­­Election Monitoring in Kampong Speu

This past Sunday marked Cambodia’s fourth parliamentary elections since the UN came to Cambodia in the early ‘90s. As an interested observer in Cambodian politics since I arrived, I registered to be a local election monitor with COMFREL, the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia. Some 10,000 monitors were fielded for Cambodia’s 15,000 polling stations, with a majority of them coming from COMFREL. Most observers were either Cambodian or foreign observers sponsored by foreign governments.

When I registered to monitor, COMFREL asked me where in Cambodia I wanted to go. I responded by saying that I would be happy to go anywhere outside of Phnom Penh that was “interesting.” They stuck me in Kampong Speu, one of Cambodia’s poorest provinces, about 50km southwest of Phnom Penh, and representing six of Cambodia’s 123 seats at parliament.

I took a minibus down to Kampong Speu on Saturday morning and planned to stay with my friend Matt, who is based in “The Speu” with the World Food Programme. Matt had two other friends coming to the Speu to monitor for the Australian government. This ended up being quite a blessing, as we were able to explore a bit on Saturday in an Australian government Land Cruiser. We went through Chbar Mon District which encompasses Kampong Speu town, to Kong Pisey, driving over back roads by pagodas and through villages. It was a great way to get an introduction to the province we would be traversing as election monitors the next day.

Early on Sunday morning I met my translator, Virak, outside of Matt’s house and we set off. Our first stop was a primary school in Kampong Speu town. We arrived about a half hour before the polls were to open to conduct a number of checks. I walked around the outside of the polling station and immediately observed a police officer and a military police official in uniform, a possible attempt to intimidate voters.

When I entered the polling station, it was set up exactly as in the UN-developed video I was shown at my COMFREL training. There were a number of political party observers and about half a dozen election officials. There were tables for the polling station chief, for checking people in, issuing ballots, polling booths, the ballot box, and dipping voters’ fingers into indelible ink. The empty ballot box was shown to the observers and sealed and a number of other checks were made prior to opening the polling station.

At precisely 7:00am, the polling station opened to the crowd that had already gathered. People filed in an orderly manner, one at a time. They showed their identification card and voter information sheet to an election official before being issued a ballot. They then voted in a polling booth – a table with a three-sided metal screen creating some privacy. After a vote was cast for one of the eleven parties, the voter showed the official seal on the ballot and stuffed it into the ballot box. Next, they reluctantly stuck their fingers in a container of indelible ink, which left their fingers looking purple (and would continue to leave them purple for a week).

Eager to see something a bit more rural, we left the primary school and made a quick stop for some noodles for breakfast. At breakfast we met COMFREL’s provincial coordinator, the woman in charge of monitoring the elections throughout the province. Though she couldn’t speak English very well, she insisted that Virak and I join her for the day. So after breakfast we headed north to Somrong Raung District where there were reports of election officials refusing an election monitor entry to the polling station. Once we got there, however, the monitor had been let in and everything was running smoothly.

From Somrong Raung District, we headed about 40km southwest to the quite rural Phnom Srouch District. It was evident there was a fairly serious problem at the first polling station we visited. Outside each polling station is a list of names of voters who are supposed to vote at that polling station. Outside this first polling station were several dozen voters scouring the list trying to find their names unsuccessfully. A circle formed around us as voters voiced their complaints. They were clearly upset that, despite having all necessary information and having voted at the same location the year before for commune elections, they were unable to cast a ballot. We took down their information and set off for other polling stations in the district.

At each station we went to the story was the same. There were numerous voters unable to cast their ballot because their name was not on the list outside the station. People estimated that as many as 4,000 voters’ names were missing in Phnom Srouch District alone - probably a mix of village chiefs intentionally eliminating names of those associated with the opposition and the National Election Committee attempting to clean up the rolls by removing ghost voters and duplicates (though I assume that it is more of the former). At about the same time, I got a text message from COMFREL in Phnom Penh warning us that missing names was a problem countrywide, particularly in Phnom Penh. Though we helped voters fill out complaint forms, it is unlikely that they had an affect; the ruling party has a total stranglehold on the country’s political system, controlling the private sector, the media, and the entire political system, top to bottom (including the national, provincial, and commune level election committees which review complaints).

