Mar
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Posted by Bojebuck at Sun, 1.March 2009 - 09:48
Today it is Jan Müllers turn to tell us his experiences about life in Cambodia. He lives there for already three years! But check it out by yourself:
Tells us about your experiences shooting in Cambodia!
Cambodia and Germany
What is SAME SAME?
What is DIFFERENT?
SameSame is that one is casting hundreds of people for the same lead role; different is that literally nobody fits to the requirements and skills for this job.
SameSame is that I enjoy life in both countries; different is that almost everybody else around me in Cambodia enjoys life as well....
SameSame is that I drink as much beer like in Germany; different is that in Cambodia I add ice cubes and Red Bull into my beer (which would be a blasphemic act in Bavaria, where I grew up)
Shooting in Cambodia is comparable to…
...having a flashback into former times, when people really knew what they are doing when working on a production (seen from my point of view as a long time expat in Cambodia, where this is not the fact at all...)
What was the most bizarre thing that happened to you?
Seeing Buck and his team coming to Cambodia and filming a story which actually could had happened to me as well in the same way... and watching the team members running one by one to a local designer shop and spending thousands of dollars for stylish designer suits...
What influence did the time in Cambodia have on you?
Cambodia is a country where you learn to live beyond all media determined style, fashion and attitudes. In this country, you are just what you really are and what is inside of you. You experience real kindness and honesty without any suspicion.
Now, after staying in Cambodia for 4 years, I can hardly think of going back; some call it “Verbuschung”, others
call it “inspiration”. You see the values of the world through different eyes, getting rid of all artificially produced
needs of the western world (except Starwars action figures and new Prodigy Albums). And except just shouting “Smack my Bitch Up” I also sometimes find myself singing cheesy Khmer lovesongs like “Oun Srolang Bong”(Die Kleine liebt den Grossen) and enjoying it!
Recommendations for Cambodia
This must be mentioned about Cambodia:
In the recent years, the developing country of Cambodia changed rapidly.... from an undiscovered, adventurous, wild and exotic place, where outlaws, losers and former Marienhof actors were trying to escape from the western phoney and shallow society, to a place where businessman and developers from all over the world are trying to make easy money and changing the country’s face into a modern, western influenced world. Faceless bank buildings and chrome flashing Land Rovers are starting to cover the old unique Cambodian Pagodas and Cyclos. New highrise buildings are being built on spaces where we once enjoyed cheap grilled beef in a dirty but real Khmer restaurant. Stylish neon light bars with exaggerated prices are now appearing at places, where you once could drink 1500 Riel beer and hearing crazy stories by “off-the-rails-in Phnom-Penh” expats at small Khmer seller places.
Cambodia is still a place, which is different from all other places of the world, with it’s warm hearted people and fading morbid charm. Let’s hope that this place, which is still a magnet to all who desire a life less ordinary, will keep it’s pure and unique character and that it’s people will not be overrun by the invading globalisation too soon.
These are the places one must visit:
The freshwater volcano lake Bong Yak Laom in the remote area of Rattanakiri. A circle round lake with the crystal clearest water I’ve ever seen, 45 m deep into the hill. The locals say that the lake is doomed, because the leaves don’t swim on the water surface, but drown into the deep..... The most relaxing bathing experience in Cambodia, because this is the only lake with cold refreshing water in the whole country in which you don’t need to be afraid of dying of Japanese encyphalytis.
These are the things you must NOT eat or drink:
a chicken burger from the newly opened imperial Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC on Monivong Boulevard (better buying a num pang toekkalok, a Cambodian style baguette with fruitshake, available at every corner at a food stand run by a lovely Khmer family)
a 0.5l german wheat beer for 5 bucks 50 in the German Edelweiss restaurant at the riverside (better buying a 3.5l Cambodian Angkor beer tap for the same price at one of the convenient blue plastic chair beergardens at every corner)
freshly grilled house cat on the garbage dumb (better eat some warm chicken embryos, add salt n peppa and feel like being one step further on your life achievement list)
These are the things one must do:
Falling in love with a Cambodian country girl, going through all kinds of bizarre situations due to cultural differences with her, making a movie star and model out of her, buying parrots for her, promising to marry her, and hoping not to end up with demolished face after a planned acid attack by her, because you forgot to turn off the bathroom light before going on a three day trip to Sihanoukville...
Jan Mueller, Phnom Penh
