An Evening on the Town

My friend Daniel went crazy after returning from Japan and decided to have a blowout of organized fun one Saturday night.

First, he organized a sunset boat ride on the Mekong, a veritable Phnom Penh tradition. It was something I had been wanting and needing to do, and we made it happen. In fact, in Rough Guide it’s listed as the #1 thing not to miss in Cambodia. You can rent a 100ft long boat for like $20/hour, buy a lot of beer and food, and have a cookout on the boat. I met a lot of Daniel’s expat friends from the past few years, and I feel a lot more connected socially as a result.


Daniel and Deborah on the boat

After flowing down the Tonle Sap river (bordering Phnom Penh), we turned up the Mekong, past nearly-floating villages (tiny wooden shacks floating on the river next to the riverbank), and up to a spot for swimming. At that spot, we watched the sun shrink behind the Phnom Penh horizon in a mélange of pinks and oranges. The owners of the boat boiled about 50 crabs, which looked delicious but which I could sadly not enjoy. I jumped off the roof of the boat into the water, which is questionably sanitary (I had a rash on my leg for a few days afterwards, but no big deal). The river’s current was deceptively strong, but manageable. More than anything, splashing around with new friends in the last light of day on the Mekong River in Cambodia was thoroughly enjoyable. I’m pretty lucky to be here.


On the Boat


A group of Khmer fishing boats on the banks of the Mekong


A floating house, fishing canoes, and small wooden huts on the bank


A short video of the boat ride along the Mekong. I quite like the soundtrack of Neil Young's "Keep on Rockin' In the Free World" in the background. It provides a good summary of the contrasts and internal struggles of working as a foreigner here. Are the people living along the bank and/or on their fishing boats truly free? Certainly we, as foreigners on the boat who work in Cambodia, are operating with a degree of freedom to our actions that is unfathomable for the people living along the bank (and, indeed, for most Cambodians). With a foreigner salary, we can do and access and live in a manner that is quite unattainable for most Cambodians (I am making at least twice as much as the average middle class salary here, on a volunteer stipend!)

We can keep on rockin' freely, but what are we doing here? How beneficial is foreign NGO/IO presence in this country, and especially in Phnom Penh? How do we truly help, and not make our experience here overwhelmingly parasitic or voyeuristic? How much is our presence alleviating the structural impoverishment that these riverbank dwellers face on a daily basis?

These are vital issues that I struggle with and that try to come to terms with. Sometimes this happens by believing in the work I am doing, by hoping that this work is supporting those in need (and I believe it does) and also that it will engender personal growth so that I can better serve others in the future. Of course, sometimes I react through denial, and sometimes by accepting that a certain action is voyeuristic. But these issues are a fine line that we, as foreigners living in Cambodia and in many parts of the developing world, must confront daily--the balance is a tricky one.



Sunset over the Cambodiana Hotel

We returned to Phnom Penh with the lights from the new Naga Casino growing ever closer. After I grabbed a quick bite (being unable to eat the crabs and all), I headed over to see the best (and only) English-language band in Phnom Penh that plays original music. They call themselves Betty Ford and the GT Falcons, and they sound something like Television mixed with the Replacements. A bunch of them are friends with Daniel and were on the boat trip. I’ve become friends with the guitarist Matt, who’s from Australia (as are half of the expats here). In the last week, Matt has taken to calling me “Dynamic Lee,” which I quite enjoy.


Matt and Sean on the Boat


Betty Ford and the GT Falcolns Poster. Even Roger Ebert is a huge fan!

Anyway, the show was pretty surreal because it was at this bar called Zeppelin Café, which is owned by this middle-aged Cambodian who has about 700 LPs from 1972-1979 in the bar—hence the name and theme of the bar. It felt so much like a small bar/music venue in the US that it was quite disorienting. Of course, adding weight to this sentiment was the fact that there were not too many Cambodians at the show besides the bar’s owner (who would’ve thought—Cambodians not digging English rock music). A lot of expats came to the show, and although the sound mixing and acoustics were terrible, we all seemed to have a great time. Watch out, BFAGTF will take the US by storm soon!

Phnomenally Disabled Volleyball

I met two documentarians from Brooklyn about a month ago (so hip!). They came into my office to film an interview with the director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dr. Vun. He wasn't ready to see them, so they chilled in my office and I talked with them for about a half hour. Their main documentary is about a unique system in Cambodia (also practiced in a few other countries) whereby monks and pagodas are integrated into home-based HIV services (as community health workers) and provide social supports for these people. It makes sense--Buddhism is the oldest institution in most villages, and so utilizing this network has proved quite fruitful.

Anyway, one of the two of them, Scott, was also making a side-project documentary about the Disabled Volleyball League of Cambodia, which is apparently the best-run and least-corrupt sports league in Cambodia. There was a tournament the next day, so I met Scott at the court and I watched 3 matches.



These players are INCREDIBLE!



So how disabled are they? Some of them only had minor restrictions in their movement caused by polio or having been shot in the arm, but about 70% were landmine victims who had missing limbs or hands. The best disabled-volleyball spiker in the world was there, and he plays barefoot and is missing his right forearm. His ability is even more exceptional because, like in many countries, all Cambodians are taught to be right-handed. So he essentially had to learn to play volleyball, or re-learn how to play, in a counter-intuitive manner. A left handed spiker in Cambodia is a truly remarkable feat!





Below, the best spiker wins the point!



The whole day was pretty incredible and inspirational, and I was so surprised by the high level of play. Apparently Phnom Penh is hosting the world cup of Disabled Volleyball in Dec 2007--I won't be here. It's cool the things you learn that you never knew existed!

Last weekend, I was able to break away from my Clinton trip-planning duties to watch the championships in the one indoor court in all of Cambodia, at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh. The Phnom Penh Sunway Dragons beat the Siem Reap DHL Eagles 25-15, 25-20, 25-17 (not absolutely certain about the score in that last set, but I think it's correct). It was a really exciting game, and the left-handed spiker for the Dragons (about whom I wrote above) definitely dominated with spikes and blocks.

The stadium, with a capacity of 2000 or so, was about a quarter filled. Despite the feeling of emptiness, the game generated a lot of excitement among those who were there, with people cheering shouting, clapping for good points. There were about 20 foreigners there, a lot of Cambodians, about 7-8 of the other teams in the league (I sat behind them for one set and it was like sitting in an enclosed smoking section—for athletes, those guys smoke a lot of cigarettes!). What was strange was that there were so many more Siem Reap fans, despite the game being in Phnom Penh. And the Siem Reap sponsors came out in droves—there were about 20 Cambodian DHL workers dressed in their daily uniforms cheering for their team! The Siem Reap fans were definitely the most vocal, shouting “SIEM REAP” every time they scored a point.

One other strange thing was the VIP section in the stands. Granted, it was the championships, and the His Excellency ……., the Minister of Social, Veterans and Youth Affairs (MoSVY) was in attendance. But I thought the Cambodian waiters dressed in tuxes serving soda, water, and hors d’ouvres was a bit overboard. I guess it is not so strange, considering the amount of corruption in most levels of government in this country, and considering that they wanted to show off at the Championship game, but I was certainly surprised.

But seriously, I haven’t seen that level of skill and intensity in a volleyball match in a long time (sorry if I offend any of my Team from the Block/Fellowship of the Bling team members with this statement).

You can check out a clip of Scott's footage here. Also, look at his "Hunting Dumplings" post--I ate lunch at this place with my Cambodian coworker Saingyouth last week and it was incredible!!!

Hell yeah, volleyball!