Storm in a tea-cup

Well, this really was a storm in a tea-cup: as soon as tropical storm Noul made landfall in Vietnam it lost strength. Also, Noul is following a more northern direction than predicted. So, here in Cambodia we only see some light rain today. Well, in Phnom Penh at least, maybe it's a bit different more to the north.

In other news: tourist arrivals in Thailand are plummeting. 33 percent down in August, 21 percent down in September, compared to the same months last year. Officials blame the credit crisis, high fuel costs (back then at least), bloody anti-government street protests in Bangkok, and the dispute with Cambodia over a border temple. Less tourists in Thailand will also have affect Cambodia, as many people first travel through Thailand before arriving in this country. The tourism industry in Thailand is expecting a bad 'high season'. So far, I don't see tourism numbers in Phnom Penh considerably lower than last year. But of course I'm only judging by the number of people walking along the riverside, the number of patrons in my restaurant and tourists taking a course at the Cambodia Cooking Class. Maybe official figures will show a drop in arrivals.

Or, will this also be a 'storm in a tea-cup'?

Could Joran van der Sloot be in Cambodia?

Do you remember Joran van der Sloot? The man who — in all likelihood — killed Natalee Holloway? His father was a big shot on the islands, and arranged matters. Joran appeared to get away scot-free. Not quite, though. Investigative reporter Peter R. de Vries was able to get a full confession out of Joran. This was major news in both the Netherlands and America. Peter de Vries got an Emmy award out of it.

Sadly enough, Joran disappeared and escaped Dutch justice. Having a daddy who was going to be a judge and knows the ins and outs of the legal system does help. Joran fled to Thailand. Where he is right now. One might think Joran at least learned to keep a low profile until the whole affair quietly went away. Not at all. Joran found a new hobby: he is in business now. Smuggling women for prostitution, that is. Once again Peter de Vries was the man who uncovered his new activities.

Normally the Thai authorities take a very dim view of foreigners who blacken the name of the country, and most certainly when these people are into trafficking women. Daddy can pull some strings in the Netherlands, but I very much doubt if Daddy can save his darling son this time. At best and for a gigantic bribe, he might be able to enable his lovable son to flee to another country.

Only where can he hide now? Cambodia?

Tropical storm Noul: severe weather upcoming

Cambodia usually is not hit by tropical storms and typhoons are really very rare. Neighbouring Vietnam is another story. That country gets a fair share of typhoons originating in the Pacific. Especially northern and central Vietnam are vulnerable to severe weather. Usually, these tropical storms or typhoons, after making landfall, move further north into China or Japan.

This time it seems to be a bit different. Tropical storm Noul is on its way to Ho Chi Minh City and is predicted to move to the west, to Phnom Penh and further west to the beach town of Sihanoukville.

So, some severe weather coming up in Cambodia in the next 24-36 hours.
Will the rainy season then finally be over?

See current Phnom Penh weather conditions in the Cambodia Travel Guide.
Current location of tropical storm Noul at Weather Underground.

Update:
Vietnam issues alert for tropical storm
Vietnam issued an alert Monday for a tropical storm that was expected to pound the maritime region where its small offshore oil industry is concentrated.

The government warned fishing vessels in the South China Sea to seek shelter as tropical storm Noul barrelled toward the coast, where it was due to make landfall later Monday.

In an urgent message, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung ordered police, the coast guard and health services to stay on alert and be ready to evacuate residents. The Mekong Delta expected to get the direct hit has "many small boats, housing with weak structure, it could cause huge damages to lives and property", Nguyen Sinh Hung said.

Cambodian Cooking

There is a growing interest in Cambodian cuisine. Some people even have labelled Khmer food as "the new Thai", which by the way is a bit of a contradiction because actually Thai is the 'new' Cambodian. Not many people know that many Thai dishes originally are... Khmer! Yes, and it's easy to see why. Long before the Thai came to the area where they are now (they came from southern China), the Khmer occupied that land and even established a powerful kingdom. Back then, the Khmers already had lots of the recipes they still use today. But without any chillie peppers which only arrived in the 16th century when the Portuguese were exploring the shores of Southeast Asia.

