Post-New Year Wednesday

Wednesday night in the big city. Wanted to stay in and detox but that never happens. Besides, DiverD's last night in town for a while.

Japanese at Yamato? Cool. Baked out and hopped on a moto. Blitzed. Floated through the door and damn near face planted into a carp pool. Cool. Nobody saw it.

Diver and his significant sitting poolside. Nice place. A long sushi bar, a yakitori grill, and teppanyaki tables. Private rooms in the back. The carp pool a nice touch. Good feed, too. Sushi and sashimi a win and some pretty cute waitresses. A feast to remember. Mainly because the bill for 3 people came to $134.

But to be fair, we could have gone easy instead of kicking into medieval banquet mode. But that's not why you meet people for Jap food. Either way,

Next time Suzume.

10:30pm. Only ones left. Tired, angry looking staff wanted us out. I commiserate. Besides, 2 1/2 bottles of sake in us and then some. Should call it a night but...it's only 10:30.

Sharky Bar:
Sharky's good lately. Chicks on the post-New Year $$ hunt. Time to pay for all that New Year gambling and drinking their boyfriends, husbands, brothers got into. A pretty full house. Some new faces on the prowl and the boys all out on the town. All thinking the same thing. Hours of talk, drink, flirt.

2am:
Zeppelin called. The staff recovering from the night before. Plied them with monster B-52s all night. They drank until they group-puked behind the bar. 3am - Good tunes. Drunken banter and cheap booze. Teeth sauntered by. Thinking home. But the devil on my shoulder...

3:15am
Someone said the Heart was full of action. I wondered....Doubting. Hate the Heart. Denizen of queers, African scammers, and tourists without imagination...And Dredge's decided it's his favorite late night pull-party. Publisher jumped on the bandwagon....

People raving about the renovations they made. "It's changed....better than before," Publisher assured, "Security is cool now." I Headed to the pat-down. Junior Hitler at the door grabbed my dick, squeezed my pockets and grabbed the rig in my back pocket. Hands on hips, he heroically declared:

"You Cannot Use Drug in My Bar!! Cannot Be Bring Illegal Drug into Heart Da'kness!!"

I thought about a response. Like, "...Your bar is packed with Nigerian coke dealers and meth-addled weirdos.." but... Why argue? Many reasons not to spend my hard-earned cashish here. Douchebag security guard is just one more.

A lot to be said about the Heart and the people who love it, but the photo sums-up the place up better than anything I can write:

Take that MutherFucker*

Oh yeah -

Happy New Year!

*(and if this isn't angry enough for you, dig her)

New and Improved!

The long-awaited resurrection of a legend happened on Monday, October 19, when the NEW and IMPROVED California 2 opened its doors.

In this case N&I is no load of crap. Jim has really put alot of effort into designing this place as he wanted it - with a lot of supervision by new manager Larry!

Many of the usual and unusual suspects attended the grand opening and the place is so much bigger than before that it was still only 75% of capacity at the busiest time. It's wider and much longer and very well decorated - one could be excused for thinking that the regulars would be priced out. But Jim assures me that he still appreciates the locals and will ensure that they are well-taken care of.

He certainly demonstrated that with the party tradition of free-flowing margaritas. If you don't stop by for anything else, drop in to have a look at the staff - there's some lookers there and I'm quite sure that it wasn't just the alcohol talking (and I told myself I wasn't going to share that data with anyone else). Not only that but its got a/c, a pool table, and is open 24 hours, so drop in any time.

At the time, the rooms and kitchen were not open, but by now, they should be. The same detail has been paid to the rooms.

The new location is still on the riverfront but now just a little north of Street 102. It should be an even better Fort Apache (safe haven) from the insanity of Om Tuk since it is no longer directly in the heart of things and access should be much better. Not sure if they'll be utilizing it but there is a great race-viewing area up on the 3rd floor.

Details and photos: http://www.cafecaliforniaphnompenh.com/

OM TUK

Speaking of Bon Om Tuk, if you're crazy enough to stick around for it or catch a glimpse of it on the tube, be on the look out for our own Ubercon "Angkoring" down a barang boat (he should banned from the blog just for that act alone!). Don't know what the infamous UC looks like? Just look for a boat postured much the same as this one.

Stay-On to Stay Up?

Recently depleted the supply of Royal-D so took a trip to the pharmacy across the street to replenish. Having recently run out of my One-A-Day For Men multi-vitamins, I decided to see if they had a cheaper alternative.

Ordered the Royal-D and showed the vitamin bottle to the pharmacist. He brought out a bottle of something called Vitrum from Aus. Looked good enough.

When I asked if these were vitamins for man, a school-boy giggle came across him and he reached under the counter to the sildenafil citrate section, pulled out a box with the name Stay-On, and put it on the counter.

"This is for man?" I asked. "You can read the box," was his reply.

The box really only spoke about enhancing performance and exercise, but by his embarrassment, I could figure things out.

"Oh no," I replied, "I mean for old man like me." Needless to say, this only confirmed his suspicion of my needs.

I had another look at the bottle of Vitrum and told him that this and the Royal-D would be all that I would need. "$13.50," he told me.

I was now curious as hell and took another look at the Stay-On. Scanned hard for further description but found nothing more. "How much is this?" I asked. "Oh sorry, I forget the price."

Now I've been coming to this guy for my health needs for quite some time and he is really quite knowledgeable. There is no way in hell that he didn't know the price.

I once again inquired as to what it was and he once again told me to read the box. He did go on to say that it was BETTER than Kamagra, and that you took it each day just like a vitamin.

The charade had me flustered and I left it there to be researched later on the internet. But I can't find a thing. Anybody know anything about this stuff? Will it do just as my trusty little Chemist says!

