BIG PARTY

The Angkor Hospital for Children’s 11th anniversary party last Saturday is now officially on the list for “party of the year” honours.

Frontline reporter Byron Perry braved the froth-and-bubble fray and reported, “The party started out tamely at 5pm with guests politely lining up for the buffet. But by 8:30 the requisite raucous Khmer dance circle had formed, and kids chased each other between tables and practiced kickboxing as adults clanged glasses of beer and ice together with many a chul moi.”

The crowd – comprising mostly the Khmer staff of the hospital and their families – was treated to a deluxe buffet with unlimited Angkor beer bottles.

“This will go on as long as the booze lasts,” said Angkor Hospital for Children founder Kenro Izu, who travelled to Siem Reap from his home in Rhinebeck, New York, for the soiree. “It’s great to see the staff enjoying it. The other 364 days a year they work day and night. Tonight we eat, drink, dance and sing but tomorrow the battle begins again.”

By the end of the night a few red-faced, over-served patrons danced through the banquet room touching glasses with everyone they passed. They’d earned it: Tomorrow, as Izu said, the battle to save young lives would begin again.

BIG APOLOGY

Last week I referred to the presence in Siem Reap of Her Royal Highness Princess Bopha Devi, “together with her daughter, Keo Chinsita Forsinetti”.

I have since been informed that the correct royal protocol regarding Princess Bopha Devi’s daughter is to refer to her as Princess Norodom Sisowath.

I have also been informed that the King elevated the title “some four years ago” in what was part of “very complicated” protocol.

Apologies to the Princess for this gaffe and for any offence it may have inadvertently caused her gracious highness.

BIG TOUR

Siem Reap is about to be part of a new $6000, 16-day, three-country world heritage site tour program run regularly by Luxury Travel Vietnam.

The Cuisine, Culture and World Heritages Discovery of Indochina will travel through three Southeast Asian nations, “exploring the treasures of six world heritage sites and encompassing the ancient cultures” of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The tour will end in Siem Reap and the tour travellers will stay at Hotel de la Paix.