Top three cafes offering strange and unusual drinks

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CsznYIW6-58/XVWDZ-3gpRI/AAAAAAAAAPs/tCXYEtcSvw01Dr6V9J8HGtUc4Dwvmo9YACLcBGAs/s1600/chak_sokpheng_the_owner_of_6a_cafe_adds_durian_fruit_to_give_his_sugarcane_juice_a_unique_twist._he_also_plans_to_roll_out_sugarcane_juice_with_mint_passion_fruit_pineapple_pandan_leaf_and_gu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CsznYIW6-58/XVWDZ-3gpRI/AAAAAAAAAPs/tCXYEtcSvw01Dr6V9J8HGtUc4Dwvmo9YACLcBGAs/s640/chak_sokpheng_the_owner_of_6a_cafe_adds_durian_fruit_to_give_his_sugarcane_juice_a_unique_twist._he_also_plans_to_roll_out_sugarcane_juice_with_mint_passion_fruit_pineapple_pandan_leaf_and_gu.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> With drink carts and coffee shops mushrooming on every corner in Cambodia, it's a common sight these days to find virtually all people carrying some sort of beverage when walking down the street.<br /> <br /> The Kingdom's beverage culture is blossoming and now expanding beyond the staples, with some coffee shops targeting more niche markets by creating their own original concoctions.<br /> <br /> From unusual tropical fruits you've likely never heard of, to coffee served with slices of coconut meat, The Post has picked three coffee shops in and around the capital selling unique drinks that are hard to find elsewhere in the Kingdom.<br /> <br /> <b>Khting Vor Cafe</b><br /> <br /> Founded by Tang Ekkhung, whose restaurant Sek Meas became a household name in Kampong Cham province, Khting Vor Cafe serves unusual but healthy drinks made from unusual tropical fruits including canistel, wood apple and jambolan.<br /> <br /> Born into a family of restaurateurs, the 33-year-old described himself as taste explorer and was trained in the culinary arts at the Global Cooking School and as a barista at Bon Cafe.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tt3RBSTld28/XVWDgb6UUiI/AAAAAAAAAPw/DV9V--wss4cwzekMR3S2f-q4dYycK9q7QCLcBGAs/s1600/coconut_meat_is_served_on_top_of_coffee_at_coconut_coffee_cafe._customers_can_order_each_drink_with_more_or_less_coconut_adapted_to_their_tastes._yousos_apdoulrashim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tt3RBSTld28/XVWDgb6UUiI/AAAAAAAAAPw/DV9V--wss4cwzekMR3S2f-q4dYycK9q7QCLcBGAs/s640/coconut_meat_is_served_on_top_of_coffee_at_coconut_coffee_cafe._customers_can_order_each_drink_with_more_or_less_coconut_adapted_to_their_tastes._yousos_apdoulrashim.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Ekkhung likes to break the norm, selecting unusual ingredient usually reserved for religious offerings rather than eating.<br /> <br /> "One day, my staff brought me canistel fruits. As I was peeling the fruit, I thought the texture on the inside looked like a well cooked egg yolk and that it might be good for making a smoothie,” Ekkhung recalled.<br /> <br /> He had several attempts until he finally found the right balance of ingredients to perfect his canistel milkshake recipe.<br /> <br /> "Once my staff and friends tasted it and gave positive feedback, I decided to put this unique drink on sale in my cafe.”<br /> <br /> Seeing the popularity of his canistel milkshake, Ekkhung decided to create a wood apple milkshake and a jambolan smoothie. Both fruits are usually eaten fresh or by adding salt and sugar, but are rarely, if ever, used in drinks.<br /> <br /> "My second creation was the wood apple drink and the third jambolan. Jambolan can only be mixed with water, unlike wood apple and canistel that can be blended with milk,” Ekkhung said, also warning against breastfeeding mothers drinking the jambolan smoothie for health reasons.<br /> <br /> The canistel milkshake, wood apple milkshake and jambolan smoothie all sell for 8,000 riel ($2) each, while there is also a canistel milk tea shake (9,000 riel), jambolan juice and jambolan soda (7,000 riel each).<br /> <br /> With a mission to promote local fruits, the cafe owner said some drinks are seasonal and their availability depends on the harvest season.<br /> <br /> "I might not be the first person to discover these drinks, but I want to make the best use of unpopular fruits in the market hoping that people will not overlook the health benefits of eating local fruits. They are just as healthy as foreign imported fruits,” he said.<br /> <br /> Open from 6am to 8pm every day, Khting Vor Cafe is located about 500m from Skun Market on National Road 7 in Kampong Cham province.<br /> <br /> Contact number 077 231 086.<br /> <br /> <b>Coconut Coffee</b><br /> <br /> With two branches selling a few hundred cups of coffee each day, coconut coffee has become a popular drink for those seeking an alternative way to get their daily caffeine fix.<br /> <br /> Founded by Ouk Sopheatra and a friend two years ago as a mobile street cart before upgrading to a cafe, the coffee served is topped with slices of coconut meat.<br /> <br /> The cafe has become a big hit despite the abundance of coffee shops and stands in Phnom Penh.<br /> <br /> "My friend is a heavy coffee drinker, but I am not so much. Before we started our business, my friend decided he wanted to sell a drink that is different from the rest.<br /> <br /> "He then heard about coconut coffee which is a good alternative for people who love coffee and dessert. I'm so fond of the taste myself and I believe that people will feel the same,” 29-year-old Sopheatra said.<br /> <br /> Coconut Coffee sells milk coffee, milk green tea, milk red tea and chocolate, all topped with slices of coconut meat, at 4,500 riel for a small cup and 6,000 riel for a big cup.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gKvmH4YjAwE/XVWDqPUohOI/AAAAAAAAAP4/2YDhTXe5p60Qsfys-Kz3W7c1oltEK6SDwCLcBGAs/s1600/khting_vor_cafe_founder_tang_ekkhung_made_several_attempts_until_he_found_the_right_balance_of_ingredients_to_the_perfect_his_canistel_milkshake_recipe._supplied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="660" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gKvmH4YjAwE/XVWDqPUohOI/AAAAAAAAAP4/2YDhTXe5p60Qsfys-Kz3W7c1oltEK6SDwCLcBGAs/s640/khting_vor_cafe_founder_tang_ekkhung_made_several_attempts_until_he_found_the_right_balance_of_ingredients_to_the_perfect_his_canistel_milkshake_recipe._supplied.jpg" width="426" /></a></div> <br /> Customers can order each drink adapted to their tastes.<br /> <br /> "We try to make the drink enjoyable for all, whether they want more coffee or more coconut,” said Sopheatra.<br /> <br /> Coconut Coffee is open from 6:30am to 6:30pm daily. One branch is located on street 337 near the corner of street 516, while the second is located on the corner of street 488 and 155, both in Phnom Penh.<br /> <br /> Contact number 010 709 198 and 099 875 333.<br /> <br /> <b>6A Cafe</b><br /> <br /> Praised as an entirely natural energy drink, sugarcane has always been a favourite sweet street beverage among Cambodians. But for some expats and foreigners, the inevitable sight of flies and wasps buzzing around the discarded sugarcane can be off-putting for hygiene reasons.<br /> <br /> This is why Chak Sokpheng, the owner of 6A Cafe, started selling sugarcane juice to introduce this local favourite to a wider variety of people.<br /> <br /> "I was running a grilled banana shop and never thought of adding any drink to my menu. One day I met two foreigners who came to buy my grilled banana. They bought sugarcane juice from the street nearby my shop. I heard one of them ask the other, 'aren't you afraid of food poisoning?' I was embarrassed to hear foreigners talking about a local drink like this,” the 32-year-old explains.<br /> <br /> He decided he would sell sugarcane juice but add sweet durian flesh to give it a unique twist.<br /> <br /> Some wonder if adding the 'King of Fruits' to an already sweet drink may be too much, but Sokpheng assures that "it's not as sweet as you would expect if made with the right balance”.<br /> <br /> He also plans to roll out sugarcane juice with mint, passion fruit, pineapple, pandan leaf and guava.<br /> <br /> 6A Cafe is open from 10am to 7pm daily and is located at 108H on National Road 6A, Chroy Changvar district. There is a second branch located in BKK1 on street 306.<br /> <br /> Contact number 096 222 3327.

Top three cafes offering strange and unusual drinks

With drink carts and coffee shops mushrooming on every corner in Cambodia, it's a common sight these days to find virtually all peopl...

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Eels' long journey from farm to table in VN capital

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cmc9i4M7W0Q/XVWCroqOUlI/AAAAAAAAAPk/q_2QkFzw20wn4ry-qRphNPngiVqUIaKLgCLcBGAs/s1600/fried-eels-with-vietnamese-coriander-often-eaten-with-rice-or-rice-crackers-is-one-of-the-eel-dishes-served-at-quan-luon-xu-nghe-restaurant-in-hanoi.-quan-luon-xu-nghe-via-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cmc9i4M7W0Q/XVWCroqOUlI/AAAAAAAAAPk/q_2QkFzw20wn4ry-qRphNPngiVqUIaKLgCLcBGAs/s640/fried-eels-with-vietnamese-coriander-often-eaten-with-rice-or-rice-crackers-is-one-of-the-eel-dishes-served-at-quan-luon-xu-nghe-restaurant-in-hanoi.-quan-luon-xu-nghe-via-facebook.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> As far as the journey from farm to table goes, there are few dishes in Hanoi that clock up as many miles as those on offer at Quan Luon Xu Nghe restaurant.<br /> <br /> Here chef Tran Sy Phuc serves up a plethora of meals made from eels so fresh you can almost feel sorry for them, knowing it wasn’t that long ago they were alive and well.<br /> <br /> But emotions like that soon pass when you taste the delights he cooks up.<br /> <br /> To say this restaurant owner is proud of the area he was born and grew up in is somewhat of an understatement.<br /> <br /> "My passion for eel dishes prompted me to bring my hometown’s comfort food here to everyone," he said.<br /> <br /> Phuc insists all the eels he cooks come from Nghe An, and so too the rest of the ingredients that go with his creations.<br /> <br /> "Eels are everywhere in the country, but Nghe An has the most of them," said Phuc.<br /> <br /> "When I was little, I often followed my father to work in paddy fields, and he always wore a small basket on his side to pick up eels, and after only one morning our family would have plenty of eels to eat."<br /> <br /> Each day, the 300-kilometre journey from farm to table begins.<br /> <br /> Eels are caught in paddy fields in Nghe An early in the morning, using the same methods Phuc and his father did when he was a young boy.<br /> <br /> They are then loaded onto motorbikes and couriered to the capital city, a journey that can take up to five hours.<br /> <br /> The eels arrive at his restaurant on Hoang Ngoc Phach Street in the early evening, hundreds of them, still as fresh and alive as they were that morning swimming in the paddy fields.<br /> <br /> During the evening Phuc will prepare the eels using a concoction of marinades, herbs and spices to make sure they are ready to cook from early the next day.<br /> <br /> "The most important thing is you have to put your heart in what you do," he added. "Eels are more difficult to cook than other ingredients and it requires a much more elaborate process.<br /> <br /> "The spices used to cook the eels are distinctive of the central region, so we have to get all of them from our hometown, from onions, chilies to turmeric to get the flavour right."

Eels' long journey from farm to table in VN capital

As far as the journey from farm to table goes, there are few dishes in Hanoi that clock up as many miles as those on offer at Quan Luon X...

