Bunly Meas

I had a chance to spend the weekend in Vientiane, Laos last week. It was a peaceful place, away from any stressful moments. The river, people and their culture were perfect combinations to welcome me who was searching for calmness. Oh, and the broken internet connection at my hotel could isolate me at least from my facebook friends! The Mekong River It was romantic to sit by the Mekong River and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. Especially, it was more excited to hold a bottle of Lao beer and taste grilled fish caught from the river. To get closer to the Mekong, I could walk on the temporary islands that newly emerged when the river dried up in this hot season. People & Food I loved the way people behave and interact with visitors. They are friendly and uninterested in anything unrelevant to them. So they do not disturb us much! But sometimes I needed to remind them of what they forget or ask them to be quicker. Food in Vientiane was really good. There were many kinds of them...

This morning I went to a local bakery and bought my favourite bread for breakfast as usual. That is not the story of this post, by the way. But when I returned to the parking lot nearby, an exciting moment just caught my attention. A family of a husband, a wife and a small daughter were standing in front of the shop. They were scanning on some cakes. "Why don't we get in?" asked the husband. His wife did not answer but looked curious. "Do you think this shop is expensive?" she returned a question. "Yes, the cake could cost us as high as $10 or our meals for two days," he guessed with a sad impression. They stood still. But the little daughter cried for getting closer to all those cakes. They could not resist but let their little angel guide them into the shop. Shortly, they came out with a small birthday cake. I did not know to whom the cake was for, but I saw the little girl keeping her eyes on it as her father was carrying. They all smiled and ...

Today, I went to pay road tax for my motorbike. I found out that officers there were friendlier and more helpful. More importantly, they were more transparent! Thanks to the tax department, NGOs, and everyone for this improvement. Especially, a big credit to individual taxer for their commitment. Keep up good work! Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.0

I have heard that a combination of sugar, salt, and fat is perfect ingredient for many dishes. It is true and it makes most food companies become giants. However, excessive consumption of the bunch leads to health concerns. Actions and researches especially in the West have focused on solutions to the problem. In Cambodia, I would add another member to the group, super seasoning. It is simply a chemical substance that could fool our tongues and brains to accept more food than our bodies need. It is popular here and it is widely used at homes and restaurants. Unfortunately, I do not like it and I suspect it might harm my health. Any studies on that? Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

It is the second time this year that I heard about foreign entertainment companies planned to sue Cambodian firms for copying their work. It is applauded, by the way. Every time I listen to the current Cambodian music, I have the feeling of finding out where it is copied from. It is annoying! I could not relax with the music. That's why almost every month local firms are able to release at least an album! The number of album sung by a local singer exceeds even Michael Jackson's. Achieving that is very easy, sit down and copy. Those companies always complaint of pirate CDs copying their work, but they never admit their sin. Wake up, please!  If we put all the blames to the market or the audience, it is very wrong. Audience never like the copied ones although they prefer low cost. They would like great music, the one that they admire and appreciate! And if you tell me Cambodian music is invaded by foreigners' resulted from globalization's effect, it will never convi...

Last week the Vietnamese government banned online games claiming that they kept kids out of schools. The action revealed supports and doubts. In Cambodia, the State did the same thing earlier but later compromised to axe only on games with betting nature. Local online games in Phnom Penh become very popular among school kids. They make internet cafes more crowded especially the back sides. Visiting such a place one day, I encountered kids speaking strange terms, especially those from games. It is hard to say if those games are good or bad for kids. On one hand, they could access to new technologies and knowledge. But on the other hand, they isolate themselves from social participations, more dangerously from schools. So what is the right recipe? My experiece on this issue was with my nephew who finds it hard to refuse online games. " I just love the characters, the adventure, competitions,colours, music, and more," he told me. This everything leads him to sit hours there a...

It has been a while that I was told China is dominating the world's productions. And I agree with that. The media was surprised to report that China exceeded Japan to be the world's second biggest economy. But I do not feel amazed as everything around me has always alerted about that. I am not going to flood this post with statistics about China. Instead, I will tell you my shopping experience. I went to a market near my home for the first time after two years. I was both shocked and excited to see varieties of affordable goods. Most of them are from China! Even products imported from neighbouring countries, which supposed to be cheaper, have been washed away. Now my wife could buy her shirt from 1.5 to US$ 3 instead of 10 she did before. And I could halve my spending but receive more loads. You may think about quality, but I assure you that they will last to the time you need newer ones. While I was bargaining, there were Chinese wholesalers asking store owners to try ne...

Today I went to a Cafe near my home. I joined a table with two men. They were trying to find an address but could not make it. They kept complaining of difficulties navigating through city roads. Suddenly, there were two foreigners biking passby and their eyes were occasionally scanning their colourful maps. The moment left a discussion topic for the two guys. "Why didn't we use a map? we could have found the place easier," asked a man. "Come On, maps are not for us," shouted the other man. "We are the local, we have many other ways," he continued. The conversation went on and finally they concluded that maps would never become their choice. I asked why and they simply replied that "maps are complicated to use". I came home and kept thinking about their words. I took out all my maps to find out why they are complicated. At a first glance, I wondered how a user-friendly map should be made as it is already clear. But later, I notice...

I call my home a construction site as we renovated it last week. My family and I did not agree on where we would stay during the renovation. We ended up with a comprised solution by staying upstairs while the downstairs was being constructed. The work began and more than half of the house space was full of dust, sand, cement, and tools. Even on our reserved floor was too dirty to stay. So at the end of the day, we cleaned and removed all unwanted things before we slept. It took us two to three hours to tidy our bedding area after construction workers left. The main concern was our health. We breathed dust in, we walked on nails, glasses, and tools which injured us several times. This went on for the whole week. Finally, it was over. We sat down and discussed on the experience. Now everyone realizes the difficulty of not moving out. We come to a conclusion of not repeating next time. The experience was a good lesson, though. Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.1

As spring comes, I start looking environment around me as it is getting greener. I begin with bird observation in Regent's Park, London.   

One day in London, snow was coming and I was observing from my window. Birds were playing, people were rushing, cars were gearing up their speeds, and more from my live TV window.