Sharing the love

Coming to a bookstore near you soon, or get it online

Brothers Grimm

Hot and sweaty in a Ratanakiri cemetary. I'm the one without glasses.

I had to select a photo of myself to go into the book - you know the one I keep mentioning from time to time and which looks set to be out sometime in June or July, with a fair wind and no natural disasters. Don't tell me you've forgotten already. It's called To Cambodia With Love. I chose the photo above, taken on my first ever visit to Ratanakri province in October 2007. Hopefully readers won't confuse me with the wooden effigy next to me. That's the one wearing glasses if you're still not sure. It was taken in the chunchiet cemetery in the Tampoun village of Kachon Leu, on the banks of the Sesan River near Voen Sai in Ratanakiri. There are about 100 graves there and the wooden and stone carvings are meant to represent the deceased when they were alive. And yes, it was very hot and humid that day. I did think about the one below, but rejected the idea!

Recognise this face at The Bayon?

In love with Cambodia

Don't believe everything you read in the press, or on the internet for that matter. Amazon and Barnes & Noble, two of the top on-line book sellers, are promoting the publication date of 1 March 2010 for the new guidebook To Cambodia With Love - A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur, to be published by ThingsAsian Press. As I only finished the final manuscript at the weekend, there's not a cat in hells' chance of it being published in under a month. Now if I had got off my arse and got the book completed in its original timeline, it would've been ready by then, but it'll be at least 3-4 months before there's a possibility of smelling the first freshly-printed edition (I love the smell of new books).
The promo blurb provides the following synopsis of the book, just to give you an idea of what to expect: From a tarantula brunch in the remote Cambodian countryside to a spiritual encounter with the god Vishnu in the National Museum in Phnom Penh, To Cambodia With Love is a true collaboration, containing personal essays by more than fifty writers [Ed. actually it's more than 60]. Among them you will find Angkor Wat expert Dawn Rooney, acclaimed memoirist Loung Ung (First They Killed My Father), and Lonely Planet’s in-the-know Nick Ray. Each essay is paired with a practical fact file so that travelers can follow in the writer’s footsteps. In addition, the book is illustrated with vibrant, full-color photographs. With its unique insights into dining, shopping, sightseeing, and culture, To Cambodia With Love is a one-of-a-kind guide for the passionate traveler.
Can't agree more. The photographs in the book will come from the camera of acclaimed photographer Tewfic El-Sawy, who is based in New York and regularly leads photography tours to India, Sikkim, Indochina, Indonesia, and the Himalayan Kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan. You can see his work here. Also read the publisher's latest.
I will expect all of my blog readers to buy a copy - yes, both of you, including the one who only reads the football posts. This is not a definitive guidebook in the Lonely Planet sense of the word, it is a book by people who are truly passionate about this country and who want to share their passion with you. Something I've been doing for more than a decade already. Fortunately you don't have to suffer my inept writing too much in the book, as it's the contributors who grab the limelight, and rightly so.

Sweaty palms

In the courtyard of Tuol Sleng with Chum Mey

I'm reading through the final manuscript of To Cambodia With Love and my palms are sweating. Kim, the series editor, has just sent it to me and told me I have a day to read it through as the final deadline has arrived like a runaway train and my desire for perfection is just about to pass its sell-by date. I've procrastinated long enough, now it's time to face the music and produce what I promised to ThingsAsian, the publishers, what seems like a lifetime ago. Kim has done a fabulous job in picking up the pieces I sent her and I'm very proud of everyone's combined efforts. Nothing is certain in publishing though it looks like TCWL might be out in a few months - but keep it under your hat for the moment.

This morning I took my friend Ting, she's visiting Cambodia for the first time from her home in Taiwan, to Tuol Sleng. She's already seen the city's other major tourist sights on her own but wanted me to explain about Tuol Sleng, the Khmer Rouge, et al. During our visit we met with Chum Mey, one of the three remaining survivors of Tuol Sleng, and who has been in the international press a lot in recent months due to the trial of Comrade Duch, the former director of the detention center where Chum Mey was incarcerated in the final months of the Khmer Rouge control over Phnon Penh. He talked to a small group of British visitors, who were overawed to meet him, completely unexpectedly, with translations provided by their guide, explaining briefly about his detention and torture and thanked them for coming to Cambodia. By the look on their faces, I think he made their Tuol Sleng visit one they'll never forget.
This afternoon I inflicted two games of Cambodian football onto Ting. I don't think she will ever forgive me. She doesn't even like football. They were the opening pair of Hun Sen Cup last 16 games and whilst Phnom Penh Crown just scraped a 1-nil win over Phuchung Neak, Wat Phnom (formerly Spark) went goal-crazy with a 10-1 win over Mekong University. I get the feeling Ting can't wait to get out of town and up to Siem Reap. Little does she know there's two more games for her to endure tomorrow afternoon, before she gets the bus! More on the footy results later.

