On October 10 at 10pm, people congregated at 7347 gatherings in 188 countries to draw attention to the global climate crisis, and among them were the guys and gals from ArtDeli, on Alley West in Siem Reap.

ArtDeli has already been at the centre of green happenings in Siem Reap, including the Green Market last July.

This time, the occasion was a little more subdued due to an immediate climate crisis – many of those planning on attending had been caught in a violent storm in Sihanoukville.

Loven Ramos, one of the evening’s organisers said, “Everyone we knew was out of town in Sihanoukville and couldn’t make it back for the party after they got caught in a really bad storm. But we had a great time still with some new and different people.”

The 10/10/10 date inspiration is the spin-off of 350.org, an organisation whose mission is to “inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis – to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet”.

Here in Siem Reap, this was done in demure style, with Champagne and toasts to the long life of the planet.

The group also submitted photos of the night to 350.org to mark Cambodia’s participation in this global effort to raise awareness of, and find solutions to, the climate crisis.

Meanwhile, ArtDeli, which has quickly established itself as the weirdest and funkiest joint in town – a sort of post-Bohemian outpost of surrealism – is set to expand soon, with a new library to open upstairs. This will certainly be something worth waiting for, and waiting is the operative word because the opening night has been shifted from October 23 to November 6.

No explanation for the postponement has been given, but intending celebrants are invited to come dressed as their favourite author or artist.

The idea of dressing as an author in itself boggles the mind: How does one dress, for example, as Norman Mailer? Or Germaine Greer for that matter.

And it begs the question, if, for example, Johan Smits, author of Phnom Penh Express, turned up dressed as himself, would that be cheating?