Thomas Wanhoff in Cambodia

Common people stories - a new blog

2011-04-29T20:19:00.001-07:00

I started a new blog. I tell the stories about common people I met and know in Asia. Not the heroes from CNN or newspapers. It is about neighbors, guards, waiters, shop owners - average people. You want your story being told? Message me!

http://commonpeoplestories.blogspot.com/

Avoid the Blue Tongue Hotel

2011-04-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

I stayed here two times, it's cheap and because of the walkaboutbar next door every motodub driver knows can bring you there. Thats pretty much it. The supervisors act like hey worked in prison before, the owner acts like he was in prison for a long time, (he is actually violent). Breakfast is worst than dog food, and their understanding of cleaning is way different from what hotel guests expect. It isnt that much booked, nobody was here, so please avoid this place. I also suspect some scam going on there with surcharges for lost or dirty linnen and towels.

Projects I am working on

2011-04-22T19:24:00.001-07:00

I am working on two projects right now on a volunteer basis.

1. Filmcamp Laos
Since Barcamp was a huge success and I am a big movie and filmmaking fan, I was thinking about starting a Filmcamp in Laos. The goal is to bring together all people interested in filmmaking an TV, cameramen, actors, anchors, whoever is interested and let them share ideas and knowledge in a unformal environment. What I have achieved so far is the support from Lao Star TV, the support from the Luang Prabang Film Festival, a venue (Vientiane College), and some interest from filmmakers in Vietnam and Thailand as well as Cambodia. What is left is a talk to the department of cinema next week - if they agree in general, my plan is to set up a committee to do the final organization.

2. Young Leadership Challenge - a TV reality show
Seila Prum from Cambodia, who did this show on CTN, contacted me and we were talking about the idea to bring the show to Laos. I like the concept of this show - developing leadership skills for young people and using them as a role model for others. In a country like Laos that lacks of skilled people that should fit perfectly. What I need know is finding sponsors.
I do have already support from Lao Star TV as the shows host and some students and Lao people interested in bringing this forward. Meetings will start soon!

so stay tuned...

TEDxPhnom Penh: My personal review

2011-02-05T19:35:00.001-08:00

A dream came true for me: getting an invitation to a TEDx-conference. For those who dont know what TED is, check out TED.com. Basically, it is a conference for the brightest people. The claim is "Ideas Worh Spreading:, and Phnom Penhs subtitle was "Building The Future".
The brightest people in Cambodia to answer the question are, at least the TED organizers selection:
Keeda Oikawa & Kung Nai: Live Painting & Chapei
Sithen Sum “Self-Education”
Mike Rios “Dong Chim the Quarter-Life Crisis”
Enemies of the People Video Presentation by Rob Lemkin & Thet Sambath Live
Tiny Toones “Dance Your Life Around”
Kounila Keo “Blogging: The New Generation of Cambodia”
Chris Brown “Lean Startup – a bootstrapping guide for young entrepreneurs”
Channe Suy “Building the Future of Cambodia starts with Sharing”
Colin Wright “Extreme Lifestyle Experiments”
Chris Noble “From Little Things, Big Things Grow”
Theary Seng “Reconciling Peace with Justice in Cambodia”
Phloeun Prim & Cambodian Living Arts Performers “Transformation of a Nation through the Arts”

The dramaturgiy of the event was well prepared and executed. I dont now how much they had to follow TED rules, but the organizers did a great job. Keeda Oikawas live paiting, while Kung Nai was playing, was already a highlight right at the beginning.
Sithen Sums call for more self-education was exactly the kind of talk I was expecting at TED conference, well presented, leaving me a lot of things to think about. I found myself in this talk as someone who has no dregree or diploma. Most things you need you find in life, not at school.

Mike Rios vibrant talk about the life quarter crisis after you finish university went in the same direction. "Give your life a meaning" was his key point, and if you have to quit your job for that, do it. I hear this many times at conferences, and I actually followed this advice four years ago, but I can also understand why people still walk in the treadmill of a 9-5 job. It's not that they can't leave, it's becaue the treadmill is comfortable and safe. To understand, that emotional saftey and balance is at least as important as financial stability, is, in my opinion, propably only possible if you have gone through a crisis first.

Although Rob Lemkin & Thet Sambath did a great job with their movie "Enemie of the people" I was a bit disappointed to see it at TED, where the claim is "Building the future". Same counts for Theary Sang. It's not that I am saying the past is not important, and they we need to understand the past to build the future, but I would like to see a shift in the importance of topics. Cambodia needs after the economy development a social development, in culture and education. To constantly tell people that their families are either killer or victims, doesn't bring a society forward. My hope was that TED was focussing on the future. It was, at least partially, not.

Kounila Keo, a young cambodian women who I admire a lot and who helped me, was talking about the future and the social development I am demanding. "Blogging gives us a way to express our thoughts and feelings and make it public", she said. And she is right. Blogging can have political or social impacts, but it has impacts. Since Cambodia is still a bit more relaxed compared to their neighbors Thailand and Vietnam, she calls for taking the chance and participate in a civil dialogue.

Chris Brown is an old Barcamp buddy, I always love to listen to his talks about lean businesses and how to start up, minimizing the risks. "Fail fast, fail cheap" is one mantra, and "Customer development before product development" another. I hope that his engagement and enthusiasm will encourage more Cambodian people to start their own business. The upcoming Khmertalks and the Cambodian Young entrepreneurs are a good sign.

I know Channe Suy from a Minibarcamp at the Insteed headquarter, where she works. These guys doing a great job developing software for desaster and health response. Geochat is an application that works as a group and locations based sms communication tool. It gives people the tool to respond fast and share with other. Building the future means for her sharing information and knowledge. I cannot agree more.

It is a already challenge to move to another country, and even more if you do it every 4 months. This is exactly what Colin Wright is doing. He calls it the extreme lifestyle, and it certainly is, at least for someone from a western country. His most important defiance is to deal with the unexpected. You can prepare a lot, but you will for example not think about that internet connections in New Zealand are just bad.

Chris Noble, the founder of Footprints and Worldnomads, talked about how travellers can make a positive impact to the places they visiting. He received one million Dollar from 400.000 donors, to build houses, roads, roofs or whatever was needed in rural amd poor areas. I personally think that the impact for the so called voluntourist is bigger than for the communitys. Having a bunch or young travellers in your village might be a a welcoming distraction from the daily life, but doesn't mean the house will be build faster and better.

Last but not least the impressive talk by Phloeun Prim, who I also admire a lot, about transforming a country through the living arts. He talked about preserving the Cambodian culture as a fundament a future is build on. Again, the debate about how to build a future is a starting oint, and arts were always a basis for a developed society. Cambodia dveloped the arts centurys ago, and need to remember the values this art gives the country, but also daily life.

So my conclusion: A well organised conference, where I learneda lot, where I learned from other people as well, and where I had moments when some tears came out. TED is not just a rational event, but also emotional. This TEdxPP followed this claim. In the future, the planning team should try to get a location that represents Cambodia better then the expat compound of Northbridge. There are good and suitable locations in town. Also I would like to see more Khmer people in the planning team, and not only the usual young white volunteer gang. And please, no more "from that dark ages of the Khmer rouge regime" talks. We know it, thanks.

Again, a big thank you to the organizers for making a dream come true for me.

Open tech talk in Phnom Penh

2010-11-10T00:23:00.000-08:00

For those who might be interested, got this by email

Hey, we are having a very great news especially for IT geeks who eager to share or learn new things. In the cooperated ideas of the guys from SharevisionTeam, Khmerjoomla or Jumcam, PytonKhmer, Pailin (Ruby user group in Cambodia), ….We are planning to arrange a very big event ever which we believe it help to open more gates of sharing and learning new things with the specialized communities as mention above.

The event is officially called “Open Tech Talk”, aim to call for the participants in the above communities to meet, discuss, share and give the tech talk to the respective audiences. Right here, you are invited to expression your impression or desire/needs of what you to expected to see from the event and of course, feel free to suggest ideas by replying to this email. For those in each community who interested to organize this event, I would suggest to register in SharevisionTeam group (http://groups.google.com/group/sharevisionteam?hl=en) and have communication there.

The draft date of the event is suppose to be 2011, Jan 15.

Doing business in Asia

2010-11-09T17:46:00.001-08:00

Today I found this in my inbox. A brief description of someone wanted to do business in Asia. It doesn't even matter what country this is about:

I have applied for an investment license at the One Stop Unit in March
2009. I have still got no answer. The process is lengthy, complicated
and completely in-transparent. In reality, investors buy themselves to their licenses. I didn't pay, so I didn't get the license.

After all I have given up to make business here. If you are not
ruthless, you will only burn your fingers.