And, ask any Thai where in his country the best cuisine can be found. Undoubtedly he will point you to 'Isaan' which is the northeastern part of the country. A part that had been under Khmer influence for centuries and where ethnic Khmers still live. Same in Cambodia: ask a Khmer where in his country the best cooking is done, and he will say 'Siem Reap', the very heart of that old Khmer Kingdom. And bordering the aforementioned Isaan region!

In the 1990's a Thai journalist came to Cambodia to report on the peace process in the country. Although she knew all the ingredients the Khmer were using, she was surprised by the more subtle flavours, and the beautiful balances. So, she decided to write a cookbook: "The Cuisine of Cambodia". In my opinion, it's the standard for any other cookbook. Unfortunately, this book is not in print anymore, but can still be found on Amazon.

With the growing popularity of Cambodian cuisine, more and more Khmer cookbooks are being published. An overview of these cookery books can be found on Cambodian Cookbooks.

And if you are going to Cambodia, why not first learn the basics at the one and only Phnom Penh Cooking School?

Enjoy Khmer culture, enjoy Cambodian cuisine!

Millions of People

Right, the Water Festival is over. It's really an exciting event, but having had my restaurant on the riverside for more than four years and thus having been in the middle of all the action during previous Water Festivals, I this year decided to just stay clear of all festivities. Well, as much as possible anyway, because even Street 240, the new location of the restaurant, was crowded.

A Cambodian walking for a longer distance than, say, 100 meters is a very rare sight. Except..., except during the Water Festival. Hundreds of thousands of people are walking for miles and miles. Not that there's any other possibility, but knowing the mentality of the Khmers I would expect them to just walk the shortest distance to the water front, sit there for hours and then walk the shortest distance back. Not so, they are walking up and down to no particular destination. Maybe there's a secret agreement among the Khmers: "OK, we know we are usually too lazy to walk for more than 100 meters, so let's have a huge excercise, once a year. Collectively. So that the rest of the year we can say: Hold on, I've done my bit already, I've walked for miles, back in November!"

Did I say hundreds of thousands of people? Estimates are the Water Festival this year was visited by no less than 4 million people!



Now, is this a colourful sight or not? Don't let you be put off by my remarks above. You should definitely see it, at least once in your lifetime.

Cambodia - Kingdom of Wonder

I have mentioned them briefly earlier: the adverts on CNN to promote Cambodia as a holiday destination. The country did the same thing about three years ago. The difference is, this time the commercials are much more professional and - finally - the Ministry of Tourism has come up with a slogan: Cambodia - Kingdom of Wonder.

What I still don't get - and that's the same as three years ago - why they are promoting the Water Festival, which takes place next week. As if, say, Joe the Plumber, will say to his Cathy or whatever her name is: "Hey see that Cathy? There's a Water Festival in Phnom Penh next week, let's go there!"
(Not that Joe the Plumber would ever go to a country that far away from home, but you get the picture).

Anyway, in general it's a good thing Cambodia promotes itself and especially now, as millions of people around the world will have watched the presidential campaign on CNN. And yes, these Cambodia commercials also ran during election night.

The ever getting better daily The Phnom Penh Post wrote that tourism officials expect the number of visitors to Cambodia to reach 2.2 million by the end of the year. Wow, when I came here, in 2003, Cambodia attracted not even 1 million. So, a 120% increase in just 5 years time. Not a bad achievement.

Now, Cambodia is discussing an advert deal with the pan-Asian news broadcaster Channel News Asia. Ahum, well, all I can say is that my Khmer restaurant in Phnom Penh and the Cambodia Cooking Class were already featured on CNA. Twice, and for free...

Crackdown on street vendors

Recently, Phnom Penh municipality announced it would no longer tolerate blocking of pavements by vendors, and parked cars, moto's or other objects. Right..., was anyone taking notice of this? Of course not. Like many other announcements by municipality or police, the new policy would probably never be carried out.

Oooppps, wrong thinking this time: police ARE implementing the new rule by removing vendors from around the Russian Market (Psah Toul Tom Poung) and some other streets. But the vendors are very angry, because not only used police force, they also damaged their merchandise and equipment.

While in general I welcome more object free pavements in Phnom Penh, it's quite obvious the actions are only against people trying to make a living. And, add colour to the streets of Phnom Penh.

What e.g. happens to these big SUV's, of which there are (too) many in Phnom Penh, and which are invariably parked on pavements?

Well, guess...