WEEKLY

The

Thursday - February 11, 2016

Vol: 01 | Issue: 23

Whats on

Tap

The

Capitals
Craft Beer

Scene

WEEKLY

the

THISWEEK

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Phnom Penh

Publisher
T. Mohan

EDITOR:
James Reddick
James.Reddick@khmertimeskh.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Maddy Crowell, Jonathan Cox,

Khiev Chanthara, Aim Valinda

096 217 7770 | 012 244 982
chanthara@khmertimeskh.com
valinda.aim@khmertimeskh.com

ADVERTISING SALES:
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Fabien Mouret

ART DIRECTION:
A girl looks at her phone during
the Demi Lovato concert in
Phnom Penh.

Big Jungle

Not to Miss:

How SMART technology is helping

fight deforestation
PAGE 3

No. 7 Street 252

Khan Daun Penh
Phnom Penh 12302
Kingdom of Cambodia
023 221 660

Blind faith

A group of singers with disabilities

fights for a spot on the capitals streets
PAGE 4

PRINTER: TST Printing House

DISTRIBUTION:
Kim Steven Yoro
016 869 302
kimsteven@khmertimeskh.com

Blast Fishing

A look at the explosive fishing industry

PAGE 5

Supplied

NEWSROOM:
Mon-Wed
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@Multiple locations in Siem Reap, February
15-February 20

The first ever Friendship Festival, which will take

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acts worthy of taking a trip for, including Master
Kong Kay, a performance by Cambodian Living
Arts and Khmer Rock band Dengue Fever. Visit
Chubmet.com for a full schedule.

AVAILABLE AT:

The Weekly is published 48 times a year

in Phnom Penh. No content may be
reproduced in any form without prior
consent of the publisher..
Cover Photo: Fabien Mouret

Legends of Boeung
Yeak Lom
PAGE 6 & 7

Micro-brew

Phnom Penhs craft beer

industry expands
PAGE 10-11

8,000+
copies every week

600+

locations in Cambodia
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REGULARS
Around Town

Supplied

Monument Books
No. 53 Street 426
Phnom Penh
info@monument-books.com
023 217 6177

Saturday
Movie Shorts
@Bophana Center, 200 Oknha MenPM, $3

Through this series of 8 short films produced

by Bophana Center, you will discover how
Cambodians who earn only 1 dollar per day can
manage to live their lives with dignity as human
beings.

If I am sick, and I am far

from home, I know that is
Neak Yeak Laom calling.

FILMS, EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS

The best listings in town PAGES 8 & 9

PAGE 6-7

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Innovation
Large areas of the Cambodian forest have
been illegally logged for years.

Big Jungle,

Big Data

By Jonathan Cox

long
with
their
camouflaged jackets
and AK-47s, rangers
in
Preah
Vihear
protected forest now carry
tablets or smartphones into
the jungle when they go out on
patrol. When they encounter
loggers or find evidence of illegal
logging, they type in details
about the encounter, such as
how much timber was found,
or how many chainsaws were
confiscated into the device. The
data is linked to their location,
and the team moves on to the
next bust.
At the end of the day, the
rangers return to base, and
upload their new data points
to the Forestry Administration

servers. Even if the illegal loggers

have evaded capture this time,
better data collection makes
the rangers more likely to catch
them on the next patrol.
A popular saying in data
analysis goes: If you count
something interesting, you will
find something interesting.
Cambodias ranger teams have
taken this to heart, counting
everything from the number of
chainsaws to encounters with
illegal loggers in 10 locations
around the country.
This data collection and
analysis system is called
the Spatial Monitoring and
Reporting Tool, or SMART for
short. Developed by a team
of conservation organizations
and first adopted in Cambodia
in 2013, it is becoming the new
standard for recording and

Rich Garella

Can a free piece of open

source software help
rangers combat
the countrys rapid
deforestation?

Community crocodile wardens using

SMART while patrolling a crocodile
conservation area in the Cardamom
Mountains. Photo supplied

analyzing data about illegal

logging and poaching in forests
around the world.
Part of the popularity of the
SMART system is the price
the software is free and opensource, so rangers can use it
without paying licensing fees.
The training has enabled
patrol teams... to strategically
assess, interpret and adapt
protected area management
using the monthly SMART
reports submitted to the FA
[Forestry
Administration]
Project Manager every month,
said one source involved
in conservation in Preah
Vihear forest who requested
anonymity.
Where once the teams of
rangers had to rely on anecdotal
evidence or reports from
community volunteers around

the protected forest, they now

can compute exactly where
illegal loggers are more likely
to be found. After starting with
an empty database in 2013, the
rangers now have thousands of
data points and continue to add
more.
With this new information,
a picture has begun to emerge
of where most of the loggers are
operating, enabling the rangers
to answer more questions.
Which areas were underpatrolled last month? Where
have the most illegal loggers
been found?
When we send officers
into the field, I can give them
specific data, said Kong
Socheat, the database officer for
Preah Vihear Forest Rangers. I
can find data about poaching of
a particular animal simply by

searching for it in the database.

When someone reports logging
in a general area, we can guess
at exactly where it is taking
place based on data we have
already gathered.
The system also provides
an incentive to the rangers, by
tracking which teams find the
most illegal logging operations.
With this powerful store of
information at their fingertips,
officials
in
the
Forestry
Administration
are
better
equipped to plan out patrols,
based on the hotspots where
logging seems to be most
common. Searching for loggers
and poachers in Preah Vihear
protected forest is not a simple
task. But the SMART system will
make it easier to find the needle
in this 1900-square kilometer
haystack.