As someone who believe that business is driving development, this story shows the real problem of developing countries: It's not so much poverty or lack of education (though this is a huge problem, but not the cause). It is a lack of desire from governments. Desire in developing the country. Most governments in SE Asia are just fine with the situation, since their members already made enough money for themselves.

Let's see a developing country as a start-up business. The way they do it now is the way start up operated in the time of the first internet bubble. VC (in our example NGO and IMF and Worldbank) gave money, they burned it and asked for more money. Because there was a steady stream of new money coming in, there was no real reason to focus in the business model. That's the way developing countries operate: The infrastructure of the country is not financed by income from operations like taxes, but from donations and support from international institutions. The lack of taxes used to run the country is caused by a) lack of tax collecting processes and b) corruption.
So why aren't countries collecting taxes? Actually they do, but the system is far from transparent. First of all, foreign companies are due to tax, always. Local family businesses have to pay tax as well, but seldom do. The reason is: They won't get caught, and tax officers always think its too much work for them to collect the few dollars from small businesses. Then of course is a total lack of infrastructure and understandable tax laws. The reason is simply again the missing desire. If you want to get tax, you will establish a system.

The main reason why there is no system is corruption. This is all over Asia, and it's the biggest obstacle for the developing countries. Corruption kills competition and kills development of markets. Only the wealthy elite can afford to pay the bribes, so they run moist of the businesses and get a de facto monopoly. Without competition there is no incentive to grow and improve, so most businesses aren't developing much. Just look at state owned Hotels in Asia, or the quality of local run companies in general. Most use quite old equipment, producing same products since 10 years.

Why its important to have foreign companies?
Because they drive markets faster on a higher level. The know the process of competition and they know also they have to work harder then local companies (not only because of corruption, but also because cultural differences, lack of networks in the country a.s.o.) Successful foreign owned companies are a challenge for local companies, so the they have a quite good reason to improve and get the business.

But as long as the desire of the people in charge is their own bank account and not the countries wealth, there is no change at all.

First Cambodian Space ship build at Barcamp Phnom Penh 3

2010-10-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

Eduardo taught us how to build a Cambodian Spance ship. One of the many sessions at Barcamp Phnom Penh 3. you should not miss this event, its great!!!! Thx to organizers and sponsors.

Khemara English-Khmer Dic for iOS4 is now in the App Store!!!

2010-09-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

This is fucking awesome!!!

Khemara English-Khmer dictionary application delivers the most trusted reference content available. It is one of the largest English-Khmer Dictionary and has the most comprehensive content with a fast, intuitive interface. Providing concise definitions as a quick guide to meaning, the application helps users on matters such as spelling and usage.
This dictionary can help foreigners learning Khmer and is also of use to Cambodians learning English.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/khemara-english-khmer-dictionary/id391286790?mt=8#

Features:
* Professionally designed to be easy to read and understand.
* Instantly look up accurate and extensive definitions and meanings.
* Bookmarks for selected words.
* Find definitions, spelling and word suggestions in this searchable dictionary.
* Sample sentences show words in use.
* Does not require an internet connection.
If you have any comments about this Dictionary, please leave your
feedback at www.khemarasoft.com.

The ugly face of tourism development in Cambodia - and CBRE's role in it

2010-07-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

Must read: Big bucks hype Cambodian beaches

Excerpts:

Tourism will eventually overtake all the islands in the Rong Archipelago dislodging villages and possibly offering work for today’s school children as maids and porters. They will live on the perimeters of luxury holiday villas on island they once called home, knowing that the their elected government leased their island home to foreign investors without a single public hearing to gather local feedback or opinion.

Forbes magazine joins other consumer publications such as Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure in identifying Cambodia’s tourism as “Asia’s next big thing” and “a place to watch”.
This level of publicity raises concerns that the hype and promise of “big buck” tourism will ultimately rob local residents of their livelihood, raise land prices and evict fishing communities from their traditional beachside villages.

As much I like tourism and development I also like public involvement. Cambodia is a country for sale, or to be more specific, that is already sold. The money goes to the CPP and the corrup government. and the ordinary people have still to suffer.
Yes, it creates job, but the price is that CB Richard Ellis and other are just stealing the land of Cambodians.

Geeks on train - join us

2010-06-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

Some people - in particular @3105, Jan and me - are tinking about having Geeks on a train in the next weeks or months. Some more information is on 3105.com.

The basic idea is to book a coach from BKK to Vientiane in Laos (or at least to Nong Khai). We set up our own network there and then lets hack or what ever.

If you like the idea, send commenst, emails or tweet. Hastag is #geeksontrain.

Democracy and shoes

2010-04-04T07:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Kounila just won a contest organized by the United States Embassy with this video:

Tharum interviewed her

TED conference in Phnom Penh

2010-03-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

I was very excited when Tharum posted on the Barcamp Phnom Penh Mailinglist that he is considering organizing TEDxPhnomPenh. He is one of the most prominent bloggers, writers, journalists in Cambodia, and also organizer of the Barcamps. Many people supported him on the list and were excited too.
I was then wondering about an Email, that a foreign NGO in Cambodia already owns the licence for TEDxPP. And I was wondering even more when people on the list were told to contact the licence owner soon.
Yes, legally its clear: You have the licence, you have the rights. Maybe it's just a big communication problem, and everything will be fine at the end. My concern is just that NGOs take over a small flower that was just planted by the Cambodian Internet community.
Yes, TED is more than a Geek event, but it is also clearly not just an NGO event. So let's hope that the local community will be involved in TEDxPP.

Please vote for my podcast

2010-03-16T06:19:00.000-07:00

Please vote for me: http://www.thebobs.com/index.php?l=en&s=1155503109924847OMDFOOVR-NONE "Wanhoffs Wunderbare Welt der Wissenschaft". I was nominated as Best Podcast for the Bobs, an award by The Deutsche Welle. Thanks for voting!

500 Entertainment places in Phnom Penh - at night

2010-03-02T01:47:00.000-08:00

The Mirror re-published a story about the entertainment business in Cambodia, in particular the nightlife. People already know the bars and restaurants near the riverside, and probably some of the beergardens. But there is a hidden nightlife as well. What looks like a beauty salon offers also beautiful girls, and a restaurant might have a "special" room.
Please note that the sex tourists are not (only) white men, most are actually from Asian countries like Korea, China, Vietnam.

Phnom Penh: At present, there are nearly 500 entertainment places in Phnom Penh, such as beer gardens, karaoke parlors, night clubs, discotheques, restaurants or other places where alcohol and some meals are served, accompanied with music, and female beer seller [often called "Beer Girls"].

The above report went on to say that in Phnom Penh there are 142 hotels, 353 guesthouses, 8 [mainly poor people's building blocks, 54 massage shops, and 233 tourism agencies. 303 places were provided with tourism licenses, 91 new sites were opened, the validity of 266 sites was suspended, and 17 sites were closed because of armed clashes, sex trafficking, rape, and other disturbing offenses.

Der Manager RÃ¼diger Krapp entpuppt sich als Lump und LÃ¼stling - no have in Sihanoukville Cambodia

2010-02-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

Ich gebe das einfach mal so weiter als Suchmeldung! Wer kennt Rüdiger Krapp und weiss wo er ist?

Der Manager RÃ¼diger Krapp entpuppt sich als Lump und LÃ¼stling - no have in Sihanoukville Cambodia

Barcamp Phnom Penh review

2009-10-06T02:30:00.001-07:00

This will be very easy: It was awesome. Everything was right, great venue, Internet was working well, interesting and informative session, I met nice people and had great talks and a great time as well. As always, I learned a lot in Cambodia.

Visit Barcampphnompenh.org for updates, search on flickr for pictures or just google the tag barcamppp for more reviews.

Norbert Klein at Barcamp Phnom PEnh about ICANN

2009-10-06T02:26:00.000-07:00

The whole session on audio is here http://wanhoffs-wissenschaft.podspot.de/files/BArcamppp_Norbertklein.mp3

Barcamp Phnom Penh 2009 first impressions

2009-10-02T03:09:00.000-07:00

Just a short video from the preparations at Panasastra University for the upcoming barcamp 2009 in Phnom Penh.

Cambodias Ministry of Tourism: just a joke

2009-08-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

The Ministry of tourism, internationally well known as the "funny people" but never taken serious, has a nice ticker on their website:

Cambodia - Kingdom of Wonder Clean City, Clean Resort and Good Service, All for tourism and tourism for all.

Ok, they may missed English in school and got a photoshoped certificate (quite usual for high ranking guys), but beside posting nonsense like the above they don't do anything. When you try to get the latest numbers of tourists, they provide you January as the latest statistics

Ok, Goverment officials are quite busy with their own businesses and collecting money, but, come on guys, just put some numbers there. I mean, you always put some numbers there without any proof that they are actually right. So you are not even able to that anymore??