Great Northwest

Battambang:
Very chill little city. Wooden-shutters on old French colonial buildings, traditional Khmer houses, Thai-style temples...And they haven't replaced everything with crap plastic and tinfoil-looking facades. Not yet. Yeah, they have billboards and a bit more traffic than I remember but the place still has character.

Let's hope they don't fuck it up.*

Sleepless:
On a recommendation, I checked into the new Seng Hout Hotel. Nice place, nice staff, good location. $15 a night for A/C, cable, fridge, hot water, clean rooms...

But the mattress - hard as a fucking rock. Dead tired when I checked in, hoping to get some sacktime before a meeting. Spent 4 angry hours trying to get comfortable, cursing the asshole that thought these beds were a good idea. Enough. Got up - back hurting, evil mood - and went looking for a new place to stay.

"But sir, this one new. Very good." :
A zombie traipsing through downtown Battambang. Same story everywhere I went. City is full of nice $15 rooms - The Lux, and some others - but they all had the same back-busting mattresses. Must have gotten a deal from the same supplier. May he burn in hell.

Sleep:
Wound up at the Star Hotel near a bus station. $15 and a mattress that let me get some shut eye. The WiFi was slow as shit but the staff was pretty cool. Anyway, if you like a FIRM bed, you are in luck, but if you don't like sleeping on a slab of wood, keep all this in mind.

Enough of My Whining:
Didn't bother hitting the bars in town. I did hop on a moto for nighttime cruises through the ville. A lot of Khmer clubs around. Neon-lit, chicks out front. Some action out behind the Teo Hotel. If you know where you are going , you can have a good time up there.

Etc..:
The BBQ chicken at the market didn't make me sick and the White Rose Restaurant - still a win. Didn't see anything north of $2.50 on the menu, and they stay open til 10. (And they have diet coke - 3000r.) While I was there, the town was gearing up for some pre-Water Festival boat racing. Festive happenings along the river. Kids rides, music, and carnival games. Rows of fat balloons - 1000r a dart. All you had to do was hit one and pop it.

Best carny game ever. I came away with all sorts of shit. Photo frames, a plastic bow-arrow set, a coffee mug... Housekeeper at my hotel scored some of the loot. I laid the stuffed rabbit on a glue-sniffing kid. Made his day. The act of kindness left him speechless. Or maybe his brain is gone. Whatever. It was a good night. I like Battambang.

More info you didn't ask for:
Taxi (the whole car) PNH-BTTMBG cost me $35 / The guy on the return trip wanted $40 (We made stops in Pursat and Kampong Channang.)

Noted on Highway 5:

• 1 crane sitting halfway through the newly constructed wall it had just smashed.
• 1 dead-looking dude sprawled face-down on the pavement; a worried old woman hovering over him.
  
• 1 completely overturned pickup loaded with logs and a dinged-up mini-bus. Gawkers delight.
• 1 vivid set of skid marks leading straight into a ditch.
  

*And a hearty FUCK YOU to Attwood Group for that ugly space station inspired building they put up. Soulless pricks.

Launch

Friday rolled in with nothing special in-store. Biff offered a free invite to the Label 5 Whiskey Product Launch at the Naga Casino. Free whiskey and maybe some cool promo swag to take home. I hate casinos but it's bad luck to say, "No."

Naga Casino, 6pm-ish:
They told me I needed to get here at 6 for the "press event." Maybe I was the only one they told. An upstairs ballroom was decked out to the hilt. Impressive. First World quality setup. Stage, big screens, light show and fog machine - they had bands, dancers, and a 3-course meal featuring dishes all cooked with whiskey-sauce or a whiskey glaze or something like that. Damn. Hungry - but if it isn't beer-battered shrimp, keep booze out of my food. (The Khmers weren't too impressed either.)

The press event consisted of sexy model/dancers posing for photos with grinning (nervous or horny?) KH journalists and sponsors in front of a big Label 5 Whiskey sign. For whatever reason they had a few of those guys that spray paint themselves all over and stand still - "Living Statues." And mimes. Cambodian mimes. Funny shit. Watching mimes go up to Khmers, trying to clown around and get some sort of interactive response. What they got was embarrassed looks, and deliberate "Get the fuck out of here" stares from bodyguards who seemed to be all over the place. 15 mins after they'd released the mimes, you had 4 pissed-off looking Cambodian mimes hanging at the edge of the crowd trying to avoid contact with anyone.

Best mimes ever.

But really - who the fuck planned this thing? The French importers and event people (styling in $1000 suits...the only ones in suits) looked pleased. What were they looking at? Whatever. I'm not eating anything on that menu and the take-away swag looked pretty lame. Time to compensate myself with free booze. Started chasing the chicks with the drinks trays. One of the corporate people saw me and started over to make party-talk. We made eye contact, smiled at each other and then she watched me slam a whiskey on the rocks. Corporate people did a quick 180 - straight into a sulking mime - and didn't look my way the rest of the night.

By 7:30 I realized why there was so much security. They'd invited all sorts of cops, military, government guys - and their idiot nephews. They all brought goons. Well done Label 5. You got a room full of BIG SWINGING DICKS and their attitudinal security, and now you're gonna ply them with free whiskey all night?

I wanted to stay.

But 5 drinks on an empty stomach (in less than 1.5 hours.) Needed to boogie. Important to get some crash out time before Friday night (proper) begins.

But hey - good luck to anyone willing to invest in Cambodia. Maybe it'll be a hit. And hey - thanks much for the free booze and the sad-ass mimes**




*Not a whiskey expert but it tastes like Johnny Walker Red
** Best mimes ever.

