Embrace the downpours and work your way through our second Interesting Things To Do During Rainy Season list.
Get inked:
Yantra tattooing, also called sak yant, dates back to before the glory days of Angkor, when King Jayavarman VII famously claimed they made the enemy’s arrows bounce clean off his chest. Traditionally administered by hermit sages, witch doctors and Buddhist monks via a sharp metal or bamboo stick, they’re believed by many to ward off evil, but The Advisor makes no guarantees. Or you could go the modern route and opt for simple Khmer script (Just make sure you know what it says – The Ed.). Among the most reputable tattoo parlours in Phnom Penh are Black Star, #5a Street 90 (070 200900) and RSD, #30 Sihanouk Blvd (016 787816). Recently opened is Maroo, #93 Sisowath Quay (066 412151).
Build your own bike:
In 1953, the sight of a young, leather-clad Marlon Brando astride a motorcycle in The Wild One sent most decent folk into a self-righteous tailspin: the movie was immediately outlawed in the UK, where it stayed on the black list for the next 14 years. Too late! Biker-gang leader Johnny Strabler, the ultimate-for-the-time icon of restlessness and rebellion, had burned deep into the collective subconscious. Replicating the kind of stripped-down cafe racers he and other greased-up rockers rode is what Moto Cambodge, an expat custom motorcycle outfitter, does best. Drop ‘em a line: info@nullmotocambodge.com.
Go back to school:
Want to improve your night photography? Need to polish your skills as a sommelier? Know how to use a sewing machine but can’t quite make a finished item of clothing? Have you ever tried sculpting a human head? Fancy yourself as an Apsara dancer? The evening classes and weekend workshops on offer at Phnom Penh Community College are limited only by your imagination. Brush up on everything from self defence and ‘wine and chocolate indulgence’ (must we?) to the Khmer language and drawing for beginners. Details at phnompenhcommunitycollege.com.
Travel back in time:
Forget the horrors of Cambodia’s recent history; don your Indiana Jones hat, and head straight for the most ancient artefacts in the National Museum’s rather compact collection on the corner of Street 178 & 13. Looming sculptures chiselled out of stone by the hands of Khmers from millennia past; carved wooden artworks dating to the country’s 15th-century transition from Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism to the Theravada Buddhism still practised today. Take that, Tardis.
Stock up on Surprisingly Useful Stuff in a 2500 riel shop:
Ice-cube trays that don’t shatter when you twist them; sturdy drinking bottles; funky earrings; USB fans: you’d be amazed at what you can pick up for a few thousand riel at these miniature Aladdin’s Caves, which are dotted all over the city. One of our favourites is next to the main entrance of Golden Sorya Mall on Street 154 & 51.
Have a night at the opera:
Cambodian Living Arts’ Plae Pakaa (‘Fruitful’) shows honour a time-honoured operatic form, although the themes it touches on aren’t altogether unfamiliar to modern audiences. Mak Therng, one of 20 traditional Khmer operas known collectively as yike (pronounced ‘yee-kay’), sounds at first like many a Western soap opera/Shakespearean play: girl loves boy; girl gets stolen by another boy; original boy attempts to reclaim girl; something goes horribly, horribly wrong. In fact, and particularly in CLA’s interpretation, it’s a brilliant piece of social critique examining a) how power corrupts, and b) Everyman’s oft-tricky pursuit of justice. Catch performances of this and other Cambodian dances on the stage of the National Museum, Street 13 & 178, 7pm every Friday and Saturday until the end of August.
Lose yourself in the shadows:
More than 2,000 years ago, in 121 BC, Emperor Wu of China’s Han dynasty was devastated by the untimely death of his favourite concubine. ‘The sound of her silk skirt has stopped,’ the emperor, an accomplished poet, wrote of Li Fu-ren. ‘On the marble pavement dust grows. Her empty room is cold and still. Fallen leaves are piled against the doors. How can I bring my aching heart to rest?’ Grief-stricken, the emperor implored his court officials to bring his lover back to life. Legend has it that, inspired by the lively shadows cast by children playing with dolls inside the court, one of Wu’s aides crafted a perfect replica of the concubine out of leather. Holding the figure in front of an oil lamp, he gently manipulated its limbs to make it ‘dance’. The emperor was delighted – and shadow puppetry was born. In Cambodia, a pre-Angkorian stone carving describes a kutakkta (female puppeteer) performing in a religious ceremony for Svarasvati, the god of art and eloquence. Carrier of myth, morality play and religious experience rolled into one, each performance tells traditional tales embellished with tidbits of village gossip. Known as sbaek in Khmer, the puppets are chiselled by hand out of tanned cowhide. The plays are performed as homage to Buddha, the Hindu gods, and the ancestral spirits they depict, and as a vehicle for communication with them – the point being to elevate performers and audience to ‘a higher level’. Rousing drum beats from the Pin Peat Orchestra lend each play a distinctly tribal feel, from the percussive rumana to the thunder of the giant barrel-shaped skor thom, at Sovanna Phum Theatre, #166 Street 99 & 484, where you can see shadow puppets, a pin peat orchestra and traditional Cambodian drums and dance at 7:30pm every Friday and Saturday.
Revamp your wardrobe on a shoestring:
It pains us to share this information and thus risk diminishing the gene pool of cut-price steals, but if you haven’t yet ransacked Japanese thrift stores Sakura on Street 488 & 107 (097 4586536) and Toto, #21 Street 47 (020 990087), your wardrobe is missing out. Even a monogrammed tailcoat isn’t out of the question. Just don’t tell anyone.