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On French-Spanish border, bear attacks leave shepherds skittish

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-meof7DUMt1c/XVWBbyC2NmI/AAAAAAAAAPY/MWDegz5RnEQWgCXzImRi3IQAHrSFda2igCLcBGAs/s1600/a_flock_of_ewe_go_out_to_graze_near_the_mount_orhy_in_iraty_larrau_in_the_pyrenees_last_month._iroz_gaizkaafp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-meof7DUMt1c/XVWBbyC2NmI/AAAAAAAAAPY/MWDegz5RnEQWgCXzImRi3IQAHrSFda2igCLcBGAs/s640/a_flock_of_ewe_go_out_to_graze_near_the_mount_orhy_in_iraty_larrau_in_the_pyrenees_last_month._iroz_gaizkaafp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> As day breaks over the Pyrenees mountains, hundreds of sheep scuttle up a valley, the clanging of their neck bells echoing around the hills that fringe the French-Spanish border.<br /> <br /> For generations, shepherds in the region have steered sheep up the mountains in summer to graze on higher pastures, against breathtaking backdrops of sheer precipices and plunging valleys.<br /> <br /> But the arrival last year of two more bears – brought over from Slovenia to boost the area's tiny bear population – has made the herdsmen jittery.<br /> <br /> Clouding the bucolic scenes of sheep grazing in mountain meadows is the fear that the bears, one of whom has already killed several sheep in the region, will strike again.<br /> <br /> "Before we took the sheep up, there was an uneasy atmosphere in the valley," Nicolas Bengoechea, part of a father-and-son shepherd team that keeps watch over a flock of 1,500 sheep, said.<br /> <br /> France's growing bear population, like its burgeoning wolf population, is a source of tension in mountainous areas, pitting farmers against the authorities and animal rights activists.<br /> <br /> The state began reintroducing brown bears from Slovenia about 20 years ago in a bid to increase numbers of the omnivorous mammals, which had been hunted to near extinction.<br /> <br /> <b>'Bear damage'</b><br /> <br /> Last October, two female bears were helicoptered into the western Pyrenees, bringing the total bear population in the French Pyrenees to an estimated 40, up from just five in 1996.<br /> <br /> Since then, one of the bears has given birth to two cubs.<br /> <br /> The new arrivals received a hostile reception, with farmers blocking roads and scattering bloody sheep remains in front of a local town hall in protest.<br /> <br /> "When I saw the bear in that cage in October, I knew that eight months later, it would be on my farm," said Nicolas.<br /> <br /> The young shepherd's grim prediction came true when one of the bears, Claverina, killed one of his sheep and sent the rest bolting into the distance on the family's enclosed meadow in April in the border village of Larrau.<br /> <br /> Local authorities later told Nicolas he had been a victim of "bear damage", with Claverina's GPS collar revealing her to be the culprit.<br /> <br /> With Claverina having already killed eight sheep on the Spanish side of the border in May, shepherds are sleeping fitfully.<br /> <br /> From around 30 huts dotted across the Iraty border area, shepherds take turns watching over the 80,000 sheep and cattle that spend June-September mowing the mountain pastures as part of the summer migration known as the "transhumance".<br /> <br /> Nicolas and father Jean-Marc's perch are grassy hills at the foot of the Pic d'Orhy mountain, 1,300m above sea level.<br /> <br /> While the French government compensates farmers affected by bear attacks and subsidises the pay of extra shepherds, its recommendation to keep sheep locked up in pens overnight would spell the death of transhumance, said Jean-Marc.<br /> <br /> <b>'It would be hell'</b><br /> <br /> "Putting 1,500 sheep in enclosures would mean bringing them down [from the mountain] every day. It would be hell," Jean-Marc said.<br /> <br /> The farmer also voices "strong doubts" about the ability of enclosures to prevent bear attacks.<br /> <br /> "It doesn't work in Ariege, so I can't see why it would work here", he said in his sing-song southwestern French accent, referring to a region 280km east of Larrau which has been the scene of repeated bear attacks.<br /> <br /> In June, more than 250 sheep plunged off a cliff to their deaths after apparently being chased by a bear.<br /> <br /> A similar incident last month, in which 61 sheep fell off a cliff, prompted local authorities to declare a low-level bear alert, allowing farmers to use lights and whistles to scare away the creatures.<br /> <br /> Farmers can also shoot but not kill bears if local authorities declare a high-level alert.<br /> <br /> But for Nicolas, protecting flocks from bears is the responsibility of the state rather than farmers.<br /> <br /> "I'm not going to be the one going out shooting bears. Who knows how it would react!"<br /> <br /> If the bear population continues to climb, he said he will stop taking sheep up the mountains.<br /> <br /> "And then I'll no longer be a shepherd," he said.

On French-Spanish border, bear attacks leave shepherds skittish

As day breaks over the Pyrenees mountains, hundreds of sheep scuttle up a valley, the clanging of their neck bells echoing around the hil...

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Indian PM Modi ventures into the wild with Bear Grylls

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oi8gwji--4Q/XVV_XEjsiLI/AAAAAAAAAPM/-syXXk3wJgkMMHtEygV2Nhk4wFSIoB6qwCLcBGAs/s1600/a_fan_takes_a_selfie_while_watching_the_special_edition_of_man_vs_wild_series_hosted_by_survival_expert_bear_grylls_left_going_on_a_mission_with_indian_prime_minister_narendra_modi_in_bangalo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oi8gwji--4Q/XVV_XEjsiLI/AAAAAAAAAPM/-syXXk3wJgkMMHtEygV2Nhk4wFSIoB6qwCLcBGAs/s640/a_fan_takes_a_selfie_while_watching_the_special_edition_of_man_vs_wild_series_hosted_by_survival_expert_bear_grylls_left_going_on_a_mission_with_indian_prime_minister_narendra_modi_in_bangalo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit Indian television screens like never before on Monday, talking about his life and the environment – and smelling elephant dung – with Bear Grylls.<br /> <br /> The Discovery Channel programme Man Vs. Wild saw Modi seek to burnish his credentials as a protector of nature, telling his story to the British television adventurer in a rainy Indian nature reserve.<br /> <br /> "Every plant is a flower. We see God in every plant," Modi said as the two men made a spear and crossed a freezing river in a makeshift boat.<br /> <br /> "It is every human's responsibility [to protect the environment]. The biggest problem is our lifestyle. We exploit nature for our enjoyment, and that is the biggest problem," he said in Hindi, with Grylls appearing to understand.<br /> <br /> Modi, re-elected earlier this year, also told Grylls about his humble beginnings as a tea-seller's son and his solo trips of spiritual awakening into the Himalayas in his youth.<br /> <br /> The programme, widely advertised in Indian media, ended with a gushing Grylls saying a prayer for India and for Modi, whom he called an "iconic global leader".<br /> <br /> Media-savvy Modi, who has 49 million Twitter followers, has long portrayed himself as a man of action protecting his beloved country and its people.<br /> <br /> His macho exploits have seen him photographed horse-riding in Siberia, spear-fishing in a camouflage wetsuit and practising judo.<br /> <br /> Modi, 68, has published videos of himself doing yoga and at the end of this year's election campaign was shown on television meditating in a remote holy cave.<br /> <br /> During the election campaign, which ended in a thumping victory, Modi presented himself as the humble but determined "watchman" protecting India from its enemies within and without.<br /> <br /> Modi told his Twitter followers earlier Monday that his adventures with Grylls, 45, would "throw light on environmental conservation and climate change."<br /> <br /> India is home to 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities, according to Greenpeace, and some of the planet's dirtiest waterways.<br /> <br /> Poisonous air killed 1.24 million Indians in 2017, according to a study published last year by The Lancet Planetary Health, which said tens of millions of people face serious health risks.<br /> <br /> India currently generates about two-thirds of its electricity with coal and gas, making it the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Indian PM Modi ventures into the wild with Bear Grylls

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit Indian television screens like never before on Monday, talking about his life and the environment...

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Refugee boats are given new life as bags in Berlin

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ypqF0tKROz8/XVV-w8t8S4I/AAAAAAAAAPE/pcnkZ9tMGCwyF1ppt5Lh4l4iWn6M2aAawCLcBGAs/s1600/syrian_taylor_khaldoun_al-hussain_at_the_mimycri_workshop_in_berlin._afp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ypqF0tKROz8/XVV-w8t8S4I/AAAAAAAAAPE/pcnkZ9tMGCwyF1ppt5Lh4l4iWn6M2aAawCLcBGAs/s640/syrian_taylor_khaldoun_al-hussain_at_the_mimycri_workshop_in_berlin._afp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Khaldoun Alhussain concentrates as he stitches a piece of grey rubber, leaning over his sewing machine in the workshop of the small Berlin-based registered non-profit association called Mimycri.<br /> <br /> A border of yellow thread takes shape on the material that he works with an expert hand.<br /> <br /> The grey material from rubber dinghies, abandoned by migrants on the beaches of Greek islands, is finding a second life in Berlin.<br /> <br /> It is transformed by refugees into different sorts of bags, then sold on the internet.<br /> <br /> Alhussain, a 34-year-old Syrian, is familiar with the robust and weather-resistant rubber that he now works with after being recovered in Greece.<br /> <br /> Four years ago, he climbed into a makeshift boat made of the very same material to reach the Aegean island of Chios from the Turkish coast.<br /> <br /> "There were many of us and the crossing was very, very dangerous," says the tailor, who learnt his trade in garment factories in Damascus before he left to seek asylum in Germany.<br /> <br /> <b>Rafts to bags</b><br /> <br /> Mimycri recovers inflatable rafts, abandoned on the shores of Chios and the nearby island of Lesbos, which both bore witness to the 2015 migration crisis when hundreds of thousands of refugees landed on Europe's beaches.<br /> <br /> At the peak of the crisis, Greece recorded up to 7,000 arrivals a day. While the number of crossings has slowed considerably since an agreement between the EU and Turkey in 2016, it still averages around 100 people per day.<br /> <br /> On the spot, non-profit organisations recover the boats that litter the coast, along with discarded life jackets and clothing.<br /> <br /> "We recover 90 per cent of the boats stranded on the coast," says Toula Kitromilidi, Greek coordinator of the NGO Chios Eastern Shore Response Team.<br /> <br /> "The rest are used by the locals," he adds, indicating how for example farmers convert the boats' rubber panels into tarpaulin covers.<br /> <br /> Cut into large strips, the panels are sent to Berlin, cleaned and transformed into useful bags.<br /> <br /> Customers "buy these bags because they tell a story, because they are more than just something you own", says Vera Guenther, one of Mimycri's two founders, in her bright workshop.<br /> <br /> Heavy sewing machines hum in the background under shelves filled with rolls of rubber.<br /> <br /> Each segment is unique, sometimes with stripes or marks that often tell their own tragic stories.<br /> <br /> Mimycri's customers, who snapped up some €120,000 ($132,578) worth of its wares last year, can indirectly learn "what is happening in Syria . . . and how many people have died or are still dying there", adds Alhussain.<br /> <br /> His goal is to bring his mother to Berlin from Syria where she is sick and alone.<br /> <br /> As for the inhabitants of the Greek islands, "they are very happy [with our work] because they do not want their beaches to be covered with plastic waste", says Guenther.<br /> <br /> She gave up her job in the environmental sector to run Mimycri, which sells 11 products, with three per cent of sales donated to NGOs in Greece.<br /> <br /> Its latest creation is a toiletry bag, which, like all the products it sells on the internet, is also sold in some shops in Berlin and Munich.<br /> <br /> <b>Helping hand</b><br /> <br /> Guenther, 32, was among the Germans who came to offer their help to refugees as they arrived in droves at the country's train stations in the summer of 2015.<br /> <br /> "I wanted to be part of this new Germany that welcomes people who have lost their belongings, their homes and sometimes also their families," she said.<br /> <br /> During winter 2015-16, she left for Chios to help frightened migrants landing on the beaches after often harrowing journeys.<br /> <br /> With a German passport, she could make the crossing from the Turkish coastal city, Izmir, to the Greek island in 30 minutes for €14 "while drinking a beer and taking a little nap".<br /> <br /> She was profoundly aware that Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans were risking their lives on makeshift rafts by paying at least 1,000 dollars to human traffickers.<br /> <br /> With her partner, Nora Azzaoui, she spent several months on the island and returned to Berlin with a section of rubber in her luggage.<br /> <br /> It was transformed into a bag and the idea to make the practical fashionable items was born.<br /> <br /> The two young women managed to raise €43,000 ($48,227) in a crowdfunding scheme to bring their dream to life.<br /> <br /> Now, mimycri employs five people, including a Syrian and a Pakistani.<br /> <br /> "We want to change the way we look at refugees," says Guenther. "These are people . . . who want to have a job, a house, just like all of us."