Constitution Day

StarWorld and CNN cured me of the notion that I'd be able to stay in Wednesday night. I blame them. Besides, Thursday a holiday, and it's bad karma to waste a "Bonus Friday night." So,...out the door.

Sharky Bar:
Stopped in to meet a friend. He pulled a no-show but no harm done. Decent crowd for a weeknight. Jim and Andy keeping things moving. I got to work on finding a Personal Assistant for a trip up north. SisterSly looking good. Haven't seen her in a while. Thing is - she's sly. But tres sexy in black. Ordered her a beer. She sat down next to me and we did the overlapping leg-thing.

• LoneStar back in town. 6 weeks in a TX oil field enough for now. So - check out the Lone Star Bar (near the Flamingos Hotel) if you want to say hello.We hit the balcony and talked about...nothing that I can remember. That's the problem with balcony talk.
• LA Educator also in town - taking a break from the "classrooms"of South Central Los Angeles. So - how is the education system doing under the "No Child Left Behind" policy? The question set him to drinking. It sucks to care. 10th graders reading at a 4th grade level. Can't be bothered to learn their own language, but they can find time to score $200 basketball shoes. LA....Maybe we can have another war with Mexico. This time the loser gets LA and its Dick & Jane-reading 10th graders.
  
• ChillGandhi showed up with 5 cuties from some hostess bar and a Very LARGE, Very DRUNK Kiwi who was having trouble stabilizing. They took a table on the stage to try and keep him away from the crowd at the bar. Good thinking. And a bonus for the community: he got up to take a piss, stepped off the stage and dropped face-first to the floor with a THUD. Judges score - 9.0. (His routine contained all the elements I look for....I applaud his effort.)
• RadioDave and the Turk blew in from out of nowhere. Didn't even know they were in town. Laid a 4GB flash with some kick-ass (and very hard to find over here) soul, funk, and Fat Possum blues. A thousand thanks bro.
  

We shot the shit for a while. SlySister downed another beer and told me to stay put. She had to run out and get something from her room. (Or something like that...) OK. Fine. "You stay here. I come back." I'll be here. "SURE?" Yeah, cool. LegSister2 sidled-up and schooled me. Some tourist made a deal with her while I was on the balcony. She was going to blow out early on an LT with him and come back and score me for round 2. Sly Sister, Sly.

It happens...and cheers to LegSister2 for cluing me in. They don't usually do that. Worth a whiskey-coke (or 2).

Publisher headed to Bunny Bar and scored a super star. A tall, athletic-looking Sophie's alum - that place was an academy. BRING IT BACK!* CoolPaul and I talked wedding plans (his.) Hey man, let us know when you want the bachelor party - or would you prefer a wake? To Zep.

Zeppelin:
Outside table. Rats playing rugby with the trash pile. Talking about shit. A California coke dealer who pleaded for his life standing in a trash compactor. (He came up with the money.) US tax laws....and yeah, people still talking about Crash (the one who drove into the Walkabout ) Some say she ponied up $25K to make it go away. The papers say she's still inside waiting to go to court. No idea who's right. Don't really care.

LadyBoy snared a drunk dude** at Heart. SALE!! He made his way down 51, trophy in-hand, flashing grins to the street gallery - chicks, moto-dudes, expats...Have to say, I was rooting for him. Alas - drunk dude decides he wants to have a quick "one for the road"at Walk.

DOH!!

LadyBoy can't let that happen. His cover will be blown. He went into a CodeRed - arm pulling, tearful pleas, begging him to just get back to the hotel. As soon as the dude entered Walk, LadyBoy knew the sale was lost. Crestfallen, he sulked away - to the Heart. "....Try and try again..."

SexyBeast walked up from the shadows, sat on my lap (damn near crushing a nut.) She made me an offer I couldn't refuse. But the night wasn't over for everyone...

Walkabout 5:45am (or so...):
Two douchebags at the bar arguing over a woman. GO BACK TO PATTAYA. Skinhead Brit and Irishman head-to-head, angry words. A light bulb above the Irishman's head lit up. He grabbed a heavy Angkor mug and smashed it straight into the skinhead's ...skin head. BLOOD splatter and pandemonium.

They took it into the street - rolling around on the pavement while keystone cops whacked at them with underpowered tazers (ZERO effect.) Irish dude had the presence of mind to keep the mug with him and as the cops tried to break-up this EMBARRASSMENT TO WHITE MEN EVERYWHERE - a flailing arm smacked one of them in the face. Now the cop's bleeding like a stuck pig; swinging a tazer that doesn't work...He went for his gun, fumbled it and dropped it on the ground. Perfect.

Seemed the sad situation couldn't get any sadder, when some fat-ass bald Brit jumped in. And no. He didn't know any of the combatants - just wanted show the world what a dick he is.

Mission accomplished.

Cops started slamming him with those shit tasers and he's laughing his ass off, "This is lovely, do it again!"(So maybe that's his thing...)

A Happy Ending:
15 mins or so later - the two brawlers had taken off home. Girls in the bar wiped the blood splatter off themselves in the bathroom and FatBaldDouche was the one they hauled off to jail. Happy Constitution Day, pal.

And if I had grand kids, I might tell them something like this.

"See that guy? DON'T BE THAT GUY."

* If only for the ambiance.
** Or maybe he was just acting drunk

Recession-Proof Industry?

Pchm Ben money on-tap. Recession beaters in Kampong Cham. Dudes decide to rob a gold vendor with grenades. They got $250 and whatever gold not scattered in the explosion.

Started with a bang but by Sunday the Pchm Ben wind-down in effect. Bars, shops, stores re-opening. City slowly coming back to life. Thankfully, most of the traffic is still away. Not only locals who headed out of town. Ubercon and his SpanishFly took new found love east to the Land of the...whatever, Vietnam. Others headed for BKK or the Philippines. A healthy balance of poverty and sloth ensures I never go anywhere.

