeRED aims to bring high calibre DJs to Cambodia as well as support the best of local talent.

The Tap Room Kingdom Breweries 1748 National Road 5.

Tel: 023 430 180 www.kingdombreweries.com Sate of the art European brewery specialising in premium pilsner.

Tours of the facility are organised on a regular basis, culminating in frothy cold ones at the brewery’s bar overlooking the Tonle Sap.

Darlin Darlin NagaWorld Hotel and Casino, Hun Sen Park.

Tel: 023 228 822 Top-end nightclub with live music popular among the high-flyers of the city. Semiprivate booths in a chic environment make for an unrivalled experience. Open daily from 7pm until late.

Zeppelin Bar 109C Street 51.

Tel: 012 881 181 Over 1,000 vinyl albums played by stone-faced DJ owner in small bar next to the infamous Walkabout.

Remarkably good food considering the setting, especially late at night. Try the dumplings. Open daily 5pm - 4am.

Wine Bars

Bouchon Wine Bar 3-4 Street 246.

Tel: 077 881 103 Sophisticated wine bar with a very French ambience and a wide range of French wines and bar food. Often has music as well as a mellow jazz sound track. Open noon until midnight.

Open Wine 219 Street 19.

Tel: 023 233 527 Large wine shop and deli with wellpriced wines from around the world.

Has outside dining area.

Open daily 7am - 11pm.

Zino Wine Bar and Restaurant 12 Street 294.

Tel: 023998 519 FB: www.facebook.com/zinowinebar Zino offers a comprehensive wine list by the glass and bottle, professionally made cocktails and a constantly evolving Mediterranean and Asian menu. Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. Kitchen closes at 11pm.

Gay-Friendly

Arthur & Paul 27 Street 71, BKK1.

Tel: 023 212 814 The first gay (men-only) hotel in Phnon Penh. Go on a 100 percent male gay adventure in the heart of the capital. The first gay boutique hotel in Phnom Penh exculsively designed for men.

Blue Chilli 36 Street 178. Tel: 012 566 353 www.bluechillibar.com This welcoming bar run by Thai national Oak is currently the number one gay bar in town. Chic décor makes this one of the coolest bars in town, even if you’re straight. The drag shows on Friday and Saturday are an additional draw. Open 5pm until late.

72 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Nightclubs

Bouchon Wine Bar (see Wine Bars) Occasional performances by jazz bands.

Equinox (see Restaurants – Intrenational) Has regular live music from expat and cal bands at weekends and swing dancing on Thursdays.

Heart of Darkness 38 Street 51.

Tel: 023 222 415 One of the most famous of the city’s nightspots with a good-sized dance floor make this the in-place in town.

Has well priced spirits and mixers and is totally packed out on Friday and Saturday nights. Open 8:30pm to 4am.

Memphis 3 Street 118.

Tel: 012 871 263 Only permanent rock venue in town with a house band that plays covers from 10pm til 1:30am, later at weekends. Also has open mike sessions on Mondays.

Open from 8pm til late, closed Sundays. 2-for-1 cocktails everday from 8pm until 10pm.

Nova 19 St 214.

Tel: 097 716 5000 Trendy night club with VIP section and dress code (no flup flops, tank tops or shorts!).

Open 9pm-4am.

Paddy Rice (See Bars) Often has live music events.

Pontoon Street 172.

Now no longer the Penh’s floating hotspot, Pontoon still manages to pack in the punters, especially when international DJs are in town.

Riverhouse Lounge 157 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 012 299 161 The Riverhouse Lounge is a place for party lovers. Live DJ music every night of the week, theme parties and events will fill your calendar’s nightlife.

Operation Time: 4pm - 2am Saint Tropez 31 Street 174 Tel: 077 212 100 / 097 9000 401 Upscale club, complete with fake beach, deck bar, that suggests the French Riviera.

Open daily 6pm - 2am.

LISTINGS A must see. Since 1995 this art gallery has been dedicated to showing and selling the work of Stef, a local iconic artist with a very personal and positive insight in everyday life in Cambodia.

Open daily 8am - 10pm

culture Cinemas

The Flicks 39B Street 95. Tel: 078 809 429, theflicks-cambodia.com Local expat oriented movie houses with revolving schedule of international and art house films, screened in comfy air con movie rooms. Also offers potential for movie parties, with option to hire the movie room for a private session (max 30 people).

Minimum two screenings per day. Check the website for the weekly schedule. Cover charge $ 3.50 per day.

The Cineplex 5th Floor Sorya Shopping Centre, Tel: 017 666 210 www.thecineplexs.com International-standard three-screen cineplex featuring the latest Digital 3D technology and the most recent Hollywood and international releases, located in the heart of downtown with ample parking, shopping and eating options. Open 9am - 10:30pm.

Le Cinema French Institute, 218 Street 184 Tel: 023 213 124.

100-seat cinema shows International art house and mainstream movies with occasional films in English. Children’s cinema on Saturday mornings at 10am.

Cinema on Saturday mornings at 10am.

Legend Cinema 3rd Floor City Mall, Monireth Blvd.

Tel: 088 954 9857 www.legend-cinemas.com International quality cinema showing Hollywood releases in air-conditioned environment including 3D. Screenings:10am - 9pm, box office: 10am - 9pm.

Meta House 37 Sothearos Blvd., (opp. Phnom Penh centre). Tel: 012 607 465 Movie shorts and documentaries from Cambodia and the rest of Asia. Movies normally start at 7pm, closed Mondays.

Galleries

Bophana Audiovisual Resource Centre 64 Street 200. Tel: 023 992 174 Preserving much of Cambodia’s audiovisual material, has regular exhibitions.

Open 8am-6pm Mon - Fri, 2pm-6pm Sat. Dori Thy Gallery 12R Street 256. Tel: 012 661 552 Features the black and white photographs of German photographer, Doris Boettcher.

Open Saturday and Sunday 10am-6pm.

FCC Phnom Penh (see Restaurants, International) Phnom Penh’s landmark restaurant has a permanent, rotating exhibition devoted to photography.

French Institute 218 Street 184. Tel: 023 213 124 Formerly the Alliance Française, the French Culture Centre (CCF) offers cultural activities including exhibitions, festivals, and film screenings to promote French and Khmer culture. Onsite shop Carnets d’Asie offers a selection of French books.

Happy Painting Gallery 363 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 221 732 www.happypainting.net

Java Café & Gallery (see Restaurants, International) Contemporary art gallery with regular exhibitions of Cambodian and international artists. Has second gallery on the ground floor. Website has details about Cambodia’s contemporary art scene.

Meta House 37 Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 012 607 465 Multimedia arts centre on three floors has regular exhibitions, interviews with filmmakers and short films, contains the Art Café. Open Tues – Sun, 2pm - 10pm.

New Campus Continued Excellence Opening August 2014

Reyum Institute of Arts & Culture 47 Street 178.

Tel: 023 217 149 Gallery with regular exhibitions of Cambodian artists. Part of an NGO established to preserve traditional and contemporary Cambodian arts.

Sa Sa Bassac 18 Sothearos Boulevard, Upstairs.

An expansion of the Sa Sa Art Gallery and a merger with Bassac Art Projects, Sa Sa Bassac is an artist-run gallery for contemporary art. Includes a library, reading and workshop room, and a 60-metre gallery space. Ongoing visual literacy programmes.

Performing Arts

Amrita Performing Arts 128-G9 Sothearos Blvd. Tel: 023 220 424 www.amritaperformingarts.org Performance art company that puts on contemporary & classical music and theatre.

Apsara Arts Association 71 Street 598. Tel: 011 550 302 Organisation that promotes Cambodian arts & culture.

Open from 7.30am - 10.30am Cambodian Living Arts 407 Street 246 Art organisation devoted to the revival of traditional Khmer performing arts that puts on occasional performances.

Chaktomuk Conference Hall Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 725 119 Designed by master Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, this under-utilised building is worth a visit. Open 7am - 11.30am and 2pm - 5pm (Mon. to Fri.).

Chenla Theatre Cnr. Mao Tse Tung & Monireth Blvds.

Tel: 023 883 050 www.culturalcenter-cambodia.com One of the capital’s major theatres, it has regular performances of theatre, dance and music.

www.ispp.edu.kh

Epic Arts 1DE0 Sothearos Blvd. Tel: 023 998 474 www.epicarts.org.uk Organisation that uses art to empower people with disabilities.

Sovanna Phum Khmer Art Association 166 Street 99 corner of 484 Tel: 023 987 564 Theatre with performances of shadow puppetry, classical and masked dances every Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm.

Learning together, growing together, each making a difference.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 73

LISTINGS

sos

leisure & wellness Amusement

Cambodian Country Club Street 2004, Group 6 Toeuk Thla Tel: 012 231 755 A peaceful heaven providing tennis, swimming, badminton, fitness centre and horse riding, 15 minutes away from the city. Open from 6.30am until late.

Parkway Square 113 Mao Tse Tung Blvd.

Ten-pin bowling alley and dodgem track.

Phnom Penh Water Park 50 Street 110, Tel: 023 881 008 Traditional mix of slides and wave pools is open daily from 9.30am to 5.30pm.

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Park Phnom Tamao, 44 kilometres out of the capital along Highway 2.

Cambodia’s top wildlife centre. All animals are either rescued from traders or bred at the centre.

Many of the animals are critically endangered. Open daily 8am - 4pm.

Global Art 1 Street 181 & Street 475 (nr Chinese Embassy) Tel: 023 222 084/ 087 222 084 World renowned art and creativity program for young children.

Franchisee of Global Art Group.

Available in 17 countries with more than 400 centres worldwide.

Music Arts School 9A Street 370. Tel: 023 997 290 www.music-arts-school.org New NGO school providing music training for Cambodians and expats - of all ages and levels - at affordable tuition fees. Learn guitar, piano, violin, vocals, and tradtional Khmer instruments. Also has a scholarship fund to provide music education to the less fortunate.

Boat Cruises

NataRaj Yoga Studio 52 Street 302, Tel: 012 250 817 / 090 311 341 www.yogacambodia.com, Welcome everyone to the peaceful yoga studio.

Wide variety of daily drop-in yoga classes & monthly workshops in many styles with international qualified teachers. Your yoga class contributes to our NGO yoga programs for local kids.

Stretch your body while feeling great about reaching out to Cambodian youth.

Classes

Photography Tours 126 Street 136. Tel: 092 526 706 www.nathanhortonphotography.com Photography tuition and guided tours to Kampong Chnang and Udong, covering technical and creative considerations in the context of travel photography.

The Butterfly Cambodia Tel: 012 602 955 thebutterflycambodia@gmail.com Cambodian river adventures, sunset cruises, birthdays and events to floating villages, Silk Island. Plan your trip, per hour, half-day and fullday rates available.

Cambodian Cooking Class Frizz Restaurant, 67 Street 240 Tel: 012 524 801 First and only Khmer cooking school for travellers & expats in Phnom Penh, includes transport to the market and a colourful 16-page recipe booklet. Open 10am - 10pm.

Capoeira Home of English, Building D 10B Street 57, Tel: 012 960 076 Capoeira lessons are held every Tuesday & Thursday 6.30-8pm. All levels catered for. Classes are free of charge. For more information visit Facebook page “Capoeira Kampuchea”.

Central School of Ballet Phnom Penh 10 Street 183 (entrance on Street 406) www.centralschoolofballet.com Cambodia’s first purpose-built ballet school offering classical ballet training for children in the afternoons, contemporary dance, ballet and dance conditioning for adults in the evenings. Spacious dance studio equipped with large, custom-made mirrors, barres and a professional, sprung dance floor.

Equestrian Centre CCC, Street 2004, Group 6 Toeuk Thla Tel: 015 231 755 / 012 704 759 With 31 ponies and horses, an international sized arena and spacious stables, the only horseriding centre in Phnom Penh Tuesdays to Sundays, 9am to 11am and 2pm to 5.30pm.

