Why I carry a camera phone: I was on a motodop (motorcycle taxi) and once I spotted this crazy ad:
“Follow that tuk-tuk!” And we chased it down this beverage advertisement. Cambodia: truly a movable feast.

Now I must find and document who is selling this crazy product.

His ‘Khmer Mom’ was diagnosed with incurable cancer.  She chose to forgo chemotherapy and pass away peaceably.

And a barang (foreign) child protection expert has suddenly found he’s the legal, local guardian of a 5 year old child.  (The mother lives overseas. Trust me, it’s complicated.)

I rarely use social media for ‘help wanted’ ads, etc. but if you know of experienced baby sitters, nannies and child minders in Phnom Penh, please drop me a line:  john@jweeks.net .

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/the-smiths/ask.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ask_%28song%29
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Smiths/_/Ask

A brief response to the frequent assertion that there isn’t much choice in places to go, things to do or people to meet in Phnom Penh.

I began blogging about things Cambodian in 2002, initially from Siem Reap.

I wrote about nearly everything that took my interest because if I didn’t get it on the web, few else would at the time.* I noticed something after a while: my blog was getting clogged with art and event announcements.

In 2005 I started a simple ‘What’s On’ blog* where I could zap the info directly from email-to-blog. I add tidbits to it as I see fit to this day. As of 2012 there are heaps of gig guides competing for your eyeballs and advertising dollars.

So off the top of my head, here is a list of things you can do besides hanging out in dive bars with ‘crispy’ expats.

Arty Things:

Java Gallery
http://javaarts.org/

SaSaBassac Exhibitions
http://sasabassac.com/

Cambodian Living Arts (check out their ‘Children of the Bassac’ performances)
http://www.facebook.com/Cambodianlivingarts

Sovanna Phum
http://shadow-puppets.org/

Romeet Gallery
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Romeet-Gallery/234387659945905

Tiny Toones
http://www.tinytoones.org/

Bophana Center
http://bophana.org

Meta-House
http://www.meta-house.com/

French Cultural Centre
http://www.meta-house.com/

Smarty Things:

Human Sciences Happy Hours in Phnom Penh
http://hshhpp.pbworks.com/w/page/19665521/Home

TedxPhnomPenh
http://tedxphnompenh.com

BarCamp Phnom Penh
http://2011.barcampphnompenh.org

Nerd Night Phnom Penh
http://www.facebook.com/nerdnightphnompenh

Meetups:

Digital Drinks
http://www.facebook.com/DigitalDrinksPP

Drinks by Design
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Drinks-By-Design/256108197769622

Green Drinks
http://www.greendrinks.org/–/Phnom%20Penh

Phnom Penh Swings (Dance, not partner swapping.)
http://www.pppswings.com

Hash House Harriers
http://www.p2h3.com

Gig Guides

AsiaLife
http://www.asialifeguide.com/

Pocket Guide
http://www.cambodiapocketguide.com/

Expat-Advisory
http://Expat-Advisory.com

Lady Penh
http://ladypenh.com

Leng Pleng
http://www.lengpleng.com

What’s On
http://www.sangsalapak.org.kh/whatson

A very old list of Cambodia-centric sites
http://www.delicious.com/slugdog/forum

As said before, this is a very rough list, there’s a gajillion more. Please to explore and enjoy.

—————————————

*This ‘web up everything’ role has been largely taken by friend Andy Brouwer. http://blog.andybrouwer.co.uk/ It’s made me feel more free to be less of a generalist. (For example, last year made a commitment to draw one comic a day at QuickDraw.Me. I highly recommend checking out his blog for a much more accurate view of the cultural landscape.

*Quite possibly the first in-Cambodia ‘What’s On’ blog. Glad to see other folks taking on the challenge.

On my bike I spotted a pile of rice pot husks in transit. I whipped out my camera phone (kids, don’t try this at home…)

Chase the rice…

Chase the rice…

Chase the rice!

Tags: cambodia,food,rice