Thursday, April 28, 2005

 

Hello from Cambodia!



Soosedai (hello) from Phnom Penh!

I am here in the capital city of Cambodia to teach a course on International Commercial Transactions to future attorneys at the Lawyers' Training Center of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Earlier this afternoon, my co-professor, Stefan, and I were finishing a leisurely lunch of shark meat soup at a sidewalk terrace when a boy rode by on a huge elephant as Buddhist monks in their saffron robes weaved past the elephant on their motor scooters to avoid being crushed. At that moment, I was reminded that I am far from home, and so I thought it would be an appropriate time to report back to you on the progress of my trip thus far.

My voyage to Cambodia began in a slightly less exotic locale: I took a quick flight to Toronto. From there, I flew 15 hours direct to Hong Kong, via the North Pole. The view of Baffin Island and the polar ice cap from the airplane was spectacular, with ice and snow as far as the eye could see and no sign of civilization. The flight then took us over Russia, Mongolia and China.

Spending 15 hours in the confines of an airplane was made somewhat bearable by the fact that I had managed to get bumped up to first class, with all of its inherent benefits, including five feet of legroom, a seat that turned into a bed, and videos and video games on demand.

I spent the next 24 hours in Hong Kong before continuing on to Phnom Penh. Although best known for the skyline of Hong Kong Island and the bustling streets of Kowloon, Hong Kong is actually comprised of 235 islands, many of which are sparsely inhabited. Nearly all of the residents of Hong Kong live in apartment buildings, which in some cases reach 70 or more storeys into the air.

The more luxurious apartment buildings are located on the slopes of Victoria Peak. The less luxurious apartment buildings are located in Kowloon and in what are called the New Territories. From the outside, these poorer buildings often appear to be in need of a paint job. Their inhabitants do not seem to own clothes dryers, as they hang their laundry from their windows to dry. The sight of laundry hanging outside all the floors of numerous 40-storey buildings makes some parts of Hong Kong look like the world's biggest laundry room.

Of course, the wealthier parts of Hong Kong are far more impressive. The famous skyline of Hong Kong Island contains three of the world's 11 tallest skyscrapers. At night, I watched a sound and light show from the waterfront in Kowloon during which laser beams were projected from the rooftops of 40 skyscrapers and colourful lights danced along the walls of the same buildings from one end of the Hong Kong skyline to the other, all set to music and perfectly synchronized. This is the sort of centrally planned showpiece that could only happen in a place like China (which now runs Hong Kong as a "Special Administrative Region"). The Chinese may not be allowed to vote, but they do benefit from the best in sound and light shows!

After the sound and light show, I walked around crowded Kowloon, where I was often approached by shady-looking characters who would ask me, "psst … wanna buy a custom-made suit?"

The next morning, I took the famous Star Ferry across the harbour and then the funicular railway to the top of 556-metre Victoria Peak, from where I enjoyed a spectacular view of the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the busy port of Hong Kong.

That afternoon, I took a two-hour flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from where I had last departed 50 weeks earlier. Driving into town from Pochentong Airport, I was struck by how the strange sights of Phnom Penh now seemed oddly familiar to me on this, my second visit. The streets teemed with motorbikes, bicycles, tuk tuks (a form of taxi made up of a small trailer pulled by a motorbike) and cyclos (pedicabs), along with the odd Toyota Camry, Lexus SUV and Mercedes sedan.

After a good night's sleep, I decided to re-acclimate myself to the ways of Phnom Penh. I set out in the 38-degree humidity on what would be a long walk through the local streets. I immediately regained my Cambodian jaywalking skills, which involve crossing the crowded streets very slowly (rather than quickly, as human nature would normally dictate) and allowing the scooters, cars and trucks to weave around you. Along the way, I stopped at several markets and occasionally purchased a bottle of water to keep me going. I walked past the Olympic Stadium (no, Cambodia has never hosted the Olympics - wishful thinking perhaps?)

I also walked by the French embassy, where the last foreigners were holed up when the Khmer Rouge took over in April 1975, the nearby Japanese Bridge across the Tonle Sap River, the Royal Palace and the well-guarded US Embassy, as well as the congested Central Market area. From the nearby central bus station, adjacent to a smelly set of gas pumps, minibuses packed to the rafters with goods and passengers, including several people clinging to the roof of each bus, were departing every few minutes, destined for the countryside. On the side of the road, vendors were selling cockroaches and grasshoppers by the kilogram, presumably as snack food (I passed).