Refugee boats are given new life as bags in Berlin

Khaldoun Alhussain concentrates as he stitches a piece of grey rubber, leaning over his sewing machine in the workshop of the small Berli...

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'Coliving' housing option spreads wings in New York

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OsEp1oBPgps/XVV9vUtIRZI/AAAAAAAAAOw/ZwjIHrFjin8wzxgs-cw0nDW7glPlAcLSACLcBGAs/s1600/gil_hirak_right_head_of_us_operations_and_community_of_quarters_speaks_with_a_colleague_on_the_rooftop_of_quarters_co-living_in_the_lower_east_side_in_new_york_city_on_july_24._johannes_eisel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OsEp1oBPgps/XVV9vUtIRZI/AAAAAAAAAOw/ZwjIHrFjin8wzxgs-cw0nDW7glPlAcLSACLcBGAs/s640/gil_hirak_right_head_of_us_operations_and_community_of_quarters_speaks_with_a_colleague_on_the_rooftop_of_quarters_co-living_in_the_lower_east_side_in_new_york_city_on_july_24._johannes_eisel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Nandita Iyer landed in New York from Mumbai without knowing anyone, but she didn't want to live alone in a "sketchy studio". So instead she opted for a room in a "coliving" unit.<br /> <br /> She lives with roommates in one of the 14 apartments in a small building run by the housing start-up Quarters in the trendy Lower East Side neighborhood.<br /> <br /> The best part of the arrangement, she said, are the common areas: a large kitchen with a big table and comfy couches, a terrace where she can work and a luxurious rooftop patio.<br /> <br /> "I met people from such different backgrounds. And I became very good friends with them," she said.<br /> <br /> And she even found mentors to help with her job search.<br /> <br /> Group living arrangements are not new: Many people have lived with roommates, in student dormitories or retirement homes.<br /> <br /> But with housing costs skyrocketing in major cities and amid changing lifestyles, start-up companies are offering to take care of everything for renters, including the social life of their residents.<br /> <br /> Demand for these new group housing arrangements is on the rise, especially among young people aged 18 to 35 – the millennials – so more and more projects are appearing on the rental landscape.<br /> <br /> Real estate brokers Cushman & Wakefield estimated in May that the major US coliving start-ups had about 3,200 rooms available with 16,700 in the pipeline. The new players include Quarters, Common, Ollie, Starcity, X Social Communities, The Collective and WeLive.<br /> <br /> Quarters manages three residences in New York and Chicago and is preparing to grow quickly. Its German-based parent company, Medici Living, just raised $300 million to expand in the US market, in addition to one billion euros to develop in Europe.<br /> <br /> <b>Social network</b><br /> <br /> "We provide an easy solution for people looking to move into big cities," said Gil Hirak, head of US operations for Quarters.<br /> <br /> From the virtual tour to the signing of the lease, everything can be done online. Then "you just move in with a suitcase," since units are furnished.<br /> <br /> The companies also reduce many traditional sources of friction between roommates by taking care of all the practical details: basic products such as toilet paper, cleaning, Internet or electricity bills.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CkBaDICfbDo/XVV922vbReI/AAAAAAAAAO0/cS_dvc9eWJ8VnqQVnnAju50msVVRR7K9gCLcBGAs/s1600/the_community_living_area_of_quarters_co-living_in_the_lower_east_side_in_new_york_city._afp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CkBaDICfbDo/XVV922vbReI/AAAAAAAAAO0/cS_dvc9eWJ8VnqQVnnAju50msVVRR7K9gCLcBGAs/s640/the_community_living_area_of_quarters_co-living_in_the_lower_east_side_in_new_york_city._afp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> "During the week, we're so busy. Housekeeping is really helpful," said resident Eric Tauro, a 29-year-old architect.<br /> <br /> After finishing his studies he was "researching what would be the easiest way" to move to New York.<br /> <br /> He set his sights on Ollie's third project in a large new building in fast-growing Long Island City. The start-up occupies a third of floors in the complex, with 422 beds available in 169 apartments.<br /> <br /> Amenities are more sophisticated than at Quarters: Residents have access to a gym, golf simulator and top floor with open views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.<br /> <br /> Cheaper option for renters?<br /> <br /> Like many coliving providers, Ollie's boasts that it organises social events several times a week, like museum visits or cooking classes. It also allows residents to communicate with each other on a dedicated application.<br /> <br /> "Millennials don't like to own a lot of things," said Alex Cohen, real estate agent for Compass. "They want to be part of a community."<br /> <br /> And since they are already at home with services like Airbnb or Uber, "they don't mind sharing" the common areas.<br /> <br /> Everything about the projects are geared towards optimising use of the space.<br /> <br /> "In a normal apartment building, there is so much lost space," said Sophie Wilkinson, who is in charge of the design for Common.<br /> <br /> Their response was to shrink the size of the rooms and expand living spaces like the kitchen.<br /> <br /> With smaller rooms, coliving is 15-to-30 per cent cheaper than a studio in the same area, the companies say. But that does not necessarily make them more affordable than a traditional roommate situation.<br /> <br /> Common, which offered 800 rooms in 27 buildings in six US cities in June, hopes to be able to offer 2,000 by the end of the year. Every week, the company receives 3,000 requests.<br /> <br /> Noting the rapid rise in popularity of coworking by companies like WeWork, Medici Group spokesman Volker Binnenboese said that "something similar could happen to coliving".<br /> <br /> "We are now focusing on these millennials, but they grow older. We can perfectly imagine doing the same things for young families in our buildings," he said.<br /> <br /> Projects for families could include shared childcare services, for example.

'Coliving' housing option spreads wings in New York

Nandita Iyer landed in New York from Mumbai without knowing anyone, but she didn't want to live alone in a "sketchy studio"...

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Woodstock, America's pinnacle of the hippie dream, turns 50

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TtghujOcI1c/XVV8u55BbbI/AAAAAAAAAOc/_RTXBbGmjzgIaP4ZSrwsBrvOi09AbY_sACLcBGAs/s1600/john_sebastian_performs_at_the_woodstock_music_art_fair_in_bethel_new_york_on_august_15_1969._henry_diltzcorbizvictoria_and_albert_museum_londonafp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TtghujOcI1c/XVV8u55BbbI/AAAAAAAAAOc/_RTXBbGmjzgIaP4ZSrwsBrvOi09AbY_sACLcBGAs/s640/john_sebastian_performs_at_the_woodstock_music_art_fair_in_bethel_new_york_on_august_15_1969._henry_diltzcorbizvictoria_and_albert_museum_londonafp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> A freewheeling weekend of indulgence. A New York farm transformed by idealistic youths into a mid-size city. A celebration of rock music and utopian ideals.<br /> <br /> Woodstock was many things but one thing is clear – it is revered by many as the cultural touchstone of a generation.<br /> <br /> The 1969 festival of peace, love and music marks its 50th anniversary this weekend, triggering a wave of nostalgia for an era when rock was for the young, tie-dye was cool, long hair was a statement, and kids said "groovy" without a trace of irony.<br /> <br /> It's estimated that anywhere from 400,000 to half a million people descended on Max Yasgur's alfalfa fields in upstate New York that August 15-18, embarking on a trip of a party that saw icons like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Santana jam as increasingly filthy festival-goers danced, stripped and dropped acid in torrential rain.<br /> <br /> At the outset, organisers were charging $18 a ticket for revelers to attend the event, which featured now legendary rock bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.<br /> <br /> John Roberts and Joel Rosenman bankrolled the festival, which they dreamed up with fellow 20-somethings Michael Lang and Artie Kornfeld as a business opportunity to promote a would-be recording studio in upstate New York.<br /> <br /> But as news of the bucolic rock concert spread, a crush of eager attendees bottle-necked country roads winding to the festival site in White Lake, a hamlet of the small town of Bethel, some 100km southwest of the namesake town of Woodstock.<br /> <br /> The overwhelmed masterminds had little choice but to declare that Woodstock would be, like the love, free.<br /> <br /> As the music began, rains swept in, food ran out and helicopters whirred overhead – sometimes delivering musicians, other times supplies.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gYjcKT7ARF8/XVV89jQW3AI/AAAAAAAAAOg/dVvcVMNzXyI_elXGtBAdwgNXWfvi3RvngCLcBGAs/s1600/in_this_undated_photo_annie_birchannie_birch_personal_collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gYjcKT7ARF8/XVV89jQW3AI/AAAAAAAAAOg/dVvcVMNzXyI_elXGtBAdwgNXWfvi3RvngCLcBGAs/s640/in_this_undated_photo_annie_birchannie_birch_personal_collection.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <b>'Idyllic notion'</b><br /> <br /> Despite the mud and warnings of bad acid, the myth of Woodstock lives on – the festival is venerated as a beacon of hope that emerged out of the tumultuous 1960s, rife with assassinations and riots as the Vietnam War raged.<br /> <br /> Sri Swami Satchidananda, a yoga master from India, opened the festival with an address urging compassion, a moment seen as embodying the non-violent culture Woodstock aimed to represent.<br /> <br /> "I am overwhelmed with joy to see the entire youth of America gathered here in the name of the fine art of music," said the slight, bearded man, sitting cross-legged before the massive crowd, leading the concertgoers in chants of "om".<br /> <br /> Later on, Country Joe McDonald of the psychedelic rock band Country Joe & the Fish famously led them in chants of "f—," before playing the anti-war protest song I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag.<br /> <br /> By the time Hendrix tore through his electrified, abstract rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, now considered iconic, the masses were heading back to the real world, just beginning to sear their collective myth into the history books.<br /> <br /> Danny Goldberg, a longtime music industry insider who covered the festival for Billboard as a starry-eyed 19-year-old, fondly remembers the weekend as "a lot of people with smiles on their faces".<br /> <br /> "I was taken almost immediately with this sweetness – the idyllic notion of the hippie brother and sisterhood that rarely manifests itself, even then," he said from his Manhattan office.<br /> <br /> "But it was quite palpable at Woodstock, from the minute I got there until the minute I left."<br /> <br /> <b>'Nightmare of mud'</b><br /> <br /> The adage holds that if you can remember Woodstock, you weren't really there – and many precise details of the weekend are hostage to the drug-addled and ever-aging recollections of attendees and even the organisers themselves.<br /> <br /> Rumours persist but mystery endures whether any babies were born at Woodstock.<br /> <br /> Sleuthing over the decades has fallen short, and no one has come forward as offspring born onsite – though it's likely some were conceived there.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5dq8UEdC5NU/XVV9G2Q5Y_I/AAAAAAAAAOk/bNlJggdbGYYNv34GGX1WQS5KyLIAUzdmgCLcBGAs/s1600/in_this_undated_photo_people_rest_at_the_campground_of_the_woodstock_music_festival_during_the_week-end_of_august_15_to_18_1969_in_bethel_near_woodstock._annie_birchannie_birch_personal_colle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5dq8UEdC5NU/XVV9G2Q5Y_I/AAAAAAAAAOk/bNlJggdbGYYNv34GGX1WQS5KyLIAUzdmgCLcBGAs/s640/in_this_undated_photo_people_rest_at_the_campground_of_the_woodstock_music_festival_during_the_week-end_of_august_15_to_18_1969_in_bethel_near_woodstock._annie_birchannie_birch_personal_colle.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Reports from the time say a tractor cleaning debris accidentally ran over one person in a sleeping bag, while at least one person is said to have died from a drug overdose.<br /> <br /> Like a critically panned movie turned cult film, in the days following the festival, mainstream news outlets were largely dismissive.<br /> <br /> "The dreams of marijuana and rock music that drew 300,000 fans and hippies to the Catskills had little more sanity than the impulses that drive the lemmings to march to their deaths in the sea," read an editorial published in the New York Times.<br /> <br /> "They ended in a nightmare of mud and stagnation . . . What kind of culture is it that can produce so colossal a mess?"<br /> <br /> <b>'Music and peace'</b><br /> <br /> But Annie Birch, who caravaned in with a group of friends at age 20, remembers the festival as "so peaceful, given all that mass of humanity".<br /> <br /> "That crazy rain, we had an amazing fire that never went out," she said. "All those bands became iconic. It was just like wow, let's get together in a big way. It was legendary."<br /> <br /> In the festival's aftermath, Yasgur, the landowner, told a television crew he "became quite apprehensive" when faced with the "sea of people".<br /> <br /> But "these young people made me feel guilty today because there were no problems – they proved to me, and they proved to the whole world, that they didn't come up for any problems", he said.<br /> <br /> "They came up for exactly what they said they were coming up for – for three days of music and peace."<br /> <br /> Birch, now 70, said Woodstock was a defining moment both for her personally and for her entire generation.<br /> <br /> "It was amazing," she said. "I was happy to be a part of that experience."<br /> <br /> But she views it as a one-of-a-kind event – not something that can be recreated.<br /> <br /> "I'm eternally hopeful for the state of humankind that something equally amazing could happen," she said. "I much prefer the love and peace more than the war and hate."