74 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Scuba Nation PADI 5* IDC Diving Centre 18 Sothearos Blvd (near FCC) Tel: 012 715 785 www.divecambodia.com Learn to scuba dive in Phnom Penh. The academic and pool part of the course can be done in Phnom Penh and you finish with 2 days in Sihanoukville on the boat. We conduct refreshers, try dives and kids’ pool parties as well as the full range of courses. Open 9am-6pm, Sat & Sun 9am-5pm.

Simphony Music School No. 243, Street 51. Tel: 023 727 345 / 097 888 8787. www.simphony.com.kh Simphony Music School is the first official music school in Cambodia recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Royal government of Cambodia. The faculty is composed by experienced and qualified music teachers from overseas, speaking fluent English, Chinese, and French. Our curriculum is based on USA curriculum following Orff and Kodály music teaching methods.

The Tennis Club CCC, Street 2004, Group 6 Toeuk Thla.

Tel: 017 847 802 The two courts are equipped with specially adapted flooring unique in Cambodia, and with quality lightning allowing play past sunset. Skilled English and Cambodian speaking teachers available for private or group lessons.

Open daily.

Sore Throats and Rheumatic Fever Dr Rathmony Heng Both children and adults often suffer from sore throats, but did you know that sometimes this infection can lead to more serious consequences?

Bacteria called Group A Streptococcus (strep for short) can cause a throat infection that leads to a disease called rheumatic fever, which affects the heart, skin, joints and nervous system.

The majority of throat infections are caused by viruses and only a few by bacteria. The symptoms are very similar for both, so it is hard to identify which might be the strep infection. However, a few guidelines are helpful.

A sudden onset of sore throat with accompanying fever, tender cervical lymph nodes, the absence of a cough, and white patches on the tonsils are more consistent with strep infection.

If your doctor suspects a strep infection, a swab test or throat culture will usually be checked to confirm. If it is positive, the doctor will treat it with penicillin or another antibiotic to prevent the development of rheumatic fever. If the infection is not treated, the immune system will begin to attack the bacteria. However, the proteins of the strep bacteria look very similar to some of the proteins contained in the tissues of our own bodies. The immune system gets confused and ends up attacking both, and this is how rheumatic fever develops.

Usually symptoms begin about two to three weeks after the throat infection and start with joint pains, moving from one joint to another, and fever. Chest pain, difficult breathing, swelling in the legs, skin rashes and uncontrollable movements of the arms and legs can develop later.

Rheumatic fever is most common in five to 15-yearolds and is still more prevalent in developing countries like Cambodia due to a failure to identify the strep infection or inadequate treatment with antibiotics once identified.

Unfortunately, rheumatic fever is still the leading cause of cardiovascular death during the first five decades of life in these countries. Some families carry genes that make it easier to develop rheumatic fever, so if you have other family members with the disease, you may be more at risk for getting it yourself. Crowded, unsanitary conditions also promote the spread of the infection from person to person.

So, in order to protect yourself from rheumatic fever, you should visit the doctor for any serious sore throat with fever and get tested for a strep infection. If the test is positive, it is very important to finish the antibiotics given to prevent the development of rheumatic fever. Once you get rheumatic fever, you may have recurrences and may be left with permanent problems once recovered, so the key is prevention of the disease.

Dr Rathmony Heng is a part-time doctor at the SOS clinic in Phnom Penh. If you have any enquiries regarding this or any other medical matter, please contact info.cambodia@ internationalsos.com.

Yoga for life 126 Street 19. Tel: 077589458 Learn to release stress and tension, find peace and live a healthy life with yoga classes taught by yoga and massage virtuoso, Azmi Samdjaga from Singapore. Classes every Wednesday from 7:30pm witht more classes starting late June 2012. Healthy food and Wifi are also available.

Yoga Phnom Penh 39 Street 21 www.yogaphnompenh.com Daily drop-in classes for all levels with experienced, qualified international teachers. Classes include Ashtanga yoga, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Fly Yoga, Fly Fit and Classical yoga. Regular workshops and Bliss weekend also offered.

Chemists

U-Care Pharmacy 26-28 Sothearos Blvd. Tel 023 222 499; 39 Sihanouk Blvd. Tel 023 224 099; 41-43 Norodom Blvd. Tel 023 224 299; 844 Kampuchea krom Blvd. Tel 023 884 004; 207-209 Sisowath Quay. Tel 023 223 499; 194 Tro Sork P’em. Tel 023 224 399. www.ucarepharma.com Provide international cosmetic brands, leading imported health & beauty products, only certified medication.

Professional advice and convenient and strategic locations.

Open daily from 8am to 10pm.

Counselling Services

Alcoholics Anonymous 11 Street 420. Tel: 012 813 731 www.aacambodia.org Meets on Friday, Wednesday & Sunday.

Indigo Psychological Services 28 Street 460. Tel: 023 222 614, indigocambodia@gmail.com

Professional counselling services in English, French or Khmer for adults, adolescents, children, couples, and families. Assessment and intervention services for children and adolescents with learning and developmental difficulties.

Narcotics Anonymous 11 Street 420. Tel: 012 813 731 NA meets on Monday, Thursday at 8pm and Saturday at 7pm.

Dental

European Dental Clinic 160A, Norodom Blvd.

Tel: 023 211 363 www.europeandentalclinic-asia.com Total dental care, Implant, Orthodontist Treatment by expat dentists. Open Mon Fri 8am-12pm, 2pm-7pm. Sat, 8am-1pm International Dental Clinic Phnom Penh: 193 Street 208.

Tel 023 212 909 Siem Reap: 545 National Road N6, Banteay Chas, Stor Kram. Tel: 063 767 618 www.imiclinic.com IMI Dental Cosmetic and Restorative Dentistry Centre has been successfully creating beautiful smiles in Phnom Penh and throughout Cambodia. Open Mon– Sat, 8am-7pm, Sun 9am-12pm.

MALIS dental clinic 445 Monivong Blvd.

Tel: 012 513 222 / 023 964 142 info@malis-dental.com Facebook: “MALIS Dental Clinic” A Japanese dentist provides professional and high-quality service.

Shigeta Dental Clinic 25 Street 294 cnr Street21 Tel: 023 223 225 / 010705083 Email: info@shigetadental.com Faebook: shigetadentalclinic

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 75

High-end Japanese Dental Clinic that caters your dental needs. Open from Monday to Sunday, 8am - 8pm.

Gyms

The InterContinental Fitness Center 3/F Mao Tse Toung Boulevard, Tel: 023 424 888 ext. 5000 A sophisticated retreat from the crowds, The InterContinental Fitness Center is the place to attain peak performance and wellbeing. Pump up with a full body workout on state-ofthe-art equipment, benefit from the experience and guidance of qualified trainers, and relax all year round in the open-air swimming pool.

Fitness Centre CCC, Street 2004, Group 6 Toeuk Thla. Tel: 015 704 759 Achieve individual targets whether sports specific or to tone, lose weight, build strength or improve cardiovascular fitness for a healthier and fitter lifestyle.

Open daily 6.30am until late.

Raffles Amrita Spa Raffles Le Royal Hotel. Tel: 023 981 888 Modern gym and pool in Phnom Penh’s most elegant hotel. Use of gym, pool, sauna and Jacuzzi is available to nonguests. Open 6am - 10pm.

Physique Club Hotel Cambodiana, 313 Sisowath Quay.

Tel: 012 810 432 Reasonable selection of equipment in the gym and a pool overlooking the river. Open 6am - 10pm.

The Gym at The Place 90 Sihanouk Blvd. Tel: 023 999 699 Modern establishment featuring a fully equipped gym and weekly classes in dance, yoga and aerobics.

Open 6am - 10pm , Mon – Fri, 8am 10pm Sat/Sun

Hairdressers

De Gran 19 Street 352. Tel: 023 999 707 Classy yet affordable Japanese-run hair salon in beautiful premises with excellent service.

Open 10am – 8pm, closed Tues The Dollhouse 46AE0 Street 322 Tel: 010 329 999 / 016 620 907 www.dollhousecambodia.com Salon offers cutting, colouring and various treatments, including the Brazilian Keratin Treatment with Collagen to replenish the condition of your hair.

Western hairdresser with international experience. Open Tues – Sat 9am- 7pm, Sun 11am-7pm, closed Monday.

The French Element Himawari Hotel Unit D, 313 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 077 283 332 www.thefrenchelement.com Over-looking the Tonle Sap, wonderful spot to relax and pamper yourself. Offering all hair services such as highlights, colour, cut, Brazilian Keratin Treatment and more.

International hairdresser. Open 10am 8pm, closed Sun. Tokyo Barbershop 22A St 278.

Tel: 012 590 655 / 087 667 778 tokyo_barbershop@yahoo.com Man centric barbershop conveniently located behind Lucky supermarket.

Provides hair-cuts, shampoos, colours, manicures, pedicures, facial massage, oil body massages, back waxing.

Open daily 8am - 7:00pm.

Medical

American Medical Centre Ground Floor Cambodiana Hotel 313 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 991 863 Led by American surgeon, team of international and Khmer doctors provide general practice services to clients. Can arrange emergency evacuation. 24/7 service.

International Chiropractic Clinic, 67 Bis Street 240, (100m from Monivong Blvd). Tel: 023 223 101 www.cambodiachiropractic.com First and only Chiropractic clinic licensed in Cambodia. Our chiropractors are US trained and we provide modern Chiropractic care, physiotherapy and custom made medical grade orthotics. Common conditions treated include neck and back pain, sports injuries, knee pain.

Open Mon - Fri 8.30am-6pm , Sat 8.30am-1pm.

International SOS Medical Clinic 161 Street 51. Tel: 023 216 911 Global provider of medical assistance and international healthcare. Expat and Khmer doctors offer general practice, specialist and emergency medical services. Appointments 8am - 5:30pm Mon – Fri, 8am - 12pm, Sat. Open 24/7 for emergencies.

Physiotherapy Phnom Penh 45C Street 456.

Tel: 023 99 63 44 General physiotherapy practice specialising in manual therapy, sports injuries and acupuncture Royal Rattanak Hospital 11 Street 592, Toul Kork Tel. 023 991 000 www.royalrattanakhospital.com A Thai owned and run private hospital with extensive services that strives to provide high standard and quality medical care by professional care team.

Optics

Grand Optics 11 Norodom Bvd / 337 Monivong Blvd / 150 Sihanouk Blvd. Tel: 023 213 585 Modern opticians with the latest equipment including free computerised eye test. Makes prescription glasses and lenses.

Pools

Asia Club 456 Monivong Bvd. Tel: 023 721 766 Beautiful swimming pool at rear of Man Han Lou Restaurant. Members get a discount at both restaurant and Master Kang Health Care Centre.

Spas

Amara Spa Cnr Sisowath Quay & St.110 Tel: 023 998 730 www.amaraspa.hotelcara.com Day spa providing a wide selection of facials, body massages and treatments, arranged in a four-storey modern facility at riverfront. Open 11am-11pm.

Aziadee Spa 16 a/b Street 282. Tel: 023 996 921 aziadee1@yahoo.fr French-run spa offering a good choice

76 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

of treatments, a range of massages, scrubs, facials, floral baths, manicures, pedicures and waxing in relaxing and tranquil surroundings. Open 9am-9pm.

Bi Nail Salon 213a E0 Stret 310 Tel: 023 6324 524 / 097 798 1122 Bi Nail is a full service nail salon, for women and men. Japanese-trained nail artists have years of experience and provide expert personal care in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Full set care (manicure and pedicure), more than 250 nail lacquers, more than 350 nail design samples.