It was getting late so we headed back toward Kampong Speu town. A few kilometers outside town we stopped at a polling station to watch the station be closed down. After the morning rush, most polling stations were pretty quiet and only one voter came through in the last half hour the station was open. The closing of the polling station took quite some time – sealing the ballot box, counting the number of ballots cast, and so on. I watched the counting for about forty-five minutes before heading back to Matt’s house to catch a ride in the Land Cruiser back to Phnom Penh.

On Monday morning when initial results were reported, there weren’t any surprises. The ruling party claimed an overwhelming majority of seats (between 88 and 91 of 123, up from 73). Though the opposition has claimed that 200,000 people were unable to vote in Phnom Penh alone, international observers put the estimate at closer to 50,000 nationwide; a high number to be sure, but not nearly high enough to impact the outcome. The election was widely viewed as free and although perhaps not fair, an improvement over previous elections in terms of electioneering.

Carole King’s Jazz Café

For Justin and Ashley’s last night in town, we decided to go out with a bang. After a nice dinner at a Nepalese restaurant, we headed to Carole King’s Jazz Café. Yes, I said that right. Carole King, the songwriter and folk singer and jazz café. The two have next to nothing in common. Even more amusing, however, is that Carole King’s Jazz Café is not, in fact, a jazz café, but a karaoke joint.

We walked in to the karaoke bar and were immediately greeted by Cho, the Korean owner, with a business card. He rearranged tables for the seven of us and we took in our surroundings. The place was small and cozy with Christmas and stage lights. The walls were adorned with an extremely random assortment of pictures, from scenes of Europe and Southeast Asia to the Mona Lisa. Save us, the clientele was entirely Korean businessmen.

We let the Koreans, including Cho, take the first few songs, which were sung in both Korean and English, as we perused the extensive selection of songs. Andrew, Shanti’s co-leader for the trip of American high school students to Cambodia, started us off. A former a cappella singer in college, he could bust it out and he did with his selection of the ballad “On the Wings of Love”. The fifteen people in Carole King’s loved it. Immediately after the completion of the song, Andrew was greeted by a hat full of money – some Korean, some Cambodian – and a round of beer from the Korean contingent.

Over the next two and a half hours, we belted out hits like “Don’t Stop Believin,’” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Red Wine.” It was incredibly fun, but the best was yet to come. As the Korean contingent shuffled out, the lone woman in the group stopped in front of Andrew, who continued to impress with his singing throughout the evening. “You’re a very good singer,” she said, and then whispered in Andrew’s ear. Over and over she said something to the group and then whispered in Andrew’s ear. It was not until later that we found out that whatever the woman said to the group, she repeated into Andrew’s ear in a more seductive voice.

Wiped out, we called for the bill. As it came, Cho, who was now our very good friend, shuffled over and took a look. He looked at Savin, Ashley, and Shanti and said “My friends [the Korean clientele] think American girls…” and then he paused as if he was about to sneeze and it all came out at once: “VERY SEXY! WOW! VERY SEXY!” Cho looked at the bill, which was $19.50. Again, it looked as if he was about to sneeze: “$15! SEXY LADIES: $15! NO SEXY LADIES: $20!” For those of you following along at home, Cho would have raised the price if we weren’t accompanied by sexy ladies.

As we departed, Cho walked us outside and gave each of us a handshake, and then the hugs started. He gave Justin a big bear hug, saying “I rrrove you! I rrrove you forever!” Now, I hate to be stereotypical, but there was no “l” when he said love. In fact, the whole experience felt like a stereotypical Korean karaoke experience in all the best ways. We will definitely be going back, but we’ll have to round up the sexy ladies first.

Pyongyang

Fresh off a relaxing weekend in Koh Kong, I needed a jolt to get myself back in the mindset of a much nuttier Phnom Penh. What better way than a trip to Pyongyang? I know what you’re thinking, Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, doesn’t exactly sound like an ideal destination and I would probably agree with you. Pyongyang, the restaurant, however, guaranteed an entertaining evening at the very least.

Cambodia’s ruling party has cordial to warm ties with North Korea. The reclusive country has a beautiful French colonial villa in the heart of Phnom Penh as its embassy and since my arrival in Cambodia a year ago, Phnom Penh has been visited by the North Korean premier Kim Yong-Il (no relation to Kim Jong-Il), during which time the streets of Cambodia were lined with North Korean flags.

