The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Two Nights with Asia's Tom Jones

Without a doubt, the best thing to do in Phnom Penh on any given weekend is to spend an evening at an Asia’s Tom Jones performance at the Hotel Cambodiana, the largest and most over-the-top hotel in Phnom Penh. This Tom Jones impersonator par-excellence plays nightly in a bar that looks like it came straight outta Vegas. Gold pillars, lavish mirrors, and slot machines abound!

I first went to see this literal Phnom-enon three weeks ago with my friends Duncan and Gin. Not knowing what to expect, and thinking that I would hardly enjoy it (considering I’m barely a fan of Tom Jones’ music), I entered the extravagant bar and my spirits were instantly lifted.

Asia’s Tom Jones was introduced as such—not by his real name, but as “Asia’s Tom Jones,” a man clouded in a shroud of mystery. Who is he? What motivates him? And why is he in Cambodia?

As we found out, Asia’s Tom Jones is a force to be reckoned with—he’s over 50, yet his pelvic thrusts, arm swings, gluteal rotations, and countless other dance moves are performed with the vitality of a 25-year-old Tom Jones when “It’s Not Unusual” just came out.

Asia’s Tom Jones came onstage wearing tight black pants, a slick black Jacket that he throws off when he starts sweating, and a black shirt which was progressively unbuttoned throughout the night. His hair was crafted into a perfect Tom Jones ‘fro, and he even impersonated the real Tom Jones’ Welsh accent, turning Asia’s Tom Jones’ speech into a crazy concoction of Malaysian-Indian-Welsh English.

Serenading the audience

On our first night seeing this legend, we were joined by two British Tom Jones fans who happened to be passing through Phnom Penh during a 2-year stint of traveling the world. They downed their drinks twice as quickly as the rest of us and were up dancing and singing along just as quickly. Singing without a backing band, Asia’s Tom Jones wailed through hits like Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” as well as Tom Jones’ “Delilah” and “Sex Bomb.” His voice held a power and range that I have rarely heard in a live performance. Without a band, he was essentially singing over pre-recorded synth-versions of these songs—more or less, it was the best karaoke performance I have ever heard.

Even more remarkably, without a band, Asia’s Tom Jones had to create all of the energy onstage by himself, which he executed with ease. He had people clapping and singing along throughout the performance, and towards the end, a bunch of wealthy Khmers got up and danced and we all joined in. Towards the end of the night, the Khmers raised their arms in the air as they belted out the lyrics in an accented chorus until Asia’s Tom Jones finished his encore in a ball of sweat and energy.

Everybody gettin' down to Asia's Tom Jones during "Sexbomb"

However, to our mutual disappointment, Asia’s Tom Jones neglected to sing “It’s Not Unusual.” It was a strategic move, however, as this omission just fanned the flames of our admiration and forced Duncan, Gin and I to go back two weeks later.

Duncan, Gin and I posing with Asia's Tom Jones. We are all in a state of ecstasy after his performance. In fact, his performances can be rated based on how sweaty he is at the end of the show. After this photo, when my arm let go of Asia's Tom Jones' back and shoulder, it was covered in sweat. It was truly one of his best shows ever!

The second time around, I brought the Huge in Asia crew with me. Nate, Kai, and Alan are from Oakland and have been living in Hanoi the last few months, volunteering at an orphanage, teaching English, and filming AMAZING videos that are posted on their Vlog, www.hugeinasia.com. A few weeks ago, they rented motorcycles and biked down to Ho Chi Minh City and then over to Cambodia. Desiring to have fun in Phnom Penh and generate material for their Vlog, we agreed that the best thing to do that evening was to encounter, admire, and really try to understand Asia’s Tom Jones.

We arrived with high hopes, only to have them crushed by a lackluster first set. I think Asia’s Tom Jones was disappointed by how few people were in the audience. Duncan and Gin even left after that first set. However, not to be dissuaded and knowing that Asia’s Tom Jones was saving his best stuff for later in the evening, Huge in Asia and I elected to film an interview with him during his set break. Asia’s Tom Jones agreed, and he walked to the interview down a yellow-lit corridor like a true rock star. The four of us sat down and interviewed him in the lobby of the hotel, and what we discovered was a truly moving rags-to-riches story, if riches are calculated in undying admiration across the world by Tom Jones’ fans and the opportunity to play at festivals with 30,000 people in attendance, accompanied by a 40-piece backing band (quite the contrast from his Karaoke gig at the Cambodiana).

Gin and I in the yellow-lit corridor. Even we look cool in these pictures, so you can imagine how heroic and badass Asia's Tom Jones looked walking down this same hallway.