Acrylic and gel nails are available. Open daily 8am – 7pm.

Bliss 29 Street 240. Tel: 023 215 754 Health spa at back and upstairs in this beautiful French colonial building.

Open 9am - 9pm, closed Monday.

Bodia Spa 26-28 Sothearos Blvd. Tel: 023 226 199 www.bodia-spa.com Using natural, own-brand products Bodia spa offers body wraps, floral baths, scrubs, facials, aromatherapy, massages and mani-pedies, alongdside Jacuzzi and steam. The peaceful atmosphere is enhanced by scented oils and soft music.

Open daily 9am – 9pm.

Derma-Care Skin Clinic 161B Norodom Tel: 023 720 042 / 012 415 552 Two qualified dermatologists, this professional skin clinic offers a range of beauty treatments using American Derma-Rx products, minor dermatologic surgery, antioxidant boosters, chemical peeling, and lipolysis. Open 9am - 9pm.

LA ROSE Spa 164b Norodom Blvd.

Tel: 023 211 130 / 080 900 900 www.larose.com.kh Professional, experienced, qualified therapists offer a tailor-made range of remedial, relaxation and nutritional advice. High-end natural products and a wide range of homeopathic remedies, creams, flower essences and signature organic massage oils.

Master Kang Health Care Centre 456 Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 721 765 Health centre next to Man Han Lou Restaurant offers foot massage in public or private rooms, with both Chinese and oil massage. A grand piano is played in the evenings.

Open 10am - 12pm.

Nail Holic Street 592, Tuol Kork (next to Indrak Tevy High School) Tel: 012 357 887/ 097 4123 337 Nail polish and pedicure services using products from Korea. Comfortable chairs in relaxing surroundings with professional, hospitable and friendly staff speaking Khmer, Korean and English. Open daily from 8am – 6pm.

Raffles Amrita Spa Tel: 023 981 888 Raffles Amrita Spa offers relaxation and rejuvenation through a wide selection of services and facilities including treatment rooms, outdoor lap and fun pool, Jacuzzi, fitness centre, sauna and steam room.

Open daily 6am - 10pm.

Aircon Restaurant Art Exhibitions The Spa at NagaWorld Hun Sen Park.

Tel: 023 228 822 This luxurious spa promises to bring the ancient Cambodian spa therapy to the world, and claims to be the only all-suite unisex spa in Cambodia.

Therapy rooms with sauna, steam and flower bath are inviting, and the spa uses Tomichik flowers as part of its treatment.

Open 10am-3am.

So SPA with L’Occitane Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Tel: 063 964 600 Offers rejuvenating world traditions combined with French cosmetology in the privacy of an intimate setting.

Treatments are provided with international and local high-end products.

Open daily: 10am – 10pm Villa Spa 456 Monivong Blvd., (cnr. Street 466) Tel: 023 721 765 / 012 357 561 www.asiagarden.com.kh Aromatherapy massage in private boutique VIP rooms (villa and bungalow style) from professional Chinese and Khmer therapists from Master Kang; women customers only.

Sports General

Ball Hockey Played every Thursday night at City Villa, corner of Streets 360 and 71 at 7pm. To play, contact Mike: michaelwarford@ispp.edu.kh

Grand Phnom Penh Golf Street 598, Phum Khmuonh, Sk: Khmuonh, Kh: Sen Sok, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 997 889. info@grandphnompenh.com Luxury living redefined. Phnom Penh’s finest urban township.

Phokeethra Country Club Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Tel:063 964 600 reservation.angkor@phokeethragolf.com International standard 18-hole, 72-par golf. Clubhouse facilities: pro shop, rental equipment, restaurant.

Phnom Penh Ultimate Frisbee A fast paced fun game that is open to everyone, regardless of skill set or gender, Phnom Penh Ultimate has weekly games at ISPP and Northbridge.

Contact CraigDGerard@gmail.com for details on times and locations.

Touch Rugby Mixed touch rugby is played most Saturday afternoons at 3-5pm at ISPP. Contact pptouchrugby@gmail.com.

Dance Theatre German Classes Film School Musical Events Fixed +855 (0)23 224 140 Mobile +855 (0)10 312 333 Homepage: www.meta-house.com Email: mesterharm@gmx.net

Workshop Space Open-Air-Cinema

TROPICAL & TRAVELLERS MEDICAL CLINIC Dr.Scott BSc.MBChB. DRCOG.DipVen. (U.K.) -20 years of medical experience in Cambodia

Tattoos and Piercing

Black Star 5A Street 90, Phnom Penh www.blackstarcambodia.com Tel: 070 200 900/078 753 697 Welcome to Black Star Tattoo’s Cambodia’s finest whether you’re just passing through the Penh, or you’re a resident, this is the place to come for the highest quality tattooing.

Open daily from 10am – 10pm.

Tel: 012 898981 No.88 St.108 Phnom Penh www.travellersmedicalclinic.com

Nathan Horton Photography

Cambodian Federation of Rugby cambodianfederationofrugby.com Proper 15-a-side rugby league with four senior teams as well as kid’s touch and women’s rugby teams.

Contact Larry: khmer_rugby@yahoo. co.uk for more details.

Cambodia Golf & Country Club Route 4, Kompong Speur Tel: 023 363 666 International standard, 18-hole golf course.

Open 6am until dark.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 77

LISTINGS

family Cafés & Restaurants

Java Café 56 Sihanouk Blvd.

Tel: 023 987 420 Kid’s menu includes chicken nuggets and pizza bagels. Colouring pages and crayons to keep the kids amused. Highchair is available on request and babychanging facilities are in the toilet.

Open daily 7am - 10pm Le Jardin 16 Street 360.

Tel: 011 723 399 This garden retreat has a great kids’ area with playhouse and sandbox, specialises in birthday parties, with cake, decorations, toys and drawing materials provided for children of all ages.

Open Tue – Sun, 8am - 8pm.

Entertainment

Cambodian Country Club Street 2004, Group 6 Toeuk Thla, Tel: 012 231 755 Sports centre and a peaceful heaven providing tennis, swimming, badminton, fitness centre and horse riding in an amazing landscape 15 minutes away from the city. Dedicated to leisure, rest and entertainment, CCC is suitable for children.

Open daily 6.30am until late.

Dragon Water Park Diamond Island (Koh Pich) Tel: 023 45 54 023 / 023 224 776 Clean-Safe-Exciting! Wonderful Water World, the biggest amusement land, fit for all ages. Have fun with Crystal Blue Clear Water, immense pools, giant slides up to 15m high & water toys.

Open daily 10:30am until late.

Monkey Business Paragon Department Store, Second Floor.

Tel: 023 319 319 Kids can rejoice now that this indoor children’s play centre offers clean, safe facilities. Available for private parties.

Open daily 9am - 8pm.

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Park Phnom Tamao Cambodia’s best wildlife centre. All the animals are either rescued from traders or bred at the centre. Many of the animals are critically endangered.

Open 8am - 4pm.

International Schools

Eton House International School 16 Mao Tse Tung Blvd Tel: 023 22 8818 www.ehis.co Eton House is committed to the pursuit of excellence in education. Eton House is represented in 10 countries with over 56

78 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

pre-schools and schools around the world.

In our early years program we offer a playbased, ‘Inquire, Think, Learn” pedagogy.

This programme has been inspired by the I.B program and the Reggio Emilia schools of Northern Italy. Ages: 18months - 6years.

Full and Half Day Programs

incorporating compassion, communication, conservation, contemplation, creativity, conscience and global citizenship.

Footprints School 220 Street 430, Tumnub Teuk, Tel: 077 222084 www.footprintsschool.edu.kh Established in 2007 Footprints School offers nursery (age 2) through grade 6 and has 4 campuses. The curriculum is designed for the dynamic needs and interests of our students and the staff are hired for their experience and love for children.

iCAN British International School 85 Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 222 416 www.ican.edu.kh iCAN offers affordable, high quality education, using the IPC, IMYC and English National curriculum. Learners are encouraged to be thoughtful, creative, think critically, collaborate and achieve their best. iCAN is the learning environment of choice for parents who value the development of their children emotionally and socially, as well as academically.

Giving Tree International Elementary School of Phnom Penh 40 Street 334.

Tel: 017 997 112 www.thegivingtreeschool.com Established to provide an exceptional, affordable, and unique learning environment, based on small class sizes and a international curriculum

International School of Phnom Penh 146 Norodom Blvd.

Tel: 023 213 103 www.ispp.edu.kh Founded in 1989, this non-profit, nonsectarian international school currently has over 600 students from Pre-K to Grade 12. The largest international school with over 70

professional teachers, and a fullyauthorized IB programme.

Lycée Français René Descartes Street 96.

Tel: 023 722 044 French school offering primary and secondary level education, extra-curricula activities include basketball, football, rugby.

Northbridge International School 1km off National Road 4 on the way to the airport.

Tel: 023 886 000 www.nisc.edu.kh Founded in 1997, NISC is a fullyauthorized IB World School with a growing enrollment of 500 students age 3 to Grade 12. Spectacular purpose built campus unlike any in Cambodia.

Raffles Montessori International School of Phnom Penh 18 Street 294 corner of Street 57, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 993 999 / 011 95 97 79 www.rmispp.edu.kh, info@rmispp. edu.kh

International standard school from Singapore is inviting you to bring your children to experience the beauty of an independent education.

You will see for yourselves how the Montessori education will transform your child wonderfully guided by a team of Montessori-trained teachers/directresses with so much love and passion for children. We offer Kindergarten and Primary programmes for children of ages 1.8 to 8 years old.

Zaman International School 2843 Street 3. Tel: 023 214 040 www.zamanisc.org International school that teaches a full curriculum to children from four to 18. Facilities include basketball and volleyball courts, a football field and a science lab.

Pre-Schools

Canadian International School of Phnom Penh Bassac Garden, Norodom Boulevard Tel: 023 727 788 / 077 503 778 www.cisp.edu.kh Offers a Canadian curriculum in English, certified through the Canadian province of New Brunswick.

DK Schoolhouse No. 7 St. 466 078 777 466 / 095 777 466 www.dkschoolhouse.com DK Schoolhouse is an early learning preschool/kindergarten for children aged 2-6. Established by long time residents of the Kingdom, DK Schoolhouse aims to minimize the gap between quality and cost in education while providing a safe and stimulating learning environment.

Our staff are native English speaking, qualified early childhood educators.

Open Mon-Fri 8:00-4:00pm Sat 9:0011:00am (by appointment only).

Gecko & Garden Pre-school 3 Street 21. Tel: 092 575 431 www.geckogarden-preschool.org This is a not-for-profit pre-school, established over ten years ago, which emphasises learning through creative play in a supportive environment forchildren aged 18 months to 5 years. Open daily 7:30am - 12pm. An after school program offering a range of fun activities is available 2:30pm - 5pm daily.

The Giving Tree Nursery and Preschool House #17, Street 71, Bkk

Tel: 017 997 112 www.thegivingtreeschool.com Preschool committed to providing a nurturing and supportive environment that supports and extends the child’s overall development. With an international, experienced team of teachers the school offers a play-based programme that is fun and motivating.

Sambo’s Tots www.sambostots.com Playhouse and playschool provides fun edutainment experience for babies and toddlers from 3 months to 5 years where imagination comes to life.

Tchou Tchou 13 Street 21 Tel: 023 362 899, www.tchou-tchou.com Kindergarten and pre-school for 18 months to 5-year-olds, open from 7.30am to 12pm (Mon to Fri). French is the main language, although English and Khmer is also practised.

Shops

Monument Toys 111 Norodom Bvd. Tel: 023 217 617 To the rear of Monument Books is a well-stocked toy section. It features an excellent range of well-known board games and toys including Barbie dolls, Transformers, Magic 8 balls and more.

It has to be the best place in the city for brand name toys and games.