To advertise in Cambodia's most exciting WEEKLY magazine, contact our Sales Gurus:
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WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Music

Blind Faith

Fabien Mouret

Banned from performing on the

streets, a group of disabled
persons vows to keep singing.
Pov Thearith at his home
with his wife and child.

By Maddy Crowell

ov Thearith was 20
years old when the
world as he knew it
faded into darkness.
He fell ill with what he described
as a rare disease that caused
a thick mucus to plaster his
eyes. He met with doctors,
who told him they hadnt
seen anything like it. A French
doctor diagnosed him with a
rare form of eye cancer, and
recommended an operation
that could potentially salvage
his vision but Theariths family
couldnt afford the surgery. After
a few weeks, he completely lost
his ability to see.
In my community, people
dont discriminate because I
cant see. But outside, on the
streets, people make fun of
me. They use impolite words,
Thearith explained, adding,
But I never give a reaction.
Thearith became blind in
2005. Soon after, he lost his
job as a garment worker. He
searched for another job but
without his vision, he explained,
no one would hire him. One
thing kept him going, however:
his passion for singing.
Through a friend, he was
connected to the Disabled Music
Association, an NGO based in
Phnom Penh that recruits and
employs disabled persons. He
began to take singing lessons.
By January 2013, with his
singing courses completed,
Thearith was inspired by what

the

WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

hed found a large community

of blind persons who were all
searching for work and not sure
where they could find it.
He founded what he calls
the Disabled Music Band, a
five-member group of blind
singers who began performing
on street corners, markets, and
busy traffic intersections. Any
public space they could find was
turned into a mini stage where
they set up their equipment
and performed, earning up to
200,000 riel (roughly $50) on a
good day, and 80,000 riel ($20)
on a slow day.
For two years, profits were
good. But last month, the
Ministry of Social Affairs and
City Hall announced a ban on
disabled groups performing in
the streets.
City Hall spokesman Long
Dimanche told Khmer Times
last November that the city was
forced to enact the ban after
complaints from pedestrians
and motorists that the singers
were taking up the sidewalk and
spilling into the street.
The ban is also intended
to help make the city more
beautiful and orderly, Mr.
Dimanche said.
The decision is bizarre if not
contradictory. In July 2009, the
Cambodian government issued
an official law that gave disabled
persons legal rights, and sought
to make disability work a priority
including adding handicapped
facilities, vocational training
programs and Braille sign
language courses. According

to government statistics from

2008, almost two percent of
Cambodias total population
has some form of disability a
large percentage of which were
caused by landmines, war, car
accidents and disease.
But whats written hasnt
actually
been
practiced.
Authorities already began taking
measures to shut down disabled
groups, like Theariths blind
singers, from performing on the
streets. Despite promises by the
city to find a designated place
for them to perform, the group
has yet to hear from any city
officials about their situation.
The
Phnom
Penh
Municipality feels the disabled
singers dont create a good view
of Phnom Penh, explained
Ngin
Saorath,
Executive
Director of the Cambodian
Disabled Peoples Organization
(CDPO). We sat in his office,
which was tucked into a
pagoda off Nodorom Blvd. and
housed a series of educational
workshops, where the disabled
were stitching, meditating, and
singing. Mission statements
layered the walls, including
a sign that read Our vision:
Persons with diverse disabilities
to participate fully and equally
in society and live with dignity.
And do you feel disabled
persons in Cambodia are able to
live with dignity? I asked.
Discrimination
is
still
common but we believe
today people are starting to
understand, Saorath explained,
adding that conditions for

the disabled had improved

significantly since 1994 when
the CDPO was founded. People
make fun of disabled persons
because they have the wrong
mindset. Mindset is the biggest
problem. People are born with
ideas of what they think is good
and things they think are bad.
We dont want disabilities to be
a burden on society.
Saorath explained that the
government should respect the
law and not ban the disabled
groups from singing on the
streets.
The police say the [blind
singing groups] cause traffic
jams, and its annoying to
other people, Saorath told me.
The bigger problem is many
disabled dont have the skills,
and the pity of the family puts
the kid with disabilities further
behind. The parents feel pity
that their child will be treated
badly, so they dont send their
child to school, and the child
gets put behind for life.
Up
to
ten
disabled
performance groups, including
the Disabled Music Band, are
rendered jobless again under
the citys new law. For most, its
their sole source of income.
But when I met Thearith at
his home just outside of Phnom
Penh, in the Prek Raing Village
made remote by a series of
long dusty roads off the nearest
highway, he showed no signs
of remorse over the police
crackdown. He wore a bright
pink polo shirt and spoke softly
but optimistically as his family,

and neighbors mostly children

crowded around to listen.
We sat in the shade under his
house, a dusty wooden lean-to
where he lives with his wife and
her family. Instrumental music
played from inside the house.
We were playing seven
days a week, but its difficult
now,
Thearith
explained.
The police come and force
me off the streets, but they
never take money. After the
Ministry banned street music,
it impacted us a lot. Now the
money is very low.
But he seemed optimistic for
the future.
I chose to create a group for
blind people because I wanted to
collect [blind people] together.
Its harder for us. People who
are missing a limb can get other
jobs like electric work, but if
you cant see its difficult to get
a job, he added, confirming
that the group would continue
playing in spite of the ban.
I havent made big plans
for my career yet, but well keep
performing when we can. The
police say they are looking for a
place for us to perform. But we
will keep singing this week.
I asked if we might be able to
hear a preview concert.
I dont have my band, he
said shyly. It was Chinese New
Year, and his other musicians
were at home in the provinces
visiting their families.
I promised to look for him on
the streets.
Additional reporting by Chea
Vannak.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Hooked on

A fishing harbor near Sihanoukville.