Part of the mystery of this man was revealed during the interview, including his real name—Mark Sylvester. He is a Malaysian of Indian descent. In 1980, with no money in his pocket at age 25, he decided to impersonate the singer for whom he had the most admiration in the world—Tom Jones. It didn’t hurt that he knew the lyrics to all of Tom Jones’ songs because they were constantly played on the radio in the electronics repair shop where he was working at the time. So Mr. Sylvester entered an American Idol-esque contest and won!

He didn’t think about making a career of it, until, out of pure luck, had the opportunity to meet the real Tom Jones on the star’s Malaysian tour stop only six months later, in late 1980. From there, he knew he had to follow his dream. He has been known as Asia’s Tom Jones ever since.

The interview truly reached its peak when Asia’s Tom Jones described how he enters into another state of being during performances, channeling the energy and sexual power of Tom Jones himself.

This interview reinvigorated Asia’s Tom Jones, and he came into the second set with a vengeance and a desire to truly rock our worlds. At that point, the bar was filled with about 50 people who were ready to be rocked.

What’s more, Asia’s Tom Jones allowed us to film his second set. Alan and Kai took shot from different angles all around the bar. At times, Asia’s Tom Jones sang directly into the camera, making funny faces and sexually suggestive advances to the lens. At one point, he even unbuttoned his shirt more than usual and presented the audience with a squeeze of one beautiful bosom.

To take us even higher than we already were, Asia’s Tom Jones broke out “It’s Not Unusual” towards the end of the set. Everyone clapped and sang along, as Asia’s Tom Jones swung his hips and arms in perfect impersonation, nay, complete admiration, of the real Tom Jones. During the last song, Kai, Nate and I got up to dance, and Asia’s Tom Jones sang directly to us. We wanted the whole place to join in, and finally one European got up and showed us his moves. When the song was over, we all experienced a feeling of utter bliss as we shook Asia’s Tom Jones’ hand as he left the stage.

Truly, Asia’s Tom Jones is an event not to miss. Duncan, Gin and I are going to figure out when he his playing his last show in Phnom Penh, and we will bring everyone we know to the performance so he can give us an utterly incredible farewell.

Huge in Asia made a Video of the evening, and it is a downright moving piece of art. See the video here: Asia’s Tom Jones Video. The video may take a while to load, but trust me, it will be one of the best things you watch this year!

Khmer Wedding Blowout!

So to ring in the month of March, my co-worker Samath held his giant wedding at this incredible wedding complex on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. The complex hosts 10 different 300+ person weddings every night, complete with food and drink and bands and dancing and festivities. Below is a photographic account of the night.

Samath and his wife, in their official wedding photo that greeted people as they entered the complex. Note that their wedding is officially sponsored by Heineken :)

The groom himself, in one of his 4-5 outfits over the course of the evening. He greeted us in a yellow suit, then changed into this red jacket adorned with a giant ruby necklace.

Dinner is the first event of the evening. That's my new colleague Dana in the foreground. Nicole and Sovatha are chowing down in the background.

My best Khmer friend Saingyouth (Youth for short) and I are chillin' at dinner. Youth is presenting his best Godfather pose. I just couldn't hold mine.

Beer was liberally imbibed during and after dinner. Here are some of my colleagues partaking in the post-dinner festivities.

The official wedding ceremony took place that morning, with only family and close friends in attendance. However, the wedding celebration that evening included some ceremonial activities as well, which took place after dinner. First, the bride and groom walked down a row in between all invitees as we all throw flowers on them.


After the flowers, the bride and groom circled the center table on which a 5-tiered cake was resting (it was a Cake Walk!--the significance of this will be lost on anyone who did not attend Westival at Lafayette Elementary School) . They circled the table five times, in part because odd numbers represent good luck.


The bride and groom then stood for a few minutes next to the bride's parents. Check out the Khmer modern-love-ballad band rocking out in the background in front of the pink and red hearts-and-love backdrop!

After the Cake Walk came the sparklers!

And after the sparklers came the silly string!

The bride and groom and cake, all covered in pink silly string!

The groom's friend, a chef at the wedding complex, carrying the Sword of Destiny.

The Sword of Destiny made one cut into each tier of cake.

Finally, the bride and groom opened up two bottles of champagne and poured champagne onto the tower of champagne flutes. The champagne overflowed the first glass and trickled down into the flutes below. The flutes were then passed out among the closest family members, a toast was made and the festivities continued.

After these ceremonies, group circle dancing began and lasted for a few more hours.

Valentine's Day Festivities

What is a single guy to do on Valentine’s Day in Phnom Penh? Well, participate in a Charity Bachelor Auction and two rounds of Speed Dating…Claro, pues!