Open daily 7.30am - 8pm.

Shade 7 Outdoor Living Co Ltd Showroon; Borey Chamkarmon Tel: 077 962 467 david@shade7.com www.shade7.com www. springfreetrampoline.com Supplier of Shade7 premium aluminium umbrellas and exclusive distributor of original Springfree range. World class products now available in Cambodia!

Stock in country for immediate supply.

Toys & Me 159A Mao Tse Toung Blvd.

Tel: 023 212 081 / 016 808 676 www.toysnme.net Established in 2007, Toys & Me is a leading toys shop in Cambodia. A one-stop shop you can trust when it comes to educational needs for your children.

Willi Shop 769 Monivong Blvd Tel: 023 211 652 All products are imported from France, including bébé brand baby products, the range includes prams, baby care, cots and toys. Open 8am - 8pm.

Kids Corner

Sibling Rivalry Gemma Mullen Seconds out… round two.

So your little cherubs are trying to outshine one another and you have become more referee than parent. In your mind’s eye, you imagined the two of them playing nicely, sharing toys and loving each other’s company. Now all you hear from your older one is: “He’s too noisy, mummy” or the classic “That’s mine!

Not yours!” Similarly, your youngest may be a little green that his big brother can stay up later, run faster and hold a full conversation with papa.

The first thing to understand is that children are different. They’re at different ages and developmental stages, and have different personalities and temperaments. From babies to teenagers, there will be tantrums, squabbles and jealousy, but there are many techniques to halt battles and encourage a loving relationship between your warring roses.

The place to start is you.

How do you react to certain situations? If you lose your cool when things don’t go to plan, then your little ones will likely do the same. Try to face problems calmly and be sure to praise your children when they do the same. Try being particularly effusive when talking about your own siblings and all the “great times” you had with them. Be sure to drop little reminders about how nice it was to have a loving older brother to cheer

you up when you were feeling sick or upset. Hopefully, the little scamps will take the hint.

It might sound like obvious advice, but do be sure that you don’t favour one child over another. Believe me, it happens, especially with grandparents. To be honest, there will likely be times when you feel closer to one of your children than the other. You’ll probably feel bad but it is completely normal. What’s important is that you don’t show it.

Make sure you involve all of your children in discussions. If an older child has a music lesson, be sure to get out musical toys for the younger ones. Do not compare your kids and never make god-awful statements like, “Why can’t you help out like your brother?”

If two children have a larger age gap, be aware that the older child has had you all to himself for years and may need some time to adjust.

Furthermore, don’t ask the older sibling to become a de facto parent when it suits you.

Giving one child power over the other is a classic recipe for arguments. Usually you’re telling your older one not to be bossy; all of a sudden you’re asking him to “look after your little brother while I go to the shop”.

Stay neutral, have house rules that apply to all of your children, no matter their ages, and you will be on the right track towards a happy family.

Gemma Mullen has been working in child care for more than 10 years. She holds an NNEB diploma in nursery nursing and is currently a creative writing teacher at Zaman International School in Phnom Penh.

80 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

services

LISTINGS

business & services Architecture, Interior Design & Construction

Beyond Interiors 14e Street 306 Tel: 023 987 840 / 012 930 332 ww.beyondinteriors.biz Managed by Australian designer Bronwyn Blue, this interior design showroom can provide the ultimate design solution. All products from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia have been treated to withstand any climate. Open 9am - 6pm Bill Grant Landscape Design Tel: 012 932 225 / 012 738 134 The city’s most talented landscape designer.

Green Goal Ltd 10 Street 296. Tel: 023 223 861 Consultancy offers sustainable and creative architectural and construction services to clients taking into account environmental considerations.

Hemisphere Design & Interiors Tel: 012 602 955 william@norbert-munns.com Western managed renovation company specialising in swimming pools and Jacuzzi construction in fibreglass and concrete.

I Ching Decor 85 Sothearos Blvd.

Tel: 023 220 873 / 012 558 000 / 092 660 746, Boutique interior design shop offering advice on architectural work and interior design, as well as providing custommade furniture, home accessories, kitchenware, lighting and bedroom suites. Open 9am - 6pm, closed Sun. The Room Design Studio 9AB Street 288. Tel: 023 992 620 Interior design and architectural company that has 12 years’ experience of designing flats, villas, offices, shops, homes and offices in Asia.

Bikes & Mechanics

Dara Motorbike 43 Street 136. Tel: 012 335 499 Off-road specialist offers repairs, parts and accessories. Tours can be arranged by appointment.

Emerald Garage 11 Street 456 Mechanics specialising in maintenance and repair of vehicles, including oil changing and body painting.

The Bike Shop 31 Street 302.

Tel: 012 851 776 Repairs trusty steeds as well as renting them out in the first place. Also provides dirt bike tours.

Western Service Centre 24 Street 420.

Tel: 012 477 831 www.wmg-cambodia.com A garage with Western and Khmer staff that emphasises communication and trained, attentive skills. Motto is “We don’t know all, we find out all, then we fix.”

Business Groups

Australian Business Association of Cambodia (ABAC) 20 Street 114 (cnr. Street 67) For information, contact Derek Mayes.

Tel:012 385 157. abacambodia@gmail.com British Business Association of Cambodia (BBAC) 35 Sihanouk Blvd.

Tel: 012 803 891 Contact enquiries@bbacambodia.com Chambre de Commerce FrancoCambodgienne Office 2nd floor, 33 Street 178 Tel: 023 221 453. www.ccfcambodge.org Canadian Cooperation Office Cambodia Commissioner Service .

50 Street 334. Tel: 023 215 496 www.cco-cambodia.org Malaysian Business Council of Cambodia Unit G21, Ground Floor, Parkway Square 113, Mao Tse Tung Blvd. mbcc.secretariat@gmail.com

Car Rental

ACC Car Rental Services 43 Street 160z Toul Kork Tel. 012 456 003 / 015 456 003.

Professional, prompt and organised rental service that provides vehicles for rent with or without a driver. ACC also rents a range of buses that seat from 12 to 45 people. All vehicles can be delivered to your door.

Asia Vehicle Rental 27 Street 134. Tel: 078 666 557 www.avrcambodia.com With the motto “leave your driving to us”, the rental service offers sedans, pick-ups, SUVs and minibuses in 2WD or 4WD for self-drive or with driver.

Insurance offered.

Larryta Trading & Travel Co. Ltd. 9 Street 310. Tel: 023 994 748 www.larrytacarrental.com.kh Vehicle rental for all types of cars, vans and mini-buses with flexible packages in Cambodia and neighbouring countries by the day, week or month.

Royal Limousine Services Attwood Business Center, Russian Confederation Blvd. Tel : 023 218 808 www.royallimousine.com.kh Fleet of late model Mercedes that provides transport for hotels, embassies and luxury tour operators as well as foreign delegates.

Commercial Banks

Acleda Bank 61 Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 998 777 www.acledabank.com.kh Specialises in micro, small and medium loans to people throughout the country.

ANZ Royal Bank Main Branch, 20 Street 114 www.anzroyal.com Cambodia’s major commercial bank has brought international standards of banking to Cambodia, with a large number of ATM

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 81

services

money matters Is the grass always greener?

Paul Dodd

machines around Phnom Penh. Can arrange money transfers.

CIMB Bank PLC 20AB Norodom Blvd. Tel: 023 988 388 www.cimbbank.com.kh Full range of commercial and consumer banking products and services for both Cambodian and foreign businesses and individuals.

The first Japanese bank in Cambodia.

Maruhan Japan Bank 83 Norodom Blvd. Tel: 023 999 010 First Japanese bank in Phnom Penh.

Bikes & Mechanics

Dara Motorbike 43 Street 136, Tel: 012 335 499 Off-road specialist offers repairs, parts and accessories. Tours can be arranged by appointment.

As an expat financial planner living in Asia, I work primarily with other expats, many of whom move from one country to another for postings of a few years. This has led me to see the status of ‘expat’ as a nationality in its own right.

People tend to move country in search of a better life.

For my clients it is usually an opportunity to climb the career ladder, tackle a new challenge and earn more money. They are motivated by the belief that the grass is greener in their proposed country of residence. But is it really?

There are many factors to consider when moving country, but perhaps the most important is finance. However wonderful and exciting your new home may be, if the finances don’t stack up and you are struggling to pay the bills, you will be stressed, worried and miserable. That is why it is crucial to get an accurate idea of the cost of living in order to weigh up the pros and cons of a move.

Say, for example, you are offered a hefty pay rise to move from Phnom Penh to Hong Kong. The increased salary sounds fabulous, but you need to look at comparative living costs to see if, in real terms, you will be better off.

A two-bedroom apartment in Phnom Penh might cost you $600 per month but equivalent accommodation in Hong Kong will cost five times that.

Transport costs may be higher and food more costly. Will it be more expensive to get away

for weekends or to fly ‘home’ to see friends and family?

Only by creating a monthly budget, based on your projected income and expenditure and taking into account all your costs, can you work out whether you will be better off.

There are many online tools, websites and forums to help. You may also want to arrange a trip to check things out for yourself and have an opportunity to pick the brains of other expats living there.

Change is a healthy part of life to be embraced and relished, but don’t forget that it is during big life changes, such as relocating, that financial planning becomes critical. Your financial planner could be instrumental in helping you make such an important life choice and ensuring a smooth transition.

Discuss your plans with them to determine how much flexibility you have to increase and decrease your savings as necessary, or whether you can access your money quickly if you need to. It is also a good idea to review your life and health insurance policies to ensure that you will have sufficient cover in your new home.

With Skype and email, communication has never been easier and enables you to keep in close contact with a financial planner wherever you are. Infinity’s moving to Hong Kong booklet is available to download for free at infinitysolutions.com/blog and our Cambodia guide will be out in the next few months.

Paul Dodd is an area manager at Infinity Financial Solutions.

This company provides impartial, tailor-made, personal financial advice to clients in Cambodia and Southeast Asia. Should you wish to contact Paul, please send an email to info@ infinitysolutions.com or visit infinitysolutions.com.

82 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Emerald Garage 11 Street 456 Mechanics specialising in maintenance and repair of vehicles, including oil changing and body painting.

The Bike Shop 31 Street 302. Tel: 012 851 776 Repairs trusty steeds as well as renting them out in the first place.

Also provides dirt bike tours.

Western Service Centre 24 Street 420. Tel: 012 477 831 www.wmg-cambodia.com A garage with Western and Khmer staff that emphasises communication and trained, attentive skills.

IT & Software

Cresittel Co., Ltd. Office 705, KT Tower, 23 Street 112. Tel 098 518 888 Provides software solutions and systems, point of sales systems for bars and restaurants, website designing and telecoms consulting.

Has showroom at 385 Street 215.

Netpro Cambodia 11 Street 422. Tel: 023 215 141 www.netpro-cambodia.com, IT supports company that delivers high quality and reliable services to home and small to medium size organisations in Cambodia.

Ocean Technology T-20 St Topaz, Sovanna Shopping Centre Tel: 023 211 700 / 010 624 001 www.ocean-tech.biz Technology company that offers GPS navigation systems, an online map directory and vehicle tracking system.

Internet Provider

EMAXX 99 Norodom Blvd. Tel: 023 999 818 EMAXX offers fast internet access via WiMAX, Optical Fiber and Satellite.

Insurance

AG Cambodia Hotel Cambodiana, 313 Sovanna Sisowath Quay Tel: 017 360 333. nfo@agcambodia.com Professional insurance agent offering health, home, car, factory, employee and hotel insurance packages.

Forte Insurance 325, Mao Tse Toung Blvd, Phnom Penh, Tel: 023 885 077 www.forteinsurance.com Forte Insurance is dedicated to providing exceptionally comprehensive and efficient insurance services (Corporate Insurance & Personal Insurance) to all our clients.