Blast Fishing

By Jonathan Cox

hen the Khmer

Rouge
fled
Battambang
ahead of the
Vietnamese army in 1979,
14-year-old Sok Davids family
moved into the Wat Sangkai
pagoda for shelter. Compared
to the shack where they had
been living, the pagoda was
dry and comfortable. It was
also full of weapons hand
grenades, mortars, and assault
rifle ammunition left behind
by the Khmer Rouge.
While exploring the pagoda
one day, Sok, his older brother,
and some of his teenage cousins
found a box of 50 grenades.
Food was scarce, so they carried
the grenades to a nearby river,
hoping to catch some fish.
First we tried throwing one
[grenade] from the bridge, he
said. When the water cleared
fish were just floating there with
their bellies up. We just rowed
out there with our canoes and
picked them up.
14-year-old
Sok
had
experienced just how easy
fishing with explosives could
be. I didnt know that it [the
grenade] had that much power
in the water, he said. I saw
this and thought, Wow! This is
better than netting!
The teenagers returned to
the river the next day and started
tossing grenades, watching the

10-foot-tall sprays of water, and

occasionally paddling out to
collect the fish. That morning
a squad of Vietnamese soldiers
confiscated their grenades, Sok
said, but they didnt stop them
from fishing. They threw a
couple grenades for us and told
us to canoe into the river and
pick up the fish, he said.
Sok
and
his
teenage
friends were not the last to
use explosives as a shortcut
to a large haul of fish. Until
recently blast fishing has been
common across Southeast
Asia. It is deceptively simple:
the shockwave from the blast
ruptures the swim bladders of
fish in the area, causing some to
float to the surface, where they
can simply be scooped up.
That convenience comes
at a terrible cost for delicate
underwater
reefs:
The
explosives completely destroy
the underwater environment,
leaving it as rubble, said a
World Wildlife Foundation
report.
Dynamite
fishing
has contributed to massive
destruction of...the Southeast
Asian coral reefs over the past
20 years.
Blast fishing is also extremely
dangerous
for
fishermen
themselves. The improvised
explosives
can
sometimes
explode without warning, killing
anyone nearby. Among other
destructive fishing techniques,
such as fishing with cyanide
or electricity, blast fishing is

KT/ Jonathan Cox

Since 1979, some

fishermen have
traded nets and lures
for hand grenades
and homemade
bombs, risking their
lives in the hopes of a
bigger catch.
the riskiest for the fishermen
themselves.
Stricter law enforcement has
reduced the practice of blast
fishing since its peak in the 90s,
but some still try to use bombs,
hoping for a lucrative and easy
catch. Sok escaped unscathed
from his experiments in blast
fishing, but not everyone was so
lucky.
In two separate incidents
in January, fishermen were
killed when their homemade
bombs exploded. Two died
while fishing off the coast
of Sihanoukville when their
makeshift bomb exploded.
Cases like these have
become less common thanks
to better law enforcement.
But penalties for blast fishing
havent always been so strict.
Until the late 1990s fishers
could use explosives without
fear of punishment. This kind
of practice was very common
during the war, said Heng
Ratana, the Director General
of the Cambodian Mine Action
Center. It was very active
during the 1993 up to year
2000. The 90s saw the peak
of the popularity of explosive
fishing, not just by smallscale fishers with homemade
explosives, but also by large
companies with industrialstrength bombs. According
to media reports from 1999,
fishers in Koh Rong complained
that large Thai fishing boats
were using massive 20 kilogram

bombs to kill fish in Cambodian

waters. Small-time fishermen
who didnt have the funds or
the technical equipment to
manufacture these large bombs
often made use of caches of
explosives left behind after the
civil war. They would cut up
the explosives inside landmines
and other weapons and use
them to construct bombs,
Ratana said. They even try to
use the remains of unexploded
ordinance from the war, he
said. They try to harvest the
explosives from the munitions.
*****

an
Ra
has
fished off the
Sihanoukville
coast since the
1990s. His boat has a string
of flowers (TKTK) wrapped
around the bow as a good luck
charm. He said that the local
Sihanoukville police have put
a stop to the blast fishing
mostly. 15 days ago a man was
killed, he said, referring to the
two fishermen who died when a
bomb they had made detonated
prematurely. The explosive
was homemade he just used
oil in a food tin. He didnt have
enough technical skill, so it
exploded.
In the 1990s there were
many people using explosives,
he said, but now people cannot
use anything, because it is
against the law. The police are

strict.
Ratana
confirmed
that
police have been cracking down
on explosive fishing around the
country. The regulation and
law led to the increase of security
regarding usage of explosives in
the country, he said, so that
people try to reduce this kind of
practice. Still, he added, there
are some gaps in enforcement,
pointing out that explosives
used for quarrying could be used
by fishers. Ive been talking
to the police on this issue, he
said. They need to tighten their
control on this.
Despite stricter enforcement
by police, some people still try
to make homemade bombs.
Some use a combination of
fertilizer and motor oil inside a
repurposed food tin.
In the eastern part [of the
country] they try to make their
own explosives based on their
local knowledge, said Ratana.
They use a secret method.
As one would imagine, these
homemade explosives are not
always reliable. Just last month,
a farmer in Tbong Khmum was
killed when the bomb he was
trying to make exploded.
Still, the lure of an easy catch
is enough to persuade some to
create homemade explosives. It
will take a collective response by
law enforcement to end the
practice, Ratana said. We must
collectively work together. he
said. Its a matter of national
security and personal security.
the

WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

In Depth

A Pull As Strong

Aisha Kehoe Down explores the local

legends of Yeak Laom crater lake.