The night’s events take place at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club (FCC), a bar and restaurant with a huge amount of history in Phnom Penh—as the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh in 1975, the last foreign news reporters gathered at this restaurant until they evacuated for their personal safety. It is in a three-storey, tasteful French-colonial-style building with wonderful views over the Tone Sap river. The Valentine’s Day events took place on the rooftop bar.

I arrive at 7pm, my faux-hawk looking quite sexy. I stand around awkwardly for about 15 minutes before anyone else I know shows up, and then the ball gets rolling. Registration (which, for the bachelors being auctioned, is free), description of the rules and schedule for the evening, acquisition of first and second drinks, etc. And then the Speed Dating begins...

Speed dating consists of men sitting around cocktail tables, engaging in 3 minute conversations with the women who rotate around them. Drinks are free-flowing, and after every date, I write down the name of my date on a piece of paper and then check a box next to their name as either “no interest,” “friend interest,” or “love interest.” A few days after the event, the organizers are to email out the list of people who were correctly matched with me as either a friend or love interest (meaning they also checked the same box, i.e. we were on the same page).

Luckily, nobody takes this event too seriously. I have heard that in the US, people pay $100 for the night and, and before even saying their names, launch right into questions like “What are the top 3 characteristics you look for in a partner, and how do you express your commitment to your partner?” Quite frankly, that sounds like a particularly awful night of torture and I am so glad tonight is not intense like that. Maybe I do not get to know people that well, but I have quite a lot of fun and engage in short conversations with a bunch of women, some of whom I am already friends with, others of whom I am meeting for the first time. Because I did not get to know anybody well, my choices for “love interest” are mainly based on my initial physical attraction to them.

Halfway through speed-dating, the Charity Bachelor Auction begins. All of the proceeds from the bids are donated to the Starfish Foundation, an NGO doing work locally. Eight of the most eligible bachelors in Phnom Penh are auctioned off, four in this first round, and four after a subsequent round of speed dating. The audience surges as many people, including all of my colleagues, come upstairs just to see us eligible men sell our bodies for charity.

Each man who is called before me (“Come on down!") walks to the stage and looks fairly terrified as their biographies are read and as the bidding begins. Finally, it is my turn, and I walk up and strike a pose. I’m quite terrified as well, and at one point I look into the audience and see my friend Jeni signaling for me to smile. This gesture even surprises me, being the smiley person that I am. Though really, I was just displaying my Blue Steel pose. I swear!

For those who are interested, the official biography of my life until this point is the following:

Lee hails from San Francisco, California (well, close to there anyway).

Lee attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, the smallest state in the US of A

[A sentence about my work here in Phnom Penh. Unfortunately, no reference to my work can be shown on this blog anymore]

Lee has been in Cirque du Soleil and was once asked to work for a kitchen on a boat in the Galapagos. His pesto has already become famous across Phnom Penh.

Lee has chatted with Thom Yorke about Arnold Schwartzenegger. However, he has yet to chat with his own governor about Thom Yorke.

Lee enjoys getting hyphy, good trying, Huge in Asia, going to Trader Joe's, Pachamama, volleyball, Piling Rats, kicking SIT Bolivia’s ass for being good at life, Portland, Oregon, pretending to know something about architecture, and Rogue Wave.

Each woman does not just bid on a man to give the proceeds to charity—she receives something out of it in return! Each bachelor has a date lined up. My date, arranged with the help of my friend Lis, consists of a charming drive through smoggy Phnom Penh in a tuk-tuk, followed by wine and chocolate on a Mekong River cruise. After the cruise is finished, we are to be whisked away to dinner at La Luna, the best Italian restaurant in Phnom Penh. [We were able to line up a free meal there in exchange for advertising their name during the announcement of my date! Pretty sweet, huh?]

The bidding starts at $10, and continues in $5 increments up and up and up. A young woman who I don’t know has the high bid for a few seconds, and I am excited. And then Lili, my boss’ wife, outbids her at $40. Lili wins, which is completely hilarious. I exit the stage and present her with a rose and a hug.

[Unfortunately, Lili left a week later, and we were not able to go on our date. This means I currently have free reign over taking someone to my liking J]

The man who takes the highest auction price is Eitan, a 25-year-old Israeli who was able to line up a one-hour airplane flying lesson for his date. Naturally, he goes for $100.

The night continues in revelry and dancing. I am interviewed by the Cambodia Daily, whose reporters excel at investigative journalism—they even participate in speed dating, certainly mixing business with pleasure. Unfortunately, none of my quotes are used in the article, which I will post right here (Thanks Suzy!):

Seated alone at tables strewn with flower petals, 30 of Phnom Penh's eligible expatriate men anxiously awaited the ring of Cupid's bell on Wednesday night.