Infinity Insurance 126 Norodom Blvd. Tel: 023 999 888 Professional insurance company

offers motor, property, home, marine cargo, personal accident, healthcare, construction and engineering insurance.

Group policies can be customized.

Legal

BNG Legal 64 Street 111. www.bnglegal.com Tel: 023 212 671 / 023 212 740 BNG Legal is a leading Cambodian law firm providing comprehensive legal services to foreign and local clients.

We differentiate ourselves by coupling a deep understanding of the local business environment with international professionalism and integrity.

DFDL Legal and Tax Advisors 33 Street 294. Tel: 023 210 400 www.dfdlmekong.com Law firm providing international standard legal and tax solutions with local and cross-border experience with offices in neighbouring countries.

Gordon and Associates Asia 21 Street 214. Tel: 023 218 257 US lawyer works with local Cambodian lawyers to provide international quality advice. Specialises in foreign investment, joint ventures and advising entrepreneurs with an in depth knowledge of the telecoms, agriculture, banking and hospitality sectors.

Sciaroni & Associates 24 Street 462. Tel: 023 210 225 Law firm with a good reputation.

Just the ticket if you get into a spot of bother.

Media & Design

Anon Creative Energy Tel: 089 812 123 anoncambodia@gmail.com Internationally trained advertising talent at your service. Strong, strategic ideas.

Available for freelance art and copy writing projects.

Asia Media Lab Tel: 012 818 917. www.asiamedialab. com Full service video production company specialises in the creation of dynamic visual content to help bring NGO stories to life for fundraising and advocacy.

Miscellaneous

Sunbird Angkor Co. Ltd. 78 Monireth Blvd.

Tel: 023 98 3333 / 023 99 1010 sunbirdangkor@yahoo.co.kr Worldwide Hotel Reservation, Car Rental Service, Worldwide Medical Service, Convention, Marketing.

Open Mon~Fri 8am ~5:30pm & Sat 8am~1pm Sunbird Global Co., Ltd. 78 St. Monireth Blvd.

Tel: 023 98 3333 / 023 99 1010 sunbirdglobal@yahoo.co.kr Insurance Service, Air Cargo, Worldwide Express, Trading.

Open Mon~Fri 8am ~5:30pm & Sat 8am~1pm

Post Office

Main Post Office Cnr. Streets 102 & 13 The place to go if you want to send something overseas or get a PO Box. Open 6.30am -9pm.

Photography

AsiaMotion Tel: 092 806 117. www.asiamotion.net Photographic agency established in November 2008 as a cooperation between local and international photographers.

Nathan Horton Photography Tel: 092 526 706 www.nathanhortonphotography.com

Printing

Sok Heng Printing House 1297B Street Luo 5, Stoeung Mean Chey Tel: 011 939 255 / 012 939 255 Modern print house providing a full range of printing services. Graphic design available.

Real Estate and Property Services

240Condo 50B Street 240.

Tel: 012 271 636 www.240phnompenh.com 240 is the home of 42 luxury serviced apartments set in the most stylish area of the city with spectacular river and city views. The condominium was designed by leading international architects gfab and represents the most contemporary luxury apartment development currently available in Cambodia.

CB Richard Ellis (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. 9th Floor, Hyundai Phnom Penh Tower 445 Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 964 099 www.cbre.com.kh The world’s largest commercial real estate services company offering premier quality real estate, valutions, consultancy, investment and property services.

Property Care Services (PCS) 2A Road 7. Tel: 017 555 203 Solution for property support services, including waste management, security, pest control and cleaning. Only company to clean high-rise windows with abseilers.

Relocation, Shipping

Crown 115-116 Street 335. Tel: 023 881 004 www.crownrelo.com Global transportation and relocation company with over 150 offices in 50 countries, specialising in expat support and household shipment.

Open 8:30am - 5:30pm Mon - Fri, 8:30am - 12pm, Sat. expat2cambodia Call Sophie: 066 200 767 www.expat2cambodia.com Your personal consultant offering services from expat to expat in the client’s own language: city orientation, house hunting and utilities, health care, cars/motorbikes, recreation facilities, networking, shopping, administration.

Home Connect Cambodia 86 Street 160. Tel: 023 88 56 85 www.homeconnect.asia Home search company, dedicated to making the home search process easy and specializing in finding rental homes for the expatriate community. Best of all for our clients, our services are FREE.

052013 ISSUE77

Sanitation Marketer

Chocolate Artist

Bomb Diver

Jungle Sonographer

www.asialifemagazine.com

Giant Ibis Transport Phnom Penh Phnom Penh: 3 Street 106, next to Night Market. Tel: 023 999 333 www.giantibis.com Siem Reap: 64 Street Sivatha, Mondol 1, Svay Dankum.

Travel in “Affordable Luxury” to Siem Reap and other destinations in brand new 2012 buses with comforablt reclining seats, spacious leg room, A/C, Wi-fi, complementary snacks and pick-up service.

Curious jobs in Cambodia

Rugby Referee

Taxi Services

Choice Taxi Tel: 023 888 023 / 090 882 882 Metered taxi service with rates from US$1 for first 2km.

services

Full service professional photographer.

Hotels, bars, restaurants, spas and location work. Call for Travel Photography workshops and tours.

House Ad White

Global Meter Taxi Tel: 011 311 888 092 889 962 / 016 680 118 Modern metered taxi fleet with rates from less than US$1 for first two km.

Telecoms

Emaxx Corner St 214 and Norodom Blvd.

Tel: 023 999 818 We provide a national, high-quality, 4G communications network service for Internet and multi-media services including commerce, entertainment and education for development of Cambodia.

Ezecom 7D Russian Blvd.

Tel: 023 888 181 www.ezecom.com.kh Internet service provider that promises boundless internet packages suited to everyone’s needs. Good packages for those looking for unlimited downloads.

www.asialifemagazine.com FOR SALES ENQUIRIES: Chantha Sorn | 012 576 878 | chantha@asialife.asia

Mobitel 33 Sihanouk Blvd.Tel: 012 801 801 Largest ISP in the country. Major mobile phone company which issues the 012 SIM card.

Smart 464A Preah Monivong Blvd.

Tel: 010 201 000.www.smart.com.kh www.facebook.com/SmartAxiata One of the most dynamic and fastest growing mobile telecom service in the country, issues the 010, 015, 016, 069, 070, 081, 086, 087, 093, 096, and 098 prefixes.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 83

LISTINGS

shopping Art

Hanuman Fine Arts 13B Street 334, Phnom Penh Tel: 023 211 916 tradition@hanumanfinearts.com High quality, beautiful antiques and objets d’art from all over the Kingdom.

Furniture, ornaments, silverware, jewellery and more are well displayed in a treasure trove of a store. Very helpful and friendly staff. Open 8am - 5pm.

Happy Painting Gallery 363 Sisowath Quay (nr. FCC) Tel: 023 221 732 www.happypainting.net Established in 1995 this art gallery is dedicated to Stef, a local icon artist with a very personal and positive insight into everyday life in Cambodia.

Open 8am - 10pm

Beauty Products

Angkor Soap 16C Street 374 Tel: 023 223 720 / 015 935 789. www.angkorsoaps.com Specialising in handmade soaps and natural spa products. Open daily 8am - 5pm Raffles Amrita Spa Raffles Hotel Le Royal.

Tel: 023 981 888 www.raffles.com/ phnompenh spa.phnompenh@ raffles.com Distinctive collection of Raffles Amrita spa private label and international spa products are available for purchase. Open 6am - 10pm.

Books & CDS

Carnets d’Asie French Cultural Centre 218 Street 184. Tel: 012 799 959 French-language bookshop has sections on Cambodia and Asia as well as general fiction, with a good range of French magazines and newspapers. Open 8am - 8pm D’s Books 79 Street 240 & 12E Street 178 Tel: 012 726 355 www.facebook. com/ds.books.shops New and used bookshops with over 20,000 original

84 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

books and some copies, with a great range of best sellers. Coffee, smoothies and more available all day at Street 240.

Open 9am to 9pm.

Le Phnom Shop Raffles Hotel Le Royal.

Tel: 023 981 888 www.raffles.com/phnompenh, Small shop offering books and souvenirs including recipes from the hotel’s pastry chef. Open 7am - 9pm.

Monument Books 111 Norodom Blvd. Tel: 023 217 617 Extensive range of new Englishlanguage books in town including recent releases and sections on Asia, Cambodia, travel, cuisine, design and management. Good children’s section as well as a wide choice of magazines and newspapers.

Open 7am - 8.30pm.

Crafts & Furniture

Art des Lignes 42B Mao Tse Toung Blvd. Tel: 012 211 520 www.artdeslignes.com This new interior design showroom provides branded products of highquality like luxury leather sofas and LED lighting, as well as furniture and metal artworks in contemporary style.

Upstairs, the architecture and interior design office can offer complete solutions for projects, with a resolutely modern spirit and French Touch.

Open 8:30am - 7:00pm .closed Sun. Artisans Angkor 12AEo Street 13 (in front of Post Office) Open daily from 9am to 6pm Tel: 023 992 409 www.artisansdangkor.com Boutique with a wide range of traditional and contemporary handmade pieces produced at Artisans Angkor’s workshops in Siem Reap province: silk scarves, clothing and accessories, home furnishings, lacquer paintings and tableware, stone and wooden sculptures, silver-plated ornaments and silk paintings. Special commissions and custom orders welcome.

Artwood 33 Street 302. Tel: 016 934 999 www.artwood.asia Drop in to our showroom to experience modern wooden furniture designed and manufactured in Cambodia. Offers free consultations for both commercial and residential custom-made needs.

DeCosy 219 Street 19 Tel: 023 219 276 Stocking charming knick-knacks and furniture,is the place to find the things to make your house a home. Open daily from 9am to 7pm.

Pavillon d’Asie 24, 26 Sihanouk Blvd Tel: 012 497 217 Antique lovers dream, a large array of well-restored furniture and decorative objects. Wooden cabinets jostle for space with Buddha statues and old wooden boxes. Upstairs are pieces from the French colonial era. Open 10am - 7pm, closed Sun. PhalyCraft 37 Street 113. Tel: 016 485 857 www.phalycraft.com Located near Tuol Sleng Museum, PhalyCraft makes scarves, bags, gifts and accessories. Custom orders available.

Renature Aquarium Shop 35AE Street 288. co.operating7@gmail.com Tel: 012 664-381 (Khmer-English) / 088 3335-338 (Japanese) High quality aquarium products including fish, tanks, lighting systems, filters, water grass, rocks, Japanese soil and much more. Open Mon-Fri 10am to 6pm. Sat-Sun 10am to 7pm.

Fashion

Ambre 37 Street 178. Tel: 023 217 935 The high-end fashion designs created

by Cambodian designer Romyda Keth are popular all over the world, this beautiful colonial building makes the perfect setting for the city’s most glamorous design shop. Also has men’s fashion.

Open 10am - 6pm, closed Sun.

A.N.D. 52c Street 240.

Tel: 017 854 726 artisandesigners@gmail.com The designers at A.N.D. work with many local artisans, giving a fashion twist to traditional skills: look for generously-sized ikat wraps in pure cotton, innovative up-cycled bags, and covetable jewellery combining hand-carved hardwoods with silver and vintage porcelain.

Bambou Indochine 7 Street 178. Tel: 023 214 720, Facebook: bambouindochine High-quality T-shirts, Polo shirts and comfortable clothes in original designs.

A full-range of sizes for men, women and children. Open daily 8am -10pm.

Beautiful Shoes 138 Street 143. Tel: 012 848 438 Family-run business measures your feet and designs the shoe exactly as you wish. The shop also caters for men. Open from 7am to 6.30pm.