Boeung Yeak Laom in

the evening.

eneath the waters

of
Boeung
Yeak
Laom,
there
is
another village, say
the Tampoun residents who
live closest to the lakes green
edges. It is larger than any of
the villages near the lakes
shores. It is the dwelling place
of the soul of the lake, but
hundreds of families live there.
Wandering its dusty streets are
its livestock: pigs and water
buffalo, chickens, cows, horses.
Some have visited this village
from above the surface of the
waters. Some, too, say that you
can hear the sound of the village
even at the shores of Boueng
Yeak Laom; the murmurs and
cries of animals, the beating of
gongs for sacrifice.
The lake is seven kilometers
from the present capital of
Ratanakkiri, Ban Lung. Its a
popular tourist destination
Khmer people and foreigners
alike sit in the huts at the lakes
shore on hot Saturdays, drinking
beer and eating roast chicken
and honey. Posts at the entrance
say that it is a volcanic crater
lakeperfectly circular, 500
meters across, over fifty meters
deep. For the ethnic Tampoun
villagers, Boeung Yeak Laom is a
place of legend.
Perhaps
reinterpreting
Tampoun myth, the Khmer
speak of an ogre that lives in

the

WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

the center of the lakeone that

grabs the feet of swimmers to
pull them under. Few Khmer
tourists who visit the lake on
the weekends swimthose who
do tend to hug the shores, or
venture in lifejackets only a few
meters from the edges of the old
wood docks.
Tampoun men in Lom
Village have no such fears.
They swim across the lake, fish
in it and sacrifice to it. No one
from Lom has ever drowned in
Boeung Yeak Laom, they say.
They, after all, know the spirit

It will take
a water
buffalo,
a pig, or a chicken,
Neak Yeak Laom.
that guards ita fierce and great
soul whose romance with the
villagers has lasted decades.
There are 28 souls, or kinds
of souls, we can say, to which
the Tampoun people sacrifice,
says Churk, now the head of
Boeung Yeak Laom. Souls of
grandfathers and grandmothers,
souls that live in houses. Village
souls. The soul that created
everything, the first soul.
Neak Yeak Laom, the spirit
that guards the lake, is one of
these souls, and for Churk, it

is one of the greatest of them

all. Only Lom Village is brave
enough to sacrifice to it.
It will take a water buffalo,
a pig, or a chicken, Neak Yeak
Laom, says Thal Khat, village
chief of Lom. A cow, it wont
take. We learned this from our
ancestors.
Long ago, the legend goes,
an arrow hunter was married
to a spirit master, a woman
who could receive the messages
of souls. The hunter, walking
by the lake, saw a pure white
crocodile basking on a branch
above the waters. He shot the
animal from the branch, and it
fell into the watersdeep in, so
that he could not retrieve it. He
walked back to his hut.
At night, the woman woke.
The spirit of the lake came up to
her house, riding a white elephant
up from the waters. He said, Your
husband has done wrong. He has
shot a person of mine.
The woman got on the
elephant behind the spirit of
the lake, and it walked with
her into the waters. When it
reached the center, she was
told to close her eyes. When she
opened them, the village at the
bottom of the lake was before
her, people, houses, animals,
streets stretching farther than
she could see.
The spirit of the lake took
her to his house. For a full night

she chanted over the crocodileperson. When it had healed,

she rose. The spirit of the lake
summoned his elephant, and
she was carried out of the
village. For one second, he told
her to close her eyes. When
she opened them again, the
elephant was rising from the
waters. At home, she scolded
her husband a day and a night.
He sacrificed a pig, a peang of
alcohol, and two water buffalos,
black and white. He called the
spirit of the lake to come eat
with him. His descendants, the
Tampoun, have been sacrificing
to the lake ever since.
They sacrifice to it as a part
of all other festivals, they say
at the dedication of a house, as
a part of the annual sacrifice of
the village. Other things, too,
merit sacrificea death in the
family, a wedding. The people
who sell soymilk and soda at
the lakes edges sacrifice some
mornings for good business
and prosperous customers. The
villagers of the lake sacrifice,
as well, in the rare times when
someone drowns in the lake;
a non-swimmer venturing out
too far or a man or woman
committing suicide over a
broken love.
We must, so the lake
releases the body, says Churk.
*****

n exchange for the

sacrifices,
Neak
Yeak
Laom
protects
them,
and, they say, the land
where they are living.
The
forest around the lake is some
of the last untouched forest
near Ban LungSralao trees
stretch ghostly up from thickets
of bamboo at the shores. There
are still people who attempt to
encroach from time to time to
cut wood, says the committee.
There are even those who would
like to take the lake from them.
The lake itself resists it.
In the early 1990s, a man set
up a KTV called Kaon at the
edges of the lake, in a concrete
building that is now the Boeung
Yeak Laom cultural center.
The place was a casino and a
karaoke, drawing customers
from Ban Lung to play and
drink.
They threw trash in the
forest and cleaned their cars in
the lake. It wasnt happy with
this, Yeak Laomwe werent,
either. It wasnt correct in
Khmer culture or ours, says
Churk.
Yeak Laom didnt like them
but the eviction was peaceful; in
1996, the Khmer government
sent in investigators, and
decided to give the lake back
to the Tampoun villagers
inhabiting it, destroying Kaon.
It was Yeak Laoms own power

Bunthoeun San

As Love

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

toward one of the monks, say

the villagers.
He died instantlyhe went
mad, which means his soul had
left him, says Churk.
Another went mad watching
him, says Churk. He drowned
himself in Boeung Yeak Laom.
No one has tried to exorcise the
spirit since.
Places become part of people,
as close as family, as intimate as
earth under fingernails, waters
in the body. The villagers speak
of Boeung Yeak Laom with a
mixture of awe and familiarity
and darknessthe way that folk
on the Gulf Coast speak of the
hot months hurricanes, or my
uncle in Montana speaks of the
mountain in Glacier National
Park that broke his arm.
It can be cruel. It tempers
them. Yeak Laom likes gentle,
straight people, says Churk.
People who say something,
and then do it. People with soft
voices, not too short, not too tall.
He likes people who beautify the
place, who do not destroy his
quiet.

