Moon Festival

Cambodians love festivals and holidays, which are usually centered around food and visits from extended family (including ancestors). Cambodia has more national holidays than any other country (although many Cambodians work at least a half-day on Saturdays). In addition to Khmer religious festivals and various international holidays, many Cambodians claim Chinese ancestry and also celebrate Chinese holidays. For someone not attuned to the lunar schedule, its always a surprise to wake up your landlord and neighbors burning red and yellow paper printed with Chinese characters in homemade firepits on the side of the road, giving the morning commute a slightly ominous haziness and acrid smell.

The top photo is from my neighbor burning a paper lantern with auspicious phrases from the Chinese Moon Festival at the end of September. I asked my neighbor's kids (shown in the 2nd photo) to explain the holiday to me: "Well, we eat mooncake and our parents let us play late at night. And then you look up at the moon and see how it looks." There you have it! Not coincidentally, the following day kicks off Pchum Ben, a 15 day Khmer-Buddhist holiday honoring ancestors. 

The Pearl of Asia

This video has been playing almost non-stop on Cambodian television since Sihanouk died. Filmed in 1965, I can only guess that it was some sort of propaganda film. Nevertheless, it gives marvelous views of mid-century Cambodia and a quaint, pretty Phnom Penh.

One of Sihanouk's principal objectives during the Sangkum Reastr Niyum period was to modernize Cambodia's infrastructure. An artist at heart, he chose ambitious Cambodian architects to lead these projects. The resulting 'New Khmer Style,' which is on full view in the video above, combined European 'International' style with Khmer vernacular building techniques. 

One of my initial reasons for coming to Cambodia was to learn about this period and today's small preservation movement as a possible topic for a research project, which unfortunately never came to fruition. Many of these buildings, even the flagship projects such as the Olympic Stadium, are in danger of being destroyed and replaced by glass box malls or Chinese bathroom-tile villas. The current regime does not share Sihanouk's appreciation for the avant-guard, or even uniquely Cambodian styles.

For those in Cambodia, the full-length version of this video and others from the period are available to view at the Bophana Research Centre in Phnom Penh.

Le Roi est mort! Vive le Roi!

King Norodom Sihanouk's coffin entering the Royal Palace, Phnom Penh (via Facebook)

The King’s Father, former King and former Prime Minister Norodom Sihanouk has died (he also held a number of other titles…the most on record according to Guinness.) He presided over Cambodia in some form or another during almost every major event in Cambodia’s modern history, including French rule, World War II, independence, the Khmer Rouge, UNTAC, and Hun Sen’s rise. For many outside observers, his record is decidedly mixed, marred most severely by his endorsement of the Khmer Rouge following the rightist coup in 1970. I certainly do not have much authority to speak on that subject, but anyone interested should consult his obituaries, or better yet ‘When the War Was Over’ by Elizabeth Becker, which is far and away the best book I’ve read so far on Cambodian history and politics and delves deeply into Sihanouk's legacy, even if it is now a bit dated.

He died over Pchum Ben weekend, the Khmer-Buddhist holiday celebrating ancestors, which my Cambodian friends did not view as a coincidence and will only serve to cement the image of a divine nature for future generations. Many Western journalists had written off the Cambodia’s royal family as irrelevant in the post-coup Hun Sen era. Previously, I accepted this analysis, since I rarely heard Cambodians talk about the current King or Sihanouk. Now I see they probably had little to say to me on the subject, since I am not Cambodian and the Royal Family is not a topic for light conversation. He was viewed as the father of the country and very well loved. This was made clear to me today, when his body returned from the hospital in Beijing. The entire city shut down while hundreds of thousands of Cambodians lined the streets to view the ceremonial procession of his coffin to the Royal Palace. For hours under the mid-day sun, Cambodians of all stripes waited patiently in traditional funeral clothing (white shirt and black pants, with a black mourning ribbon affixed to the right breast pocket) holding portraits, incense, flowers and flags. It was an impressive and moving display of national unity. 

King Sihanouk and Jackie Kennedy, 1965

Initially, I had decided not to join them. This was a public mourning for his subjects, the Khmer people, and not a parade. Cambodians have allowed much of their culture to be turned into tourist attractions, but they take ceremonial and religious matters very seriously.  However, as I struggled to find a way back to the office after trying to run some lunch errands, I ran into a friend of mine, who insisted that I join. It was quite hot, but nobody except for some passing tourists left early, even after several hours. The funeral procession arrived with chanting monks, musicians, politicians and diplomats in tow, it was over in just a few minutes. We then turned and headed toward the Royal Palace to watch the procession enter the Palace, where the coffin will be on display for 3 months. As the sun was setting, the sea of white shirts and incense clouds turned shades of pink and orange as the Palace glowed in front of us. 