Bliss 29 Street 240. Tel: 023 215 754 A beautiful colonial building houses this exquisite shop with funky patterned cushions, quilts and an excellent clothing line. The health spa at the back of the shop also sells Spana beauty products. Open from 9am to 9pm (closed Mondays).

Color Vintage 168 Street 13 Color Vintage is Phnom Penh’s premiere shop for refined vintage styles for men and women. We source authentic articles from around the world and offer free alterations for a perfect fit! Buy, sell or exchange.

Couleurs D’Asie 33 Street 240 Tel: 023 221 075/ 099 499 478 www.couleursdasie.net info@couleursdasie.net Established in Cambodia for more than 15 years, Couleurs d´Asie has

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 85

developed a full range of textile products for home decoration, clothing and fashion accessories. Jewellery, essential oils, soaps and more are on offer. A custom service for existing products is also available.

Dara Shoes 10 Street 166, near corner Street 107.

Tel: 012 855 173 / 097 8097 143 Good quality shoes, boots, bags, belts and leather products made to order since 1993.

Jasmine Boutique 73 Street 240.

Tel: 023 223 103 www.jasmineboutique.net Established in 2001 by Kellianne Karatau and Cassandra McMillan, this boutique creates its own collection of designs twice a year using hand-woven Cambodian silk. Open 8am - 6pm.

Khmer Attitude Raffles Hotel Le Royal.

Tel: 023 981 888 Fashion boutique that offers the finest Khmer silk clothing for men, women and children, including designs by Romyda Keth, and exclusive jewellery that complement the limited edition outfits.

La Clef de Sol 10 Street 208. Tel: 012 394 915 A design boutique offering home decor, women’s fashion, kids clothes, bags, accessories and continually updated design surprises. Near KFC on Norodom Blvd. Open 9am - 6pm Monday - Saturday Lim Keo 9 Street 222. Tel: 012 941 643 Pret a porter by Lim Keo, son of Sylvain Lim, the master of Cambodian fashion.

Lost‘N’ Found Vintage Store 321 Street 63 cnr Street 322 Tel: 023 640 5047 Vibrant vintage shop offering a selection of interesting, handpicked secondhand dresses, handbags, belt, purses and other accessories. Men’s clothing available too. The collection is constantly changing and the attractive prices already make it popular amongst expats.

Luna Boutique 8E1Street 278.

Tel: 023 220 176 www.lunaboutiquephnompenh.com Original and stylish fashion designs for men and women.The tailor-made creations, designed by modern Cambodian stylist Mengchou Kit, are fit for any occasion. Luna Boutique is located in the heart of Phnom Penh, in front of Anise Hotel, while its sister shop - Luna Shoes - is just next door.

Open daily 8am - 9pm.

86 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Promesses and Kaprices 20 Street 282.

Tel: 023 993 527 Lingerie shop stocked with exclusive French and Thai undergarments. Chic, new prêt-à-porter shop Kaprices is located upstairs. Open 9am - 7pm.

SentosaSilk Uniform 33 Sothearos Blvd, cnr Street 178 Tel: 012 962 911/ 023 222 974 sentosa@online.com.kh Well known for its professional management ability, SentosaSilk gives clients efficient and reliable service through quality systems and procedures that consistently enhance product quality and reliability.

Sobbhana Boutique 23-24 Street 144/49 Tel: 023 219 455/ 023 219 452 www.sobbhana.org, A not for profit organisation founded

by Princess Norodom Marie, offering a range of colourful, handwoven silk products. Profits fund training, medical care and education of weavers.

Smateria 8Eo Street 5.

Tel: 023 211 701 7 Street 178. Tel: 023 214 720 www.smateria.com Boutique specialising in accessories made from recycled materials including a range of bags and wallets made from old fruit juice cartons, plastic bags and mosquito nets.

Subtyl 43 Street 240.

Tel 023 992 710 www.subtyl.com Up-market boutique selling Cambodian handmade women’s clothes, scarves, shoes, bags and other accessories in contemporary and interesting designs, the Subtyl collection combines class with colour.

ChilliKids children’s clothing is also stocked at the shop.

Open 9am - 7pm.

Food & Wine

AusKhmer – The Pantry Shop 125 Street 105 Tel: 023 993 859 /023 214 478 This small deli features a variety of well priced wines, Australian beers, and French delicacies, cheeses, antipasti, and cold cuts. Open 10am - 8pm.

Camory – Premium Cookie Boutique 167 Sisowath Quay. Tel: 023 224 937 Makes cookies using produce from the provinces such as cashews from Kampong Cham and Mondulkiri honey.

A portion of the profits fund education for a local orphanage.

Open 9am - 8.30pm.

Celliers d’Asie 62B & 98 Street 432. Tel: 023 986 350 Wine supplier with the largest quantity of retail stock in town, has been providing wine to most of the top hotels and restaurants for over ten years. Open 8am -12pm, 2pm - 6pm, closed Sun. Comme a la Maison 13 Street 57. Tel: 012 951 869 Decidedly sophisticated French restaurant has a small delicatessen and bakery at the back of the restaurant ideal for that morning baguette or croissant with your coffee. Open from 6am - 10.30pm.

Dan Meats 51A Street 214. Tel: 012 906 072 Phnom Penh’s man of meat, Lanzi, supplies his strictly non-vegetarian products to many restaurants around town. Open7:30 - 6:30, closed Sun. Kurata Pepper Cnr. Streets 63 & 322. Tel: 023 726 480 Selling organic Koh Kong pepper and associated products, Kurata is one of the more unusual shops in town.

Open daily 8am - 7pm.

Open Wine 219 Street 19 Tel: 023 223 527 Aircon wine shop and tasting gallery sells wines, severac, calvados and meat. Open 7pm - 11pm.

Red Apron 15-17 Eo Street 240 Tel: 023 990 951 Home of wine enthusiasts in Phnom Penh is both a wine boutique and tasting gallery. With around 300 wines, the boutique has more range than the supermarkets. Open 9am - 9pm.

Supercheap Cambodia 87 Street 360. Tel: 023 631 3668 336A Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 977 779

www.supercheap.com.kh Budget shop claims to offer the biggest variety of wines and spirits in Cambodia as well as the cheapest prices.

Open 8am - 10pm.

The Deli 13 Street 178 Tel: 012 851 234 Café and bakery with take away breads, sandwiches and pastries. Now has a second outlet on Street 51.

Open 6.30am - 6.30pm, delivery service (within 30 minutes) 7am-11pm.

Silks & Accessories

Friends ‘n’ Stuff 215 Street 13 Tel: 012 955 722 Colourful shop with unique products designed by Mith Samlahn/Friends students and parents of former street kids. Range includes cclothes, necklaces, purses and second hand goods. Has a nail bar run by students from the beauty class.

Open 11am - 9pm.

Mekong Quilts 49 Street 240 Tel: 023 219 607 www.mekong-quilts.org Outlet for NGO Mekong Plus, stocks a large range of hand-crafted bed covers, home accessories, gifts and decorations. Benefits Mekong Plus, which promotes health initiatives in Svay Rieng Province. Open 9am - 7pm.

Sentosa Silk 33 Sothearos Blvd, cnr Street 178 Tel: 023 222 974 www.sentosasilk.com Using a colourful range of Asian silks, Sentosa creates men’s and women’s clothing, accessories and soft furnishings. Sentosa employs disadvantaged people.

Open daily 8am - 7pm.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 87

Himawari Hotel Cambodiana French Element Hotel & MW Medical AG Service all eH nc

Sihanouk Blvd.

Sofitel Phokeethra

St. 308

Blvd

St. 312

St. 244

Soth

earos

I Ching iCAN

St. 21

Blvd.

St. 394

264

St.

6 St. 25

) 17

St. 392

St. 380

St. 370

St. 360

St. 352

St. 334

St. 129

St. 151

St. 153

St. 157

St. 159

St. 390

St. 386

St. 368

St. 376

St. 350

St. 360

St. 330

St. 320

St. 310

St. 304

St. 292

St. 300

St. 288

St. 280

St. 127

Toul Sleng Museum

St. 121

SupercheapSt. 133

Toys &

St. 163

St. 167

Olympic Stadium

.1

89

.2

84

St

St. 17

Legend Cinema

Singapore

8 6

St.

28

31

8

31 St.

01

32

8

St

.1

93

34

8

0 29

vd . ng

Bl

36

To u

4

M

St.

ao

38

8

Ts e

38

2 40 St. 4

0

St.

41

4

40 St.

43 St. 4 43 St.

) 17 ire

th

(S

2 t. on M St. 388

St. 372

St. 362

St. 344

St

.2

17

St. 336

St. 324

St. 314

St. 230 St. 160

St. 265

13

St.

71

)

271

.2

St. 596 St. 598

St

4

4

St.

St. 346

St. 218

St. 210

St. 204

St. 202

St. 186

St. 270

ion d

e la

R

St. 263

St. 156

.3

Technical Institute of Cambodia

17

269

.(

7

59

37 St.

St.

S

St. 336

St. 326

St. 316 St. 182

St. 160

St. 156

St. 146

128)

St. 122

St. 116

irpo

rt Ro

ad)

St. 604

(A ussie

St. 606

600 St.

St

255

2

St.

4

St.

35

6

St.

St.

3 t. 3

6

St. 272

St. 234

St. 230

St. 217

St. 206

St. 202

St. 194

St. 156

St. 150

St. 146

St. 188

St. 182

St. 162

331

333

St.

St. 33

59 6 88 AsiaLIFE 57 St. Cambodia St.

.3

15

St. 150

St.

St

.3

St.

St. 136

St

4

St. 259

St. 132

57

St.

St. 261

Co

2

St.

St. 257

St. 261

erat nfed

57

St. 311

Blvd. (St. Kampuchea Krom

St. 90

St. 5

St. 602 St.

St. 309

St. 319

0

St. 321

57

St. 323

St.

St. 608

86 St. 5

84 88

St. 5

68

St. 325

339

5 St.

NailHolic

Tin Tin Cafe Tango

6

St. 327

5

56

St. 329

St. 33

St.

IFL: Brown Coffee

Rattanak Hospital Comme a la Maison

St. 305

St. 5

17

4 . 54

253 St.OPPOSITE

297

592

82 St. 5

St. 5

66

St. 5

54

78

52 St. 5

St. 5

.3

2

St

St. 136

St. 608

48 50

St. 5

St. 5

80 54

St. 5

St

0

St.

St. 150

St. 618 28 St. 5

46

St. 5 54

St. 138

St. 134

St. 616

St. 614

St. 610

St. 612

St. 564

St. 566

St. 562

8

St. 560

St. 55

St. 556

St. 528

St. 524

2 St. 52 8

St.

St. 226

St. 220

St. 122

St. 118

St. 112

6 52 St.

75 St. 2 St.

53

St. 192

73 St. 2

516

4

51

6 51 St.

St.

St.

01

07

03

St. 3

9

09

St

13

24

.2

.3

6

St. 251

St.

St

St

53

95

St. 3

St.

St. 3

St. 247

St. 253 St. 2

. 299

St. 247

07

5

28

Chenla Theatre

g Blvd.

.2

St.

To Airport approx. 6 km

St. 291

15

93

.3

Mao Tse Toun

St

AT THE AIRPORT: 89 St. 2 Bambou Indochine Smateria

05

St. 241

Home Connect

Forte

11

St. 243

St. 237

St. 2

St

St. 239

St. 233

(St. 289)

InterContinental Friends ’n’ Stuff

.2

Royal Rattanak Hospital

Grand Phnom Penh Golf Penn Nouth

St. 231

St. 229

St

83

St. 227

99

St. 225

.1

5

St

2 St.

28

7

St.

19

1

03

St.

St. 223

95

28

.2

.1

St.