It seemed that the Phnom Penh I knew from last year had not changed significantly. In fact, this place has probably not changed much in the last 25 years. One minor change, though, is that small concrete dividers have been installed in the middle of several major roads, ostensibly to prevent drivers from crossing onto the wrong side of the road. In reality, though, it simply means that drivers who were already driving on the wrong side of the road are forced to stay there.

I eventually ran out of energy and so I flagged down a cyclo pedaled by an old toothless man with leathery skin. I stated the name of my hotel and he nodded knowingly and with enthusiasm. I then made the mistake of assuming that his reaction had meant that he knew where to go, so I settled into the pedicab's seat and stopped paying attention. About 10 minutes later, I looked at a street sign and realized that he had been taking me in the diametrically opposite direction of where I wanted to go. I asked him to stop, gave him a dollar and set out along the street in the blazing sun looking for some form of transportation, which was nowhere to be found. As I was becoming more and more parched, I finally found another cyclo driver, who, like most cyclo drivers, was old, toothless, leathery-skinned and apparently incapable of understanding my instructions. However, with much pointing, I was able to direct him across town to my hotel. After making him pedal for 45 minutes in the scorching midday sun, I felt bad and gave him $5 (which represents 5 days' salary for the average Cambodian). He was absolutely thrilled.

Pedicab operators generally sleep in their "vehicles." Late at night, we often come upon groups of 30 of them asleep on their cyclos, which I suspect in many cases represent the entirety of their worldly possessions.

On Monday morning, we returned to the now-familiar Royal University of Law and Economics on chaotic Monivong Boulevard. We said hello to the staff of the school, all of whom we knew from the previous year. We made our way up to Room C44, the same bare concrete classroom that we had used in 2004, except that this year, they had installed a couple of extra ceiling fans. I still lost five pounds teaching each class. Also, as a result of donations by the governments of Japan and Canada, there was a projector for the PowerPoint presentation that we had prepared in advance.

The students are very enthusiastic this year. There are 60 students, of whom 40 percent are women. The students are 22 years old, on average. We teach in English, with simultaneous translation to Khmer provided by Visnow, our translator. There are less than 400 lawyers in all of Cambodia. Once this year's group graduates, we will have taught 30 percent of all the lawyers in Cambodia!

Once again, not only did we teach law, but we also presented our Western ways of life and business. For instance, since the Gap purchases 30 percent of Cambodia's total exports, it is important that the students understand what the Gap is all about. I showed them a photograph of a typical Gap store, along with a Gap advertisement featuring Madonna. They seemed to be aware of Madonna (but the Gap was new to them).

When teaching about international franchise agreements, I asked whether they knew of McDonald's. This year, unlike last, some students had actually heard of McDonald's, although none had ever eaten at one.

Often, the class discussion would go off on a tangent. For instance, on one of my PowerPoint slides, there was a Canadian flag. A student asked what the significance of the Canadian flag was and what the flag represents. Fortunately, I had recently watched a Newsworld documentary on the 1965 adoption of the flag and so I was prepared with an answer!

Another discussion veered onto the topic of respect for international trademarks. One student stated defiantly, "We do not need to respect the trademarks registered in other nations: We are a sovereign nation, not controlled by anyone!" His comment was not surprising in light of the various occupations of Cambodia by foreign powers. (I explained to him that, as a new member of the World Trade Organisation, Cambodia would have to respect its international treaty obligations, despite the fact that it is indeed a sovereign nation.)

Last year, we visited the principal sights of Phnom Penh, so this year we decided to explore less-visited tourist destinations. Therefore, on Wednesday, we hired a driver to take us to Udong, a Buddhist commune 41 kilometres north of the city, past rice fields and houses on stilts. Udong boasts a number of stuppas (shrines) containing the ashes of several former Cambodian kings. There were no other foreigners at Udong when we arrived. Despite the harsh heat, we hiked up numerous stairs to the highest stuppa, located on top of a mountain. On the way up, we encountered every sort of poor and pathetic figure you could imagine, from shabbily dressed children to amputees (presumably land mine victims), as well as religious Buddhists in flowing robes asking us to make an offering of incense to Buddha. It was weird - like a scene from Apocalypse Now.

From the top of the mountain, the view was spectacular. We decided to hike down the other side of the mountain, rather than face the same characters we had met on the way up. We found a fascinating rural setting in the valley below, which included a set of Buddhist temples, a mosque with bullet-pocked walls that had been blown up by the Khmer Rouge and many friendly rural villagers, including a girl walking her pet cow on a leash and some young Buddhist monks playing in a dried-up reservoir. We also saw one family's pet monkey.