Woodstock, America's pinnacle of the hippie dream, turns 50

A freewheeling weekend of indulgence. A New York farm transformed by idealistic youths into a mid-size city. A celebration of rock music ...

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K-pop superstars BTS to take 'long-term break'

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALrkEhQJkbo/XVV7-s9TMjI/AAAAAAAAAOU/TTp0WzefaWERMBgDYNMG8ggxDDb20W6ZwCLcBGAs/s1600/fans-react-as-they-arrive-for-a-concert-of-the-south-korean-k-pop-boy-band-bts-at-the-stade-de-france-stadium-in-saint-denis-on-the-outskirts-of-paris-on-june-7.-afp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALrkEhQJkbo/XVV7-s9TMjI/AAAAAAAAAOU/TTp0WzefaWERMBgDYNMG8ggxDDb20W6ZwCLcBGAs/s640/fans-react-as-they-arrive-for-a-concert-of-the-south-korean-k-pop-boy-band-bts-at-the-stade-de-france-stadium-in-saint-denis-on-the-outskirts-of-paris-on-june-7.-afp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> K-POP superstars BTS will take a 'long-term break' from the music scene, their agency said on Monday, after the boy band topped charts in the US and Britain earlier this year.<br /> <br /> But the pause may only last a few weeks, with the septet due to play a controversial show in Saudi Arabia in October.<br /> <br /> The K-pop industry is known for cutthroat competition and around-the-clock work hours that include concerts, press events and gruelling singing and dancing training when the stars are offstage.<br /> <br /> BTS will take their "first official long-term break since their debut" six years ago, managers Big Hit Entertainment said, adding it will be a time to "recharge and refresh as musicians and creators".<br /> <br /> It would also be a time for them to "enjoy their daily lives as normal 20-something young men", the agency said in a midnight statement.<br /> <br /> "If you run into BTS at an unexpected place, we ask for the fans' consideration to allow the members to enjoy their private time."<br /> <br /> BTS – or Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates as Bulletproof Boy Scouts – have gained a massive global following in recent years, becoming the first K-pop group to top charts in the US and Britain with a string of sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Paris and London's Wembley Stadium.<br /> <br /> The floppy-haired musicians, all in their 20s and often sporting earrings and lipstick, appeal to a generation that feels comfortable with the idea of fluid gender identity.<br /> <br /> They maintain close relationships with their fans, flooding social media with selfies, videos and tweets in Korean and English.<br /> <br /> The statement did not say how long the break will be but the band is scheduled to perform in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 11.<br /> <br /> Hundreds of thousands of fans wrote on the BTS Twitter account – which has 21.3 million followers – to wish them a happy vacation.<br /> <br /> "I love you very much and hope you enjoy your break to the fullest," a fan commented.<br /> <br /> Another wrote: "We are going nowhere and will be here to welcome you back with fanfares!"<br /> <br /> The group's popularity has generated huge profits for Big Hit Entertainment, which is even collaborating with Barbie maker Mattel for BTS dolls.<br /> <br /> South Korean performers such as Psy – whose 2012 hit Gangnam Style became the first video to top a billion views on YouTube – have previously broken into Western markets, but none have achieved BTS' sustained success.

K-pop superstars BTS to take 'long-term break'

K-POP superstars BTS will take a 'long-term break' from the music scene, their agency said on Monday, after the boy band topped c...

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Sony Walkman triggering nostalgia on 40th birthday

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6uetkbcW_UI/XVV6iyR_5II/AAAAAAAAAOA/GVZaXj5XoAApWe14PZAp6bUvqKmDShIsQCLcBGAs/s1600/a_woman_walks_past_an_oversized_replica_of_a_wm-f5_sony_walkman_outside_the_venue_for_an_exhibition_in_tokyo_marking_the_40th_anniversary_of_the_portable_music_player._behrouz_mehriafp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6uetkbcW_UI/XVV6iyR_5II/AAAAAAAAAOA/GVZaXj5XoAApWe14PZAp6bUvqKmDShIsQCLcBGAs/s640/a_woman_walks_past_an_oversized_replica_of_a_wm-f5_sony_walkman_outside_the_venue_for_an_exhibition_in_tokyo_marking_the_40th_anniversary_of_the_portable_music_player._behrouz_mehriafp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Must-have 80s gadget and one-time icon of Japan electronics cool, Sony's Walkman turned 40 this year and like its now middle-aged fans, is clinging to its youth with high-tech updates.<br /> <br /> On July 1, 1979, as the global economy suffered through the second oil shock, Sony unleashed on the world a dark-blue brick of a machine with chunky silver buttons, the Walkman TPS-L2.<br /> <br /> Priced at a hefty 33,000 yen –$300 in today's money – the first generation Walkman could not record but its stereo music playback function quickly captured hearts in Japan and then the world.<br /> <br /> It had two headset jacks – labelled "guys" and "dolls" – to allow two people to listen simultaneously. A bright orange "hotline" button could be pressed to lower the volume while the couple chatted.<br /> <br /> After a disappointing first month when only 3,000 units were sold, sales exploded to eventually hit 1.5 million worldwide for the first model. The second model, the WM-2, which came in red, black and silver, chalked up sales of 2.58 million.<br /> <br /> Over the following four decades, Sony sold more than 420 million "Walkmen" and stopped counting the number of models it had produced when it hit the 1,000 mark – about 15 years ago.<br /> <br /> The Japanese electronics giant chose the name partly because of the popularity of Superman at the time and the fact it was based on an existing audio recorder called the "Pressman."<br /> <br /> The word "Walkman" has since entered everyday language but the device was initially called "Soundabout", "Stowaway" or "Freestyle" in some parts of the world.<br /> <br /> "The Walkman is my youth," said Katsuya Kumagai, now 51, as he browsed an exhibition to mark the 40th anniversary of the first edition.<br /> <br /> "It was always in my life," he added, scanning some of the 230 varieties of Walkman on show, which also offers nostalgic visitors the chance to play with some of the older models.<br /> <br /> As an 11 year old, Kumagai could never afford a Walkman and envied older children as they whizzed by on roller skates plugged into the latest sounds.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8H_4DqFoefE/XVV6s0eHMbI/AAAAAAAAAOE/lt7kn_245pU_5iWDqDf8Uq9F6ANOSwxYACLcBGAs/s1600/various_models_of_sony_walkman_audio_players_are_displayed_at_an_exhibition_in_tokyo_marking_the_40th_anniversary_of_the_iconic_device._behrouz_mehriafp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8H_4DqFoefE/XVV6s0eHMbI/AAAAAAAAAOE/lt7kn_245pU_5iWDqDf8Uq9F6ANOSwxYACLcBGAs/s640/various_models_of_sony_walkman_audio_players_are_displayed_at_an_exhibition_in_tokyo_marking_the_40th_anniversary_of_the_iconic_device._behrouz_mehriafp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> "I'm quite emotional. Memories from those days are flooding back," he said, echoing the thoughts of many a middle-aged fan for whom the Walkman provided the soundtrack to their youth.<br /> <br /> <b>'Play and pause'</b><br /> <br /> Sony continued production of the cassette-tape Walkman until 2010, long after the technology had been overtaken first by the Compact Disc in the 1980s and the MiniDisc Walkman in 1992.<br /> <br /> Like many in the industry, the Japanese firm was shaken by the emergence of Apple's iPod when suddenly a listener's entire music collection was available on the move.<br /> <br /> But Sony has scrambled to keep up and the latest high-end versions cost well over $2,000 and look more like a smartphone with flash memory and high-res audio – a far cry from the early generations.<br /> <br /> Scott Fung, a 17-year-old also attending the exhibition, has never known a time when people could not listen to music on the move and said he had "only heard" about the Walkman and was keen to satisfy his curiosity.<br /> <br /> "Ever since I grew up, devices have always had screens and they don't have physical buttons," he said clutching his smartphone and gazing at the early Walkmen on display.<br /> <br /> "When I was born, Sony Walkman was already not as relevant . . . [it] was not really a big part of my life," said the student from Hong Kong who listens to music via his smartphone.<br /> <br /> But perhaps surprisingly, he revealed himself to be a fan of the older tech.<br /> <br /> "I think this older design is really intelligent where you can just play and pause, go back and forth in a song, which is very interesting to me," he said.<br /> <br /> <b>'It's so cool'</b><br /> <br /> Fung is apparently not alone in his penchant for the old-school technology: a first edition Walkman presented as new and never used sold recently for 1.3 million yen, a mere 40 times its initial price.<br /> <br /> Sony engineer Hiroaki Sato, who worked on the early Walkman editions, even said it would be "quite difficult" to replicate the technology now, as it would involve painstakingly reproducing high-precision components.<br /> <br /> He said the current versions would likely not exist in 40 years as the recording formats and rechargeable batteries would undoubtedly have changed beyond recognition.<br /> <br /> But the old Walkman has stood the test of time.<br /> <br /> "Repairing this, I realised this is an excellent machine. If we replace the damaged rubber belt, it works normally. It's so cool," he said.

Sony Walkman triggering nostalgia on 40th birthday

Must-have 80s gadget and one-time icon of Japan electronics cool, Sony's Walkman turned 40 this year and like its now middle-aged fan...