St

Sunbird

St. 221

iDeal Reward

St

608

32

93

1 St.

.1

St.

St

79

05

91

2 St.

The Way Cafe

.1

St.

99

St

St. 221

7 27

.1

87

.2

.1

St

St

St )

85

St. 213 d. (St. 215 Nehru Blv

t. 1

St. 211

St.

33

8

St.

.2

St.

36 .3 St

St

0

St.

2 St. 18

3

29

St. 175

St

169)

St. 322

St. 306

St. 302

St. 288

St. 278

St. 119

Sihanouk blvd.

St. 152

uie (St. ecoslovaq

St. 171

Confederati

St. 278

St. 260

St. 248

St. 232

St. 242

ar Ch

St. 161

St.

St. 122

v

St. 118

Jok Dimitro

on de

henton la Russie (Poc

St. 117

St. 143

St. 143

St. 198

d l es

St. 190

( St le ul

1

St. 236

.2

St. 141

St. 149

St. 165

St. 310

Sihanouk Blvd.

St. 276

St. 115

4 16

St. 134

14

PhalyCraft

St. 113

St. 113

St. 125

St.

St. 348

St. 214

St. 182

St.

.

St. 95

St. 105

St. 111

0 17 8 16 St.

St.

St

Ram R

iOne

The Terrace The Flicks K’NYAY

St. 107

1 11

a eG

d) g Airport Roa

St. 139

St. 161

St. 294

St. 282

Malis Dental Clinic

St. 71

CIAPP T-Bone

Supercheap

St. 242

Blvd.

Orussey Market

St. 137

Tch

Lucky Kids City

International Chiropractic Clinic

Bi Nail Salon

Crosstown Cafe Pasta and Vino

St. 398

Wat Lang Ka

2

St. 26

4

2

St. 25

St. 24

0 St. 24

8

2

St. 22

St. 180

St. 158

109

St. 6 16

St. 140 St. 109

St.93

Byrd

Oknha Noukan

Dara Shoes

Kampuchea

St. 126

Le Rit’s

St. 107

Le Biz

St. 70

St. 22

4

St. 21

8

St. 20

St. 200

St. 184

St. 17

8

St. 174

2

St. 17

St. 136

St. 154

St. 136 St. 126

)

St. 118

ar (St. 114 Kramuons

110) duong (St.

St. 108

St. 106

St. 102

Blvd.

Monivong

Raffles Hotel Le Royal

St. 266

St. 240

St. 2

84

St. 1

4

6 0

St. 13

St. 13

St. 118

St. 108

St. 106

St. 17

Monivong

Cabaret

St. 86

St. 80

French Embassy

Hair & Nail Studio International Le Cafe Dental Clinic CCF

St. 81

(St. 128)

Stella

St. 63

Cineplex

mey Psar Th

Queen Boutique Hotel

Romdeng Do It All Bar

St. 67

Krom Blvd.

St. 86

St. 75

St. 53

rket

Ma Central

Central Mansions The Shop St. 96

Tell

al Hotel Le Roy

Exchange

St. 84

Preah Ang

St. 92

St. 61

St. 90

80 St.

t. 4

St. 88

St.

82

St.

84

United States Embassy

St.

78

St. 102

Oknha San

88 St.

La Marmite

British Embassy

St. 76

St. 14

4 10

02

St.

.1

00 .1

St

8 .9 St thomok

krong Cham Baksei 90 St.

Wat Phnom

7)

e nc Fra

S

Nathan Horton Photography

y ua

The Chinese House Brasserie du Port Hotel Cara Doors 7) ( S t.

Sharky’s

9

21

Black Star Tattoos

St. 1

t.

Q

th

Giant Ibis Transportation Van’s

(S

wa

St. 14

8

3

St. 154

St. 1

th

so

National Museum

i re

Si

Almond Hotel

2

Amara Spa

l tra e Cen Offic t Pos

St. 13

78

St

St

Limoncello

Chez Rina

Comme a la Maison Kan Ji

St. 9

Seibur St. 29 Lost Room ISPP Malis Red Apron Euro Dental Clinic 9 Infinity Derma-Care Reyum Institute t Yves Rocher en St. 1 La Rose T um of Arts & Culture Mekong Quilts 240 Phnom Penh ndence Mon Norodom Bou The Taste levard The Shop depe In A.N.D Beyond Villa Samnang Jasmine Le Temps des ard Latin Quarter Monkey Business Interiors cafe ulev Cerises StreKiriya om Bo TEAE et) The Plantation Norod St. 51 (Pasteur Botanic The Blue Pumpkin Villa Srey Patio Hotel Monument Books Toto Ice Cream The Gove Simphony Brown LimKeo Hou Steve’s Steakhouse Dosa Corner Coffee St. 25 3 St. 2 Irrawaddi Petra The Dollhouse ence Taqueria id Res St. 57 Tho h Corona Cafe Le Point Raffles Montesorri Huyn Smateria Circa 51 SOS La Clef Comme a la Maison de Sol The Little Gar Shiro-Fukurou reet) ur St te as (P Ocean St. 51 St. 55 UdonCafe Kurata Pepper St. 63 Ninja St. 49 Le Librairie Villa Paradiso Sobbhana Lost’n’Found Sambo’s To Yi Sang Renature Aquarium

Lemon Grass Paddy. 5Rice

Beirut Indian Delight iVIVA! Gloria Jean’s Stone Grill

St. 7

Meta House The Duck

Zino Splash Inn Lime 9 Vego Quinapenas Shigeta Dental One More St. 21 Vegetarian Public House Pub Villa Borann Mumoo’s / Java Café & Gallery Bar Sito Royal Palace Emergency Room Samba Luna Irina’s Artillery The Warehouse St. 29

Rising Sun Sentosa Silk

K West Amanjaya Color Vintage Friends

Vietnam Friendship Monument

n)

.

Riverhouse Bistro Riverhouse Lounge

Sushi Bar Comme a la Maison Bellevue

h

nsio

esid

er R

hm

o-K

Sin

e (t enc

a eM

40

Chow Riverside Bistro Metro Café The Blue Pumpkin

ow

Suramarit Blvd.

Sis

St. 1

Cantina

St

d.

Sunbird 2 Fox

Sothearos Blvd.

M

pR

y ua

31 6

Sa

Q ath

on

nle To

Pop Café Bambou Indochine Smateria FCC Bodia Spa

St. 246

e fer

on kC

mu

to

ak Ch

Australian Embassy

Mind Body Practice Shangri-La

Eriq Amtalla Salon St. 258

Phnom Penh Central

Naga World Darlin Darlin

1 l Road

St. 64

0

9

St. 35

St. 64

2

4 St. 64

Nationa St. 35

9

St. 36

3

St. 63

8

St. 36

9

Mon

g ivon

Blrid

ge

L’imprevu

7

St. 36

6 St. 62 0 St. 63

St. 620

St. 622

St. 62

8

Dragon Water Park

St. 394

Natio

Rose

Canadian International School

Topaz

Bou

leva

rd

Pho

umin

DK Schoolhouse

St. 73

St. 498

St. 466

St. 99 St. 484

St. 95

St. 97

St. 99

Yoth

St. 508

Smart

St. 436

Blvd.

Monivong

apo

ROCK Entertainment Club

Man Han Lou

St. 474

Eton House

l Kh

e

k mara

St. 63

Sambo’s Tots Rambutan Resort

. (St. Blvd

St. 466

St. 422

St. 400

St. 398

Thida Salon New York Steakhouse

Little Garden

271

)

The Governor’s House St. 392

dom

2

oad

rd

St. 462

om Bouleva

Noro

nal R

St. 101 St. 103

Nature Wild Art desLignes

St. 488 Yoth

St.

47

St. 4

apo

l Kh

em

St.

510 St.

506 St.

St.

502

S

St.

00 t. 5

49 6

494

St.

492

kP ara

hou

min

d. (S Blv

t. 2

71)

30

St.

17

7 75

Global Art School of Ballet Dancing

St. 448

St. 442

75

St. 438

St. 4

430

St. 457

7

St. 432

173

5

St.

St. 424

Singapore Parkway Salon

St.

490 St.

488 St.

St. 163

Physiotherapy St. 16

St.

St. 486

St. 480

St. 476

St. 478

St. 472

St. 470

St. 468

St. 147

St. 444

Toul Tom Pong

Hahahoho

St. 145

St.

Indigo Counselling

St. 155

St. 464

St. 450

St. 440

St. 432

St. 426

St. 418

St. 408

Russian Market

St. 482

Cando Craft Cafe Yejj

504

512

St. 450

St. 454

St. 446

St. 432

St. 440

St. 428

St. 408

St. 135

St. 460

Toys & Me

St. 132

St. 456

3

St. 105

St. 454

1

St. 420

St. 396

Mao Tse Toung Blvd. (Street 245)

St. 386

St. 390

WSC

St

.1

St

.1

81

St.

18

3

St

.1

85

St

.1

87 .1

9

Yothapo

l Khemara

k Phoumi

n Blvd.

(St. 271)

St

St

.2

1

To Choueng Ek Killing Fields approx. 12 km

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 89

Oscars Party @ Riverhouse

La Rue Danse @ Koh Pich

Photography by Anna Clare Spelman, Stephen Sonderman and DH Friendly.

90 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

The 6th Annual Big Phat Phnom Penh Hat ultimate frisbee tournament @ Northbridge International School

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 91

soundfix album review

MØ

NO MYTHOLOGIES TO FOLLOW

Forget Grimes, Lana del Ray, Icona Pop, Lorde and all those other it girls. All you need is Mø. Born Karen Marie Ørsted, the 25-year-old Dane has mastered the sounds that have dominated indie pop over the past year. Her fulllength debut is a grab bag of 20 bang-up tracks, drawing from electronica, R&B, dubstep and soul influences. The beat-driven music calls for obvious comparison with fellow Scandinavian Lykke Li, but Mø is less ethereal and more naturally fun. Her songs are awash with happy-go-lucky melodies, heavy on handclaps and schoolyard chants. But Mø’s girlish vocals can also channel darkness, delivering lyrics with a sultry edge on ‘Never Wanna Know’ and ‘Dust Is Gone’. The Diplo-produced ‘XXX 88’ rivals ‘Pilgrim’ for catchiest number, but it’s a toss up. Learn how to pronounce her name – something between “moo” and “meu” – because you’ll probably want to tell your friends.

92 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

by Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen

AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE

THE WAR ON DRUGS

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Those who follow contemporary jazz will recognize Ambrose Akinmusire as one of the most celebrated trumpeters of his generation. But for folks like me who don’t know much about jazz, his many awards and accomplishments haven’t crossed the radar. From the outside, jazz can seem like an insider’s club in which knowledge of the genre is a requisite for appreciating the music. It’s artists like Akinmusire who are trying to break the shroud of inaccessibility surrounding today’s jazz. The 31-year-old’s method of playing trumpet is neither stodgy and stale, nor excessively experimental.

Most of his third album is instrumental, featuring soaring trumpet solos that range from frenetic to soothing, often within the same song. Akinmusire’s quintet contributes tenor saxophone, piano, bass and drums, joined by additional collaborators and three vocalists, which further helps usher in jazz newbies.

The War on Drugs might have christened their third album Lost in the Dream, but there’s nothing that feels off course on this record. Dreamlike is an apt descriptor for the Philadelphiabased foursome’s brand of hazy Americana rock, but the songs come across as purposeful and considerately crafted. The album’s 10 tracks capture the tone of the open road, which is fitting considering they were shaped over two years of intensive touring. Layers of drum machines, synths and saxophone contribute to the record’s 1980s essence, which makes songs feel pleasantly familiar upon first listen. That’s partly because of how much Bruce Springsteen comes to mind, although with less of the Boss’s grandiosity and more accents of Bob Dylan’s later work. Following in the footsteps of these two legends, frontman Adam Granduciel has created an inspired record that plenty of musicians today would dream of producing.