North Korea’s presence in Cambodia goes beyond its embassy and official state visits, though. The government owns and operates two restaurants in Cambodia, one in Phnom Penh and one in Siem Reap, supposedly the only two in the world. It is rumored that everything – the food, the décor, the waitresses – is imported from North Korea. rumored to be the only two of their kind in the world. Again, I used Justin and Ashley’s visit as an excuse for an excursion sure to border on the bizarre.

Pyongyang (the restaurant) appears no different from a popular Khmer restaurant on the outside – expensive cars parked outside, neon lights, and so on. In fact, I had passed the restaurant on numerous occasions without knowing its story. Entering it, however, was stepping into another world. We were warmly greeted by blinding fluorescent light and coolly greeted by a North Korean woman in traditional dress and showed to a table to take in our surroundings.

As we surveyed the restaurant, we noticed about a half dozen other westerners and at least one hundred Korean tourists. There was a small stage at the front of the restaurant with a flat screen TV showing a loop of nature-related scenes, presumably from North Korea. The walls were lined with paintings similar to the images on the television, only more fantastical. Shortly after we sat down, two men in what I'm assuming is traditional North Korean dress - a very baggy, faded brown wool suit - sat at a neighboring table. After a quick drink, the men disappeared to a back room, probably to engage in the illicit activities the restaurant is rumored to profit from (drug smuggling, money laundering, etc).

Perusing the menu, we decided on an order of kim chi (a Korean classic), a duck dish (ironically on a hot plate shaped like a cow), a beef dish, and of course, a few beers. The kim chi arrived almost instantaneously with peanuts and something not dissimilar to tempura. When the main dishes arrived and we failed to follow our waitress’ gesturing, we were given a cold look that, in my imagination, summed up North Korean sentiments to Americans.

Once our surprisingly good food was finished, the real fun began. A handful of the waitresses swooshed to the stage in their bright uniforms. One turned on a keyboard, while another picked up a mic and started singing in an opera-like voice, while others still began to dance (with nature scenes continuing to play on the television). The entire crowd seemed to be snapping pictures, save a group of teenage boys next to us who were dressed in a most curious way (my personal favorite was the guy with a buzz cut, blue batman hoodie, and white plastic aviator-shaped sunglasses). Immediately bored with the performance, they took out a handheld gaming device.

The dance performance was followed by a raucous violin performance, a drum and dance performance, and another dance with singing. It took a few performances for us to realize it, but about halfway through we determined that the entire show was a fake. The violin – not performed live. The singing – lip-synching. The drum – barely used. The dancing was the only thing that could not have been staged. As soon as the show was over, all of the Korean tourists made a beeline for the door. It was bizarre on all accounts, but certainly worth the visit.

Koh Kong

With Justin and Ashley in town, I took a day off work to spend a long weekend with them in Koh Kong, one of the few provinces I had not yet visited. Koh Kong is Cambodia's southwestern-most province. To the west lies Thailand, to the north the largely pristine and uninhabited Cardamom Mountains, and to the south the Gulf of Thailand and a number of tropical islands. To get to Koh Kong, it is necessary to cross four large rivers, which, until very recently, were only passable by ferry. With bridges over each of the crossings complete, travel time to Koh Kong was cut in half. Thus, this was the perfect time to go - it is now relatively accessible and Thailand's former Prime Minister Shinawatra has yet to invest the several billion dollars that he hopes to develop the province.

So it was in this context that we departed for Koh Kong, practically to Thailand, on Friday morning. For the first half of the journey, we were on National Route 4, the same road that goes to Sihanoukville. Once we arrived at Sre Ambel, however, we turned west. After passing through the outskirts of Sre Ambel, the scenery changed dramatically. The terrain was no longer flat and we were surrounded by lush, green, pristine forest and jungle. I hadn't been anywhere else in Cambodia so devoid of human presence. With each small but steep hill the bus slowly summitted, green jungle stretched for miles without any sign of villages or farmland.

About four and a half hours after leaving Phnom Penh, we arrived at the fourth river crossing in the village of Tatai, our launching point to Rainbow Lodge. Upon the recommendation of a few friends, we made a booking at the eco-lodge about twenty kilometers from the town of Koh Kong, which, like many border towns, has a rather unseemly reputation. After crossing the bridge on foot, we tracked down a green and blue wooden boat - our transportation to the lodge.