But the new Cali2 not open for another few weeks, at least. What to do?

Lucky Market:
I Spend too much money here. 290 pts on my Lucky Market Customer Card. Not sure what I get for that? Depressed, mainly. But knowing KH promos - it's probably something like 2000r off my next purchase over $50. But Lucky can be a good place to people watch...

• Like the Chinese dude trying to work up courage to buy Okomoto's in the midst of a Lucky rush hour. Myriad of colors, textures, flavors, promised sensations ...not helping him . His lingering not helping either. Staff hawking him. Thinking he was going to pocket a box. Khmers not helping either. Gawking. Grinning. Good fun. Dude. It's not Singapore. You want rubbers. Be a man. Grab a box and take it to the register. Because - He who hesitates, gets clowned. But really, what's a $3 box of Okamoto's got on a .30 pack of OKs (with lube)?
  
• Khmer lady going down a line of spaghetti sauces - screwing open jars, sniffing, wincing, putting them back on the shelf. Smiling stockboy looking on.
  
• People from the hinterlands making slow rounds. Checking out the barang food. Picking up cans and bottles and boxes of shit, passing it around, putting it back. And buying a pack of the same dried squid they can get at their local place for .10 cheaper...But hey, no judgments. I did the same thing at Asian markets when I was back home.
  
• Douchebag Indian dude laying-into a hapless checkout girl about the injustice of the Lucky Card. It's a scam. A rip-off. The Fucker kept at it, "Absolutely, a waste of time and..." And....SHUT THE FUCK UP, MAN! She doesn't care. She isn't listening. There are people in line behind you.....Dick.
  

Anise:
WifiLeeching NGO chick staked an outside table, plugged in her Dell and ordered a $1 pot of tea. Settled in for a 4 hr surf. She'd been warned. BrklynJerry on the scene. Large and in - charge. Not giving up an outside table that seats 4 DINERS. Asks her to move inside. She says, "No." And back and forth it went til she gave it up. Staff helped her move her rig inside. 15 mns later she's back at the outside table. More debate. " I volunteer for an NGO. !* Do you know who I AM!! I'm not a White Male sex tourist! I am ENTITLED!!"

No sale. Bounced her entitled ass out the door with prejudice and told her not to come back. Had to put RESERVED signs on the outside deck tables to avoid a repeat. So if you go, sit outside and bring the Dell. But order something. Anise - great restaurant, bar, and hotel...But it's not a NetCafe. So Dig it. (And if it's on the menu, get the Amok Ravioli - I'm no gourmand but it's damn good.)

More Soon....



*For a $2000 monthly stipend.

December (2008) in Cambodia

I started this post in December 2008*

Cambodian Christmas:
A heretic buys a $26 4 ft plastic Christmas tree (made in the PRC) complete with lights and decorations from a Khmer and gets carnal with a VC under the glow of the blinking blue lights. Lube made in the USA. Background music from a stereo made in Japan. Anarchists are shitheads. Globalization works. But some people just seek out reasons to get pissed off.

The Thais:
We've all been enjoying the angry shit in Thailand. Assholes to the left - assholes to the right - tourist season 2008-2009...Fucked. Tourism bad even in Pattaya. Bars are responding to the downturn by raising their drink prices to Bangkok levels. Nicely played. The sad trade they are getting is responding. They buy cheap cans of beer on the street, sit outside the bars and listen to the music blaring out the doors...Just like Phnom Penh Africans.

Sharky Bar:
Yes - the prices rose (again.) $2.50 for a vodka. $5.50 for a pitcher of Angkor. (Wasn't it just $4?) Hostess bar prices at the Shark? Hmm....no longer a cheap night out, but the times are still good, and the people are still the right kind of weird.

Happy Birthday:
Saigon's best - The Curtis King Band in town for the 13th (or 14th?) Anniversary Party. Kick ass band but they can be hit and miss....kind of a miss this time around but - still - a great night and they were very cool to follow-up with a freebie Saturday night.

A big fuck you - to the security guards at the Candy Bar for braining one of the guys with a baton. A misunderstanding? Something about a bill (that had actually been paid.) Another reason to avoid the crapfest on St. 136.

Update:

Thais still being dicks. Sharky still not a super cheap night out. Street 136 still a crapfest.

Cambodia still attracting the right kind of weird.

(*I've been busy...)

When Worlds Collide, Who Wins?

Worlds collide and who wins?....Well, when the world of a Toyota driven by a methed-up (and probably drunk) chick collides with a bunch of motos, a tuk-tuk and the outside tables at Walkabout.... basically, everyone winds up FUCKED.

Like the tuk-tuk driver parked in front of Zeppelin - he might not make it. Or the moto dudes cross-corner from Shanghai - their bikes got done and one of them..he's not doing too well. Neither is the Howie's waitress who got clipped and shipped off to the hospital - not sure how she's doing.

Why:
Apparently, the chick hit the Howie's waitress and, as is the custom, barrel-assed down 51 to get away from the accident. On the way she took out a bunch of motos and did the tuk-tuk guy in front of Zep. No skid marks. Car went straight into the outside tables at Walk- they are trashed. (Thankfully, no one inside was injured.) Zep is un-touched.

The Driver Emerges:
Blonde tweaker and friends crawled out of the smashed VE-HI-CLE - flipping the bird at excited gawkers. Nice. She got class. Made it to the corner before Khmer onlookers grabbed her and hauled her ass to the station down the road.

Not being a general's daughter, I'm thinking she is well and truly fucked.