Punishments
for
greed
are severe. One man fished in
Boeung Yeak Laom. The first
fish he caught, he let back
into the waters. Then he kept
fishing, and filled his basket
with fish. But when the fish he
had let go came back to bite his
line, he knew that he had taken
enough, and he carried his
basket home.
Another man ignored this
sign. When the fish he released
came back to bite his line, he
took it, and two or three more
baskets, as well. When he
reached home, he died instantly,
leaving his fish at the door.
Most forests around Ban
Lung are gone. Lom Village
had to move places a decade
ago, because the place where
they had buried their dead was
cleared and turned into a rubber
plantation. They cannot easily
describe how upset they were.
The forest could not defend
itself. Rubber stretches to the
blue feet of mountains, and
nights that used to be bonecold in January are now warm

enough for shorts and a light

jacket in downtown Ban Lung.
Maybe Neak Yeak Laom
has something left. Though
rumors circulate in Ban Lung of
a Chinese businesswoman who
plans to turn Boeung Yeak Laom
into a casino (my friend claims
to have met her), the villagers of
Lom still believe that this cannot
happen. They say the spirit will
not allow it. It hasnt yet.
It is a little bit like love, the
power of a place that still has a

mystery. No one in Lom goes far

from Boeung Yeak Laom. When
they dowhen Churk goes to
Stung Treng, or to Phnom Penh
for a conferenceit calls to
them.
If I am sick, and I am far from
home, I know that is Neak Yeak
Laom calling, he says. When I
return, when I see the waters, I
am well already.
It is love, says Thal Khat.
Write that. It is romance, we are
talking about. This is a love.

Aisha Down

that brought the government

to do this, say Churk and Thal
Khat.
Other evictions havent been
so smooth. Monks still walk the
edges of Boeung Yeak Laom
from time to time, and there are
basins thick with incense set far
back from the edges of the lake,
on a rise near the first platform.
This is as close as Buddhism
comes to the waters these days,
after four monks attempted to
exorcise Neak Yeak Laom in
2013.
They came to chant, and
to pray, to exorcise the spirit of
the lake, says Churk. We dont
know why they were doing this.
Maybe they werent exorcising
it. Maybe they were asking it for
something.
The monks came in the
morning. They prayed at the
first platform, at the edge of
the green water. When theyd
finished chanting, they lit
firecrackers, the kind pagodas
set off during Pchum Ben. Two
firecrackers went skyward, but
one returned and came straight

Night shot of a village near Lom.

the

WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Around Town
EVENTS
Thur, February 11
THURSDAYCHILL
@The Room, 10 Street 246, 8 PM

DJ Wes-T, half-price cocktails for ladies

No Problem Disco
@Pontoon Pulse, 80 Street 172,
11 PM 3 AM

Jack Malipan playing Disco

House

Vagina Monologues
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard, 7 PM, $5

Phnom Penh Players perform

the feminist classic. All proceeds go to SHE Investments.

Trippy Thursdays DJ party

@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard, 9 PM

DJ NICOMATIC & FRIENDS!

Expect an eclectic mix of
trippy minimal analogue
techno, trance, house, dub
and ambient.

Bingo
@ Show Box Bar, #11 Street
330, 8 PM

$1 entry per game with cash

and other prizes

Karaoke Night
@Eluvium Lounge, 205A Street
19, 6 PM

Get a free beer or soda for

hopping on state. Happy hour
cocktails at $2 until 8 PM.

Coates and Nora Haidee

Pulse the House
@Pontoon Pulse, 80 Street 172,
11 PM 3 AM

DJ Shaman, Alan Ritchie

& special guests playing
the best in House, Techno,
Disco Edits 11 - 5am

@ Regency Cafe, InterContinental Hotel

No. 296, Mao Tse Toung

Blvd (245),
6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Discover an authentic taste
of Mexican cuisine through
a unique buffet experience.
Priced at $28++ per person,
plus $10+++ to enjoy our
free flow of margarita and
Olmeca tequila.

@ Lobby Lounge and Bar, InterContinental Hotel

No. 296, Mao Tse Toung Blvd
(245),

Savour the best choice of

Mexican delicacies including quesadillas, tacos, or
tostadas at $8++.
Vagina Monologues
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard, 7 PM, $5
Darkside Techno Party
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard, 9 PM

Klaus Legal (France produces industrial music for

eyes and ears. Followed by
DJs PITCH, MR. BROWN &
ANDY FREAK.

Fri, February 12

Sat, February 13

Creem X Absolut
@Oskar Bistro, 159 Street Sisowath Quay, 10 PM-Late

Saturday Tech Lounge

@Pontoon Pulse, 80 Street 172,

DJ Saint Vincent, Tim

DJ Flo & Special Guests

playing House, Tech House

& Techno
Yak Launch Party
@Cloud, 32Eo Street 9, 7 PM

The new fashion brand

launches its first line of tshirts, plus screen printing
workshops and live music
from Professor Kinski at 9
PM.