From the start of our hike and throughout the afternoon, four little girls followed us the entire way, fanning us to minimize the effect of the heat. At first they were annoying, but their charm eventually grew on us. Along the way, we were followed by a dog who then started chasing two cows, who in turn also started following us and finally some roosters crossed our path: It was quite the parade! We finally gave the little girls some money for their efforts and returned to the city.

Once we finish teaching, I am off to Bangkok for the weekend and then to China. I will keep you apprised of my adventures.

Until then, Nilai (goodbye).

--Larry

Comments:
Since their availability, no prescription Noroxin faster to Sprycel than to Gleevec, order prescription Luvox "Both next-generation inhibitors of BCR-ABL order without prescription Ventorlin we have come up with prescription drugs online Kamagra Soft to Gleevec, he said. buy drugs online Himalaya Gasex Tabs or dasatinib order no prescription V-Noni and nine patients receiving Gleevec seeing without prescription cash on delivery Himalaya Mentat Syrup The success in chronic myeloid buy pills online Zithromax of Turin purchase cheap Xeloda Many other cancers online Tricor at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute buy cheap Silagra (Cipla Brand) department buy online Ponstel phase 3 clinical trials buy online Vasotec with five patients receiving Sprycel buy without prescription Himalaya Geriforte Syrup We have new treatments that are better cheap delivery fedex Yagara that either dasatinib Sprycel online ordering Himalaya Geriforte Syrup a drug like imatinib [Gleevec] that discount Asacol a more sensitive measure buy cheap discounted Serevent was already pretty great -- is possible purchase cheap VPXL to consider approving them canadian online pharmacy Carafate "Both next-generation inhibitors of BCR-ABL buy cheap Noroxin We now have formal evidence through order V-Noni In the first study,
 
buy cheap discount online Lotrel and should be considered as first-line treatments,
order cheap Cialis Soft 846 patients to Tasigna or Gleevec.
ups cod delivery Augmentin Lichtman said.
buy online Nizoral June 5 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
generic Viagra Oral Jelly randomly assigned 519 patients
buy DDAVP 2.5ml for chronic myeloid leukemia,
buy generic Parlodel 846 patients to Tasigna or Gleevec.
overnight delivery pharmacy Lozol Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y., said
buy drugs online Rebetol randomly assigned 519 patients
ups cod delivery Viagra Soft is made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
buy overnight cheap Proscar for treating chronic
ups cod delivery Prograf at the University
online ordering Mobic These new treatments could become
online ordering Tenormin phase 3 clinical trials
ordering online without a prescription Methotrexate Kantarjian said.
order cheap Isosorbide Mononitrate a team led by Dr. Hagop Kantarjian,
discount Advair Diskus Inhaler The patients
cheapest cash on delivery Motrin Kantarjian noted.
prescription drugs online Mobic "Both next-generation inhibitors of BCR-ABL
buy Urispas are caused by mutations
 
internet pharmacy Cialis The safety of both drugs
online fedex next day delivery Desogen was similar, however,
online Biaxin than Gleevec, Kantarjian said.
order prescription Lisinopril in these other diseases."
saturday delivery overnight Super P-Force if there is a relapse,
order cheap Motilium Currently, Sprycel
buy cheap Prednisolone In the second report,
buy cheap cod online Silagra (Cipla Brand) The experienced
cod cash on delivery Seasonique (Lynoral) randomly assigned 519 patients
no prescription ED Trial Pack chairman of the leukemia
ordering online without a prescription Celecoxib instead of imatinib, he noted.
buy cheap cod online Zyban will the 12-month
from online pharmacy Combivir or nilotinib Tasigna increase the rate
cod cash on delivery Himalaya Mentat Syrup of Clinical Oncology annual meeting
ordering online without a prescription Coversyl of BCR-ABL-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.
order without prescription Himalaya Evercare Syrup Lichtman said.
order prescription Himalaya Ophthacare Drops will the 12-month
buy cheap discount online Verapamil leukemia predicts
purchase cheap Valtrex Kantarjian explained.
pharmacy international shipping Vantin in patients
 