No Bluetooth anymore in Cambodia?

2009-08-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

THE government and municipal police are ramping up efforts to curtail the distribution of pornographic videos by cracking down on computer-to-phone and phone-to-phone transmission, officials said Thursday.

That actually means that bluetooth isn't allowed anymore? Come on guys, before banning porn just close all the karaoke bars and ban all you government staff from going there (it might be the case that some senior officials children, over 18 of course, are actors in these movies???)

Kambodscha steckt AIDS-Kranke in Kolonie

2009-07-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

NGOs protestieren gegen “Aids Kolonien” in Kambodscha

Die kambodschanische Regierung hat seit Juni rund 40 von Aids betroffene Familien aus der Hauptstadt Phnom Penh in einen Vorort umgesiedelt. Rund 100 Menschenrechts- und soziale Hilfsorganisationen protestierten jetzt in einem Brief an die kambodschanische Führung gegen die Einrichtung solcher “Aids-Kolonien”. Die Betroffenen müssen nach einem Bericht von Human Rights Watch in Blechhütten hausen und haben keine angemessene Versorgung mit Wasser und sanitären Anlagen.

No Comment.

And again people have to leave the cities in Cambodia

2009-04-10T18:28:00.001-07:00

Its again a goverment, former Khmer Rouge people like the Prime Minister Hun Sen, who are evicting people from the cities. Poor people, with no rights in a country where the government sales their land without repecting even the few existing laws. No western government is doing any intervention, no fucking UN counsil will talk about this.

This time, the govermnet bandits are more carefully: They let the people die quietly. They will die by deseases and hunger again, but in rurual places where the where evicted too.

Don't say again you didn't know that!!!

Tickets in Angkor Wat more flexible

2009-03-08T21:50:00.001-07:00

From KIMedia:

There’s no longer any need to speed up your visit at Cambodia’s past jewels. The validity length of the visiting tickets has been changed.

At least the economic crisis allows some flexibility to the visit of the unavoidable Angkor temples. At the request made by tourist professionals, and based on a decision made by Hun Sen, the ministry of Tourism asked the Sokimex concession company to bring some changes to the visit tickets.

Although there is no change to the daily visit tickets ($20), the $40 tickets for 3 consecutive days visit can now be used for visiting the site up to 3 (non-consecutive) times, but the three visits must be done during one week. That was what one official from the Apsara authority indicated while assuring that these measures will allow a better planning for tourists visiting the site, as well as flexibility in their visits.

As for the $60 weekly visit tickets, they can now be used to access the temples for 7 days, but over a period of one month.

Nothing has been decided yet for expats, especially those residing in Siem Reap, the location of the temples. They were considered as any other tourist, even for those who are married to local people, and they have children who are half-Cambodians. The idea of a yearly pass, even a paying one, never came to fruition in spite of the demands made by these expats.

These new measures, which are already pleasing tourism professionals, will come into effect as soon as the new tickets are printed.

Also according to the Cambodian ministry of Tourism, the country welcomed 2.1 million tourists in 2008, i.e. an increase of 5.5% over 2007.

Do we need gatekeppers?

2009-02-06T02:02:00.000-08:00

One of the most reasons why journalists are think they are important is their role of a gatekeeper. They kind of filter information, but also analyse and in another sense make complicated things more understandable.

In the western world governments think that we people don't understand complicated topics and that's why we need journalists. That worked, because publishing companies also hat the power of printing machines.
This changed with the internet. Now everyone has access to the original source. That also mean, we need to know how to estimate the source.

That give us a lot of self-responsibility. Are we ready for that?

Look at the new google latitude service. It's great, you can see where your friends are. And they can track you. But do you want to be tracked? Sometimes yes. If a have free time, people can know where I am and join me at the Coffee Shop. But sometimes I don't. Then I have to switch that service off.

When we start to blame the service for being Big Brother and call for government action, then we give up our self responsibility.
Its just a stupid computer, and we decide what to do and what not.

Same for watching TV. It's not the fault of the TV stations if our kids watching to much TV. It's us, who have to switch it off and play with our kids.

Just some thoughts

More evictions in Phnom Penh

2009-01-24T03:47:00.001-08:00

Thats the way people in Phnom Penh are treated by the government, John is reporting:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinja_cambodia/tags/deykrahomeviction/

More information on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=69319195624

Excerpt:
LICADHO: Jan 24, 2:45 AM: in DK (Dey Krahom), about 60 mixed police have blocked the street and access in / out of DK, DK people are rallying.
-------------------------------------
LICADHO: Both Roads have been closed. So far approximately 70 MP and one hundred breakers. MP on roof of building and close in group 78. Around twenty monitors and media on inside. Two and a half hours to sun rise. Pls send out update and put on face book eviction group.
-------------------------------------
LICADHO: From colleagues who just arrived in DK site: there are about 250 mixed armed police incl riot police, two water trucks, more than 250 workers in blue & white shirts with sticks, hammers, axes and many transport trucks.
--------------------------------------
BAB: Dey Krahom is being forcibly evicted right now. Please come if you can and pass this info on to everyone you know.

How intelligent people still struggle in Cambodia

2009-01-23T21:20:00.000-08:00

I said it many times: Cambodia is far away from a free country. Free means not only freedom of speech, but also freedom of choice, freedom of education. The education in Cambodia is as poor as most of the population is, and the corrupt government is more interested to open new golf course than to do a substantial improvement in the school and university system.

One more proof is the story Nearirath, a close friend, told us in her blog. I would say she is the most talented law student in Cambodia, award winning young woman, and in most countries she would receive a lot of support. Not so in Cambodia, where teachers normally far behind the common knowledge, just focusing on that they always right and where techers never update their knowledge.

Yes, thats sounds general, and it is. Of course there are exceptions, but it will not bring the country forward to honor the few people. There must be a change in Cambodia.

Me and the Husband of the Womens Affairs Minister

2008-12-07T00:21:00.001-08:00

Me and the Husband of the Womens Affairs Minister
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

Vernissage at Art Cafe Phnom Penh

Not every tourist destination is a Disneyland - some are real countries like Thailand

2008-12-02T05:30:00.000-08:00

Even if the protests in Thailand are over now (thats what PAD announced), I am still surprised about some reaction.

In Germany the protests and even the occupation of the airport weren't in the news until some tourists were stuck in the airport.

Today CNN quotes an American: "We wish we hadn't come here at all," said Keri Gannam, a visitor from the United States, who was honeymooning in Thailand. "It's just stressful. It's taken away everything... I'm supposed to have job interviews. I missed them."@

This is just unbelievable. There are people in Thailand trying to fight for democracy (but of course is their understanding of), at least stand up against the corrupt government, and tourists are just complaining about missed flights. So we have to learn from this:

Dear North-Korean opposition (if there is any), if you are planning to make a revolution, please make sure that no tourists or cargo planes are affected.

Dear Islamic Indians, we don't hate you because you are terrorists. We just hate you for destroying our nice hotels and keeping us away from work and travel for 3 days.

Dear Chinese students, if you want to start demonstrations, please don't do it on the Great Wall (Tourists might be disturbed), not at the Tian'anmen (if so Tourisst are not able to make nice pictures) and not at any other popular places. (It worked during the Olympic Games, so what?)

Dear monks in Burma, you were so brave and good when you were walking through the streets. Thanks for not blocking anything - hmm, ok, the Swedagon Pagoda was closed by the government, so it's not your direct fault, but think about this next time.

Dear minors in Cambodia, when foreigners ask you for sex, please just shut your mouth, wait for a scholarship of a western NGO an be happy. Don't stand up for your rights (demonstrations in Angkor are a NoNo) and never, never, never tell anyone that the most people asking you for sex aren't from western countries.

Photoexhibition in Phnom Penh: Tensions in the performnce of music and dance

2008-11-29T22:33:00.000-08:00

Just want to tell all the people I know in Cambodia that my photoexihibtion "Tensions in the performnce of music and dance" together with Jim Mizersky USA/Cambodia opens at Monday Dec 1st at Art Cafe Phnom Penh, 81 Street 108 at 7pm. The exhibition will last for December and January.

And yes, of course you can buy the pictures

Oxfam kicked us out of our apartment

2008-10-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to blog about that: shortly before we decided to leave Cambodia we got a rental contract termination notice from our landlord. We figured out that he will rent the whole building to a NGO. Thats means, the NGO payed more then the expats living there. And it was the Oxfam-Mekong-Something.

Imagine: They spend more money for the building then expats with good salaries. So, if you want to donate to oxfam, think before.

