May 2010
20 posts
Cambodia's Dark Alley: Overview and Activism
The sign outside of the stall in Siem Reap, Cambodia says “Karaoke.” Inside, tourists stand around a bar, with karaoke girls standing around encouraging some of them to drink, drink, drink.
No one is singing. It’s not a karaoke bar, said Dawn,* an advocate with an anti-human trafficking organization in Siem Reap.
It’s a glorified brothel.
Child prostitution...
“Lady No-Name, I waited for you to come back! Buy my bracelets!”
– Girl selling souvenirs outside of Ta Prohm. While walking to our restaurant she had asked me what my name was as she tried to sell me 10 bracelets for $1, and when I didn’t say anything, she said that she would call me “Lady With No Name.” When we walked back out she again asked me...
Aftermath: Som's Story
*This is another section of my blog, dealing with the effects and rebuilding of Cambodia after the Pol Pot regime. I will be documenting people’s stories and noticeable effects and posting my findings here.
Som was born in the middle of the Pol Pot regime.
It was 1977,and the Khmer Rouge had put Cambodians in work camps, killing fields and mass graves.
Som, a tour guide in Siem Reap, Cambodia,...
Profile: The Bell Man
Moun’s answer to whether he liked his job was very different from the answers in Singapore.
“Yes, I like very much,” he said.
Moun’s official title: Bell Man at the Khemara Angkor Hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
His main work is opening doors for anyone who comes into the hotel. He opens the door, puts his hands together and does a slight bow and says...
“Hey lady, you want tuk-tuk?”
– Every single tuk-tuk driver in Cambodia.
(We’re in Cambodia!)
Profile: The Tea Lady
JC enjoys helping people stay healthy.
According to JC, drinking tea helps people stay healthy, especially when it is drunk every day.
That’s the speciality of the Kwong Chen tea shop in Chinatown, which JC’s family has owned for 70 years.
But not enough Singaporeans drink tea every day, said JC, who has worked at the tea shop for 10 years....
Back Story: Coconuts and Cab Fails
Singapore doesn’t sleep.
In this small island country, most restaurants are still bustling past 10 p.m., there is a Starbucks within walking distance of anywhere, and a number of them are open 24-hours.
I am writing this at 2 a.m., and I can see people walking outside . By themselves.
I love this country. They support my messed up sleep cycle.
...
“How the f*ck did we end up in Little China again?”
– Tyler Thomas, questioning why the f*ck we had ended up in Chinatown (which he called Little China. We were distressed) while looking for a place with wifi. It was the second time the journalism students found themselves lost through Chinatown. The second time in less than five hours. We got to see...
Profile: The Coconut Man
(Click on photo to view the full-sized image)
Yu sells around 30 to 40 coconuts a day at Chai Chee Nasi Lanek and Fast Food.
At S$2.50 each, that’s around S$100 per day for the food stall in Chinatown, Singapore and relies mostly on the coconuts for its profit. It’s this reason among others that he wouldn’t disclose that contributes to how he describes his working life:...
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