After a nice twenty minute cruise down the crystal clear river, we noticed a number of bungalows with thatch roofs sticking out above the forest. Shortly thereafter, we docked and climbed up a narrow dirt path to the restaurant and sitting area. There, we were given a welcome by the British owner Janet, whom we came to enjoy like a slightly crazy aunt. Justin put it well when he described Janet as someone that unexpectedly received houseguests - she frantically scampered about cooking meals and making other arrangements and was extremely apologetic for any and every shortcoming she could possibly imagine (that the lodge was at capacity for the first time, that our bungalow had a mosquito problem, that they were out of ham, etc.) She told us how we shower in river water, that electricity is provided by solar energy during the day, and that for $0.50 a day we could have as much water as we liked provided we didn't discard our plastic bottle.

Immediately relaxed, we sat around snacking, playing cards and enjoying the sounds of nature that do not exist in Phnom Penh. By late afternoon we worked up enough of a sweat playing cards to jump in the river. The water was incredibly clear; so clear that if the bottom was covered with sand instead of mud and rocks, I think it would have been like swimming in the Caribbean. After wearing ourselves out, we returned to the sitting area for more cards and a healthy dose of red wine.

Though the dinner was slow - an hour between the end of the main course and dessert - it was delicious: onion soup, an Indonesian lemongrass pork dish, and chocolate and banana crepes. Between the food and the wine we crashed hard pretty early.

We woke to a beautiful sunrise and, over breakfast, decided to take a boat trip to a nearby waterfall. More cards sustained us until we left the lodge in late morning. The sun was blaring during the half hour boat ride, which dropped us off at a gorgeous cascading waterfall. Setting our things down, we scampered over extremely slippery rocks, through the bushes, and swam upriver a bit to reach the base of the waterfall, which we then climbed. Though a workout, the setting was entirely laid back and once we reached the top, we were rewarded with cool pools and underwater "armchairs."

Scampering back down the waterfall, we had a lot of fun letting the current take us back to our things and a picnic lunch. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, we scampered over the rocks a few more times just to be taken downriver again. We spent the afternoon swimming, climbing on the rocks in the middle of the river and playing childish "king of the mountain" type games. It was delightful.

We returned to the lodge in late afternoon to read and play cards before the BBQ dinner that was planned. Again, dinner came about a bit slowly (and certainly wasn't helped by the large and unexplained boom we heard from the kitchen during preparations), but the grilled pork, prawns, rice salad, were delicious. Again we crashed hard with bellies full of delicious food and wine.

On Sunday morning we woke and, unfortunately, had to leave. It was a great, relaxing weekend though, and incredibly well-priced. Lodging and food for two days as well as the boat trip came out to just over $40 per person. I will definitely consider returning.

Bizarro Bowling

About two months ago, I heard something that changed my life. Phnom Penh has a real, ten-pin bowling alley. As a formerly avid recreational bowler – I was a keen student of Bowl America, Bethesda Naval Lanes, as well as various duckpin bowling centers – I was ecstatic. The opportunity for me to actually go, however, did not arise until my friend Justin, an equally avid bowler, arrived from the US for a two week visit.

Having given him and Ashley a taste of Cambodian culture after the Embassy ordeal – markets, tuk tuk rides, Khmer food (off the street and from quality restaurants) – I felt a brief return to American culture in Cambodia appropriate. I called Red, our amazing tuk tuk driver; he’s one of the few who speaks English well, knows exactly where he’s going and won’t try to gouge you on price. When he arrived, I asked him to take us to Parkway, where the bowling alley was located. He, of course, knew its precise location even though I could only offer a vague idea of where I thought it was.

As he dropped us off, we were confronted by a building of several stories which looked, more or less, like a shopping mall. On the ground floor we passed a very out of place health club, which had a decent looking swimming pool. Things only got stranger and sketchier from there. Even though it was relatively early on a Wednesday night, there was no one around. We wandered past empty shops selling stylish clothing following poorly placed signs in the direction of the bowling alley and other entertainment. We climbed two sets of empty staircases past an oddly contrived garden scene with plastic deer and other animals, before passing a room full of billiards tables and an empty dining area.

Finally, we came to the empty bowling alley. It was, I must admit, a very nice looking alley of about ten lanes. Though I couldn’t figure out what was going through the designer’s head when they put it on the third floor. How terrible it must have been working in the shops below as westerners and Phnom Penh’s elite took to the lanes.

