i was recently in Kampong Cham, one of Cambodia's many provinces - is the third largest city in the country. not as popular amongst the tourist compared to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, this province lets you experience the true Khmer lifestyle, along with French colonial buildings and architecture. the locals here are much more laid back compared to the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh. it did remind me of Vientiane, Laos where the locals behave pretty much alike. chilled out and very settled in their very own habitat. just like Vientiane, Kampong Cham has the Mekong River as a companion and the riverside is just as calm as the former. there are quite a number of guesthouses situated close to the Mekong, by the riverside; as told from SEA On A Shoe String guidebook.
what are you looking at? got a problem with what i am doing?
sunset
Japan - Cambodia Friendship Bridge
you must be wondering what am i doing in this province. well, it was work related. we have an activation roadshow here in the outskirt districts of Kampong Cham, which landed me here. the journey to the concert location took almost an hour from the city itself. deep inside the rubber plantation, a very small village which houses a primary school is the location. as we drove through the rubber plantation, i was seriously wondering where on earth are we, and are we on the right track. as we hit the dusty and rocky roads, we reached the school, much to my relief. this is an NGO event, Child Protection Concert - sponsored by the American Embassy. they were launching the newly built basketball and volleyball court in the school compound.
a market in the outskirt district
good rubber
get a face mask boy!
as we started setting up the roadshow booths and so forth, many village children started popping at our booth - pasting a very curious look on their faces. it was their first time seeing such a setup in their village i'd assume. they were curious and eager. we decided to have fun with them by sticking temp tattoos on their arms. then more came as one started to show it off to their friends. the kids were charming - kids being kids.
they are talking about us
Americans' contribution to the country
the concert started off with a few local singers and comedians on stage. by 8pm, the compound was filled! locals from villages nearby and afar started to arrive at the concert site. vendors of all sorts - food, drinks, game stalls, gold sellers, etc can be found all over the compound. my assumption of the total amount of people were at least 5000. makes me wonder where'd all this people come from. the night went on - singers dazzling the crowd, my crew selling sim cards like hotcakes, locals getting drunk.
locals invited up on stage to have a laugh
we are like honey, cause we are sweet
as the concert come to a close, we were delighted. after a FULL day of working, all of us were tired to our socks! using our last pound of energy to close the whole setup, packing and uploading assets to the truck, we finally arrived at our hotel almost 2am. everybody was in their room, KNOCKED OUT!
Pepsi didn't dare to promote their latest product - gasoline in a bottle
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