Snowed in

I'm snowed under. Not literally, obviously, as I live in Cambodia, but metaphorically speaking. An email pal of a few years, Ting, arrives from Taiwan today for her first visit to Cambodia and our first face to face meeting to boot. I know she is dying to see Cambodia at long last. Another email friend, Cat from France, will be arriving in a couple of weeks as well. In addition, I am under severe pressure to finish the manuscript for To Cambodia With Love by the weekend so its all hands on deck if I want to see my book finally published, in the not too distant future. Not enough hours in the day? - tell me about it! Sorry, can't hang around, I've got stuff to do.

Out of left field

I've just been hit by a rocket. Not really but the same sort of effect. My series editor at ThingsAsian Press, the adorable Kim Fay, for the unique guidebook I'm editing, To Cambodia With Love has just asked that I send her everything by this weekend. That's the whole book, in its finished state, or as near to it as possible. It's certainly the wake-up call I need to stop dallying around and get the book completed. I won't make this weekend but it'll be with the series editors at the beginning of next month and that will speed up the guidebook's arrival in bookshops/on Amazon/on the streets of Phnom Penh (in beautifully photocopied format no doubt) considerably. More news as I get it.
I am taking my lunch late this afternoon, so I get the opportunity to watch the midweek Cambodian Premier League matches at Olympic Stadium and both games are, on paper, well worth the effort and discomfort of sitting in the main stand, sweating profusely. Match reports later.
The main news coming out from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal today is that the chief international prosecutor, Robert Petit has announced he will quit the trials on 1 September, citing personal reasons. Petit has been with the ECCC for three years and has worked in four war crimes tribunals in the last twenty years. His knowledge and experience has been a vital driving force to the ongoing trials. It was Petit who was keen to get more suspects in the dock to join the five currently awaiting prosecution, though his desires didn't exactly curry favour with the Cambodian authorities. We are still awaiting a final decision on this. His departure, even before the Duch trial is complete, will create a void in the process until a suitable replacement is appointed.

The lovely Kim Fay

Kim Fay and yours truly at Frizz restaurant tonight

It was a real pleasure to meet Kim Fay in person for the first time this week. Kim is the editor of the original To Asia With Love guidebook that was published in 2004 and in which she included a few of my articles. When ThingsAsian Press decided to do a series of country-specific books, Kim asked me to edit the Cambodia version, which I am currently in the middle of. It is called To Cambodia With Love and is scheduled for publication in 2010. Kim, accompanied by fellow author Janet Brown whose book Deaf in Bangkok was recently published, was on a brief holiday visit after a stint working in Bangkok, before she returns home to Los Angeles. She's currently penning a book called In Yellow Babylon so a trip over the last few days to Kratie and along the Mekong River was part holiday/part research for her historical novel that is very close to completion. She edited the first of the country-specific books in the With Love series, on Vietnam, which recently became available online and in bookshops. She also happens to be a very lovely lady, with a great sense of humour and between her, Janet and myself, we sampled the Cambodian cuisine at Frizz restaurant, talking about books and just about everything else under the sun. A very pleasant evening indeed, and as any writer knows, it's a good thing to keep on the right side of your editor.

Welcome home

Wow, at 4pm today a tropical storm hit Phnom Penh like a whirlwind and 10 minutes later its still going strong, the skies have darkened, the wind is bending the trees and ripping off any corrugated metal that isn't secure and the streets are flooding quickly with the deluge. Welcome back to Phnom Penh after the holdays! I'd post a picture of it but blogger.com is still playing silly beggars with picture posting, so no can do. Take my word for it that in the hottest month of the year, Phnom Penh has been hit with a sucker punch of a storm. I wouldn't be surprised if it's done quite a bit of damage, as it lasted nearly an hour.

With Phnom Penh doing a great impersonation of a ghost-town for the last few days, I remained locked in my flat, slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean, with my head firmly in guidebook editing mode. It's something I should've done a while ago but it always got pushed to the end of the 'to-do' list. Well, procrastination time is over and I've finally broken the back of the task. It's now full-steam ahead and get yourself primed for the release of To Cambodia With Love in early 2010.... I hope. I have more than enough articles but am open to latecomers if you know Cambodia like the back of your hand and you have something you want to share with the travel connoisseurs around the world. Drop me a line and I'll tell you what I'm looking for. But be quick about it.