The Khmer Peanut Gallery Weighs In:
As they hauled her down the street to the cop station, a mini riot erupted for some reason (well...because they're Khmers and they just got to run wild...) So the Khmers started pushing each other and punching each other and that shit went on for a bit. 'Til the brothers got it together - and attacked the car. Smashed windows, kicked the fuck out of the doors. They tossed that car a beating. So the car didn't win either.

Walkabout:
Walkabout probably not a winner...guessing the cops - who showed up 20 mins after the crash will find a way to put some of the blame ($$$) on them for this carnage. But hey, better late than never - Fuzz hit the ground running - showed up and took control of the scene - well, mainly they took control of the motos parked in front of the Walkabout. Put 'em in a pick-up and hauled them off to the station - for questioning, maybe. Wonder how much it'll take to get them out of cop-hock. (Hey, 'tis the season..)

No Winners in This Sad Tale:
But the echai kid- waded through a puddle of blood to score some slightly used hubcaps (they popped off the tuk-tuk) and some of the assorted moto parts that were strewn about. Right on, kid.

Someone might as well win.

Holiday Solitude (Christmas Comes Late..)

I started this post in December 2008:

Cambodian Christmas:
A heretic buys a $26 4 ft plastic Christmas tree (made in the PRC) complete with lights and decorations from a Khmer and gets carnal with a VC under the glow of the blinking blue lights. Lube made in the USA. Background music from a stereo made in Japan. Anarchists are shitheads. Globalization works. But some people just seek out reasons to get pissed off.

The Thais:
We've all been enjoying the angry shit in Thailand. Assholes to the left - assholes to the right - tourist season 2008-2009...Fucked. Tourism bad even in Pattaya. Bars are responding to the downturn by raising their drink prices to Bangkok levels. Nicely played. The sad trade they are getting is responding. They buy cheap cans of beer on the street, sit outside the bars and listen to the music blaring out the doors...Just like Phnom Penh Africans.

Sharky Bar:
Yes - the prices rose (again.) $2.50 for a vodka. $5.50 for a pitcher of Angkor. (Wasn't it just $4?) Hostess bar prices at the Shark? Hmm....no longer a cheap night out, but the times are still good, and the people are still the right kind of weird.

Happy Birthday:
Saigon's best - The Curtis King Band in town for the 13th (or 14th?) Anniversary Party. Kick ass band but they can be hit and miss....kind of a miss this time around but - still - a great night and they were very cool to follow-up with a freebie Saturday night.

A big fuck you - to the security guards at the Candy Bar for braining one of the guys with a baton. A misunderstanidng? Something about a bill (that had actually been paid.) Another reason to avoid the crapfest on St. 136.

THANKSGIVING in Cambodia...

...goes something like this:

Haven't seen enough? - Click here!

Making The BIG Time

Another Crowded Holiday List Alarms Businesses

THE CAMBODIA DAILY

November 18, 2008

The government released a list of 25 public holidays for the 2009 calendar year, renewing the debate over tradition versus labor productivity.

The 25 holidays spread from International New Year's Day on Jan 1 to International Human Rights Day on Dec 10, and the month of May alone counts six days off, according to a government sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Oct 20.

"For my factory, which has 2,000 workers, I lose about $6,000 to $7,000 per day during public holidays," said Kong Sang, deputy chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia and owner of Evergreen Apparel Co Ltd.

Holidays lower production and complicate business because banks close, Kong Sang said. Cambodia has many more holidays than other countries, and they are clustered in the spring and fall, when garment factories receive most of their international orders, he added.

GMAC raised the issue with the government but did not receive a satisfactory answer, he said.

International investors are shocked by the number of public holidays when they arrive here, but they make do with Cambodia's calendar, said [Mr. Big], ...manager at [the preeminent staffing company in Cambodia], who handles human resources for companies trying to establish themselves in Cambodia.

"I've never seen anyone go running for the border once they realize they have to give their workers some time off," [Mr. Big] said, adding that Cambodians still have less time off than some European workers.

A very [Mr. Big]-like statement for those that know him.

Charity Event Gala!

Murray and his Harley Bikers group will be holding a fund raiser at Huxley's Friday night. I think this a Toys for Tots kind of thing - $ to buy toys for needy kids.

Who can't get behind that?

The Details:
No idea. Can't recall what you should bring ($10 or $20?), what time it kicks off (I guess if you go around 7 or 8 it'd be cool), and I have no idea if you should bring toys (probably not.)

I should have been paying attention to the conversation but hey, 3 martinis in - it's a miracle I remember this much.

Should be a lot of good people there and Robbie may or may not have food out for attendees....Anyway, be there. It's good for your karma. You'll have a good time, and you can be rest assured, your money will actually go to buying stuff for the kids. Not towards wax for the Land Cruiser.

Anyone with more info about this, please chime in.

1 + 2 + 4 = ?

Zer0!

As in 1 ticket gets you 2 drinks for the price of 4 dollars and results in 0 people from the dark continent showing up at the Big M. Seems Team JC got their act together and the brothers have to buy a ticket at the door before entering. This past weekend, none of them was willing to pay the steep price and the decor was much brighter. Are these the customers that any business wants?

The Trapdoor Spider seems to have caught himself one in the front door...and a cutie at that! Will he be able to refrain from his trapdoor-spider-ways? Plenty of us multi-legged creatures awaiting any fallout. Seriously, good catch and good luck spidey!

