22
Jun
Jun
There is a huge difference between something that gets produced in order to get sold, and something that gets produced in order to be kept. ‘Financial viability’ is the last thing to be considered when a…
18
Apr
Apr
The Great Cambodian Experiment: XI As you’re about to enter his home, on your left, you’ll see Mr. Nhek’s well. Round, poured of cement, and very deep, with a cracked up plastic bucket tied to a rope resting on the rim on top. I’ve been down the streets of Koh Kong City many times, through […]
12
Apr
Apr
The Great Cambodian Experiment X Men dressed in khaki shirts with technicolor stripes stitched all over their pockets, tucked into khaki pants held up by big black belts, starred epaulets decorating their shoulders, stand watch over the throng of people passing by within a few meters of them. A barricade funnels people toward their security post […]
27
Mar
Mar
The Great Cambodian Experiment: IX Flickering through the backseat window like a film reel, my tired eyes wonder at the romance of truck drivers asleep beside the road. Midnight, wives and kids and dreams spread across a creased country map folded up, tin canned tuna, benzene for the truck, caffeine for the driver. We make a pit stop to […]
24
Mar
Mar
The Great Cambodian Experiment: VII I was sitting in the back of a pick-up truck with my head squeezed in between a web of red ropes bound around a huge empty blue tank. Sort of half-way seated on a dirty oil container toward the back of the truck, my legs awkwardly tucked between the ropes […]
The Great Cambodian Experiment: VI This is a rerun of one of my earliest distills which sold way back in 2004. To this day I get emails asking for Sultan Murad, so I thought it was time to revisit the old timer and see if I could improve on anything while retaining his distinct Papuan […]
The Great Cambodian Experiment: V The warehouses in the oud center of the world do not stock Cambodian agarwood anymore. If you want to get a look at the best pieces go see the ones up on display behind the boss’ desk, but don’t bet on getting a piece of your own. This is largely […]
The Great Cambodian Experiment: IV ‘What do you think God has to gain from you getting up to wash your face and do a few quick bends and bows in the pre-dawn hours when no sane person is anything but asleep?’ the Shaykh once asked. This was in Jordan, where I had moved from New […]
11
Jan
Jan
The warehouses in the oud center of the world do not stock Cambodian agarwood anymore. If you want to get a look at the best pieces go see the ones up on display behind the boss’ desk, but don’t bet on getting a piece of your own. This is largely because major oud hubs across […]