Musings

Quite serious flooding in the north of the country is threatening my proposed trip to Kompong Cham and Kratie in the latter part of next week during the Pchum Ben holidays. Yesterday, parts of Kratie and Kompong Thom for example were under 2 metres of water after rains in the past week. National Highway 7 was closed in two locations outside the provincial capital of Kratie. My plan was for a moto ride along the west bank of the Mekong River, across to Chhlong and up to Kratie for an overnight stop. Then back down and along the east bank of the river but with thousands of hectares of land and over 2,000 homes having been flooded, it looks like I'll have to leave that trip for another day.
Tonight at 7pm is the Khmer Arts Ensemble performance of Ream Eyso & Moni Mekhala at the Chenla Theatre - the same show that I saw in rehearsal at their Takhmau home last Saturday. Fingers crossed I can get in to watch the show this time after my aborted attempt to watch the Royal Ballet on Monday evening.
I'm really looking forward to the architectural tour on Saturday morning with The Heritage Mission folks around the old French district of Phnom Penh. The tour party has been limited to about 30 I think and I know many other people have been unable to get a place. It's scheduled for 3 hours. The architectural heritage of Phnom Penh is unique and as much as possible needs to be done to raise awareness of what the city has today, so it's not lost tomorrow in case the Khmer preference for something new takes precedence amongst the city planners. This month has been designated Our City month and there are various events taking place to mark it, including this tour. One date to look out for is Wednesday 30th September at the CCF Cinema (7pm) when 150 years of Urban Architecture in the city will be discussed and dissected.
On Sunday I will be off up to Siem Reap for a few days but before I go, my concentration will be firmly fixed on the proceedings at the Olympic Stadium as the first leg of the Cambodian Premier League football play-offs take place. In the regular season, Phnom Penh Crown came out on top and will face Naga Corp, who finished fourth, at 2pm. Whilst I have a preference for Naga to win, I fear Phnom Penh Crown will be too strong for them. At 4pm, second-placed Preah Khan Reach take on Khemara Keila, who finished 3rd. If Kuoch Sokumpheak's ankle injury clears up and he plays for Khemara they will win, mark my words. The winners of the two games will meet to decide who will be crowned as the CPL league champions in two weeks time, 26th September.