Undiscovered History - What's up with CCTV taking away my Discovery Channel and replacing it with the History Channel? No problems with the History Channel, as I have already watched a few good documentaries (including one about Pol Pot, which seemed to have been produced shortly after his death 10 years ago), but certainly not at the expense of the Discovery Channel! That means no more Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, Future Weapons, or American Chopper (OK, I can emphatically state that I will not miss those meatheads!). Also missing is Animal Planet being replaced with something called Explore - yeah, I'll take that poofter Jeff Corwin over the AC knuckleheads anyday. Come on fellows, screw with the Frog Channel or the Russian channel, but not my Discovery!

The Gameroom/Crackhouse across the street from Walkabout has been shut down and not a minute too soon. Saw the games being hauled out a few days ago and the place has been closed since. Good F*cking riddence you losers.

One final thing that Dredge forgot to add about Prohibition Night. Before we ran off to import our own Mekong, but after we were able to find a few cans of brew on Street 63, we needed a place to enjoy them. We discovered that there could be no better place than the concrete bench half way down the street from WA. While imbibing, we were treated to a "monkey-open-coconut" (ala Ko Samui) show performed by an 8-year-old glue-sniffing simian, while a monstrously-goitered crack whore tried to entice us with her "goods' - ahhh...just like the old days!

A Dollar Well Spent

Walkabout Dead:
Well, not the bar. Just some dude in it. Sources say he'd been dead 2 days before someone entered the room and found him. No idea who, what, or why. (Just the when and where.) One report - he fell in the bathroom and hit his head. Damn...Anyone got the 411?

Elections:
Muchachos back from the villages with tales from the ballet box. Jap vote checkers gave the elections a big thumbs-up, and I'm not going to argue. Mainly because I refuse to care. I concern myself with the better things in LIFE. But there were hijinks, and I feel for villagers who stood in line all day, got to the ballot table, and learned they'd already voted. (They get pretty high out there, possible they voted and forgot about it....) Many wondered where all the Vietnamese names on the voter lists came from.

Sam Rainsy Party HQ:
Cops everywhere. The hard looking ones in olive drab - the dudes that actually work*; the ones they give guns and bikes. Badass and camped out front of my favorite VN coffee shop. (4 strong baggies of jet-black java for 2000.) At first I thought there was a massive raid on the meth mall at the projects, but no. They were there to protect the SRP from people out to harm them. Or something...

The important thing is - it's not my business. Hopefully they'll be gone by tomorrow, so I can get my PM caffeine boost.

Not in the LP Guide**:
Allerin (cold/cough syrup) by United American Pharmaceuticals (Philippines) Dosage- One swig and a couple hits...great buzz: $1/bottle. Give it a shot....

Because we all get some satisfaction from a dollar well spent.



(*Well.....)

(**Or that candy ass, rainbow-striped Footprint Guide)

Getting Down

Using the Noodle:
Thailand can wait. I'll have a decent blow-out weekend here for the price of the ticket alone. And, have a better time doing it. Suze Ormond would be proud.

• Large Seafood Pizza from Pizza World + tip: $10
• Mad boozing around town (8pm-5am): $24
• Doling out moto$ to misc associates - just because they asked: $3
• Stream of vulgar drunken SMS' to misc numbers: .25
• 2 orders of steamed dumplings: $3
• The Sisters and their friend: $43

Under budget and ready for day 2.

Sharkys:
Good scene. Blitzed on many levels. Even the lounge music sounded right. DD at the pool table looking good. Do I want to go to Prey Veng with her for the elections? (= Do I want to pay for the taxi ride?) Maybe. A distraction. 50-something transvestite getting a massage from a VC at the end of the bar. Bizarre. My inner-Khmer wanted to stare. I fought it. Sort of...He left with 3 chicks. Ok.

1am: Word in - Cops shut down Heart and Howie's and everything else on that stretch of 51 - except Pit Stop. They work in mysterious ways. The important thing: Walk and Zeppelin Bar still going strong. Slammed my vodka and busted a move.

Zeppelin Bar: 2:30 am
Where did all of the White people come from? Like refugees from a sinking ship, they packed the back booths and had Jun playing some whiny-rock from the '80s. I guess they were slumming. I didn't shout,"BACK to ELSEWHERE you brie-sucking, wine-sipping vermin!!!" Instead, I ordered a drink, said hi to the boss (who very kindly put on some Metallica) and set up my deer stand near the door. Watched what little street traffic there was. Crack den and food vendors had been cleared out. Dark and quiet.

An old friend stopped in to say hi. Good timing. Ordered a round and took her in. She's alive. (Love it when that happens) and looking good. Pattaya trash tweeker followed her in and gave her the evil eye - staring right through me. Great. She ripped him off, and now she's hiding behind me. Well, fuck him. He can stew while I order us up another round. Pattaya Trash tweekers (especially those who wear the same dirty tank-top every fucking day) are fair-game. But she can't hide behind me forever. I let him give her another $20 to score - so he could compound his losses and I left them to their drama. To Walk.

Walkabout: 4am
Packed. Everywhere else closed; the party moved here. White women and the backpackers who long to give them foot massages...everywhere. A parallel universe? No, just a night without the Heart, Elsewhere, and Revolution, so the young and beautiful decided to slum it at PNH's W Hotel. Whatever. Good scene and I ran into people I rarely see outside of work. Slamming booze with DJ Julian. He had a tale to tell:

Pontoon:
DJ Luv gone from the scene. He vowed the party boat by the sewer outtake would never be the same. He was right. A post-Luv weekend brought changes. An international DJ to get the crowds moving. They moved. They got down. Down to the riverbed. Dude drew so many people, the boat sank!! Thankfully, it went down in slow motion, so no one was hurt, but....what a monumental fuck-up. Hope they had insurance. (Doubt they had insurance.)

Say what you want about DJ Luv; he kept the crowds away - and the boat afloat.

If anything else interesting happened, I can't remember it.

And one more thing:

PREAH VIHEAR BELONGS TO CAMBODIA!!!