Live Music
@The Mansion, 363 Sisowath
Quay, 8:30 PM-Late
The Happy Pizza
@The Room, 10 Street 246, 8 PM
Valentines Art Special
@N O W H E R E, 3EO Street 312,
Tonle Bassac, 5 PM-7:30 PM,
$40

Couples session: Draw

and discover each other by
completing a set of art challenges.
Hot Club De Phnom Penh
@Sharky Bar, 126 Street 130, 9 PM

Live Gypsy Jazz

Vagina Monologues
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard, 7 PM, $5
Wonderwomen Djane Party
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard, 9 PM, $5

Aya Kurata Banzai (Japan)

Mercy (Ghana) and Sao
Sopheak (Cambodia).

Sun, February 14
D. Street Contest
@Juicy Bar, 44 Street 172, 7
PM-10 PM

Hip-Hop party with performances and breakdancing

competitions. Featuring
Deschepper Crew {France},
D.Street company {France}

Hidden away in a back alley of

Tonl Bassac, 21 Bar is about as
off the beaten path as you can get
while still being close to the center
of town (WARNING: Take a wrong
turn down the nearby dead end
lane and a pack of barking dogs
awaits). Just opened last month,
the bar is a welcome addition to
the citys drinks scene. Located in a

Live Music
@Show Box Bar, , #11 Street
330, 6 PM

Castor Troy, Saigon-based

duo playing blues, soul and
pop

Classical Concert Series:

Salout dAmore
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard, 8 PM, Adults $10,
Students/children $3

Works by Elgar, Kreisler,

Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff

Hot Spot
21 Bar, 11e Street 21

+ Tiny Toones {Cambodia}

lush, shady yard, it has a decidedly

tropical vibe, with a bit of California kitsch thrown in. The eclectic
dcor includes a brick bar in the
center of the yard, hanging crayfish
net lampshades, retro plexi-glass
tables that light up from the inside
and fleur de lis tiling. At $3.50, the
cocktails are reasonable and the
beer prices match the citys normal
cheap standards. I asked the
bartender to make me his favorite

drink, and an Asian Caiparinha

arrived. Loaded with cilantro and
chili, it perked me right up after
a long day. Half full on a Tuesday night, the conversation was
pleasant and low key. 21 Bar is a
perfect antidote to the sometimesoverwhelming cluster of hip, classy
joints on Street 308. Despite being
tucked away in a back-alley maze,
its already becoming a favorite
among ex-pats. .

Valentines Day Lovers

Delight Set
@Himawari Garden Terrace,
6-10 PM

Choose from a Western

or Khmer set dinner menu
which features a starter,
a soup, a main course
and dessert. The ladies
will receive a stalk of rose
and chocolate. $55++ per
couple, includes a glass of
house wine or cocktail each.
For reservations, please call
016 871766 / 016 871756
or email fnb.coordinator@
himawari.com.kh

Mon, February 15
@TBD (Check Facebook for
more info), 8:00 PM
Nerd Night

Get a quick glimpse into the

life, work and interests of the
people in the Phnom Penh
community through rapid fire
presentations.

Pulsation

@Pontoon Pulse, 80 Street 172,

12 AM 3 AM

Rob Bianche playing Tech

Funk & Breaks

Tue, February 16
Soul Sonic Groove
@Pontoon Pulse, 80 Street 172,
12 AM 3 AM

Alan Ritchie playing Soul,

Funk, Hip Hop & Breaks

Wed, February 10
Super Smash Bros Wii
TournamenT
@Eluvium Lounge, 205A Street
19, 7 PM warm ups, 8 PM tournament

Exhibitions
Thu, February 11
Arts Freedom, opening at 6:00 PM

The Insider Gallery at InterContinental Phnom Penh,

296 Mao Tse Toung Boulevard
Featuring the works of Em
Ream and Takakazu Yamada

Ongoing:
IN/Visible
@Meta House, Meta House, #37
Sothearos Boulevard,

Photographer Ann-Christine
Woehrl focuses on acid
attack victims from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia,
Pakistan, Uganda and India.
The venue will also screen
films about acid victims from

DO WE HAVE YOUR

Please email all details to James.reddick

8

the

WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Around Town
Babysitting 2 (2015, 93 mins, FR
and English subtitles), 5 PM:

He Named Me Malala is playing

on Tuesday at Meta House at 8 PM.

Franck and his girlfriend

Sonya, plus some of their
friends go on holiday in
Brasil. Franck, his friends,
two girls and Sonyas grandmother leave to visit a cave,
but everything goes wrong
and their crazy adventures
begin.
@Bophana Center, 200 Oknha Men
Oliver (1968, 140 mins), 2:00 PM

Young Oliver is an orphan

who escapes the cheerless
life of the workhouse and
takes to the streets of 19th
century London.
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard
Narco Cultura (2013, 103 mins),
4 PM

An explosive look at the

drug cartels pop culture
influence on both sides of
the border.
Salt of the Earth (2014, 110
mins), 7 PM:

A visual odyssey through

the career of Brazilian star
photographer Sebastio
Salgado.
@Bophana Center, 200 Oknha Men

Cambodia and other countries.

Dominique Tricoire
@The Mansion, 363 Sisowath
Quay, exhibit until February 17
Roam!
The Plantation, #28 Street 184,
until March 5:

A collection of 15 charcoal
drawings on craft paper,
depicting the impromptu
parties held by moonlight in
the Cambodian countryside,
near Kampot, where Vincent
Broustet lives.
The Disappearance, Free
Java Cafe, 56 Sihanouk Boulevard, until February 28

The Disappearance is a
body of work by Nicolas C.
Grey using pen, ink, collage and found photographs
and objects. The exhibition
has been composed as an
installation each work is
experienced in relation to
the other.