Take a crash course in Khmer culture:
Phnom Penh Community College offers precisely that in its five-week Learn Basic/Intermediate Khmer Language & Culture courses, schooling you not only in simple Khmer words and phrases but also in some key local customs (phnompenhcommunitycollege.com). Because when in Rome…
Absolve yourself of sins past:
Not an invitation to step into the confessional, but rather a nudge in the direction of raw foodies ARTillery, on Street 240&½, who know more than a thing or two about top-notch nutrition. In the event you’ve been on one too many binges, have Your People hold all your calls and book yourself into the Vine Retreat, on Pepper Road in Kep’s Chamcar Bai Village (078 928966), where you can gorge on organic raw food workshops, yoga and massage, and even go picking peppers.
Get a Buddhist water blessing:
A water blessing is an ancient Cambodian ritual believed to bring cleansing and good luck and is offered at many pagodas. The timid can opt for a light sprinkling while monks chant, wishing you safe travel and a long life; the more adventurous might try the longer ritual when vessels of blessed water are poured over your head. After all, it’s rainy season. You’re going to get wet anyway.
Experience the unbridled glory that is KTV:
You know you want to. We all do.
Talk in tongues:
On the first and third Wednesdays of every month, the Institut francais du Cambodge hosts its charmingly named ‘Cafe Polyglotte’, where cunning linguists – including but not limited to those who parlez francais – gather in the institute’s bistro, #218 Street 184, to practice the language of their choice (078 883268). The next events are at 6:30pm August 6 and 20.
Live out your fantasies:
The term ‘cosplay’ – an abbreviation of ‘costume play’, or kosupure in Japanese – has something of the geek about it. This Japan-centric comic world, one of giant-eyed heroes and junk worship, was sired by the sci-fi/fantasy universe once synonymous with Star Trek conventions, but seems to be overtaking it at warp speed. Sporting face paint, liquid latex, neon wigs, contact lenses, body modification and outrageous cyber-fashion, the truly committed make their way to the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Centre every few months to worship at the altar of the weirdly dressed. Keep an eye on our listings: we’ll let you know when the next one’s coming up.
Watch a Cambodian horror flick:
If there’s one ‘other’ thing Cambodia is famous for, it’s the flesh-shredding gore-fest that is its native movie industry. Horror has long been the national genre of choice, best screamed at loudly from a seat at Khmer-centric cinemas such as Lux, #44 Norodom Boulevard (012 343498). And never mind the script; check out those special effects…
Party like it’s 19:59:
Cambodian teens can party with the best of them, provided it’s not past bedtime, hence daytime ‘nightclubs’ which recreate the after-dark ambience of regular nightclubs by simply not bothering with windows. Expect to find them in places like the basement car park at City Mall on Monireth Boulevard, next to Olympic Stadium, and opposite the Cambodiana Hotel on Sisowath Quay. Pumping. At 2pm. Yes, PM.
Become a prima ballerina:
Strap on your tutu and point your toes: enlist in classical ballet or modern dance classes at the Central School of Ballet Phnom Penh, #10 Street 182 (info@nullcentralschoolofballet.com), and Dance World Cambodia, in the Cambodiana Hotel, #330 Sisowath Quay (012 634008).
See something – anything – at Chaktomuk Hall:
Designed by the doyen of Cambodian architecture and completed in the still-peaceful Phnom Penh of 1961, Chaktomuk Hall is one of Vann Molyvan’s finest works. Inspired by a folding fan and perched elegantly on the banks of the Tonle Sap, it’s the sort of venue that makes any evening unforgettable.
Unite and conquer:
Test your skills as a champion connector at Raffles Le Royal’s speed networking night on Thursdays at 6pm. Girls only: head to Le Bar at Sofitel at 6:30pm on Fridays.
Get fit:
Because just talking about joining a gym isn’t going to do a damn thing about that belly. We love The Place, on Street 51 & 282, voted Best Gym in 2013 and 2012 in The Advisor awards.
Download the best local bands to your iPod:
From Dengue Fever to the Cambodian Space Project; from Khmerican chanteuse Laura Mam to home-grown deathcore outfit Sliten6ix: Cambodia’s musical diaspora are churning out more releases than ever before – and most of their tunes are now available for download. Support the ones you love by buying their music online. That way, you can sing along at their next gig. Awww.
Stick your head in the clouds:
Set your compass for Kampot, scale the (relatively) dizzying heights of Bokor mountain and marvel close-up at the awesome power of the heavens. Buses and cars are for the faint of heart; the truly brave make the ascent to the Bokor Hill Station ‘ghost town’ on two wheels.
Tour a (micro) brewery:
Beer! ‘Nuff said. Hop on a Kingdom Beer Bus or hail a Kingdom tuk tuk (they’re free and all over town, apparently) and head to Kingdom Breweries, #1748 National Road 5 (023 430180), and join their hopheads for a drink. As you stagger on your way, stop in at the Himawari Microbrewery, #313 Sisowath Quay, and then ricochet over to the Spark & Tawandang Microbrewery on the corner of Mao Tse Tung Boulevard & Street 167.
Take the slow boat to Siem Reap:
Sipping cocktails and watching the sun set from the top deck of the Toum Tiou II, a 14-cabin luxury river boat, it’s hard to imagine that travelling in Cambodia is anything but blissful. Pretending to be Huck Finn isn’t bad either (contact CF Mekong River Cruises on 023 216070).