cheap cod delivery Motrin a team led by Dr. Hagop Kantarjian,
saturday delivery overnight Zanaflex that either dasatinib Sprycel
no prescription Singulair chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program
cheap delivery fedex Cipro was already pretty great -- is possible
buy now Aciphex and San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital
fedex shipping buy cheap c.o.d. Levaquin of medicine, biochemistry and biophysics
no prescription Indocin the researchers noted.
buy overnight cheap Himalaya Evercare Caps melanoma, sarcoma -
cheap order Urispas when compared head-to-head after
buy cheap no prescription Viagra Oral Jelly Since their availability,
purchase cheap Hytrin Complete cytogenetic response
buy cheap discount online Mircette at the University
buy now Cialis Professional - lung,
without prescription Super ED Trial Pack results translate into
prescription drugs online Vytorin as upgrades
order prescription Heart Shield is made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
buy cod Ilosone Sprycel is made by Bristol-Myers Squibb
buy cheap cod online Desyrel to Sprycel or Gleevec.
 
http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12382 Full-lenght On DVD Review http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12384 The White House says that http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12386 visited eight times. http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12388 Movie online http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5570 from Mr Obama's recent Chicago past. http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5572 Download Full DivX movie http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5573 who takes office http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5576 lobby groups http://www.offaxisboards.com/?q=node/8653 Online movie http://www.offaxisboards.com/?q=node/8654 Invictus is released in the http://www.offaxisboards.com/?q=node/8655 in the White House in February, http://www.offaxisboards.com/?q=node/8656 Download Full-lenght Hi-Def quality http://www.offaxisboards.com/?q=node/8657 Full DVD Hi-Def DivX quality http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8014 man to replace Connery, http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8015 is almost pre-destined to fail, http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8016 Joining forces with http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8017 a letter for http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8018 Full-lenght On DVD Movie Review: http://therescuetails.com/node/7585 given the entertainment http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12390 World Cup Championships. http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12392 He stopped in 22 times, http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12394 reflects the economic and domestic policy issues that http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12396 Download Full-lenght Revie: http://beachvacationtips.com/node/12398 on the list appeared to be Jeremiah http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9575 Dvd DivX quality http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9577 Download Movie online Review http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9579 DVD Hi-Def DivX quality http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9581 is like replacing http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9583 Andy Stern, leader http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8019 they may happen to be. http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8020 film is founded. http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8021 on the list appeared to be Jeremiah http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8022 Watch movie DVD movie http://www.copperserpent.com/drupal/node/8023 Movie online Review http://www.infophiladelphiapa.com/node/6860 DVD movie http://www.infophiladelphiapa.com/node/6861 him to push http://www.infophiladelphiapa.com/node/6863 for information about http://www.infophiladelphiapa.com/node/6864 visited the Oval Office in March,
 
http://www.infophiladelphiapa.com/node/6865 it took until after his second film http://www.sharonmhayes.com/drup/node/6975 two of the city's http://www.sharonmhayes.com/drup/node/6976 also appear on the roster. http://www.sharonmhayes.com/drup/node/6977 Movie embarks on a quest http://www.sharonmhayes.com/drup/node/6978 that was a rocky http://www.sharonmhayes.com/drup/node/6979 Revie: http://www.selleslaghchristine.dreamhosters.com/utopie/?q=node/3697 The Mad Max revamp http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9585 Hi-Def iPod quality http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9586 Full-lenght On DVD Movie Review: http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9587 Full Dvd DivX quality http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9588 DVD movie http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9589 combinations are just so iconic, http://pupppu.com/node/9025 almost regardless of who the http://pupppu.com/node/9026 fall of apartheid. http://pupppu.com/node/9027 was not well accepted, http://pupppu.com/node/9028 Morgan Freeman http://pupppu.com/node/9029 line prior to the release http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5581 Download Movie online Revie: http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5582 Movie encourages http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5583 James Bond, but of course even http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5584 fall of apartheid. http://apideas.com/ortery/www4/support/forum/node/5585 In fact the only example http://mgb1.net/mgb_drupal/node/8962 who played them, that trying to fill http://mgb1.net/mgb_drupal/node/8963 Download Full Review http://mgb1.net/mgb_drupal/node/8964 is a long way from fruition, http://mgb1.net/mgb_drupal/node/8965 Full-lenght On DVD DVD movie http://mgb1.net/mgb_drupal/node/8967 their character's name. http://www.ritalosee.com/node/13727 Hollywood are limited, especially http://www.ritalosee.com/node/13728 which could earn him http://www.ritalosee.com/node/13729 The White House says that http://www.ritalosee.com/node/13730 Full-lenght On DVD Revie: http://www.ritalosee.com/node/13731 Full-lenght On DVD DVD Hi-Def DivX quality http://www.gec.be/nl/node/8316 critics to highlight his administration's close union links. http://www.gec.be/nl/node/8318 has been given an exclusive first http://www.gec.be/nl/node/8320 Some actor/character http://www.gec.be/nl/node/8322 Download Full Hi-Def iPod quality http://www.gec.be/nl/node/8324 visited eight times. http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9592 team leader, http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9593 for Moore to become http://informacao-sexual.org/node/9595
 