Plans for Cambodian carrier put on hold

2008-10-05T19:19:00.001-07:00

The Phnom Penh Post - Plan for new national air carrier put on hold: official

PLANS for a new Cambodian national airline, announced in May, have been put on hold as a result of difficulties with ongoing negotiations with an Indonesian investment group, government officials say.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An was tapped to spearhead the deal in partnership with the Rajawali Group, but discussions with the Indonesian investors have not yet been finalised, he told the Post last week.

Some people say, the Indonesian company is not longer interested. We will see, maybe it's about how much money they have to pay to the government for getting the contract. But in total it's typical for Cambodia: The government isn't even able to set up a national carrier. That's so sad.

Firetruck ends up in pond - school burned down

2008-10-05T19:13:00.001-07:00

Story from Phnom Penh Post
Two Kumrou Primary School buildings burnt down in a fire after a firetruck sent to put out the blaze plummeted into a pond in Mongkul Borey district, Banteay Meanchey province Saturday. The police said 12 wooden black boards, 12 teachers' chairs and 144 students' chairs were lost in the inferno. The neighbours criticised the fire department for arriving late and driving recklessly. They added that the fire could have spread to the neighbouring buildings and to the fire truck itself.

Thai-Cambodian Soldiers clash at border

2008-10-03T08:31:00.001-07:00

CNN reports a bout a clash at the Cambodian-Thai border.

Soldiers from both Cambodia and Thailand were wounded Friday in a brief clash along their volatile border, officials from the two countries said.
A Cambodian soldier is shown at the Preah Vihear temple in late July.
Cambodian (Des)-Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said a Cambodian soldier was slightly wounded when Thai troops fired a grenade from their territory. He said Cambodian troops returned fire, with the "military incident" lasting less than a minute.

It actually so stupid what happens there. To dumb regimes are playing war - without any reason. These temples are nothing, not a tourist attraction for Cambodia, because Hun Sen will keep his money for his own purpose instead of any infrastructure, and the Thai government is just using these to bring the attraction from the protests to another place. Following the old rule, if you have a problem inside your country, start a war and people forget. It's working in USA since the Iraq war and its working at the Cambodian-Thai-Border.

My fellow Cambodians, please dont't follow your dictators policy. Don't send food to the soldiers, your government and the thousand advisers have enough money to feed them.

Oh, and like I suggested some weeks before, if the clashes are getting more serious, we should set up a bordercamp. I will bring my Nintendo Wii with me, and then we ask the two leading generals there to fight on the Wii. I suggest a Boxing competion. The Winner has to pay the following beercamp. And after, we all gonna go home in peace. Got it?

Stone Age Keynote

2008-09-29T18:49:00.001-07:00

Barcamp Phnom Penh Review - Sexy girls in Cambodia and cheap PCs

2008-09-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

I am still moved by the Barcamp Phnom Penh on Saturday. It was such an impressing event, I never thought it will come true when we talked about a Barcamppp back in 2007 for the first time. But thanks to Tharum, Ramana and Viirak, it became reality.

Some impressions:

Some thoughts:
We had some discussions about setting some speakers on the agenda, but then we decided to start blank - and it worked. That means at the end, that the participants accepted the concept of a un-conference - which is a huge step in a country like Cambodia. And it was a surprise that a high ranking government official were there the whole day and said thank you tothe organizers.

We also decided to offer two different places for talks, although we had concerns that most Cambodians are used to listen to one speaker instead of planning their own schedule. But it worked too and I am confident that for the next Barcamp much more Garden-locations and small rooms would be fine.

The range of topics was big, and that's what a Barcamp is about. From a Microsoft Commercial to How to date a Cambodian girl, there were a lot of different and even controversial topics.

That leads me to the last point: There was a discussion during the Cambodian girl dating session (which was kind of a hommage to Bangkok Barcamp), when one Cambodian girl asked, why we were talking about dating instead of serious problems the country is still suffering from.

Beside the fact, that Barcamp is also about fun, the point is cultural exchange. The dating topic is not a Cambodian topic, it pops up always on conferences. The cultural point is about the public relations between boys and girls. Cambodians are still shy and very cautions, especially girls. "It's our culture", they say. On the other hand, in every advertising, on live concerts or when they dress up, it's about looking sexy. So there is a gap between the cultural tradition, their own feelings and what maybe the (male) public is expecting.

There will be a change for Cambodian women, and I am confident, after they will be much stronger. They will dress sexy if they want, (and not if they don't want), but also kiss a boy in public. It's then a girls own decision and not a so called cultural thing anymore.

I know, that this topic is controversial, and I like to start a discussion about the role of Cambodian girls in the Khmer society. Thats why I choosed this headline, knowing that it will attract people as well as search enginge :-)

Barcamp Phnom Penh Press release

2008-09-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Tech enthusiasts to host innovative BarCamp gathering

PHNOM PENH – Bloggers and technology enthusiasts will hold the first annual BarCamp Phnom Penh on September 20, a conference many have termed in reverse an "unconference." Over 150 technology aficionados from the region will attend.

BarCamp, an innovative "impromptu" gathering that began in 2005 in Palo Alto, California, helps "open source" enthusiasts share information about technology in an informal setting. The idea quickly spread from California to the rest of the world, arriving in Bangkok in January 2008 and now in Phnom Penh.

"We hope to foster more innovative ways of thinking in Cambodia," said Tharum Bun, this year's BarCamp organizer. "It's all about breaking down the barriers we have in traditional conferences, where people show up and just listen to presentations. We want to think outside of the box."

Anyone can show up to BarCamp and present a topic, Bun said. Past topics in other countries have ranged from blogging techniques to "How to Date a Japanese Girl."

"After all the hardship our country has experienced, we're trying to bring Cambodia into a new age of innovation and technology," he said.

Representatives from Microsoft and Yahoo! are expected to attend, attracting an unprecedented level of attention into Cambodia for its growing technological revolution.

In August 2007, the Cloggers team (short for "Cambodian bloggers") hosted the Cloggers Summit, a gathering of over 200 individuals who listened and presented on issues of communication and technology in the once war-torn country.

BarCamp's organizers consider the conference to be follow-up to the Cloggers Summit.

EVENT INFORMATION

Where: Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC)

Institute of Foreign Languages, Royal University of Phnom Penh
Russian Confederation Blvd., Khan Toul Kork, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

When: September 20, 2008, 9:00am - 5:00pm

For more information, visit http://www.barcampphnompenh.org/

Government in Cambodia lost sense for reality

2008-09-08T06:57:00.000-07:00

I just read this:

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodia would begin raids on shops suspected of selling pirated movie DVDs and music CDs, a senior official warned Monday.

The South-East Asian nation has become well-known among travellers for its thousands of shops offering dirt-cheap pirated copies of the latest international movies and music, which often hit the stalls before they are in general release overseas.

"The ministry will implement measures imminently to stop the sale of pirated CDs and DVDs to protect the intellectual property of their writers and producers," said Tauch Sarou, undersecretary of state for the Culture Ministry.

I am very sorry, but if they are serious with this issue, they must raid EVERY shop. There is NO place were you can buy original movies and music.
Again the government is trying to calm down international demand and the showing some action. Its like with prostitution: Every few months they arrest a foreigner and show how the a fighting against prosituition. And then the same polititians and police officers gome back to the karaoke bars.

Tourist growth in Cambodia: a reason to invest now?

2008-07-31T17:59:00.001-07:00

Tourist growth helps boost property market in Cambodia | Asia | News

The Ministry of Tourism said numbers were up more than 14% compared with last year. A spokesman said political stability and infrastructure improvements had increased the number of tourist arrivals to the country. Some $1.64 billion is expected to be generated in 2008 from tourism alone.

Actually there is a big mistake: Tourist numbers are not increasing because of political stability or infrastructure. The least is not even changed in the last years. The growth is just because Siem Reap attracts tourists as World Heritage Site. But infrastructure means in this place frequently powercuts and a concern about the future of water supply.
ON the other hand the tourist business is not affecting Phnom Penh, what is the capital and financial center. Its wealth is build on NGO money, chinese businessman and corruption. A growing number of farmer how sold their land is moving into the city with a lot of cash but no business perspective.

Blogger moved, blog follows

2008-06-09T01:09:00.000-07:00

I moved to Saigon, so if you want to be updated, visit wanhoffs-vietnam.blogspot.com.
The Cambodia-Blog will not longer be updated... REgards to all my readers in Cambodia and all over the world. Hope to see you again in Vetnam!

Rotten neighbors and criminals

2008-05-30T01:47:00.000-07:00

I just found a webpage called rottenneighbor.com, where you can blame your neighbors for beeing noisy, disturbing or whatever. They also included sexual offenders in this map. Image this map for Phnom Penh: Nearly every house would be marked as either rotten or offending. Ok, ironically speaking. But it would never educate people to stop doing things like being noisy or rape, instead, some would be proud to be on the map.
Sad.