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Fifty years on, Manson murders in Hollywood grip tourists, Tarantino

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DVtEJjmJdPA/XVV54nNfieI/AAAAAAAAAN0/XbE13btuUvoY7JKbKiW1i6vR38WfuoEdACLcBGAs/s1600/dearly_departed_tours_founder_scott_michaels_right_speaks_about_the_manson_family_murders_of_1969_at_his_museum_in_los_angeles._afp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DVtEJjmJdPA/XVV54nNfieI/AAAAAAAAAN0/XbE13btuUvoY7JKbKiW1i6vR38WfuoEdACLcBGAs/s640/dearly_departed_tours_founder_scott_michaels_right_speaks_about_the_manson_family_murders_of_1969_at_his_museum_in_los_angeles._afp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> As a tour guide specialising in notorious Hollywood deaths, Scott Michaels is well aware of America's morbid fascination with the dark side of Tinseltown.<br /> <br /> But on the 50th anniversary of the murders of actress Sharon Tate and four others at the hands of Charles Manson's apocalyptic cult, he has never seen anything like it.<br /> <br /> "It's unprecedented really. I've never seen the attention," he said at his museum in Los Angeles. "I'm running extra tours, two or three extra tours a week. The attention is crazy."<br /> <br /> Michaels drives his customers up to Cielo Drive, the leafy and winding road above exclusive Beverly Hills where director Roman Polanski's wife Tate – eight-and-a-half months pregnant – was stabbed to death in the early hours of August 9, 1969.<br /> <br /> One of those customers last year was director Quentin Tarantino, undertaking research for his new hit movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which takes the killings as its backdrop.<br /> <br /> The deaths terrorised Hollywood and made headlines around the world.<br /> <br /> Manson, portrayed at his trial as a drug-crazed loner with mesmerising powers of persuasion, ordered devotees to carry out killings in wealthy white neighbourhoods in an effort to trigger a race war.<br /> <br /> The film features Margot Robbie as an innocent and carefree Tate, and has intensified interest in a tragedy often described as a seminal moment in US history – the end of the 1960s era of peace and love.<br /> <br /> "Sharon was beautiful . . . She's become this sort of true crime symbol of absolute good, whereas Manson is the opposite," says Michaels, who is credited as a technical consultant on the film.<br /> <br /> <b>Rock stars and monsters</b><br /> <br /> Manson died in a California prison in 2017, but the gruesome details of the murders he ordered live on.<br /> <br /> Tate, just 26, pleaded for the life of her unborn child as she was stabbed to death by Manson's disciples, four of whom broke into her house at night.<br /> <br /> Polanski was away in Europe, but four other guests in their home were also butchered.<br /> <br /> Abigail Folger, a coffee heiress, was peacefully reading her book in bed when the attackers stormed in and killed her.<br /> <br /> While Michaels' "Dearly Departed" museum in Los Angeles serves up a range of macabre mementos and grisly guided tours of deaths ranging from Janis Joplin to the "Black Dahlia", the Manson murders stand apart.<br /> <br /> "It's my favorite case. Favourite sounds awful. But it is, I gotta admit to that," says Michaels, noting that the story "includes rock stars and movie stars and glamour and monsters".<br /> <br /> Peggy Miles, 56, who grew up close to the killings in west Los Angeles and is similarly fascinated, is taking the "Helter Skelter" tour.<br /> <br /> She says that in the eyes of many Americans, the killings transformed the hippie counter-culture from a fringe curiosity or nuisance into something dangerous or even evil.<br /> <br /> "It made it into a really scary thing when you saw the hippies – it was like 'Oh my God, I don't want to go near them'," she says.<br /> <br /> Many of her neighbours installed gates or bought guns, and she was no longer allowed to walk to school alone.<br /> <br /> <b>'Kill for him'</b><br /> <br /> The tour is named after Manson's crazed plan to spark a race war in the US – itself named after the Beatles song.<br /> <br /> Also on the bus is 28-year-old Lauren Kershner, who became obsessed with Manson's cult as a young teenager and has read prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's bestselling book on the case five times.<br /> <br /> "I'm pretty much in town for the 50th anniversary," she said.<br /> <br /> "Manson had such complete mind control over people that he could get them to kill for him. That's just really fascinating to me," she added.<br /> <br /> Michaels says such fascination with the details is common, extending even to Tarantino who contacted him ahead of shooting Once Upon a Time for assistance with research and location scouting.<br /> <br /> The director asked Michaels endless questions ranging from the Cielo Drive house's previous occupants to which book Folger was reading when she died.<br /> <br /> "I mean, this is something I've never tired of reading about, never tired of discussing. I'm not celebrating it. But this is what I do," Michaels says.

Fifty years on, Manson murders in Hollywood grip tourists, Tarantino

As a tour guide specialising in notorious Hollywood deaths, Scott Michaels is well aware of America's morbid fascination with the dar...

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In a London backstreet workshop, artisans craft 'world's finest' globes

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T_IDJK-QnYk/XVV5SN6B1NI/AAAAAAAAANs/3UkPQvnEt08JXgKKEdhtsNa_wjCBCA36wCLcBGAs/s1600/peter_bellerby_at_the_bellerby_and_co_globemakers_workshop_and_headquarters_in_stoke_newington_in_north_london._afp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T_IDJK-QnYk/XVV5SN6B1NI/AAAAAAAAANs/3UkPQvnEt08JXgKKEdhtsNa_wjCBCA36wCLcBGAs/s640/peter_bellerby_at_the_bellerby_and_co_globemakers_workshop_and_headquarters_in_stoke_newington_in_north_london._afp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> In 2008, Peter Bellerby set out to buy his father a high quality handmade globe as an 80th birthday present.<br /> <br /> When he could not find one, the Briton decided to make it himself – and, in the process, catapulted himself into a new profession.<br /> <br /> Just over a decade later, his company Bellerby and Co claims to be the finest globemaker in the world, selling tailor-made products to an array of international buyers.<br /> <br /> They include heads of state and big companies as well as everyday people wanting to mark a special occasion.<br /> <br /> "There's no one really making bespoke globes like this, with the involvement we have with customers," Bellerby said, during a tour of his 370 square metre manufacturing studio on a quiet London backstreet.<br /> <br /> It was littered with half-finished globes as his team of two dozen illustrators, painters, cartographers, constructors, engravers and woodworkers toiled beneath strips of paper drying on washing lines overhead.<br /> <br /> "It's not a career you ever think about," the 54-year-old said.<br /> <br /> "I'm really proud of where we've got to."<br /> <br /> The scale of the operation contrasts with its humble beginnings when Bellerby, an ex-property developer among other former professions, began making just a handful of globes each year in a small shop around the corner.<br /> <br /> Now the business turns out around 600 globes annually – some destined to sit in grand mansions and aboard yachts.<br /> <br /> They range in size and price, with the smallest starting at £1,200 ($1,500) and the biggest costing around £79,000.<br /> <br /> Bellerby spent much of the first year or two of the venture perfecting how to make his globes, largely by trial and error, before passing on the know-how.<br /> <br /> <b>Instagram progress reports</b><br /> <br /> Trainees will toil for around a year learning the craft before being trusted to work on finishing products.<br /> <br /> The creative process starts by sourcing composite or resin spheres, which form the basis of the globes, from another company – the only stage not done in-house.<br /> <br /> Illustrators and cartographers work with clients – over months, sometimes years – to decide what will appear on its surface, with requests for everything from animals to ocean liners on the maps.<br /> <br /> Wide-format printers, using ink guaranteed for 80 to 200 years, are used to relay the basic geographical outlines chosen onto special paper, whose properties allow it to be dunked in water and then stretched.<br /> <br /> Once printed, the paper is cut into precise shapes called gores, then painted by hand using watercolours.<br /> <br /> After the paper is delicately applied to the globe, it undergoes further rounds of watercolour painting before it is finally sealed with either a gloss or a matte finish.<br /> <br /> "The really difficult process to work out is how to stretch a piece of paper, that just wants to rip and tear, over a sphere," Bellerby said.<br /> <br /> The completed globe is next paired with a base, traditionally a wooden axis on a table but now increasingly an alternative to this with roller bearings, which allow the whole globe to rotate and be more accessible.<br /> <br /> The entire process – which can take from just weeks to as long as 18 months, depending on the size – is documented on the firm's Instagram account so customers can see their orders progress.<br /> <br /> Machines are avoided as much as possible.<br /> <br /> <b>'Churchill globes'</b><br /> <br /> Bellerby's biggest offerings – 125cm in diameter – were inspired by 48-inch globes made by the US Army during World War II for president Franklin Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill.<br /> <br /> Bellerby has vowed to make just 40 of these "Churchill globes", and has already completed 17, turning out a couple a year.<br /> <br /> "It's probably the largest printed globe ever made," he said, noting that they differ from so-called manuscript globes – which have blank paper attached to them ready to be painted – and another variant which sees oil paints applied directly onto the sphere.<br /> <br /> Bellerby has learned that mapping can present a minefield of political grievances and sensitivities, and worse.<br /> <br /> Indian customs officials temporarily impounded one globe over how their country's border with Pakistan was depicted, while several customers have asked for Israel not to be included on their map – which Bellerby said he politely declined to do.<br /> <br /> He also must keep abreast of countries changing their names, such as Swaziland becoming eSwatini last year.<br /> <br /> "The problem with cartography is each country has its own idea of the world," Bellerby said.

In a London backstreet workshop, artisans craft 'world's finest' globes

In 2008, Peter Bellerby set out to buy his father a high quality handmade globe as an 80th birthday present. When he could not find one...

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Learning to cook traditional food and dine with the locals