We picked out shoes for $1 a pair, with mine being the only ones that looked remotely like bowling shoes; throughout the night we came up with various analogies to describe Justin’s white shoes, from ballet shoes, to Saturday Night Fever shoes, to boxing shoes, to who knows what else. Settling down on our computerized lane (I might say that it was the same computer system with the same animation schemes as Bethesda Naval) and attended to by half a dozen bored staff, we ordered a few beers and the fun began.

None of us bowled well the first game; we couldn’t remember the last time we’d been at a ten-pin lane. We were thoroughly entertained by the echo chamber the bowling alley appeared to be in – bowling balls hitting the lane or exploding across the pins made defeaning noise. About halfway through the second game, which was going much better for all of us (I ended up with a very respectable 173), a group of Cambodian men arrived to roll a few lanes over. They were clearly at home here and looked like decent bowlers even if they were using light balls. Their bowling mannerisms, especially a particularly chubby bowler, provided entertainment beyond the game itself.

Following one and a half hours of bowling and with a few beers in our bellies, we went in search of food. The bowling alley’s canteen didn’t offer anything besides pre-packaged snacks and the sketchy Parkway’s stores were all shuttered. We opted to make the evening more American still and headed into the empty Lucky Burger, a not-so-fast food burger joint. We were enthusiastically greeted by the staff and ordered, you guessed it, happy meals. To be honest, they were surprisingly satisfying. But not nearly as satisfying as three games of bowling and the knowledge that I was able to do so in Phnom Penh.

Happy Birthday America

Apologies for the lack of posting of late. I have been swamped at work and busy entertaining friends from the US. However, I should be able to make several posts over the next two weeks detailing some of my adventures.

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On America’s 232nd birthday, I didn’t do anything special. My friends from the US, Justin and Ashley arrived the night after and I decided to give them the best cultural introduction to Cambodia I could muster: a July 4th celebration (on July 6th no less) at the US Embassy.

As we drove around the back of the Embassy toward the entrance, it was clear that there was a party going on. Red, white, and blue streamers and balloons were everywhere and amenities such as a moon bounce, food stalls, a large tent, and a stage dotted the landscape of the Embassy lawn. After passing through a security check, we began spotting a number of friends among the few hundred people gathered.

Though we arrived a bit after the event started and missed the singing of the national anthem, the Seventh Navy Fleet Band (aka The Orient Express) was up and kicking and the highlights of the afternoon were yet to come. We chatted with friends until it was announced that the dunking booth was about to open. We all flocked to watch young kids try to dunk the Ambassador, who was on the chopping block first. Pat, who is not a young kid, but who is from the same town as the Ambassador, purchased a few balls and managed to sink him on his first toss, a beauty. It was quite satisfying for us, so I can’t imagine Pat’s pleasure.

With Pat’s triumph behind us, we wandered around the booths of food and drinks, picking up a beer and, in my case, a donut courtesy of USA Donuts. Next, we settled at a table with friends to listen to the rock stylings of The Orient Express, a mix of recent classic American rock and, rather oddly for a celebration of America’s Independence, some British and Australian songs. It was a surprisingly good time.

The oddest event of the afternoon, especially in the context of Cambodia, was a hot dog eating contest. Contestants – unfortunately Pat was not among them – had five minutes to scarf down as many hot dogs as they could. The display was not nearly as impressive as watching Kobayashi “compete,” but it certainly gave a distinctly American flavor to the atmosphere. After returning to watch The Orient Express rock out a bit more, we departed, with a clear pride for our home nation’s ability to throw a great party.

The Election Period Update

So we're now ten days in to the election period. Many of you have asked if the pace and insanity of campaigning has continued at the rate that it started. Thankfully, I can report that it has not and that things have calmed down a bit. Despite my co-workers warnings that the noise would continue endlessly for the entire month, there are not loud rallies outside my office every day (in fact, there haven't been any since the first day). That said, cars and trucks with loudspeakers and the occasional convoy does go by, disrupting work or dinner for a few moments at a time.

There does still some to be a greater fervor about the air than a typical non-election period day, however. Political stickers and posters adorn many cars and nearly every house and shop, sometimes despite the owners' preferences.

This past Saturday I attended a training to be a local election monitor for the Committee for Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL). The training detailed many of the irregularities that we should expect to see - campaigning on election day, military officials in uniform at polling stations, etc. Reports of violence are somewhat rare and down significantly from previous elections, but this may be solely because the ruling party's positions are so consolidated that it's not necessary to use force. That's all I have time for now, but more updates soon!