Thomas Wanhoff in Vietnam

2008-05-24T01:55:00.000-07:00

If you like to know whats going on with my move to vietnam, check this out:
wanhoffs-vietnam.blogspot.com

We already found an apartment today in Saigon Distr. 7!. Yeah.
Thats our new kitchen

Natalys Farewell and Birthday Party

2008-05-16T22:48:00.001-07:00

Click To Play

Girl, 7, HIV positive, has to leave Footprints school in Phnom Penh

2008-05-16T02:54:00.000-07:00

What a shame:

An Australian foster mother of a seven-year-old girl who is HIV positive went public this week over her outrage that the private Footprints school in Phnom Penh expelled her daughter within 24 hours of finding out her status.

Read more on Expat-advisoryPlease leve you comments there!

I found this Emailadress, if you like to contact the school (looks very professional, a yahoo account for business, wow): footprintsschool@yahoo.com

Dogs as food

2008-05-16T01:36:00.000-07:00

Again and aganin we are listening to stories that Cambodians switched to dogs as a protein source and the tehy are stealing the dogs for having dinner.

DPA, a german press agency, had a story like this:

Phnom Penh - Dognappings are sharply up in some areas of Cambodia as
people seek alternative sources of protein and the prices of more
conventional meats continue to rise, dog owners and police said
Wednesday.

Military police officer Ra Dy, who lives on the outskirts of the
capital, said he personally had lost three dogs in quick succession and
had decided to stop keeping any more until things settled down.

'If you check on them every hour, they might still be there, but if you
forget and leave them for two hours, they are gone,' he said.

Khieu Viriya, 22, a dog fancier from the western suburb of Toul Tom
Poung, said he has also lost three dogs recently to thieves.

'And the story is the same for the neighbours, too. It is terrible to
lose a dog, because they are like family, but even worse when you know
they are to be eaten,' he said.

Even if its true that some stupid people catching dogs, but luckily they also use them as pets.

Yamaha Fino for sale

2008-05-13T01:31:00.001-07:00

Mein Motorbike
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

I have to sell my beauty queen, a pink Yamaha Fino automatic, just 2000 Kiloeters, bought new in Augist 2007. anyone interested? Call me at 012 598 370 or mail thomas.wanhoff(at)gmail.com. I never had an accident!

Price: 1200 USD

Sorry, its sold!

Moving from Cambodia to Vietnam

2008-05-10T02:27:00.000-07:00

Does anyone has some experience with moving from Cambodia to Vietnam? Especially in how to bring your items through customs?
We are talking with a moving company, they told us the best way is by ship (?). But the quote was quite expensive, so we are looking for alternatives.
And: As we have to dogs, how to bring them to Vietnam? (I already know there is no quarantine, but we need all the vaccinations).

Working in a Cambodian company

2008-05-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

Since August 2007 I am working in a Cambodian company, called Monument Books and Toys. Since January 2008 I am the manager of the toys department, responsible for the shop development and the distribution development as well as advertising and staff training.
When I started, my biggest concern was that I never worked at a retail shop, I never had anything to do with orders from overseas, with minimum order quantity and 20 feet containers. But I was learning my whole life (and still go on), so that was a learnign process too - but I made it.
Another concern (I am german, we always have concerns), was about culture. We are just two foreigners, our GM is French, so how would it be working together in English, which isn't the mother tongue of any of us. Actually that led to the most problems - mainly simple misunderstanding. I was again surprised about differences between the french and the German culture (it seems Germany is much more focused on international business). so what about the Cambodian-German conflicts? In my daily experience there where only a few. I tried to understand as much as possible how people here are thinking. Its different: some, so called well educated collegues with some experience in other countries or at least foreigners) are able to work very professional. Others are missing basics in knowledge about the outside world.
Thats seems to be the biggest obstancles for Cambodian owned companies: to except the lack of knowledge and experience.
Regarding markets, it seems that people first try to control a market instead of facing competition. Also I learned that strategy doesn't see to be important as well as plans, concepts, even budgests. Many companies are still structured like a family business.
At least, the relationship between boss and employee seems often still like in the colonial time. But as there are not a lot qualified people in this country, companies have to understand about how important human ressources are.

Why I am writing this? Because I will leave Cambodia in June. My wife got a new job in Vietnam (not far, right?) and I will follow her of course.

I met wonderful people here, and I will miss them, but I also learned my lessons. The cultural difference seems to be a problem more in business than in daily life. Cambodia ist still undeveloped, and its sad to see, how some people selling this country for their own profits. I hope one day, the Cambodian people are able to get the power back in their own hands.

Friedrich Kleinknecht

2008-05-09T16:22:00.001-07:00

Friedrich Kleinknecht
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

at Art Cafe Phnom Penh

Hun Sens Prison?

2008-05-08T02:19:00.000-07:00

I just heard a story that a prison in northern Phnom Penh is owned by Hun Sen/Government and that relatives have to pay for their people imprisoned. Does anyone knows more about that?
UPDATE: More information, it seems to be a correction center now operated by Military Police, mainly for drug user. But as I heard it a good place to keep people away.

Cambodian Circus

2008-05-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

Its quite a while since my last blog, but as we all I am busy too these days. I am still working on my book (actually a translation project, topic is blogging), which takes time beneath my dayjob in the toyshop.
To get some new impressions beside blogs and toys we went to the Cambodian Circus today at the Chenla Theatre. It was so amazing, I didn't expect such a high level, especialy in expression and choreographic. They did everything right, wether the way the did acrobatics or the part II, when they combined historical stories with dance, acrobatic and contortion.
Here a short video I made.
The original production was created by Ms. Nay Nary, Deputy Director of the National School of Circus with support from the Asian Cutural Coucil/Rockefeller Mentorship Program and Amrita Performing Arts. Sponsor was ANZ BAnk.

Click To Play

Dog found - is it yours?

2008-04-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

From the expat advisory forum: Who owns that dog?

If you think you know who she may belong to, please email Geoof, who found the dog. His email address is geoff.roberts(at)gmail.com

Fire in Phnom Penh

2008-04-16T03:04:00.003-07:00

Fire in Phnom Penh
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

That fire was not very far from the place I live... I am just trying to get some news. We had a lot of fires in the last days in Phnom Penh.

UPDATE: Got some information from KI-media: A Phnom Penh fire destroyed as many as 40 homes Wednesday afternoon, in what officials attributed to faulty wiring.

Fire in Phnom Penh

2008-04-16T03:04:00.001-07:00

Fire in Phnom Penh
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

That fire was not very far from the place I live... I am just trying to get some news. We had a lot of fires in the last days in Phnom Penh.

Fire in Russei Keo district

2008-04-13T03:35:00.001-07:00

Balinese Dance

2008-04-01T06:56:00.001-07:00

Balinese Dance
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

At Art Café Phnom Penh, during the opening of Karina Putri Hariyano Exhibition.

Have you seen this girl (or boy)?

2008-03-25T03:13:00.001-07:00

The story:

For Maria Elfversson, news that her missing six-year old had been seen safe and well with her father just days before she arrived in Cambodia - and had then disappeared once more -was bittersweet. The distraught mother of Alicia Elfversson, allegedly abducted by her father, says only a mother can understand the relief she felt when she heard recent news of her daughter during a visit to Sihanoukville this week after nine months of waiting.

But there was more disturbing news, too - the witnesses knew little Alicia as a boy called Al, and said the man she was with who identified himself as her father, Norwegian Torgier Nordbo, had cut her hair short and was dressing her in boy's clothes, possibly in an attempt to disguise her.

This is the suspected father:

The whole story on Expat Advisory

If you see this girl and the father, please call police!

Power cuts and the economy

2008-03-24T02:11:00.000-07:00

We have now nearly daily a power cut. It takes between one and two hours, on average we are loosing two hours a day on work time. Just count this for the whole economy, and then please tell me where the boom is?

I can not see any progress in Cambodian power plants, but I can see more and more buildings and companies coming up. Imagine a six hours work day instead of 8, and then think about return of investment in 8 instead of six years.

Just some thoughts.

Sister Krama Gig

2008-03-23T07:41:00.001-07:00

Max
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

Sister Krama had their second gig yesterday at Talkin to a stranger, The picture shows Max, the awesome singer. Great music, kind of singer-songwriter-style, two guitars, bass, vocals, thats it. Check if they have more public performances!
More pictures: http://flickr.com/photos/wanhoff/sets/72157604210911144/

Artcafé Phnom Penh

2008-03-22T07:45:00.003-07:00

Artcafé Phnom Penh
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

Bob Dylan Abend

2008-03-22T07:45:00.001-07:00

Bob Dylan Abend
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

Guitar Player

Art Café

2008-03-22T07:44:00.001-07:00

Art Café
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

Bob Dylan concert at Art Cafe Phnom Penh

13 years for russian investor

2008-03-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian court sentenced a prominent Russian investor to 13 years in jail on Friday for the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl, the latest foreigner to be caught in the country's drive to stop child sex tourism.