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--gcXoLSAI2E/XVV4TDHSTmI/AAAAAAAAANY/98zPfg7h91MHmBJm8PSmV1eZivLo8mcOACLcBGAs/s1600/dine_with_the_locals_has_been_operating_for_seven_months_and_claims_to_be_on_a_cultural_mission_to_lift_authentic_experiences_of_local_food_to_new_heights._supplied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--gcXoLSAI2E/XVV4TDHSTmI/AAAAAAAAANY/98zPfg7h91MHmBJm8PSmV1eZivLo8mcOACLcBGAs/s640/dine_with_the_locals_has_been_operating_for_seven_months_and_claims_to_be_on_a_cultural_mission_to_lift_authentic_experiences_of_local_food_to_new_heights._supplied.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> There is no official consensus on whether amok trey or samlor kakor holds the title of Cambodia's national dish. But the most important thing is the memorable experience when these Khmer foods are prepared in a family kitchen in a loving and caring way.<br /> <br /> For this reason, Dine with the Locals encourages guests to get actively involved in the kitchen and learn how Cambodian food is made with a local host family.<br /> <br /> Founded by two Cambodian women – Pen Vuthyda and Leap Phy – and German national Thomas Wanhoff, the private company has been operating for seven months and claims to be on a "cultural mission to lift authentic experiences of local food to new heights".<br /> <br /> Each guest pays $20 for the service that connects guests, through an Airbnb-style platform, with a host family in one of four locations.<br /> <br /> "Unlike in a restaurant, guests enjoy the complete experience with a Khmer family, not just the food. This makes it so special and creates unforgettable memories," Vuthyda says.<br /> <br /> "So far 13 hosts have signed up in Siem Reap, Battambang, Phnom Penh and Banteay Meanchey. We are looking for hosts in every province," says Vuthyda who is in charge of host relations.<br /> <br /> Nay Sim from Phnom Penh says: "We're a family in the silk business. We produce traditional Khmer silk, but we also want to do something beyond that. Dine with the Locals gives us the opportunity to explore new markets and promote Cambodian culture.<br /> <br /> "It's a lot of fun to cook together with foreigners. And the visitors can look around the silk farm and experience the silk weaving process with our family."<br /> <br /> Two hosts in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces own organic farms.<br /> <br /> "I'm happy to show travellers how we farm organically. It's my pleasure to show them the communities we live in and it's nice to cook our own vegetables together and let them learn about Cambodian cuisine," says Yem Panha from Battambang.<br /> <br /> Co-founder Vuthyda says: "Every host offers three dishes. Guests cannot choose. But we try to offer many different foods, not just amok and beef lok lak."<br /> <br /> There is a local saying, "restaurant food cannot beat home cooked meals".<br /> <br /> Vuthyda says guests, especially foreign visitors, enjoy Khmer soups, such as coconut milk soup with young bamboo shoots, and homemade fried dishes.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Gm3tw5opyI/XVV4cQePEDI/AAAAAAAAANc/hdROHd2tGcIxJTkLjhi7_MwWTjraMm8ZwCLcBGAs/s1600/the-firm-encourages-guests-to-get-involved-in-the-kitchen-and-learn-how-cambodian-food-is-made-with-a-local-host-family.-supplied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Gm3tw5opyI/XVV4cQePEDI/AAAAAAAAANc/hdROHd2tGcIxJTkLjhi7_MwWTjraMm8ZwCLcBGAs/s640/the-firm-encourages-guests-to-get-involved-in-the-kitchen-and-learn-how-cambodian-food-is-made-with-a-local-host-family.-supplied.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> "Fried chicken with lemongrass is a typical food in Cambodia and is literally finger-licking yummy. It's so popular that already two of our hosts include it on the menu.<br /> <br /> "They really like the different samlors our hosts offer, like the snogr banlae [vegetable soup] with homemade fish balls at Van Narith's home," Vuthyda says.<br /> <br /> Narith, a normal housewife from Siem Reap, is glad she can utilise her kitchen skills for some extra income.<br /> <br /> "As a mother, I stay home all day and take care of my daughter and the house. Like many other married women, I cannot go out to work.<br /> <br /> "I found Dine with the Locals and joined the service. It gives me a chance to show foreigners my cooking skills. I'm proud to be able to do that and get some extra income for the family. They are really nice people and I enjoy talking with them," Narith says.<br /> <br /> To become a host like Narith, Dine with the Locals only needs brief information before staff go to check the location.<br /> <br /> "We just need a bit of information about the family, where they live and what they do, some pictures and the menu," says co-founder Leap Phy, adding that "the only requirement is that someone in the family can speak basic English".<br /> <br /> "Families can apply, and then we evaluate them by visiting the location, asking what their skills are and tasting the food. Then we take pictures and promote the host families on our website.<br /> <br /> "As a woman myself, I understand well that other Cambodian women in rural communities have no job opportunities besides being housewives.<br /> <br /> "They stay home and look after their children after getting married. For this reason, I thought of this project as a way to help them earn extra income and spread their food culture to the rest of the world," Phy says.<br /> <br /> Simone Waid recently had the pleasure of cooking in a Khmer kitchen, helping to prepare the food and enjoying new tastes with a host family in the capital.<br /> <br /> "It was a pleasant evening with delicious food and an interesting insight in a modern-traditional way of life in Phnom Penh," he said.<br /> <br /> Co-founder Thomas Wanhoff is delighted that so far he has received positive feedback, despite his preference to choose families who are not familiar with hospitality and tourism.<br /> <br /> "We want to bring tourists to families who are not usually connected to tourism. This way we can promote Khmer culture and connect people, and provide guests with an authentic homemade meal.<br /> <br /> "We have brought 40 groups from different countries such as Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the US, Hong Kong and India," he said.<br /> <br /> Dine with the Locals will soon expand throughout all the Kingdom's provinces before taking the service to other parts of Southeast Asia.<br /> <br /> "We are in talks with partners in Indonesia and Vietnam who are interested in the concept and the platform," says Wanhoff.<br /> <br /> "The plan for 2019 is to grow and become the top platform for local food experiences in Cambodia."<br /> <br /> For more information, visit dinewiththelocals.com or contact Pen Vuthyda on 070 238 020.

Learning to cook traditional food and dine with the locals

There is no official consensus on whether amok trey or samlor kakor holds the title of Cambodia's national dish. But the most importa...

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Fresh crab, without all the work, in Tuol Kork

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2fBXJL42wcQ/W-p5jSaPsKI/AAAAAAAAAFE/-guNQ8wVrJUxZhkRKuprFD616moM4yAAACLcBGAs/s1600/kim-sotheary-manages-cha-kdam-kampot-or-kampot-crab-fried-rice-a-new-food-cart-in-the-capital-with-a-very-limited-menu.-hong-menea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2fBXJL42wcQ/W-p5jSaPsKI/AAAAAAAAAFE/-guNQ8wVrJUxZhkRKuprFD616moM4yAAACLcBGAs/s640/kim-sotheary-manages-cha-kdam-kampot-or-kampot-crab-fried-rice-a-new-food-cart-in-the-capital-with-a-very-limited-menu.-hong-menea.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Along a row of food carts inside the sparkling compound of CUPS Coffee on Street 337 in Tuol Kork, an extension of a Kampot favourite has recently set up shop in the capital.<br /> <br /> Bai Cha Kdam Kampot, or "Kampot Crab Fried Rice", is run by Kim Sotheary, 23, whose uncle founded a popular eating house in Kampot in 2010. Her restaurant has different ownership, and chefs, but the family recipes have migrated from the coast. Here it is all fried rice and crab, all the time, but the fresh seafood and house-made Koh Kong sauce make it worth seeking out.<br /> <br /> When Lak Sichay opened his shop in Kampot more than seven years ago, the dish was hard to find, but since then it has become popular among Phnom Penh diners. That popularity inspired Sotheary to open a food cart two months ago in the capital so that customers can eat it without having to make the trip to Kampot.<br /> <br /> The dish is served along with a plate of chopped fresh cucumber, a small bowl of pork bone soup, some carrot, radish and a sprinkle of fried garlic and spring onions. But it's the Koh Kong sauce – with the perfect balance between sweet, savoury and spicy – alongside the fresh crab that is the essence of the dish's flavour.<br /> <br /> "The key to our fried rice is simplicity. We focus on the flavour of the sauce, which is always complimented by our customers," Sotheary said. "The ingredients are not different from others. It consists of lime juice, sugar, salt, chili, garlic and fish sauce. However, what makes it different is the right measurement of those ingredients."<br /> <br /> The crab fried rice in Phnom Penh costs 12,000 riel, or $3, a slight increase on the $2.50 in Kampot, to account for the transportation cost.<br /> <br /> "We do not use the crab in Phnom Penh because most of them are from the crab farm, while in Kampot we can get the ones freshly caught from the sea," Sotheary said.<br /> <br /> The demand here at this spacious and airy food court is evident, especially for takeout orders, and Sotheary already has her eye on a brick-and-mortar shop so she can expand operations. "In the near future I want to open a new branch in Phnom Penh with a bigger space because I want to include more foods into the menu," she said.<br /> <br /> Bai Cha Kdam Kampot Phnom Penh is located inside CUPS Coffee on Street 337 in Tuol Kork. It is open every day from 8am-8pm. 015/092 26 82 82.<br /> <br /> Its Kampot branch is located at the Cambodia-Korea Friendship roundabout. It is open every day from 6am-10am. 085 68 78 68/ 098 37 26 26.

Fresh crab, without all the work, in Tuol Kork

Along a row of food carts inside the sparkling compound of CUPS Coffee on Street 337 in Tuol Kork, an extension of a Kampot favourite has...

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Classical opera comes to Cambodia for the first time as local and international cast take on Mozart's 'The Magic Flute'

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yqqUG8SK-AY/W-p4WH9IbTI/AAAAAAAAAE4/zsKxt7Q7qvog5vu6tSFZzjF-o92aQGQTwCEwYBhgL/s1600/aaron-carpene-leads-the-saigon-philharmonic-orchestra-during-a-rehearsal-of-the-magic-flute-on-wednesday.-pha-lina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yqqUG8SK-AY/W-p4WH9IbTI/AAAAAAAAAE4/zsKxt7Q7qvog5vu6tSFZzjF-o92aQGQTwCEwYBhgL/s640/aaron-carpene-leads-the-saigon-philharmonic-orchestra-during-a-rehearsal-of-the-magic-flute-on-wednesday.-pha-lina.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> In an auditorium off Mao Tse Toung Boulevard, dozens have gathered from countries all over the region. Some have been working together for years, others for mere days. On the corner of the stage are nine musicians with traditional Cambodian instruments, like the roneat and trom, and in front of them is an orchestra – from the Ho Chi Minh Conservatory of Music – with four adopted Cambodian players among their ranks.<br /> <br /> When Pariyachart Sitthidamrongkarn emerges on the stage, all in black, she is circled by a group of dancers performing movements more closely aligned with traditional Khmer dance than to anything Mozart would have known. Pariyachart is Queen of the Night, one of the most iconic roles not only in what the cast is rehearsing – Mozart's The Magic Flute – but in all of opera. The Thai singer is just 18, and this is her first performance outside of school. Her casting is improbable, but so is just about every aspect of the production, which will be performed in an abridged form this Saturday.<br /> <br /> When the curtains open at Chaktomuk Theater, it will be the first time a classical opera has ever been performed on Cambodian soil. For Robert Turnbull, it will be one step towards the realisation of a dream he's had for decades.<br /> <br /> A classically trained pianist, Turnbull originally thought of the idea to perform a local production of The Magic Flute after arriving in Cambodia in the late 1990s. At that time, the country was still struggling to revive its own artistic traditions, and organisations like Cambodian Living Arts and Amrita Performing Arts were just emerging.<br /> <br /> "Everything was very conservative because Cambodians were only focusing on bringing back traditional arts and now it's completely different – you have contemporary art, contemporary ballet, pop music," he said.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LEBmxYMI0Pg/W-p4WO6T0rI/AAAAAAAAAE8/D8Fwx9zW_dAih-PHcNfCA1rWOfb2uj4BACEwYBhgL/s1600/members-of-the-saigon-philharmonic-orchestra-rehearse-the-magic-flute-at-the-department-of-fine-arts-in-phnom-penh-on-wednesday.-pha-lina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LEBmxYMI0Pg/W-p4WO6T0rI/AAAAAAAAAE8/D8Fwx9zW_dAih-PHcNfCA1rWOfb2uj4BACEwYBhgL/s640/members-of-the-saigon-philharmonic-orchestra-rehearse-the-magic-flute-at-the-department-of-fine-arts-in-phnom-penh-on-wednesday.-pha-lina.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Turnbull noticed that there were a handful of classically trained musicians who had studied in Russia and returned to Cambodia, but they had few opportunities to perform. Unlike in Vietnam – where the French and close ties to Russia left an appreciation and infrastructure for opera and the symphony – classical music has been virtually nonexistent in Cambodia. Even in the 1950s and 1960s, both under the French and then under the patronage of King Norodom Sihanouk, there was little support for it, as other local art forms thrived.<br /> <br /> But in The Magic Flute he saw an opportunity, in part because of its similarities to the Ramayana – both "rescue tales" with universal themes of romance, heroism and family pressures. Even the characters in the two stories are similar, Turnbull finds, with the Ramayana's Rama and Sita like Pamina and Tamino, and Hanuman reminding him of Papageno, Mozart's bird-catcher.<br /> <br /> "The Magic Flute, if you look on YouTube, is the most adaptable opera. You can do it in any way, you can make it fit any context," he said. "Because it's the universal truths it covers – the quest for love and truth."<br /> <br /> Even with the idea germinating, little progress was made until Turnbull met Stefano Vizioli and Aaron Carpene, who had worked on a cross-cultural production of Dido and Aeneas in Bhutan. They were passionate about adapting European classics to a local context, and they began brainstorming.<br /> <br /> "So we thought we'd try to create a really Cambodian spectacle to include all these different elements from Cambodia," Turnbull said.<br /> <br /> Piecing together that spectacle has proved a monumental task. Whereas in Thailand and Vietnam there are either conservatories or full-fledged music schools for classical music, in Cambodia such an infrastructure does not exist.<br /> <br /> In the search for a cast, Turnbull's team has been unable to find any local singers – with one candidate in Siem Reap having to drop out because of a lack of time – so they have looked throughout the region.<br /> <br /> Pamina is played by Cho Hae-ryong, a South Korean who performs in Ho Chi Minh City, while Tamino (Kingston Kung) and Papageno (Rios Li) are both played by Taiwanese performers. Though there are only four Cambodian musicians in the orchestra – otherwise made up of the Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra – it's a big opportunity for local classical musicians, and one Turnbull hopes will multiply in the future.<br /> <br /> Pariyachart Sitthidamrongkarn performs an aria as Queen of the Night alongside dancers from Amrita Performing Arts during a rehearsal on Wednesday.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YjqA--ZPSYw/W-p4WLMpTYI/AAAAAAAAAE8/xRFhHcMFzasLQzO00pmMlSC0Y1GZKXs9wCEwYBhgL/s1600/pariyachart-sitthidamrongkarn-performs-an-aria-as-queen-of-the-night-alongside-dancers-from-amrita-performing-arts-during-a-rehearsal-on-wednesday.-pha-lina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YjqA--ZPSYw/W-p4WLMpTYI/AAAAAAAAAE8/xRFhHcMFzasLQzO00pmMlSC0Y1GZKXs9wCEwYBhgL/s640/pariyachart-sitthidamrongkarn-performs-an-aria-as-queen-of-the-night-alongside-dancers-from-amrita-performing-arts-during-a-rehearsal-on-wednesday.-pha-lina.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Him Savy, an experienced flutist playing in the orchestra, said this is the second time she will have performed with the Ho Chi Minh orchestra, and the first time doing an opera. "We work together and we're happy together," she said. "We exchange our cultures and a new experience performing with singers."<br /> <br /> Along with the dancing by local performers from Amrita Performing Arts, the opera incorporates daring Cambodian touches, especially in its music, which is under the direction of Carpene. The opening, he says, puts local instruments in conversation with the orchestra, immediately announcing the production's intentions. And rather than using Mozart's music for the glockenspiel, Papageno's instrument of choice, he will be using Cambodian instruments.<br /> <br /> "What's happening globally with internet culture is that everything is becoming more uniform," Carpene explained. "This type of project is to exalt cultural particularities and not make them marginal."<br /> <br /> After Saturday's performance, and another year of preparation and fundraising, the goal is to stage the full opera in a setting that amplifies those cultural particularities – a temple within the Angkor Archaeological Park. Turnbull says they already have tentative permission from the Apsara Authority, and hopes the first full production of an opera in Cambodia will take place in 2019 in the Kingdom's cultural heartland.<br /> <br /> "Ultimately it's going to be fantastic. I think once we get that level of professionalism, the setting, the acoustics, the lighting, it's going to be magical," he said. "It's just, in Cambodia, it takes a long time to get things done."<br /> <br /> A Cambodian Magic Flute will be showing on Saturday, March 10, at 7:30pm at Chaktomuk Theater. Tickets range from $10-$100 and are for sale online. For a link, check the "Mozart at Angkor" Facebook page.

