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Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

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Cambodia

Cambodia’s Hun Sen v. Thailand

24 October 2009 by Nathalie Abejero 1 Comment

photo courtesy of mrcmekong.org
Cambodia's PM Hun Sen, courtesy of mrcmekong.org

There were so few opportunities to catch a cnn segment in the past three weeks in the provinces, yet every time I did it was running the boy-trapped-in-the-hot-air-balloon farce. I guess there are so few newsworthy events in the world (shoot me now- and no, i will not pingback to that dumbass non-story OR to cnn).

And then there’s the local buzz. Just this once, Hun Sen actually amuses me:

Our very own PM announced at the ASEAN gathering in Hua Hin, Thailand, that the extradition treaty will not apply to Thaksin should he visit Cambodia. Apparently this displeases Thailand.

Remember the offhand jab at Hun Sen by Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya earlier this year?

And the regular nationalist ploys by royalist yellow shirt PAD at the Preah Vihear border temple, most recently a few weeks ago which diverted attention from the demonstrations in Bangkok?

Why does Thailand insist on needling Cambodia, no matter how insignificant they may regard this country? Seems a bit short-sighted to antagonise neighbor governments when you’re facing impending instability, isn’t it?

Filed Under: Interests, Life Tagged With: Cambodia, Hun Sen, Thailand, Thaksin

Alleyway kitchens

10 October 2009 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

kitchen in the alley
kitchen in the alley

Extensive mazes of alleys cut through the heart of large city blocks. Outside the doors are these clay planter-type contraptions which are used for cooking. You can place a grill on top or set a pot or wok on it. They’ll make extensive meals with one or two of these.

We have one too but it’s been sitting unused with a small healthy weed in it which needs no apparent nutrients from soil or water, because I coudn’t find an eco-friendly alternative to deforesting Cambodia (they cut the hardwoods down to make charcoal). But I recently found a great NGO, Ceres, which makes char-briquettes from biomass waste. They develop alternative fuels and stove technologies. Three kilograms of these briquettes cost 9000 Riels ($2.25).

Family members (children and women usually) take turns cooking, and meal preparations become social events in these alleys. This is also where I’ll learn a couple of new things in Cambodian cuisine. It’s fun to wander down to see what’s cooking. The neighbors are usually quite generous. They especially like to share the more interesting foods, like prahok, for a reaction. Unfortunately both Keith and I love (most) variations of this pungent dish so they don’t get much of a rise anymore.

Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: Cambodia, ceres, char-briquette, charcoal, clay pot grill, eco, kitchen, Phnom Penh

Logo ripoffs

10 October 2009 by Nathalie Abejero 4 Comments

coffee shop in toul kork
coffee shop in toul kork
7-elephants convenience mart
7-elephant near boeng keng kang

Wish we’d taken photos of the other logo ripoffs over the years. Since they aren’t copying the logos down to the pixel, I wonder if these are considered copyright infringements..? In any case, LDCs have until at least 2016 to implement the vastly complex and far-reaching provisions and agreements in WTO.

Cambodia joined in 2003. It was significant for both for the country and the WTO. The accession highlighted Cambodia’s full commitment to major regional and international organizations governing international economic relations. For the WTO the negotiation was its first LDC (along with Nepal) since its inception in 1995.

Cambodia wanted accession mainly because of the 2005 deadline on the garment industry, ending the quota regime governing trade in garments. After that date all WTO members (theoretically) would be guaranted market access to member countries, plus a lock in on earlier trade liberalization. Those outside the WTO (as Cambodian garment exporters would be without membership) faced continued quotas on their exports, which would have major negative repercussions on FDI.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: 7-eleven, Cambodia, logo, starbucks, world trade organization, WTO

SIALY: Slow Internet-Adjusted Life Years

19 September 2009 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

One of the metrics used to define the burden of disease is DALY, or Disability-Adjusted Life Years. It quantifies the difference between the actual health status of a population and an ideal situation where all individuals live long lives free of disease and disability. It measures mortality and morbidity, and it’s a measurement based on time. This allows for the impact of disease or risk factor to be determined in that one DALY is equivalent to one lost year of healthy life.

DALY = YLL (Years of life lost to premature death) + YLD (Years lived with a disability)

Given that posts sometimes take 15 minutes to write but two hours to upload, I’ve come up with a unit of measurement to measure the burden of slow internet for an aid worker living in a developing country.

SIALY (Slow internet adjusted life years) = YLL (Years of Life Lost) + YLSI (Years living with Slow Internet)

Mind you, my slow high-speed connection in this Kingdom’s capital is not as bad as some of the screaming fast Commodore 64 connections that other colleagues have to contend with. So kudos to the best of you who can produce creative pieces of writing amid these uninspiring conditions. I think I just grayed three more hairs.

:-(

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: blogging, Cambodia, DALY, internet, metrics, Phnom Penh

Sunset on the Mekong

18 September 2009 by Nathalie Abejero

sunset on the confluence of Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a sunset here. After the brief lull in the rains last month, September stormed in with brilliant downpours and the energy-sapping intermittent drizzling all day long. In some provinces these downpours made up for the drought. Unfortunately there was so much sudden deluge that up to 2m have been recorded in some villages around the country, and flash floods have taken about a dozen lives.

This photo above of the Phnom Penh skyline was taken from the peninsula before the rainy season started. That is the royal palace and royal viewing stage on the riverfront (for the November boat races during the Water Festival, or Bon Om Touk). [Read more…] about Sunset on the Mekong

Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: Cambodia, Mekong River, Phnom Penh, Royal Palace, sunset, Tonlé Sap River

Dramatic skies in rainy season

18 September 2009 by Nathalie Abejero

Canadia tower and Wat Phnom to its left. view from Maxine's Bar.
Royal Palace is all the way to the left, off the pic.

There was a brief lull in the rainy season as usual this past August. But the rains are back in full swing again. The Mekong and Tonlé Sap Rivers are swollen rich from the monsoons up north. The Tonlé Sap River, which meets the Mekong towards the south of Phnom Penh in front of the Royal Palace, reversed directions about three or four times already, but volume and flow reversal has been weak due to dam building in China and Laos, north of Cambodia. [Read more…] about Dramatic skies in rainy season

Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: Cambodia, lightning, Mekong River, rainy season, Tonlé Sap River

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Those little feet pitter-pattering about rule our lives lately. But on the occasional free moment I get to tap out scatterbrained bursts of consciousness about raising toddlers in Cambodia, traveling with them and working abroad. These posts are my personal updates to friends and family. But since you’re here, have a look around. Thanks for stopping by…

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