Films
Thu, February 11
@Cloud, 32Eo Street 9:
The Voices (2014, 103 mins),
20:30 PM:

A likable guy pursues his

office crush with the help
of his evil talking pets, but
things turn sinister when she
stands him up for a date.

@Meta House, #37 Sothearos

YOUR EVENT LISTED?

Boulevard
Bonne Nuit Papa (2014, 101
mins), 4 PM

Filmmaker Marina Kem immerses herself deeper and

deeper into the history of
Cambodias ideological wars
and towards her Cambodian
family and identity,

8 Short Films, 8 Lives (2015,

67 mins, KH with EN subtitles),
5:00 PM

Through this series of 8 short

films, you will discover how
Cambodians who earn only 1
dollar per day can manage to

Kanyini, (2006, 53 mins), 7 PM:

live their lives with dignity as

human beings.

Sun, February 14
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard
Racing Extinction (2015, 90
mins), 4 PM:

This documentary draws

attention to mankinds role
in a potential loss of at least
half of the worlds species.

(2009, 93 mins), 4 PM: Over

a decade, a Cambodian
journalist elicits confessions
of the genocide, getting
answers about the evils that
destroyed his own family.
My Thai Bride (2013, 55 mins), 7 PM:
A unique insight into the
Thai-foreigner marriage
industry
He Named me Malala (2015, 87
mins), 8 PM:

After the Taliban tried to kill

her, a Pakistani teenager
emerges as leading advocate for childrens rights and
youngest-ever Nobel Peace
Prize Laureate.

The Islamic State (2015, 43

mins), 7 PM:

A harrowing wake-up call to

the realities of religious fundamentalism in the Middle
East.
Queen of the Desert (2015, 128
mins), 8 PM:

Werner Herzogs panoramic

epic about the woman who
has gone down in history
as the female Lawrence of
Arabia.

Wed, February 17
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard, Hitlers Children
(2012, 80 mins), 4 PM:

@N O W H E R E, 3eo Street
312, Tonle Bassac
180 Degrees South (2011, 85
mins), 4 PM-6 PM

The film follows adventurer

Jeff Johnson as he retraces
the epic 1968 journey of his
heroes Yvon Chouinard and
Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

Tue, February 16
@Meta House, #37 Sothearos
Boulevard

Enemies of the People

About the descendants of German Nazi leaders, who were

left a legacy that permanently
associates them with one of
the greatest crimes in history.
Garment Industry Documentaries, 7 PM:
CLOTHES TO DIE FOR
(2015, 58 min) tells the story
of the Rana Plaza disaster in
Bangladesh.
THE TRUE COST (2015, 92
min) is about the clothes we
wear, the people who make
them, and the impact the
industry is having on our
world.

Kroeng

One of Australias stolen

generation, protagonist
Bob Randall speaks of the
damage done to Aborigines
in the attempt to destroy a
culture.

Srovoeng

Winter on Fire: Ukraines Fight

for Freedom (2015, 102 mins),
8 PM

Khmer for Alcohol

Fri, February 12
@French Institute, 216 Street 184
Caprice (2015, 100 mins), 5 PM:

All cocktails $5. Open Monday to Saturday,

11AM til late. #6B, Street 302.

An average guy meets an

actress who is more beautiful than he could ever
imagine. But then a pesky
girl materializes to make his
life a living hell.
Les Triplettes de Belleville
(2012, 118 mins, FR w/ EN subtitles), 7 PM:

When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de

France, Madame Souza and
her beloved pooch Bruno
team up with the Belleville
Sistersan aged song-anddance team from the days of
Fred Astaireto rescue him.

Sat, February 13
@French Institute, 216 Street 184

Endless
English
Holiday

Ingredients

Elderfl ower cordial (15 mL)

Gin (50 mL)
Lemon juice (20 mL)
Cucumber (1/3)
Mint leaves (6)

The cocktail menu at

Che Culo!, a small,
dark bar off 302 and
Nodorom, is hard to
choose from. Drink
names range from Polski in Cambodge to
One Night in Milano to
Senoritas Delight and
are as mysteriously
worldly as their names
suggest. Though small,
the buildings interior
was designed to look
like a Spanish church,
and was crowded

on a Tuesday night. I
asked which was best,
and I was brought an
off-the-menu special,
dubbed the Endless
English Holiday by
the bar owner (who is
Australian). Fragrant
but not too sweet,
minty sour, and with
cucumber shavings on
top, it was the perfect
drink for summertime.
Best cocktail Ive had in
Phnom Penh.

k@khmertimeskh.com by Monday at 5pm

the

WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Big Plans on tap for

Micro-Brews
By James Reddick

ithin the last

decade,
the
only
locally
made options
for beer drinkers were the light
offerings of the countrys large
mainstays like Angkor and
Cambodia; today, established
brewers like Kingdom, Munich
Breweries and Himawari are
producing tasty alternatives,
and several newcomers have
recently arrived or are opening
soon.
Tyler
Bareither,
Brendan
Siebert and Andy Strugnell
are the recent founders of Riel
Brewing, and hope to go into
production in the next two
weeks. They are partnering
with Jay Miller, the owner of
the popular Brooklyn Pizza.
The brewing facility will be
housed in a new restaurant
called Alchemy Gastropub in
Russian Market, which Miller
hopes to open this spring.
The Riel Brewing story is
emblematic of the hobbyist
ethos central to craft beer
makings rise: Siebert and
Strugnell are old friends
from Australia and used to
brew beer at home before
dabbling
in
commercial
brewing elsewhere. Bareither,
meanwhile, was their upstairs
neighbor in Phnom Penh. With
both brewing and engineering
experience among them, they
figured that now was a good
time to get into the citys craft
beer business.
We were thinking that
we missed the beer from back
home and we figured these
guys each have about 15 years
brewing experience so we