After it ended, I walked back to my motorbike with another friend who’d joined us mid-way through, Chet. He is typically very snarky and irreverent, making jokes about everything from my pronunciation in Khmer to his impoverished childhood in Svay Reing province. When I semi-jokingly asked him if he had cried, his answer drove home how momentous the occasion was for Cambodians. He pointed to his heart and said, “I don’t show it but I am crying on the inside. I usually don’t care about anything but today I’m very sad. I love the King, you know? He’s my King! Of course I love him.”

RIP

Squash Blossoms, Prey Vang province

Herbs, Prey Vang province

Multi-Purpose

Brooding hen in a rice huller, Prey Vang province

Spirit House

Green mangoes in front of a spirit house, Prey Vang province

Squash flower

Squash flower, Prey Vang province

New Friends

Kids in Prey Vang province

Surely there is no greater testament to the dominance of English as the global language these kids. When we pulled up to their house in the rural back-roads of Prey Vang province, they were studying English from a handful of meticulously written phrases on a chalkboard. The girl in front (in pink) was acting as teacher for the day, although my colleagues told me they have lessons for a few hours every day from a teacher who travels locally.

More Night Views

End of evening rush hour, around 6 pm, Phnom Penh

Late night conversations, around 10 PM, Phnom Penh

Night View

View from my front porch, around 9PM, Phnom Penh

While Phnom Penh starts buzzing with activity early in the morning, even the busiest intersections empty out by 9 PM. From the eerily deserted streets, it's easy to feel like you're stumbling in at 4 AM, while in reality its only 10:30. I find the city particularly pretty at night, especially just after a big rain.

The downside, of course, is that construction noise kicks off at 7 am, and cafés and restaurants close by 8 pm. Not a great place for a night-owl.

Office Meeting

Visiting an SRI rice paddy, Prey Vang province

Frog in Duck Weed, Prey Vang province

Sustainability vs. the Environment

A friend forwarded me this article from an Australian news site, and its been on my mind all day (I'm not alone, check out the intense debates on the comment board). The author lambasts the current 'environmental' movement for succumbing to 'cult of utility' and focusing entirely on carbon instead of broader preservation of the natural environment. It's a well reasoned arguement and one that I share some affinity for: why can't enjoying beauty and appreciating biology be an end in itself? Why does everything (the arts, education, public space) need to be 'productive' aka earn money for someone, in order to be considered useful. I also agree with the author when he criticizes the green movement for focusing on carbon and clean energy rather than reducing and reusing.

That being said, arguments like these are easy to make from a privileged, Western point of view. I think its fair to say that old school 'environmentalism' encouraged walling off nature (into parks or protected areas) while ignoring or blaming the people whose livelihood depends on using nature's 'utilities.' While I still dislike the aforementioned 'cult of utility', I also think its fair to say that the only way that nature can be meaningfully preserved is if it serves some kind of utility to someone, but is done so 'sustainably'.

Cambodia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, and 'economic concessions' continue to be awarded to agribusiness companies or for the creation of new dams and reservoirs. While the story is not over regarding Cambodia's natural environment, it will be framed by entirely different questions than it was 20 years ago. While its forests may never return, the country is still bathed in sunlight nearly all year long, which would be a much better source of energy for rural villages who are still without access than the country's current diesel-burning grid.

 

After doing some more internet digging, I found the source (or at least hosting website) of the pictures on the last post. Although I'd never encountered it before, Chanbokeo.com is a great source of old photos from Cambodia in the pre-Khmer Rouge and French protectorat periods, as well as for recipes, folktales and history (which I cannot yet vouch for). I love this picture of King Sisowath in his European 'city' suit.

Two girls playing on the beach, Kep City

I stumbled upon a batch of fascinating old photographs of Cambodia on Facebook ('Khmer Author Chanbo Keo'), some with no source beside lively arguments between commenters in Khmerglish.

And while there are certainly some crazy sights to behold on the Cambodian roadways, nothing today compares to these pictures below. My favorite detail is the two hammocks strung up on the 6th floor of an office building (Monivong Blvd?) in the 2nd photo.

Early 1980s?

Kampuchea wakens from a nightmare, Phnom Penh:  National Geographic, May 1982,

Battambang, early 1980s?

Fences

The photographer Lim Sokchanlina is part of a group of young Cambodian artists who are taking on contemporary social and cultural issues in their work. The above picture is from his series 'Wrapped Future.' I like that these photographs are on one level a rather austere exploration of the kaleidoscope of textures that make up street-level Phnom Penh, and on another level draw attention to the way that the city's space is increasingly being privatized. From his website: 

With both archival and artistic impulse, Lim repeatedly photographs these temporary partitions at especially contentious sites, seeking to provoke questions about real and representational borders, their physical and psychological ability to divide public and private, past and future, known and unknown.