(So quit hasslin')

Fitting In

Summertime and the Livin' is Esse:
Thursday. The phones are dead. Most of the staff gone. Nothing but a slow net connection and the Cambodia Daily. Fuck me!! But the day was saved with a bang (more of a crack); a couple hundred yards away, a kid got done in front of the projects. Not sure why. Normally a motorbike robbery but over there, it could be anything. The street crew working on a nearby CPP bilboard didn't skip a beat - they had nothing to worry about.

Searching for a Sober Choice:
The big race is on...for 2nd place. But shit that gets me a 4-day weekend is a welcome thing. Unless it closes the bars.

In an effort to add credibility, the POWERS THAT BE have decided to close bars for 48 hrs 'til voting is done. Penalties haven't been spelled out, but (as Ubercon noted) closing for a day or so would be worth the goodwill points it'll score with the commune. Bar owners are digging the forced "vacation." Bar staff - not so happy. Losing a weekend during the low season means less $$ at the end of the month. But hey, they should have been born rich.

Non-voting expats will be getting ready for a deluge of housecalls; hordes of unsolicited visitors looking for an a/c room (meals included) to weather the 48 hr closing.

A Plan:
I may show my respect for the sanctity of the CPP Smackdown by going to Bangkok for the weekend - where I'll disregard the budget I've set and blow a shitload of money on the enemy. Now is that what they wanted? When will they learn? Prohibition doesn't work.

But it may be enough to see me descend into a morass of 600 baht bar fines, 3000 bht all nighters, bars that close at 1am, and girls who ask for the Johnny Walker Black, NOT the Red...

Hmm...Maybe, I won't rise up. I'll just get with the program. Respect the booze ban by downing a few at the Naga. I'll even blow a few bucks at the blackjack table. And perhaps a rub & tug at the hotel "spa." Dig.

It feels good to fit in.

The More Things Change

As much as the Cambos profess to dislike the Thais, it doesn't stop them from emulating them.

Wrote a couple of weeks ago about the possibility of a dry weekend this coming weekend thanks to the election and our fearless leader (a lovely article about him - http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JG23Ae01.html).
Laughed it off.

Not so quickly. Two well-known and well-visited establishments received notices yesterday saying that they are not to have any sales this weekend. "No sales" as in no food and no drink. As in "we really think that you should close."

Now there definitely could be technical ways around this, but in the end, these are the same guys that could make problems for your business...especially if there are any girls frequenting or working in the place.

So as of last night, these popular places are planning on shutting down for the weekend.

What's that? You say you can go 48 hours without drinking? Well, how about without seeing Srey Srey? If the places close, where ya gonna go for your trim?

By the way, Champagne had already been planning on closing, just for Saturday, I believe.

What to do? I would suggest checking on your planned destination before departure. And as things stand, you might be best off to have a walk about.


The More They Remain The Same

R-Cat still being Russell-ed.

Spoon-Ur is still an idiot!

DB had a few choice words for him not so long ago - http://pnhconfidential.blogspot.com/2007/10/androo-spoon-ur-makes-bank-and-other.html

Now he just won't go away.

Quick summary - the guy, who supposedly does research and writes for the little known (for good reason) Foot Print Guide, walked by CA2 one afternoon, saw the staff sitting outside with nothing to do, and declared the place hooker infested. Some guidebook this must be with incredible efforts into researching destinations such as this.

Anyway, Androo was lucky enough to warrant a couple of paragraphs in Jim's Farewell article in last month's Pearnik (page 4) - http://bayonpearnik.com/html/Issue142/index.htm. Seems that Jim made the fatal mistake of giving Spoon-Ur more credit than he deserves and said that he worked for the Rough Guide, not ToeJam, err...Foot Print.

So our research expert emails Jim, comments on his "rather strange piece" in the Pearnik, tells Jim of his error and tells him that he should get his "basic facts right" as it makes him "look dim if you don't" (This guy obviously is EXPERT on this!), and then proceeds to present a copy of the CA2 review that he intends to put in the ToeJam Guide.

This guys has never set foot in CA2 but he describes the size, color, and shape of the rooms, in addition to "bas-reliefs on the walls" and even the view from the rooms. Wonder where he plagiarized this stuff from?

Not only that but if the wanker had done a little more research in what seems to be his primary source of research material (the Pearnik), he would have come to the PP Pub Page on page 13, in which the second sentence of the article states, "That’s right after seven years on the riverfront Cali2 was to close it’s door’s to it’s many fans, regulars and tourist guests a like, and it seemed like half the town crammed in to say goodbye."

CA2 has been closed since the 5th of May!

Well, can't blame the guy from not reading the Pub Page, but research is his job, and he seems to really suck at it. Buy and/or use the Foot Print Guide at your own peril!

A Bunch of Stuff

Zeppelin Bar, 5:10am
$1 vodkas, $1.50 dumplings. Kick-ass music.* Rockin' to Pantera and IceEarth 'til daylight. Pie-eyed and lounging out front with Plunger. Spying the action at the crackhouse across the street. Ogling the cuties doing the Heart-Walkabout trail. Good show. Then suddenly from out of nowhere...

ChocolatePixie giving me a hard sell. Dark-skinned Viet telling me what she could do. Toe to toe - jabbing her finger and laying it out for me, "HEY! I Suck you good. You no work - ANYTHING...." Words I like to hear. She hit me with a classic,

"No cum. No pay."

Yes. Never hear that anymore. Unless she's being sarcastic..and sarcastic's kind of a turn-on. I know a bad idea when I see one. Getting ready to bite into a Kamagra BUT alarm bells going off...