10

the

WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

decided why not? Bareither

said. Riel Money will specialize
in ales, like West Coast India
Pale Ales and a chocolate stout,
using Chiang Mai chocolate
roasted at Feel Good Coffee,
while also doing seasonal
brews incorporating local
ingredients like lemongrass
and ginger.
Also this month, Cerevisia
Craft Brewhouse, which has
been supplying its beer to
restaurants in the city since
2013, will be opening its own
brewpub, called Botanico,
on Street 29. Since coming to
Phnom Penh several years ago,
Cerevisias Erich Phillips has
viewed good beer as something
of a public good. He initially
founded a non-profit through
which organizations could
raise money by selling his beer.
Working with Himawari master
brew Neo Say Wee, the pair
developed a beer called One
River. We had a good time,
Phillips said. At the same time
I dont know if people grasped
the concept. Eventually, he
partnered with Chad Richman,
who was making beer on a
small scale at his house.
He said you make a great
beer, Im having trouble with
supply chain. Can you help me
out? Phillips says. We worked
together for the next year to
organically add on restaurants
and use our own cash to do
it and find supply chain.
Despite the companys good
reputation, he says he has yet
to see a paycheck, nor does he
expect to anytime soon. Still,
the brewpub is an opportunity
to bring beer lovers together.
Botanico is an opportunity
to share our beers, get some

Chourb Chivorn,
the Assistant
Brewmaster at
Himawari

Fabien Mouret

For beer lovers, heres some

good news: Phnom Penhs
craft beer scene, while still
fittingly micro, is expanding.

Jay Miller (left), Tyler Bareither, Andy Strugnell and Brendan Siebert in front of Brooklyn Pizza.

feedback, build a sense of

community and not just throw
a keg on a tuk tuk and send it
across town, which Im grateful
for but it doesnt fill a hole for
me, he said.
Although hes proud of
having trained a local staff,
some of whom are now
knowledgeable enough to start
their own operations, getting
locals interested in different
and admittedly much more
expensivebeer is an ongoing
challenge.
We have regulars so theyll
come in a few times per month
or once a week, Melissa Seet,
the marketing manager at
Himawari Hotel, said. For

everyone else, were still trying

to create an awareness of what
it is as compared to something
that you find in Angkor or
Cambodia.
The hotel houses a sizable
brewpub offering wheat beer,
pales ales and a stout, among
other options. Seet says that
brewing at Himawari started
out as a hobby, and although
it has expanded they dont
plan to distribute the beer
elsewhere.
We have no intention of
making it commercialized
in terms of making it for sale
in other places, she says.
Basically, we hope to make
this place a hub where people

can come in and enjoy.

Not surprisingly, smallscale brewers in Cambodia
encounter an array of problems,
of which the biggest are supply
chain issues. Because each
brewery orders grain on a
relatively small scale, the costs
are proportionally higher.
We run into the problem
that the volume we want to
order in is not the volume that
most want to sell, Phillips
says. So we either have to
buy through a second hand
distributor, which means more
money, or we have to commit
to a larger order and somehow
get that into the country.
Because of this, prices of

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Fabien Mouret

A flight of beers from Cerevisia

Craft Brewhouse

microbrews in Phnom Penh are seldom

below $4 and can exceed $6. On top of
this, there are smaller obstacles to be
expected in what is essentially a beermaking frontier town. When setting up
its facility, the founders of Riel Brewing
found that problems that could be
solved in minutes in the west would
take hours in Phnom Penh. They spent a
day searching for a tiny mechanical part
whose size belied its importance.
In part because of the logistical

difficulties, and also because of the

desire to foster an interest in good beer,
none of the existing craft beer makers
are worried about rising competition.
Am I worried about those guys?
Phillips asked about the Riel Brewery
project. Absolutely not. Our goal is to
build an opportunity for this industry to
grow. You look at Thailand and Vietnam
and the [craft] bug has definitely caught
there. Look at Cambodia and Laos, where
theres very little: its going to happen.

Advertorial

A Fiesta of Flavors at Intercontinental

Every month, the
Regency Caf at the
Intercontinental Hotel
picks a cuisine and, each
Friday, offers a buffet
for both hotel guests
and outside diners.
This month, head chef
Erick Cruz has created a
spread from Mexico. On
a recent visit, I started
the meal with a tasty
margarita. Up first was
probably the highlight
of the nightthe ceviche.
While Mexican food has
developed a reputation
for being heavy, ceviche
is a perfect example of
a light, fresh dish ideal
for a hot day. With two
optionsred snapper

and tunanaturally I
went for both. A spicy
tomato sauce helped to
cut the dishs acidity, and
the fish was deliciously
fresh. Another margarita
later, I was on to the next
course, and opted to visit
the taco station. Loaded
with fresh ingredients,
the chicken tacos were
again not too heavy, and
the chipotle sauce had a
noticeable kick. On the
side, a dollop of fresh
guacamole helped to kill
the burn from the sauce.
Already full, I passed
on too many other
options to mention
them
all:
burritos,
seafood
cocktails,

shortribs, nachos and

some delicious looking
enchiladas with a salsa
verde sauce. I headed
instead to the dessert
table, where I chose a
divine green tea custard
with white chocolate.
According to Cruz, next
month will feature a
Brazilian Rodizio for
all meat lovers. They
are also offering a $35
Valentines Day dinner
this Sunday.
The Mexican buffet
will run through the
month and is $28++ per
person, and $10++ for
unlimited margaritas.
Available every Friday
from 6:30 PM-9:30 PM
the

WEEKLY
Phnom Penh

11