In a different case a German man was sentenced to 13 years also because of sexual abuse of underage girls.

The russian case was followed by rumors if there was a trap for the successful investor just to get him out of the way of others.

One laptop per child: how its benefits

2008-03-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

If you don't really know why every child should have a laptop, or you are concerned about cultural issues if children in rural places using laptops instead of learning traditional dances (ironic tag off), then read this story of a small village in Peru and how the OLPC effects the school and daily life. Amazing story.
Excerpt:

Three changes
Mr. Navarro and Mrs. Cornejo spoke amongst themselves for a few minutes. Then Mr. Navarro said they agreed there were three key changes.
As there are few roads in and around Arahuay, the children don’t communicate much outside of school — with anyone. The teachers started independently pointing out to Mr. Navarro that this was changing once the laptops arrived: kids started talking to each other outside of school hours over the mesh, and working together more while in school. They started talking a lot more with each other in person, and conquered their previously paralyzing fear of strangers.

The second thing, Mrs. Cornejo jumped in, is that the kids used to be pretty selfish, an unsurprising consequence of the abject poverty in much of Peru. It’s not that the kids are starving, it’s just that they don’t have very much; what they do have, they’re reluctant to share. With the laptops, the kids had to turn to each other to learn how to use them. Then they realized it was easy to send each other pictures and things they’ve written — and it became commonplace. The sharing, asserts Mrs. Cornejo, extended into the physical world, where once jealously-guarded personal items increasingly started being passed around between the kids, if somewhat nervously.

Barcamp Phnom Penh

2008-03-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

after weeks of discussions and delays just a few people decided yesterday to try to set up the first barcamp on Phnom Penh.

BarCampPhnomPenh is Cambodia's first BarCamp to provide people with interest in technologies and Internet to come together for a two-day gathering to learn and share skills and knowledge.

The pace of changes in technology is amazing. Too many people may find not only that this is the Age of Information, but also have to live with the so called 'information overloaded'. And too many people may tell you that they have been left behind. This event hopes to give an open space for everyone to learn.

The BarCampPhnomPenh is free of charge to everyone. Participants will have presentations, talks, and meet-ups on a number of topics of interest to both people running businesses and non-profit organizations.

Barcamps are so called un-conferences, because normally the schedule will be fixed on the first day. More important is, that all the participants are also volunteers for the barcamp. So if you have anything you can contribute, please help.

On http://barcamp.org/BarCampPhnomPenh you will find all the information as well as the wiki. everyone can edit this, so feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with the community.

For now, we are looking for the best location. We need one big conference room and some smaller rooms. And of course we need sponsors for t-shirts and free coffee (and some other things too).

We will set up a googlegroup soon.

Please help us spreading the word about the barcamp and support us!

Tech Saturday Phnom Penh aka Bloggermeeting

2008-03-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

Since weeks of silence the geeks and freaks gathered again at T N Coffee at Monivong. Of course we had a topic (Viirak and me decided to talk about Twitter), and of course it ended in a total different way. Preetam Rai from Global Voices was announced to come, but even in the century of wirless communication sometimes its hard to get connected. He finally showed up at 4 when I had to leave.

But tomorrow on Sunday will be another meeting, 2 p.m. at T N Coffee, should be a talk about the first barcamp in Phnom Penh.

Concerts at the Art Cafe in Phnom Penh

2008-03-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

It was the second time today when I went to Art Cafe in Street 108 for a concert. Today it was classic music, two violins and one flute, and songs from Mozart and Händel.

To be honest, I was totally surprised how good the artists performed - although the neighboring bar had a birthday party with a lot of noise.

Personally, I think the Art cafe is the Number One spot for cultural events, because they are not only focussed on what is chic and trendy but they bring it back to the ground.

I will try to join all of the upcoming events in March, so you can meet me there!

Schedule:
FRIDAY, 14 March, 7pm
Berlin & “La Belle Epoche”
Melodies of amusement,
fun and lightness
a piano recital with
Juergen Assmann/Germany

SATURDAY, 15 March, 7pm
“Wine and Music are one”
German Baroque Music/ Fine Wine & Dining

Andrew Brouwers Blog

2008-03-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

I just got the message that Andrew Brouwers Blog was actually stolen. He had a blogspot account and was victim of what was apparently a phishing attack. At the end he could not get into admin level and recieved an email from the kidnappers, as John Wekks told us today on the Tech Satirday meeting.

Fortunatly a lot of content is saved, so you can stll read Andrews Blog, but please change your booksmarks. Its now:
www.andybrouwer.co.uk/blog

Beach Party Hotel Cambodiana

2008-03-01T23:40:00.001-08:00

Beach Party Hotel Cambodiana
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

Beach Party Hotel Cambodiana

2008-03-01T23:39:00.001-08:00

Beach Party Hotel Cambodiana
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

Wrong way in economy

2008-03-01T01:38:00.001-08:00

One of the biggest problems if you have a business is the fact, that neither products are produced in this country nor you get them in for a reasanoble price. Today I got the news that import tax on toys will increase about 35 percent. No, not everything is better, as some people say. High Import taxes are a lot of steps back.

Found a Senior Seller

2008-02-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

Its really hard to find good staff in Cambodia, especially people with good skills in selling. But luckily after a lot of interviews we found one: Please welcome Mr. Sophanna. He will be the senior seller at the Monument toys shop on Norodom Boulevard. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him.

(Note: I am now well equipped - got my name cards yesterday).

Public Relations in Cambodia

2008-02-08T00:37:00.000-08:00

Is there any public relations company in Cambodia? Do Companies know how to deal with the media? Do companies in Cambodia have a PR-strategy? What are communications targets?

I just got an email from my former mentor Juergen Togotzes, who is now leading a new company with offices in Germany and China. It's called http://iprac.cn/

Any experience with public relations in Cambodia? If so, please send me an email or leave a comment. I would really like to get in touch with people here coming from that business (no, this is NOT a job offer).

Happy New Year

2008-02-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

Recommended: Corner 33

2008-02-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

I was curious when I saw the ads on the tuk tuks, but from outside Corner33 was looking quite small and - hmm, reminds me a bit of the Cafe Sentinel on Monivong. But hey, today we went in and what a surprise: Very stylish and comfortable, even quiet in the morning, great selection on food and drinks, friendly and attentive staff. The cafe latte is as good as the wifi connection (free), and although its near FCC and Riverside it was not that crowded. So, as Natalys said, its on our list.

Plastic bag country

2008-01-30T18:46:00.000-08:00

I just read this on KI media, a report from a woman traveling through Cambodia.
Thats a quote from her report:

Watching the landscape from my window seat, the thing that immediately caught my eye was the massive piles of plastic and plastic bags flying around the fields and roads.
Cambodia seems to be buried in heaps of plastic and whilst this particular road was tarmac, it was not the most pleasant journey I have experienced.
The second thing I noted was that there are endless numbers of children around; playing along the street, walking, hitchhiking and waving at the tourist buses.

Whenever me and my wife goes shopping, we use our cotton bags we brought from Germany. And whenever we say "No bag, thank you", then people are surprised (mainly they understand why we reject this free bag).

What we call dirty is common here. Wether its the city or the countryside: People don't care about the waste, as long its not covering some space they need to use. Then they burn it.

Later on she is talking about the kids in Phnom Penh:

if you want to do something for these kids you should gather them together and take them to dinner or lunch at any of the local food stalls.

You can feed ten kids for as little as US$3-4. There is also a lot of organised begging and book selling going on in the capital and I was not sure if the kids were actually able to keep the money or had to hand it to a superior.

Buying a book from either a landmine victim or a child is another option for putting some money back into the community - money better spent than paying the US$6 admission fee at the grand palace.

I don't agree. What people (children and adult) learn, is that there is always a foreigner helping them. Tourists are buying copied books, NGOs are running a big part of the health sector, education and social development. If there is no change in this, people wil beg for food forever. Note: 70 percent are under the poverty line of 2 US$ a day.

Turn 10 $ into 50000

2008-01-26T01:32:00.001-08:00

Beth Kanther asked me to blog this, and I really want to help her with it.

