THE BIG WET HITS…AGAIN

Siem Reap was transformed into a floating village over the weekend following a series of deluges. The rain set in on Thursday evening, delaying the landing of the 4pm Cambodia Angkor Air shuttle from Phnom Penh. The plane, with Man About on board, plus such local luminaries as ‘Captain’ Jon Morgan, the executive director of The Lake Clinic Cambodia,  had to circle over the lake for almost half an hour before being able to land safely.

Heavy rains also set in on Friday and Saturday nights, resulting in a large swathe of downtown Siem Reap being under water and a repeat case of the big wets of the very recent past

But as usual, the flood waters were a great boon for local kids who were quick to splash around, and what would be a disaster for most Western cities was just another hiccup for Siem Reap locals.

SIEM REAP SHUTS UP

The call in the September 2 issue of 7Days for Siem Reapers to shut the *@*^ up during introductory talks at art exhibition openings in Hotel de la Paix’s funky Arts Lounge seems to have been heeded.

Hotel de la Paix's director of sales and marketing, Christian de Boer,  reports that a welcome silence prevailed on Thursday evening during introductory speeches at the launch of the Love, Death Dreams showing by the very talented Oeur Sokuntevy aka Tevy.

Christian was so overtaken by the absolute silence that reigned during his introduction to Tevy and her startling work that he commented to the attendees that they must have been reading their copies of The Phnom Penh Post.

VALE FUNKY MUNKY MAC

Farewell to 51-year-old Mac, as he was known to many expats in Siem Reap, who passed away during the night last week. Mac was famous for his hard living and nighttime carousing, and in fact the last time Man About spotted Mac was shortly before his death, as he was arriving at one of his watering holes, Mikey’s Night Bar, in the company of photographer Eric de Vries.

Mac was a former partner in the Funky Munky bar and his heyday was probably back in 2006 when, together with partner Trixie, he won the coveted Cambodia Pocket Guide Siem Reap 2006 Bar of the Year Award.

Here’s part of what was written about Mac and the bar back then: “Bars don't get much funkier than the 2006 Bar of the Year award winner. Unique statues of characters from alien movies made from old motor parts overlook the comfortable booth seating from underlit benches that complement the electric blue colour scheme…

“But the real draw cards are the owners Mac and Trixie, with a fantastic group of staff that keep customers laughing, entertained and happily inebriated. There's always something happening in this lively bar. Thursday is charity quiz night, where donated prizes range from golf course passes to artwork and T-shirts, and each week all proceeds go to a children's charity.

“The effort Mac and Trixie put in to keeping their customers happy, providing social events and supporting the local community is truly inspiring.”

During Mac’s heyday, the Funky Munky Bar was also famous for its notorious burger, dubbed ‘Cardiac Arrest,’ which came with a disclaimer.