Classical opera comes to Cambodia for the first time as local and international cast take on Mozart's 'The Magic Flute'

In an auditorium off Mao Tse Toung Boulevard, dozens have gathered from countries all over the region. Some have been working together fo...

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Bringing a lithograph studio to life

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TEm5w_uE4zs/W-pwinQhQ9I/AAAAAAAAAEg/38z10_K-0NsbCN1wswDB0lwjRgVM7kCnQCLcBGAs/s1600/rathna-a-piece-from-mexican-artist-fernando-aceves-humanas-new-exhibition-travel-diary-opening-tonight-at-meta-house.-alessandro-marazzi-sassoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TEm5w_uE4zs/W-pwinQhQ9I/AAAAAAAAAEg/38z10_K-0NsbCN1wswDB0lwjRgVM7kCnQCLcBGAs/s640/rathna-a-piece-from-mexican-artist-fernando-aceves-humanas-new-exhibition-travel-diary-opening-tonight-at-meta-house.-alessandro-marazzi-sassoon.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> When Fernando Aceves Humana, 48, first left Mexico a decade ago to come to live and work in Southeast Asia, the move was to overcome his shyness about his art, and to be able to set up and paint anywhere, at any moment, without reservation. Tonight, a collection of his works will be on display at Meta House, his first exhibition in Cambodia.<br /> <br /> "It's a special moment when you travel and you don't know the language and you depend on the gentleness of the local people," he told The Post yesterday afternoon at the lithography studio within Phnom Penh's Royal University of Fine Arts.<br /> <br /> He set up the studio in 2011 with the help of fellow artists back home in Oaxaca, in collaboration with the university. In part thanks to them, lithography work now counts towards completing a Fine Arts degree and is vying to be a full-fledged part of the curriculum.<br /> <br /> Lithography, literally "stone-drawing", is a printing process that uses varying techniques with stone or metal plates that have been etched in such a way to guide ink to desired areas.<br /> <br /> Humana fell in love with the art-form in Italy over the course of his two years living there. His first stop in Southeast Asia was Laos, where for three months he taught at an art school in Vientiane. But soon Cambodia's lifestyle and culture drew him in.<br /> <br /> "I came to teach etching, and a friend showed me Meta House when I visited Cambodia, and I fell in love with the country," he said.<br /> <br /> A few years later, Humana was in talks with the university to bring the first – at least since the Khmer Rouge – lithography press to Cambodia.<br /> <br /> His motivations were based in Mexico's art history, where lithography became a highly popular medium for artists following a devastating civil war. In bringing printing to Cambodia, Humana saw a parallel, and a chance to provide a medium for the expression of a new national identity.<br /> <br /> "Printmaking helped Mexico after the revolution, the civil war, that killed 2 million people," he said.

Bringing a lithograph studio to life

When Fernando Aceves Humana, 48, first left Mexico a decade ago to come to live and work in Southeast Asia, the move was to overcome his ...

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Baking with love is key to success at Sancha

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZarMGcin7W4/W-pv4-5hfJI/AAAAAAAAAEU/1Gkjoa1FoMwudepqdk_JbwZ9F9rI72RvwCLcBGAs/s1600/sancha-bakery-owner-marika-okuda-at-her-new-shop-in-russian-market-on-street-454.-sreng-meng-srun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZarMGcin7W4/W-pv4-5hfJI/AAAAAAAAAEU/1Gkjoa1FoMwudepqdk_JbwZ9F9rI72RvwCLcBGAs/s640/sancha-bakery-owner-marika-okuda-at-her-new-shop-in-russian-market-on-street-454.-sreng-meng-srun.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Around 7 in the morning, at the newly opened second branch of Bagel & Bakery Sancha in Russian Market, owner Mariko Okuda is behind the counter in a chef's hat and apron alongside two of her local staff members. She greets customers enthusiastically in Khmer, English or Japanese as they walk in the door.<br /> <br /> Okuda has travelled to 33 countries around the world, tasting their bread along the way, but found that none could compete with that from her home country of Japan. When she arrived in Cambodia in 2013, it didn't take long to notice an opportunity in the market for a pastry business.<br /> <br /> "In most Asian countries, breads are not sophisticated or well taken care of," the 35-year-old Okuda said. "I tasted bread all over Phnom Penh, and to be honest, bread in Cambodia is not delicious . . . or not yet."<br /> <br /> After being in the retail bread business for two years, Okuda opened Sancha on Street 294, near Phsar Kabko – a hole-in-the-wall shop stuffed with bagels, croissants, bread loaves and other goodies. The bakery is named after an old Tokyo neighbourhood, where she first worked in a bakery. Okuda admits she didn't know much about Cambodians' food preferences, but she was confident she could win them over. "My bread is so good, and anyone who eats it will like it," she said.<br /> <br /> Over the course of the last year, word of mouth has spread, and Sancha has become a popular breakfast and tea-time snack destination for both Cambodians and expats. From its opening hours in the early morning to the end of its day a few hours before dusk, there is a steady stream of customers who leave with their favourite breads in biodegradable paper bags.<br /> <br /> At the end of last month, Okuda opened the bakery's second branch to cater to an increasing customer base and to provide more opportunities to her employees.<br /> <br /> "I met a lot of great staff, and I taught them," she said. "As time goes by, they become so good, and I need new positions for them, as well as the opportunities for them to play the roles of the leaders."<br /> <br /> Sancha serves a wide range of Japanese and Western bread and pastries. The former include kare pan ($1.25), a hot breadcrumb-coated dough filled with savoury Japanese curry – somewhere between a gravy and a paste – and dorayaki ($1.10), a red-bean pancake known for being the favourite snack of the anime and manga character Doraemon. The Western selection includes delicious, fluffy croissants ($1.15) and a variety of bagels ($1.25).<br /> <br /> But most popular is the pain de mie ($1), the sliced, almost pillow-soft white bread also used for their sandwiches.<br /> <br /> In addition to high-quality ingredients, like flours and yeast imported from bread-obsessed countries like France and Denmark, Okuda says the secret behind her success is her "love" for bread.<br /> <br /> "Bread is alive . . . [It] grows up and needs careful attention," she said. "I always try to make everything perfect: the size, the colour, temperature and necessary ingredients, and in order to do that, you need real passion."<br /> <br /> The first branch of Bagel & Bakery Sancha is located at #24 Street 294, and the second branch at #54 Street 454. The former is open every day from 7am to 4:30pm from Monday to Friday and until 2pm on the weekend, while the second branch is open every day from 7am until 2pm.

Baking with love is key to success at Sancha

Around 7 in the morning, at the newly opened second branch of Bagel & Bakery Sancha in Russian Market, owner Mariko Okuda is behind t...

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Exhibition to showcase life in Cambodia's markets

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DEyrAeMUClo/W-pvdUXq3uI/AAAAAAAAAEM/Xy9v1aNAJhcHQH2s6gZAL2ZmkR31U6x1QCLcBGAs/s1600/takakazu-yamada-and-chhan-dina-pose-with-paintings-of-market-life-to-be-on-display-beginning-this-evening-at-the-plantation-and-running-until-march-19.-hong-menea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DEyrAeMUClo/W-pvdUXq3uI/AAAAAAAAAEM/Xy9v1aNAJhcHQH2s6gZAL2ZmkR31U6x1QCLcBGAs/s640/takakazu-yamada-and-chhan-dina-pose-with-paintings-of-market-life-to-be-on-display-beginning-this-evening-at-the-plantation-and-running-until-march-19.-hong-menea.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Japanese painter Takakazu Yamada and local artist Chhan Dina unveil their new exhibition tonight – a series of paintings around the theme of Cambodian markets.<br /> <br /> Market-Disoriented, which was scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of 65 years of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and Japan, is a colourful portrait of life inside the country's markets, from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap to Mondulkiri.<br /> <br /> Yamada is the founder of his eponymous school of art based in Phnom Penh and a guest lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh and Royal University of Fine Arts.<br /> <br /> Dina is a local artist whose vibrant work, which often depicts the natural world, has been exhibited in France, Singapore and elsewhere. For Dina, the exhibition is a chance to highlight the everyday hub of activity central to so much of daily life in Cambodia.<br /> <br /> "Activity in Cambodia, especially in the market, is very interesting. You see many things, all together," she said.<br /> <br /> One of her pieces, primarily in blues and greens, shows a woman's face surrounded by fish, fruits and vegetables.<br /> <br /> Yamada, meanwhile, was inspired by the friendliness within the markets he visited, which he found to be a marked difference from the demeanour of people in his native Japan, whom he said seem tired and rarely smile.<br /> <br /> One of Yamada's paintings depicts a young girl in a Siem Reap market with the wares at her stall – an assortment of marionettes, or ah yorng in Khmer – hanging on her left and right.<br /> <br /> Though the subject matter by the two artists is similar, their styles are vastly different. Yamada uses a startling precision and sharp outlines in his work, while Dina's work features swirling layers.<br /> <br /> "We are very different artists," Yamada said, adding that he was attracted to Dina's work, which he described as strong and bright, when he saw an exhibition of hers at the former InterContinental Hotel in Phnom Penh.<br /> <br /> For the two, having their work side by side is a chance to show local artists a range of what is possible on the canvas in a country where modern and abstract art is slowly emerging.<br /> <br /> "I think it's important that people come and learn about abstract painting, and maybe in the future they can recognise more abstract paintings," said Dina.<br /> <br /> Ever the teacher, Yamada has his sights set on a similar demographic to his students: young creatives.<br /> <br /> "The new generation of artists, this really is my target," he said.<br /> <br /> Market-Disoriented opens tonight at The Plantation – Urban Resort & Spa at 6:30pm, and it will continue until March 19.