We have a chance to win $50,000 - if we get the most number of unique
donors. Right now we're in second place with 7 more days to go. I'm
reaching out to my network to ask if they will blog or twitter about
the campaign, ask their networks to contribute the minimum donation of
$10. The contest ends on January 31st

Read Beths blog about this story

You can donate here

Darfur and human rights

2008-01-19T02:11:00.000-08:00

I am a little bit concerned about the Phnom Penhs administrations decision to not allow the Darfur demonstration. Its not the first time, that the administration is talking about what their opinion is and not what the law is. Thats the long way Cambodia still hast to go: that the government has to follow the law, only the law, and not if they like a topic or if they find it useful or not.

Sunset in Sihanoukville

2008-01-13T04:55:00.000-08:00

I am just back from Sihanoukville, where I spend some days of relaxation with my wife Nataly and my mother, who is visiting us these days.
We stayed in the Independence Hotel, and I really recommend to go there: Even the call it still a soft opening, the bar at the beach is a beatuful spot to chill, the beach itself is quiet and clean, the hotel has a awesome view in the 7th floor, service is good, wifi in the room.

New Year

2008-01-06T06:10:00.001-08:00

Ok I was a bit quiet here the last weeks, but it was Christmas, the busyiest time in the toy year. So I am sorry for some delay.
I was talking to someone I met in a cafe, discussing the need of online shops in Cambodia. Do people online shopping here? Not yet I think , but as soon as ANZ will provide credit cards, people can set up Amazon Accounts or PAypal Accounts. Even now its possible to shop. The better the internet connection is (and for shopping, its still fast enaough), the more people will try that. Think of them in the provinces ike Battambang. They will love online shopping. Apsara TV is doin a - strange - TV-shopping, but I heard its not so bad in success.
So, its not the next big thing for Cambodia, but if technical and financial obstacles are gone, there will be a big online market here!

My dog pixie

2008-01-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

We had a trip to Tonle Bati Lake... with the staff from both Exotissimo Travel and Monument Books

Toys Toys Toys in Cambodia: Monument Toys

2007-12-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

It seems to be that I am not longer mainly a IT-Consultant but going into the toys business. I just started working in the Monument Toys Store, helping to set it up after the extension to 250 square meters. And more work has to be done.
So if you are looking for high quality toys like wooden toys from Plan Toys, like Lego oder Bandai, like Corolle - Dolls - lets say: from world brands - then have a look in our store on #111 Norodom Bloulevard, open daily from 7.30 until 21.00.

Corruption in Cambodia

2007-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Cambodia is number 2 in the world - of corruption, following a report of Transparency International, who interviewed people here whether they have paid bribes or not to get some services. 72 Percent say yes, only in Cameroon the number is higher (79percent).

No riverview anymore in Phnom Penh

2007-12-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

The most crazy thing I saw in the recent weeks is the new fence on the riverfront. Sometimes I really wonder who are the people are responsible for a nonsense like this. For the next 3 years - as an article in the Cambodia Daily told me - people sitting on the riverfront ion one of the bars, restaurants and cafés will just have a look on a green fence, covering a drainage improving construction side. I hope one of the powerful people, how they are called here, will see this fence personally and will take action to remove it. Otherwise, the last remaining tourists will skip a visit to Phnom Penh. What will be understandable.

We made it: Germany won the Volleyball Championship

2007-12-01T06:17:00.000-08:00

We finally made it after a really breathtaking match: Germany succeeded Slovakia after five sets! Video from 2007 WOVD Phnom Penh Volleyball World Cup:

Click To Play

Cambodian Blogger Award

2007-11-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

I dont really like awards like this, but maybe its helpful to get some attention in the media again: Open Forum is holding a Blogger Award, Vutha told me via his Blog Unfortunatly I cannot find any news on the Open Forums Website?

My new reading glasses as requested

2007-11-23T04:36:00.000-08:00

Marion sent a comment below asking for a picture..Marion? I know you? May you mail me?

Great Grand Optics

2007-11-19T19:45:00.001-08:00

After the last weeks I discovered that I really getting older: My eyes tell me that its time for new glasses. So I went to Grand Optics on Norodom (opposite of Exotissimo Travel) and asked for an eye testing. Wow, what a great and friendly service they have. I am really surprised about knowledge, english skills, how helpful they are. And: The price is quite reasonable, I bought new titanium frame and non-reflecting glasses for 65 US$. I can pick up my new glasses tomorrow, so they are fast too.

UPDATE: Yes, I like the glasses, Got a box for them also. Again: Great service. And better reading experience.

Except Koreans

2007-11-18T20:30:00.000-08:00

The MoT stated that according to the law foreign nationals are not authorized to be tour guides. However, due to the increase of Korean tourists and the lack of Korean-speaking tour guides, the MoT has allowed Korean tour guides to operate in Cambodia for a temporary period. Students will speak Korean by the end of 2009.

Btw: There is a lack of a lot of foreign language speaking guides right now. And as far as I know, the Koreans have their won hotels, their own bus companies, even thei won restaurants. The guides were the only possibility to left some money in the country..

Garment the next big thing in Cambodia

2007-11-18T18:16:00.000-08:00

When I was reading the Phnom Penh Post article about the business leader meeting in PP at the beginning of November, I was really surprised about what the Manager of the garment industry association (or so) said:"Do it now or you will be to late." Does anyone really believe that garment is the next biog thing in Cambodia. Despite the fact, that international companies more and more take care of the conditions of productions, Vietnam seems to be far ahead as well as China. I know people who had to close their factories because of the hard fights in the market.

The article also told that electricity is a major obstacle and that they will build up industrial zones near the Thai and Vietnam border, because then they can buy electricity from neighboring countries. If I am an investor, I would think about starting my business then directly in Thailand or Vietnam.

Lets come to "Cambodia Airlines". There would be just ONE possibility to make a story of success: If a Cambodian Airline runs by a private company, http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifjust paying a fixed fee to the government, and that it. If there is any official involvement in the operating business or in investment, forget it.

On Vuthasurf I just found a link to the government-private sector forum.

French women died in Phnom Penh after beeing robbed

2007-11-15T00:21:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Its still not clear if it was an accident or a robbery. Different police office are telling different stories. The problem seems to be the lack of witnesses. When I passed by, a foreigner (man in the 30s, red shirt) were standing there, apparently talking on the phone to somebody. Maybe he is a witness.. If someone got more information regarding Aurelia Lacroix accident, please send me an email or a comment.

There are stories in Cambodge soir as well as in Cambodia Daily right now.

I was passing by an accident scene, where a young french woman died after robbers tried to snap her handbag. She was sitting on a mototaxi and fell off, when a minivan was passing by. She was hit by the van and died. The Motodriver as well as the van driver and of course the robbers fled the scene. I had to pass just centimeters from her body. It was a shock.

I just got this message i copied from the campodiaparentsnetwork:

Yesterday afternoon my driver informed me that he witnessed a scene where a foreign woman was pulled off of her moto taxi by purse snatchers (he called them "gangs") and was then instantly (accidentally) hit by a vehicle and killed. This story haunted me for the rest of the evening, as I worried about this poor woman, wondering how they would identify her to inform her family if her purse was taken. Today the story made it to the newspaper and it seems that they did not succeed in taking her purse so she's been identified as a 28 year-old French woman named Aurelia Lacroix. The article ends by saying that evidence is inconclusive as to whether it was a purse snatching or regular traffic accident. Let me assure you that this was a purse-snatching that ended tragically and is now the 3rd (and worst) story I have heard of foreign women being injured after being dragged off moving vehicles by men on motorbikes who were after their bags. It seems that they are not deterred by broad daylight or crowds, nor the fact that their victims bags are secured to their arms or bodies. So far all the victims I've heard about have been foreign women. So please please beware! At this stage it would seem advisable to avoid riding motodops altogetherr and if you must, to not carry any kind of visible purse or bag. The same would apply to tuks tuks. Either keep bags completely hidden, or
on the contrary, put valuables in your pocket and leave bags on the floor of the tuk tuk, unattached to your body, so that if someone really wanted it, they could just take it. This is unofficial advice and what I would choose to do, but if anyone else has other safety tips, please share them. My condolences to anyone who knew Aurelia.

And thats the story from AFP:

PHNOM PENH, Nov 14, 2007 (AFP) - A French woman was killed Wednesday when she was struck by a mini-bus after being pulled off a motorcycle taxi by purse-snatchers in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, police said.
Aurelia Lacroix, 28, died instantly following the noon-time robbery, which occurred when at least two young men on a motorcycle pulled up alongside her and grabbed her purse, said Ben Khun, deputy Phnom Penh traffic police chief.
"The victim fell off the motorcycle taxi and the mini-bus ran her over," he told AFP.
Officials said Lacroix was working as a legal intern in Cambodia.
The robbers escaped, he said, while both the bus and taxi drivers fled the scene, he added.
While robberies have decreased overall in Cambodia, purse and chain-snatching are on the rise and are particularly problematic around major holidays, affecting Cambodians and foreigners alike.
Cambodia next week is set to begin celebrating the Water Festival, which draws millions of people to the capital for four days of boat races and parties.