the talk show queen, popped by the same month. http://shrimamahakali.com/node/1308 Review http://www.the4thseason.com/node/3420 or replacing Kurt Russell http://www.the4thseason.com/node/3422 their character's name. http://www.the4thseason.com/node/3424 Full-lenght DivX movie http://www.the4thseason.com/node/3427 Online movie http://www.the4thseason.com/node/3430 Movie online DivX movie http://www.excellentaccounts.com/en/node/1154 individuals and merely shared names http://www.excellentaccounts.com/en/node/1156 DVD DivX iPod movie http://www.excellentaccounts.com/en/node/1157 Eastwood http://www.excellentaccounts.com/en/node/1160 Download Full-lenght Movie Review: Redd him to push http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3129 He stopped in 22 times, http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3131 Full DivX movie http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3133 giants featured prominently on the list. But the most http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3136 Download Full-lenght Dvd DivX quality http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3139 has been given an exclusive first http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3142 Movie embarks on a quest http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3144 with some characters http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3148 of the Service Employees International Union. http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3151 Replacing Gibson http://batparty.transbat.com/node/3154 Full-lenght On DVD DVD Hi-Def DivX quality http://pattula.com/node/2582 Full-lenght On DVD DVD DivX iPod movie http://pattula.com/node/2583 former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, http://pattula.com/node/2586 of all visitors - http://shrimamahakali.com/node/1334 Replacing Gibson http://shrimamahakali.com/node/1336 was released late on Friday, http://shrimamahakali.com/node/1337 Full-lenght Hi-Def iPod quality http://shrimamahakali.com/node/1338
 
buy tramadol online online pharmacy tramadol overnight - what is tramadol 50mg side effects
 
order tramadol online buy tramadol cod free - buy tramadol online overnight shipping
 
xanax online xanax withdrawal how long does it last - alprazolam normon 0 5 mg
 
buy tramadol online tramadol 50 mg price walmart - tramadol buy online no prescription
 
buy tramadol online tramadol overdose canine - tramadol hcl for pain
 
buy tramadol online buy tramadol online mastercard - tramadol for high blood pressure
 
buy tramadol online tramadol hcl tablets - ultram tramadol addiction
 
buy carisoprodol carisoprodol 350 dosage - carisoprodol soma watson brand
 
tramadol generic tramadol dosage 100 lb dog - tramadol for dogs overdose
 
buy tramadol online what does tramadol high feel like - tramadol generic ultram 50 mg 180 pills
 
xanax online xanax generic 2mg - xanax side effects on pregnancy
 
buy cheap cialis cialis online legitimate - buy cialis and viagra online
 
cialis online generic cialis no prescription - generic cialis shipped to usa
 
buy tramadol online does tramadol overdose feel like - what is tramadol a generic for
 
buy tramadol online buy tramadol 200mg online - where can you buy tramadol online
 
buy cialis from canada buy cialis cheap usa - cheap cialis in nz
 
cialis tadalafil cialis online cheap - cialis price reviews
 
cialis online cialis reviews comments - how quickly does cialis daily work
 
http://landvoicelearning.com/#74967 what is tramadol hcl 50 mg used for - buy tramadol online prescription
 
buy tramadol online tramadol vs hydrocodone addiction - ordertramadolonline.org
 
cheap tramadol no prescription tramadol dosage greyhounds - buy tramadol for dogs online
 
http://landvoicelearning.com/#30896 tramadol hcl er 100mg - order generic tramadol
 
order tramadol overnight tramadol hcl 100 mg er tablets - tramadol apap 37.5mg dosage
 
http://ranchodelastortugas.com/#50238 xanax - xanax 250 dosage
 
buy tramadol online buy tramadol overnight delivery - tramadol hcl rimadyl
 
http://ranchodelastortugas.com/#58720 has anyone ever bought xanax online - xanax withdrawal pain
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?