Exhibition to showcase life in Cambodia's markets

Japanese painter Takakazu Yamada and local artist Chhan Dina unveil their new exhibition tonight – a series of paintings around the theme...

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Former songwriter for the stars reflects on a life well-lived

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QyesDql4bAE/Wm7dr3Z1pSI/AAAAAAAAA4s/wQ3eTgiVrJU7bwvrz9yRo_5Te5Ecp5eJQCLcBGAs/s1600/oum-dara-at-his-home-in-phnom-penh-earlier-this-week.-heng-chivoan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QyesDql4bAE/Wm7dr3Z1pSI/AAAAAAAAA4s/wQ3eTgiVrJU7bwvrz9yRo_5Te5Ecp5eJQCLcBGAs/s640/oum-dara-at-his-home-in-phnom-penh-earlier-this-week.-heng-chivoan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Oum Dara was once the songwriter, composer and violinist behind some of Cambodian music's most legendary singers like Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea. Today, he has little to show for it materially, but happily looks back on his nearly eight decades.<br /><br />Oum Dara lies on a hard wooden bed in his family's hole-in-the-wall apartment in the capital, listening to the tinny notes of Rob Oun Neng Hery ("That's you, My Dear") playing from his cellphone. It's a song he wrote for the iconic singer Sinn Sisamoth in the 1970s.<br /><br />"That's you, my dear, who is my fate . . . Please show mercy, and keep it meaningful, until the last day we breathe," Sisamouth croons.<br /><br />Dara wrote the song for a beautiful woman more than 40 years ago, but that now feels like a past life. The pictures on his wall show the other famous singers he used to work with, including Pen Ron, Ros Sereysothea, and Meas Hok Seng, from when he was a violinist, music composer and lyricist during the Kingdom's Sangkum period, commonly known as the Golden Age.<br /><br />"My life at that time was almost perfect," Dara says. "I could enjoy doing what I was passionate about while earning big money, enough for me to have a big house and a modern Kawasaki, while many people recognised me outside. But, now, they are all gone."<br /><br />Born in 1940 in Koh Sotin district in Kampong Cham province, Dara was the son of a customs official and first learned to play violin at the age of 14 from a forest ranger named Keo Vokrat. His father later hired a French violin tutor to come to his house. After a stint as an elementary school teacher, he took up the violin professionally, just as the popular music scene was beginning to flourish.<br /><br />During the early '60s, Dara moved to the capital to play for National Radio of Cambodia, and became well known when in 1966 he was asked to compose the music for Lolok Nhy Chmol ("A Couple of Doves"), sung by Meas Hok Seng. Within a few years, Dara was not only writing music but the lyrics as well, and his songs are still listened to today across generations.<br /><br />The stories in them, typically of love gone wrong, are from his own experiences, like Os Sangkhem ("Out of Hope"), in which Sinn Sisamouth channels Dara's unrequited love for a female colleague at the National Radio station.<br /><br />Chhob Srolanh Oun Tov ("Please Stop Loving Me"), sung by Ros Sereysothea, describes his sadness when his first wife asked him for a divorce in 1973 because, he says, of his focus on his career and not on her.<br /><br />"My own experience and the story of people I know add colour to the song and music," Dara says.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3Qdo4ifaldA/Wm7drx1u3-I/AAAAAAAAA4w/OrMfBF_nNrMXX5kCC06vFxbVV_Vwk0B8ACEwYBhgL/s1600/a-photo-from-oum-daras-wedding-to-his-second-wife-sam-vanna.-supplied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3Qdo4ifaldA/Wm7drx1u3-I/AAAAAAAAA4w/OrMfBF_nNrMXX5kCC06vFxbVV_Vwk0B8ACEwYBhgL/s320/a-photo-from-oum-daras-wedding-to-his-second-wife-sam-vanna.-supplied.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>When the Khmer Rouge came into power in 1975, Dara was forced out of Phnom Penh to Kandal, and was treated as one of the "new people" – the corrupted urban elite who had strayed from the Khmer Rouge's peasant ideal.<br /><br />He was alone and did not bring anything with him – and certainly not a violin. However, unlike many Cambodian artists who were killed by Khmer Rouge cadres because of their professions, Dara was able to escape the killing, starvation and even hard labour thanks to his musical skill.<br /><br />"A Khmer Rouge cadre recognised me, and asked me to join their troupe as a violinist," he said. "I was ordered to play songs about communism and revolution, especially in front of the diplomats from China. I did not like it at all, but this job helped me survive, and I even had enough to eat since I always got to eat with the cadre."<br /><br />After the fall of the Pol Pot regime, Dara moved from one job to another and spent a short time living at a refugee camp along the Thai border, before resuming his career as a musical instructor and composer for the Ministry of Information.<br /><br />But he never recovered professionally from the destruction of the Khmer Rouge and today he is living in poverty. All that is left of his career is a violin and a cache of unreleased songs. A traffic accident 10 years ago immobilised the legendary violinist and impaired his ability to play the violin.<br /><br />Dara's wife, Sam Vanna, 60, says her husband's humility, and lack of sociability, prevented him from moving up the ranks of society.<br /><br />"Unlike many artists, he is not a boot-licker," Vanna says. "He would not write a song that promotes or praises anyone, or copies other's works. I am angry with him sometimes for that, but I am also proud of him."<br /><br />Oum Tharath, Dara's younger daughter and a successful mixed martial arts fighter, said she is disappointed that she could not carry on her father's legacy.<br /><br />"Despite our hard life, I am proud of having a father who is a famous musician who created masterpieces and originality," Tharoth said. "As a child, I also wanted to learn to play violin, but I am not keen on it, and more into sport."<br /><br />Dara, meanwhile, said he has lived a life of happiness, and if there is another to come he would like to be born a musician again.<br /><br />"I want the next generations of Cambodians to strongly promote music, like how people do in developed countries," Dara said. "It is one of the things that make life enjoyable."

Former songwriter for the stars reflects on a life well-lived

Oum Dara was once the songwriter, composer and violinist behind some of Cambodian music's most legendary singers like Sinn Sisamouth and...

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Eclectic blues festival invites diverse artists

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qY3nPZ9CO2Y/Wm66MuqLm5I/AAAAAAAAA4U/x1344ZgtyY0MX_HSUdV3LQNW47hV2rdkwCLcBGAs/s1600/screen_shot_2018-01-25_at_08.58.07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qY3nPZ9CO2Y/Wm66MuqLm5I/AAAAAAAAA4U/x1344ZgtyY0MX_HSUdV3LQNW47hV2rdkwCLcBGAs/s640/screen_shot_2018-01-25_at_08.58.07.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />Across the street from Wat Botum earlier this week, musicians Julien Poulson, Jean-Luc Jousse and Hollie Lewis were lounging by the pool at the guesthouse Villa Grange, the headquarters for the Phnom Penh portion of the inaugural Folk Art Blues Fest Cambodia. An electric guitar sat next to veteran French rock 'n' roller Jousse, who since the early 1980s has been playing blues, psychedelia and punk-oriented rock 'n' roll for the many incarnations of the group The Kleps. Founded as The Psychedelic Kleps, they have played under the name the Klepstones, Kleps Revisited, the Justesse Social Kleps as a folk duet and The New York Kleps.<br /><br />"And now, the Phnom Penh Kleps", Jousse jokes.<br /><br />Jousse, who has worked as a tour manager, sound engineer and even driver for some legendary rock acts like Guitar Wolf, the Fleshtones and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, is in Phnom Penh for the nascent Folk Art & Blues Fest, which is really more of a travelling revue of psychedelic, garage and folk art acts over the next five days. It was organised by Poulson, one of the founders of Cambodian Space Project, as a musical spinoff of the Kampot Readers and Writers Festival.<br /><br />"The [Kampot Readers and Writers] Festival has always had a very strong musical program, to the point where a crescendo of critics were saying it's too much music in the second year," Poulson said. "We probably need to separate these things a little bit along the way. So this time it's a very small thing and it's not in a fixed place – It's rolling across Cambodia like an oldtimey revue."<br /><br />Those of you imagining acts reminiscent of BB King or Mississippi John Hurt may be disappointed. The "blues and folk" moniker is meant more in spirit, as the roots of each act's brand of rock 'n' roll. "Let's be broad about our definitions, in the way that Louis Armstrong once said ‘All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing a song'," Poulson said.<br /><br />The festivities begin tonight at Villa Grange, where five bands will be playing. Among those are local legends Cambodian Space Project and juggernauts The Kleps.<br /><br />Electro-psychedelic British band Frankie Teardrop Dead, Australian folk band the Justin Frew Trio and enigmatic Saigon-based duo OPNAIRDRGMKT will also hit the stage.<br /><br />On Friday, musicians will be at the guesthouse all day, playing acoustic singer-songwriter sessions led by local troubadour Scoddy Bywater before the revue hits the road southwest to Kampot.<br /><br />There, the lineups change slightly for two nights of shows, and there will also be art workshops in the day, including from Borneo-born woodcut printmaker Rico Leong and with the all-women's Srey School of Rock and its Sou Sou Band. The tour heads up the coast for a gig in Otres near Sihanoukville before a whittled-down version of the revue will then make its way to Siem Reap for a Tuesday gig.<br /><br />On top of getting to play in good company and have some fun, the festival is a chance to build the network of musicians living abroad with connections to Cambodia.<br /><br />"These are people who are likeminded or want to volunteer or bring skills and talent to make something happen," Poulson said. "We've all seen over the last 10 years a very big opportunity in Cambodia for creative industry. And not just a community but real opportunities – making things locally and building international distribution."<br /><br /><i><a href="https://au.eventeri.com/g/folk-art-blues-fest-cambodia-event/16935441" target="_blank">The Folk Art & Blues Fest</a></i> <i>begins tonight at Villa Grange at 7pm. Tickets for Friday are $7 at the door for foreigners and $3 for Cambodians, plus a free drink. Singer-songwriter sessions begin at 2pm and last until 8pm Friday. For a full schedule, including in Kampot, Otres and Siem Reap, visit the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/folkartbluesfest/" target="_blank">Facebook page Folk Art & Blues Fest Cambodia.</a></i>

Eclectic blues festival invites diverse artists

Across the street from Wat Botum earlier this week, musicians Julien Poulson, Jean-Luc Jousse and Hollie Lewis were lounging by the pool at ...

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