No twitterers in Cambodia

2007-11-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

Just talked to Viirak about twitter, and it seems that there are not really a lot of active twitterers in Cambodia? Why? Because users are not online the whole day like us sitting in an office?

Cambotube gets famous

2007-11-13T18:37:00.000-08:00

Started quietly Cambotube now gets a push after a report on Cambodia Daily, I hope. Its interesting that they focus on Cambodian videos, or Cambodia related. Maybe its just in case of any concerns of the government. In the Dailys article an governmental official told that its ok to offer Cambotube, but its watched for violation of Cambodian laws (which is understandable) and if its to belittle Cambodian culture. "Sites like this must operate within the frameworks, traditions and customs of Cambodia". Thats the important fact, because thats where censorship is not far away. Like in a provincial museum, when the prime minister discovered a dummy with UNTAC-uniform standing near a Cambodian girl with t-shirt and hot pants and kind of ordered teh remove, because a museum should show the nice Cambodia and the rich culture and not this period - which is of course economically one of the most important periods, because the UN troops brought a lot of money into the country.

ECCC runs out of money

2007-11-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

via krtrial info:

The time for the tribunal in which trial of surviving former Khmer Rouge leaders will be held is getting very short, and its funds are also running out, Khmer Rouge Tribunal's International Co-Prosecutor said Wednesday during the break of the Fourth Colloquium of International Prosecutors on November 7, 2007.

"We have only one year left," Co-Prosecutor Robert Petit told Reuters during the break. "The budget of some $56 million for the trial of leaders most responsible for the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime is also running out."

Maybe that is kind of strategy of eccc's opponents?

Phnom Penh Night Market

2007-11-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

I joined tonight the new Phnom Penh Night Market, what will be open unteil end of November as an experiment on the riverside (near the K-West REstaurant or Amanjaya Hotel). There are only local products, around 100 stalls or so.
The main focus as I understand are on tourists, but when I was there the majority were Cambodians looking for the new market.
Tomorrorw I will try to make a video. So stay tuned :-)

By the way: Vutha does have some pictures

Back from Blogger Meeting aka Phnom Penh Tech Saturday

2007-11-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Right back from the Blogger Meeting aka Phnom Penh Tech Saturday on TC Coffee. Just for the record: Next meeting will be on Saturday December 1st at 6.pm.

So what is this meeting about?

Its first intended to bring people together who are interested in tech topics, like blogs and internet. So its a networking event.

We also discuss (or try to) special topics, like film making in Cambodia, or how to use a wiki or - my all time favorite - podcasting.

who can attend?
Everyone who is interested in these topics. You can come and listen, you can make a presentation, its up to you.

How to know about next meeting?
Just subscribe to the cloggersummit google group (the tech Saturday is kind of a spin off of the cloggersummit) and you will be informed via email.

We were also discussing about organizing Cambodia's first Barcamp. Barcamps are a un-conference, mainly about computer and internet topics. So if you interested in this, just come on Saturday December 1st. to TC Coffee (we are upstairs!) at 6.p.m.

Oh, by the way, this blogpost is dedicated to Nearirath! We missed you!

Economy in Cambodia in danger?

2007-11-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

Just want to point on this article in Borins Blog about the economy in Cambodia and its facing problems. His theory is that its all based on land sale - and all means a possible crisis too!

* Land and property trading is among the only small group of people buying and selling from each other without money pumped from foreign investor.
* Foreign investor do not like rising in land price because before investing in any project investor consider on many factors such as return on investment, payback period. For example if you invest too much in land and property the amount of time which you can collect your investment back is extremely long.

Cambodia Daily on the impacts of tourism in Cambodia

2007-11-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

I was quite upset when I was reading an article in todays Cambodia Daily about tourism impacts on Cambodia. In summary the article says (without real proof), that tourism delays Cambodias development. For example, because there is just foreign investment and that none of the investors are caring about education.
Let's say some words: without tourism, there would be a old airport in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap would be just a small village, there were less roads in Cambodia and a lot people more are unemployed. So, its nonsense to say tourism delays development.
The main problem Cambodia has is that there is no own development. It's always based on foreign investments and NGOs projects. The governments part seems to be collecting taxes and fees. But there is a strong need for better infrastructure in IT, roads, electricity and education. Its really hard sometimes to find real qualified people. Not only in the tourism business.

Movies under the stars on Raffles Le Royal

2007-11-06T20:18:00.000-08:00

We tried to attend the movies night on Raffles Le Royal, but unfortunatly it started to rain a little bit and we were just the only viewers. It was a little bit surprising that no one really take care of us when we was standing arround, seeing staff running around with a new dvd-player. After this, we decided to leave and had a drink at q-bar (and by the way, discovered that nataly made it on the asialife's cover story about tourism in cambodia). The cover title is related to Nataly quote "If there is a brand for Cambodia, it's Angkor")

Open Forum Workshop: Internet Use in Cambodia

2007-11-05T00:45:00.000-08:00

Today I had the great opportunity to be a participant of a Open Forums workshop about the use of internet in Cambodia. I learned a lot, could listen to the discussion and met some people I already knew from former meetings.
First I would like to say thank you to the organizers and sponsors. A very concentrated workshop, interesting topics and speakers. And by the way thanks for the translation service. Great job!

There are some typical issues in Cambodia regarding internet development. The price for using internet is high, the coverage area is small, mainly the cities, there is not knowledge of using the internet and there is the language barrier: The most internet sites are in english, just a few are in Khmer. Another obstacle is less electricity especially in the provinces and rural areas.

Starting with 6000 users in 2000 there were 44.000 internet users in 2007 - what is only 0.3 percent of the population. And: the statistics could be wrong, sometimes they count just official subscribers, not the people using this subscription.

How do people use the internet? Like in the whole world. As I learned from the speakers, male Cambodians are chatting and gaming, while females are mainly looking for educational documents.

Kith Changkrisna, who was speaking for NIDA, a governmental institution for developing IT in Cambodia, presented some numbers of internet and mobile phone users. Only 35.000 fixed phone line users are just a few compared with 1.5 million mobile phone users. 16.000 people seem to be internet subscribers, 6.500 are using ADSL, 1950 Broadband.

The internet connection in Cambodia is limited by the backbone: 150 mps comes from a satellite connection while 100 Mps are through optical fibre cable, connected to Vietnam and Thailand.

As Channda Sok, CEO of ISP Angkor.net explained, its not just the problem of international connection to the word wide web. The main reason for the relativly high prices are the fees and taxes. From a 49 US$ sales prices the government got 37 US$ for renting the line. Per law its not allwoed to use own land lines, she said. That makes it impossible to lower the prices, she said. For example, the governments renting costs of a line from Phnom Penh to Battambang is about 3000 US$ per month. You need a lot of costumers there to get a return of these costs.

Although NIDA is working on a IT policy and a masterplan of develop the IT in Cambodia, there are still many problems to be solved. John Denny, a consultant in education, explains, that also cultural obstacles, like that girls better stay at home than to study, low education levels and high costs for school , have to be fixed.
And even the teachers are not really prepared for the future, he said: Just 6 percent of all people working in the educational sector have a bachelor degree.
John solution: bring small, energy saving computers to school, install e-learning software and train the teachers.

So whats the conclusion? The government have to decrease the fees, have to invest in education and infrastructure. There should be more real competition in the ISP-market. Also students have to stay longer in school, because there is a lack of well educated employees. And: There should be a business starting wround the interet. Not only based by IPSs, but also based on e-commerce. Thats the next important step, I think.

Thomas Wanhoff in Cambodia

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Projects I am working on

TEDxPhnom Penh: My personal review

Open tech talk in Phnom Penh

Doing business in Asia

First Cambodian Space ship build at Barcamp Phnom Penh 3

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The ugly face of tourism development in Cambodia - and CBRE's role in it

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TED conference in Phnom Penh

Please vote for my podcast

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Me and the Husband of the Womens Affairs Minister

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Thomas Wanhoff in Vietnam

Natalys Farewell and Birthday Party

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Yamaha Fino for sale

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Working in a Cambodian company

Friedrich Kleinknecht

Hun Sens Prison?

Cambodian Circus

Dog found - is it yours?

Fire in Phnom Penh

Fire in Phnom Penh

Fire in Russei Keo district

Balinese Dance

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Power cuts and the economy

Sister Krama Gig

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Bob Dylan Abend

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13 years for russian investor

One laptop per child: how its benefits

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Andrew Brouwers Blog

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Beach Party Hotel Cambodiana

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Sunset in Sihanoukville