A few had wives or girlfriends-even a telltale wedding ring-but none saw anything wrong with a Valentine's night-out playing the "speed-dating" field at the FCC's rooftop terrace.

Women, clutching glasses of free-flowing wine and beer, moved from table to table every three minutes, and daters ranked their new acquaintances in the margins of a list of names as potential friends or lovers-or neither.

Originally conceived by a Jewish rabbi to ensure that Jewish singles could meet each other in large cities, speed-dating-as it is known-seems to suit the transient, nomadic flux of Phnom Penh's expat population, according to organizers and participants at the FCC.

Attended by 30 men and 30 women, the serial-dating challenge was "a fun way to introduce new people," said FCC head chef Lucia Dengate, adding that the format appeals to people because it is non-committal.

The 60 participants paid $11 at the door, or $9 in advance, to join the event. Most agreed they got their money's worth: a bell rang every 3 minutes to signal that women should move along to their next date.

At the end of the night, daters submitted their forms-with each date's score-to the organizers who will later notify participants of the outcome by e-mail, FCC Group Operations Manager Michelle Duncan said.

Contacted on Thursday, Duncan said that three or four romantic matches were made, but friendship seemed to be the dominant feeling to come out of the night.

It was the second speed-dating night held at the FCC, and was punctuated by a charity "bachelor auction," in which women bid on dates with eight different men.

The auction was the brainchild of two British expatriates, Jeni Dixon and Edward Pollard, after several late-night discussions with friends about "how few single, straight barang guys there are" in Phnom Penh's social circle, Dixon, 27, wrote in an e-mail.

The names of the bachelors for auction were listed on a chalkboard under the heading "Today's Special," and they were cheekily described as a tree hugger, a mama's boy, a proteomic scientist, and a "dark-haired, blue-eyed, long-lashed beauty of a man."

A US Embassy staffer was among the lucky women with winning bids in the auction, which ultimately raised $460 for the Indochina Starfish foundation, a local children's NGO.

Mitchell Isaacs, a 26-year-old bachelor who fetched $55 in the auction, said he was a bit overwhelmed by the attention.

"Who wants to buy me? That's pretty intense," the Australian national said, adding that he was pleased with the price he sold for. "I was expecting, like, $12," he said.

Choup Channa, who observed the teeming crowd of expat daters from a nearby table, thought that speed-dating would be an ideal social event for young, 20-something Cambodians.

"It's a way to be acquainted before being boyfriend-girlfriend," said the 25-year-old Khmer teacher.

"It'd be a good way to meet," she said, "as long as the parents didn't find out."

Two days later, I receive an email with the names of two ladies who are matched as “Love Interests” and three who are matched as “Friend Interests.” That means I was part of about 1/2 of the love matches made that night. Holla!

I definitely went into this whole night thinking I would revel more in how ironic and ridiculous the night would be. But I ended up getting caught up in the excitement and real fun of it all! Really, quite like my experience on The Price is Right, if not quite so flashy.

It's Mango Season, and I'm in Love!

So delicious!

Also, it is Mangosteen season here, which is fabulous news! However, despite its name, this fruit bears no resemblance to mangoes in either appearance or taste.

According to Wikipedia:

The outer shell of the fruit, its exocarp, is firm (softens during ripening), typically 4-6 cm in diameter, and contains astringent phytochemicals which discourage infestation by insects, fungi, plant viruses and bacteria. The same phytochemicals are pigments giving the exocarp its characteristic purple color, including phenolic acids, also called phenols. These pigments have antioxidant properties which afford the fruit further protection from ultraviolet radiation and free radicals generated during photosynthesis. Isolation of exocarp pigments has permitted their identity to be revealed as xanthones, mainly garcinol and mangostin[1], which, as phenolics, make the exocarp highly astringent and inedible.

Cutting through the shell, one finds edible flesh, botanically defined as an aril, shaped like a peeled tangerine but bright white, about 3-5 cm in diameter, nested in a deep red outer pod. Depending on the fruit size and ripeness, there might be seeds in the aril segments. The seeds, however, are not palatable unless roasted. The number of aril pods is directly related to the number of petals on the bottom of the pericarp. On average, a mangosteen has 5 aril segments (round up figure). The plant does not start producing fruit until around 15 years old, which is somewhat an impediment to cultivation.

The fragrant flesh is sweet and creamy, citrusy with a touch of peach flavor. In Asia, the mangosteen fruit is known as the "Queen of Fruits."

Yummy!