ChocolatePixie speaks real good English. She's got the pitch down right. Got the yama-chic body, too...And she's kinda hot. So...Why haven't I ever seen her before? Did the inventory of stealable items at Chez Bong: smoke, laptop, i-pod, cell phone, new shoes...Proofing the apt would be hassle. Had to say no. Maybe I'm getting wiser.

No. That's not it.

Huxley's
Where is a Cali2 refugee to go? Go where there's Zappa, Vodka and Bumfights. Getting fucked up with Publisher and Publican watching Rufus the StuntBum do his thing on Youtube. We went from high school girl fights to Kimbo Slice to midget boxing to Bum Fights. Somewhere in the world someone was trying to cure cancer.

I was digging the scene at Huxley. Great bartender makes a kick-ass martini. It's $4 but it's got 2.5 shots of vodka in it and goes down super-smooth. Toothless German-Swiss chef makes very good food for a very fair price, too. Place is a win.

Robbie from Sharky/Shanghai decided to go upscale and what he came out with it right in the middle. A place to take clients and have a nice-girl date - and when you're done - go downstairs, booze with boys and watch Rufus bang his head into walls for a $1.

Sharky Bar:

CaliJim came on board and had the sound system fixed. Place sounds great and the new lighting works. Staff still oblivious but - that's part of the charm. You want some prozac'd-up fairy in a striped shirt and suspenders in your face every 5 mins asking if you need a refill? I think you don't.

Mixing up the music (a bit) to keep the ladies happy works - they actually stay 'til around 2am. Get your fill with the mixed drinks at $1.25 (12-2am) Then take your sorry drunken self over to Zep to watch the show.

Deaf Girl & French Tweeker:
Sharky's. 12:30am. 2 new VCs doing some recon for their friends. They locked onto a Korean with a bottle of Bacardi. In the background - good deaf-mute girl on a tear. Bought her a Tiger. Big mistake. Earned me a 20 min pantomime of her sorry state of affairs. Jumping up and down, drunken tears, waving her hands, grunting and squeaking...Something to do with flying or falling; the number 4 kept coming up. She wouldn't go away. When she did, she'd come back to "retell" the tale. Finally, she moved on. My buzz and libido (barely) intact.

Skeezed out French tweeker watched intently. 10 mins after she'd left, he sidled up. Wanted to know what language I spoke. Demanded to know what the deaf girl told me...because he doesn't speak English. I didn't feel like explaining she's mute. She never tells anyone anything. No one knows what she's on about. Told him I didn't know. Told him it had something to do with the number 4. He didn't believe me. Thought I was holding back. Demanded to know more. Glared at me. He went back to his seat and waited for the ceiling to collapse on his head.

I mentally picked my nose and flicked a booger at him.

And that's as much writing as I'm going to do about a drunk deaf-mute courtesan and a suspicious-minded tweeker Frenchman.

Started early today and can't remember why I'm writing about this. I guess the point is - despite metered taxis, new shopping malls, and KFC, it's still good to be here. Still plenty of free entertainment. Nah,..there's no point.

It's just a bunch of stuff that happened.

*If you like hard rock and very heavy metal

Long Overdue

Long time away from internet but still hangin on the circuit. I see Khmerican has been
busy. Job must not be too demanding, and I am sure all appreciate his efforts.
I know how important the news from the east must be for those in the west.

Scarlet Harlet spending time on chat rooms and during an st confided that some guy
locked to his web cam was trying to get her to go far on hers, but in the
end she eluded she didn't have to, but got an eyeful from his web cam. Explained to her
what a sticky keyboard was.

I guess despite the rant from Ubercon, hostess bars exist for guys like web cam guy. Pumped up
on testosterone and oblivious to the music. Also despite all the information in books,
publications, and the web...some girl will get a house and moto. A recent trip to the
land of smiles only brought frowns. Beavers had girls on the table asking me to stuff
their garters and I hadn't even received my first beer yet. After being her so long you
get tired of telling them you area coconut salesman.

That being said the beer garden on Soi Seven wasn't too impressive this time around,
but I think the venue is right. It's a place like Walkabout, Martini, and Sharky where
the hustle is to get you out of there and not to fund some overpriced drink hustle.

Walkabout-Cleve has been a good addition and his return was long overdue.
He's playing lots of good music, and he is trying new things and making a difference. The pool night still attracting alot of cuties, and there has been a few new addtions to the harem from there recently. Hopefully he can move forward on some cleanliness issues. Nice white spotless kitchen renovation only to have your food served on some bacteria infested countertop that is periodically wiped down with some dry rag that was fetched from the bottom of some automobile getting an engine overhaul.

Martini-(or Congo Charlies) I made it out the other week and expected Dr. Mohimbo & Sons
to be there collecting his Junk Mail checks, but this was not the case. Not sure if it
was a one off or if it had been getting so bad the management took it seriously. I put
money on the one off. Will check in again and see. Still a buyers market and definitely
not overpriced like Thailand.

Sharky-Put on a good 4th party. Curtis King band as good as always. Embassy chicks even
dancing on the bar in the end. For U.S. Independence day the Brits made a good showing
by winning the moto, but in the end it was the Chinese who capitalized by selling a 600
dollar bike that got flipped to Howies in the end for 300. Ladies night on Thursday was
a win. Ironically when Shark clears out early the ladies were hanging on and the ratio
was great. The food special for the girls is catching on and based on what I saw there
will be some new additions to the harem.

Place worth menitoning is Zepellin. Good move positioning himself between Walkabout and
the heart. Lots of traffic going by and they peer in when walking by. Quite a few discrete pulls
from there, away from the Walkabout gauntlet. Marlboros still 1 dollar and I am sure thats why they were out the other night. Drinks are reasonably priced as well.