Many of the tracks on the Songkites compilation are sung in Khmer, but knowing the language isn’t necessary for understanding these musicians.

Sorrow, hope and frustration are powerfully conveyed in each note. Songkites emerges from a series of collaborative workshops for Cambodian musicians led by Phnom Penh’s Ragamuffin Boathouse. Using kites as a symbol of freedom, the project encourages artists to let their creativity soar and write, record and release original songs. The result is a diverse collection of ballads, rock tunes and pop numbers, which will surprise listeners with fixed expectations of Cambodian music. The ups and downs of love provide stirring lyrical content – Propey’s ‘Journey of Heart’ is an uplifting take on romance’s first bloom, whereas Nikki Nikki’s ‘Come Home for Dinner’ sends chills down the spine. ‘What If?’ expresses feelings of self-doubt, but Sentosa Mam’s captivating delivery is a strong argument that artistic risks can pay off.

THE IMAGINED SAVIOR IS FAR EASIER TO PAINT

LOST IN THE DREAM

SONGKITES

topten

endorsed

Official 97.5 Love FM Phnom Penh Top Ten 1 Dark Horse 2 Timber 3 Story Of My Life 4 Happy 5 Best Day Of My Life 6 Can’t Remember To Forget You 7 Wild Heart 8 Counting Stars 9 Chocolate 10 Team

Katy Perry Pitbull feat. Ke$ha One Direction Pharrell Williams American Authors Shakira & Rihanna The Vamps One Republic The 1975 Lorde

UK Top Ten 1. Tsunami (jump) 2. My Love 3. Happy 4. I’m A Freak 5. Rather Be 6. All Of Me 7. Dark Horse 8. How I Feel 9. Nasty 10. Money On My Mind

DVBBS & Borgeous Route 94 Pharrell Willliams Enrique Iglesias Clean Bandit John Legend Katy Perry Flo Rida Pixie Lott Sam Smith

US Top Ten 1. Happy 2. Katy Perry 3. All Of Me 4. Talk Dirty 5. Pompeii 6. Team 7. Drunk In Love 8. Counting Stars 9. Let It Go 10. Timber

Pharrell Williams Dark Horse John Legend Jason Derulo & 2 Chainz Bastille Lorde Béyonce feat. Jay Z One Republic Idina Menzal Pitbull feat. Ke$ha

The Ricky Gervais Show Lien Hoang In a small way, my life changed when a friend introduced me to the most downloaded podcast in the world. In The Ricky Gervais Show, the eponymous creator hangs out with Karl Pilkington and Stephen Merchant to have “pointless conversations”.

The funniest bits happen when Ricky and Stephen mercilessly tease Karl, the supposed idiot of the show but also the star. The truth is that this programme has value because episodes can be as inane as they are illuminating.

In one episode, Karl asks: “Does the brain control you, or are you controlling the brain?” Ricky (famous for creating The Office) jumps at the suggestion and tells Karl, repeatedly, that “you are your brain.”

He and Stephen take pot shots at Karl’s cognition and laugh at the image of Karl arguing with his own brain. But that’s mostly semantics. In reality, Karl is onto something: that we aren’t always aware or in control of what we think and do.

Karl reasons things out on his own, but lacks the vocabulary or sophistication to defend his opinions.

The show gets a lot of mileage out of that. It helps, too, that Karl truly seems to have a unique mind.

He makes up words like “foodage” and thinks that monkeys have performed eye surgery. He is also a strange man (he once got lost in a field because he was walking while reading).

YouTube is the best way to enjoy The Ricky Gervais Show, but the HBO network has taken it to a whole new level by illustrating it.

The animation is incredibly creative. We usually see the trio in a studio and they act out what they describe.

You really have to see it to appreciate it.

Karl doesn’t accept any premise and questions everything. You may not agree with his odd logic, but he thinks for himself.

And when Stephen and Ricky ridicule him, he doesn’t acknowledge it but continues the conversation.

He’s either a real stoic or a good sport.

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 93

bookshelf Helen Oyeyemi Boy, Snow, Bird Riverhead

Nigerian-born British author Helen Oyeyemi’s fifth novel comes as one of 2014’s most anticipated books.

Boy, Snow, Bird re-imagines the familiar fable of Snow White. Set in the 1950s, the story follows a girl named Boy as she runs away from an abusive father in New York City and settles in a small Massachusetts town. There she meets a pretty young girl named Snow, to whom she eventually becomes stepmother. Boy’s complicated relationship with Snow is a central theme, but the plot thickens further with the birth of her own daughter, Bird, and the secrets that are thus uncovered. With moving, glittering prose, Oyeyemi examines issues of race within the unlikely context of a re-worked fairy tale.

Takashi Hiraide The Guest Cat New Directions

A couple’s lives are changed when a cat settles in their home. The premise of Takashi Hiraide’s short novel is simple, but its quiet depth earned Japan’s Kiyama Shohei Literary Award and made it an international bestseller.

The beauty of Hiraide’s work is in his attention to the small details of life and his ability to reveal poetry in normal existence. The husband and wife of his story are in their mid-thirties, finding little to say to each other and passing through uneventful days. With the influence of an uninvited feline, the couple start to venture out of their fixed routine and draw closer to each other.

Don’t be mistaken by the title, a love for cats is no requisite to finding value in this philosophical work.

94 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

Walter Kirn

Blood Will Out Liveright When Walter Kirn meets Clark Rockefeller, he believes him to be the pedigreed son of one of America’s wealthiest families. Nothing would seem to point otherwise.

There’s the pink polo shirts he wears, his references to “the family”, and eccentricities that seem too weird to be fabricated. But Kirn comes to discover that the whole persona is a carefully concocted facade. The man he knows as Rockefeller is in fact a serial imposter – Germanborn Christian Gerhartsreiter. Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade is Kirn’s memoir about his 15-year relationship with a real life Jay Gatsby figure, only the fake Rockefeller turns out to have a darker past than Fitzgerald’s fictional creation.

Michio Kaku

The Future of The Mind Doubleday Johnny Depp’s latest film, Transcendence, is about an artificial intelligence scientist who uploads his own consciousness into a computer before his death. The concept doesn’t seem too wild for a Hollywood blockbuster, but, according to theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, the idea isn’t unrealistic. The Future of the Mind traverses laboratories around the world, sharing neuroscience and physics research that sounds like the stuff of science fiction. Dr. Kaku provides insight into the way our brains work, as well as the technologies currently in development to enhance and harness our consciousness. With initiatives such as the EU-funded Human Brain Project, which works on using computers to simulate the brain electronically, the ability to separate the mind from the body may not be too far off.

boxoffice

TRANSCENDENCE

RIO 2

NOAH

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Do the benefits of technology outweigh its costs? What happens when technology can think for itself? These are questions pondered in Transcendence. Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is an artificial intelligence researcher whose greatest ambition is to create a sentient machine with superhuman abilities. His work draws the ire of RIFT, an anti-technology extremist group willing to do whatever it takes to fight artificial intelligence development.

When Caster is shot by a RIFT activist and on the verge of death, his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) agrees to upload his consciousness into a computer.

But the success of Caster’s work threatens the demise of humanity as we know it.

After coming together in the first Rio film, Blu and Jewel think they are the only remaining Spix’s Macaws on the planet. But when another of their kind is spotted in the Amazon, the avian couple and their three kids leave Rio de Janeiro to find more of their species. In the vibrant wilds of the jungle, Jewel reunites with birds she thought she’d never see again, including her father who isn’t exactly thrilled about his new son-in-law.

The computer-animated film comes from the creators of Ice Age and features the familiar voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Jamie Foxx, Tracy Morgan, Leslie Mann, Bruno Mars and more.

There’s more to the story of Noah’s Ark than animals marching in two by two.

Director Darren Aronofsky’s version takes the biblical passage to blockbuster proportions, with admitted artistic licence. Russell Crowe stars as Noah, a man chosen

by God to build a new world amidst the destruction of the old one. When Noah experiences visions of an apocalyptic flood, a punishment dealt for the sins of humankind, he embarks on an epic plan for survival.

His construction of an ark is seen as a rebellion against the local king, who uses his power to challenge Noah. But with the conviction of his faith, Noah remains committed to his incredible mission.

As the summer approaches, here comes the usual slew of action-packed superhero films.

The sequel to 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger finds Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) adjusting to contemporary life after being revived from a 70-year coma. But before he can get too comfortable, a new danger emerges. Known as the Winter Soldier, the villain is a Soviet assassin seeking vengeance for the past. Rogers must assume his alter ego Captain America in order to protect the United States yet again. Fellow SHIELD associates the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), a former KGB agent and ex-soldier Falcon (Anthony Mackie) join Captain America on his quest.

COMING SOON APRIL MOVIE RELEASES Platinum Cineplex, Sorya See platinumcineplex.com.kh for screening schedule Noah Apr. 1 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Apr. 10 Rio 2 Apr. 17 Transcendence Apr. 18

Legend Cinema See legend-cinemas.com for screening schedule Noah Apr. 1 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Apr. 10 Rio 2 Apr. 17 She Devil Apr. 24

AsiaLIFE Cambodia 95

pub quiz AP 1. Which building is the official residence of the Pope?

2. Who married Josephine de Beauharnais and Princess Marie Louise?

3. Name Puff the Magic Dragon’s human friend.

4. What is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet?

5. Which Robert Louis Stevenson adventure features the ship Covenant?

RIL 6. ‘Complicated’ was the breakthrough single for which Canadian artist?

7. King Lear had three daughters: Regan, Cordelia and who?

8. How is the controversial American musician Brian Warner better known?

9. A lion and a sword appear on the flag of which country?

10. What is the name of the film, starring Sigourney Weaver, about the naturalist Dian Fossey?

Spotted!

French rugby team. Which football team plays their home games there?

22. Port-au-Prince is the capital of which Caribbean country?

23. What is the smallest Canadian province?

24. Who did Flora MacDonald help rescue?

25. What is the musician Prince’s real first name?

Attack of the Clones!

26

27

Kings

16. The state of Queensland was named in whose honour?

17. Who starred in the title role in the original version of The Thomas Crown Affair?

18. Malaysian entrepreneur, Tony Fernandes, holds a 66 percent share in which English football club?

19. What was the name of the boat in The African Queen?

20. Who joined Smile and changed the band’s name to Queen?

Princes 21. Parc des Princes used to be the home ground for the 96 AsiaLIFE Cambodia

8 8

29 29

2

3

5

1

4

2

9

7 5

2

1

1

7

9

3

7

4 8 5 8

3 9

30

4

2

9

1

6

pub quiz answers

Queens

3

28

1. Sistine Chapel 2. Napoleon Bonaparte 3. Jackie Paper 4. Kappa 5.

Kidnapped 6. Avril Livigne 7. Goneril 8. Marilyn Manson 9. Sri Lanka 10. Gorillas in the Mist 11. Good King Wenceslas 12. Billie Jean King 13. King James 14. King of Hearts 15. Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There 16. Queen Victoria 17. Steve McQueen 18. Queens Park Rangers 19. The African Queen 20. Farrokh Bulsara (Freddie Mercury) 21. Paris Saint-Germain 22. Haiti 23.

Prince Edward Island 24. Bonnie Prince Charlie 25. Prince 26. Kelly Clarkson 27. Scarlett Johansson 28. Jennifer Lawrence 29. Emma Watson 30. Alicia Silverstone

11. Which subject of a Christmas carol was assassinated in Bohemia in 935?

12. Who won the Wimbledon Ladies Singles titles in 1966, 1967 and 1968?

13. Which version of the Bible was published in 1610?

14. Which king is known as the Suicide King?

15. What is the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?