S omeone up in Ratanakiri recently was asking around about Ieng Sary and stories

came out that many of the Khmer Leou remember him well from the 1960s when he ran

a military training camp with the Vietcong in the Naga's Tail (Taveng District).

When he would move from place to place he was accompanied by at least 50 bodyguards,

and typically carried through the forest in a hammock. Not because he was ill or

tired, but because he was a "Loke Thom". It was said that Pol Pot received

the same treatment; obviously both men of the people.

** The new guide book "The Cambodia Less Traveled" published by

Bert's Books deserves a look-see, especially for all those expats in the capital

who thought they were actually living in Cambodia. As the back cover boldly declares

for the record: "Phnom Penh - Only 10 minutes from Cambodia!"

For those adventurous readers of the guide, if you check out some of the products

non-advertised in the book, like the Wrestler red wine, do send in a first hand report.

Wrestler is purportedly "refined by standardised supervision of laboratory of

Ministry of Industry" and "is produced from red grape with the combination

of imported raw materials. After having taste, you will get good health and full

of strength."

** Who says the break-away boys in Pailin don't have close connections with

"friends" across the border in Thailand? When you ring them from Phnom

Penh on their mobile phones, they answer the call with a "Sawasdee Khaap! Bpen

alai na?"

** In case you missed it, Chakraval, the pro-CPP daily newspaper reported

on August 31 that Second Prime Minister Hun Sen had been awarded the Nobel Peace

Prize. The paper reported that the Prize would be awarded in Cambodia "in the

near future" in recognition of the second prime minister's contribution to peace

and development.

** Its a good thing there are so many foreign experts around to explain how

and why Cambodia works, otherwise we'd all be in the dark. One French advisor, who

has now moved on to fertile fields, managed to unravel the mystery of corruption

in the Kingdom during her tenure here.

The problem of corruption is linked to incest which is rampant, so the expert said.

Incest occurs because family members sleep in the same bed together. The expert cited

instances in which the father sleeps in a separate section of the house while the

mother sleeps with the children. Because there is nothing that separates the body

of the mother from the body of the children, there is a lack of boundaries, which

indicates a society in which nothing is forbidden. In this environment, the expert

concluded, corruption flourishes.

See! It's all so simple. Donate more beds for the kids and corruption will end.