The Trotting Goes On…

Big Swallo’ from the UK!

The past one week in England has been fantastic. So much has happened, and I am enjoying it more and more each day. I arrived in London early Tuesday morning, around the same time as did Master Kong Nay, his wife Tat Chhen and Savy. We were welcomed right at the terminal by our tour managers Dickie and Will, who had driven all the way from Bath. After picking up our baggage, we departed for Peter Gabriel’s house in Notting Hill, where we were going to stay for a night.

London is truly beautiful. The city is full of charm, greenery and history. All along the way, we saw parks, mansions, churches, government buildings of various architectures and styles that until now never cease to amaze me. Catching my attention the most were the famous double-decked red buses and 60s’-styled taxis. They were super duper cool and uniquely British. I’ll make sure I am on them at least once before I leave.

The famous London bus and taxi

50 minutes later, we arrived at Peter’s. As I had imagined, his house was so huge and beautiful. We were given a room each. Kong Nay and his wife stayed on the ground floor, while Savy, Carol and I on the first floor. Unfortunately Peter wasn’t home. He had gone to South Africa for a conference with Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter, and wouldn’t be back until 2 days later. And yeah, we ended up having almost the whole house to ourselves.

Peter Gabriel’s backyard. You must have noticed all the scaffoldings. A work on a small performance hall is actually under way right there, if you were wondering.

After everyone had settled in, Dickie and Will gave us a brief intro to the important schedules for the day. Basically nothing much happened, as Dickie wanted us to relax and adjust ourselves to the time difference. Our only appointment was with John Lusk, an arts and music columnist from the Guardian, who conducted a one-hour interview with Master Kong Nay and Savy that afternoon. For some reasons, the interview offered me a good glimpse into the life of the two Chapei artists.

Master Kong Nay and Savy show off their music to the Guardian’s John Lusk.

Master Kong Nay, who is typically known among his fans as the Ray Charles of Cambodia, was born in 1945 in Kampot, Cambodia. His life and hope as a child was torn apart when small pox, which forever took his eyesight away, struck him when he was 2. Coming from a musical family, he grew up around relatives who were masters of traditional instruments, copying religious manuscripts, Buddhist chanting, poetry and the chapei dang weng. In his youth, Kong Nay often faced ridicule from his peers for his disability. Rather than being disempowered by their prejudice, however, Kong Nay sought to find a vocation that would bring him independence and respect. The chapei, whose sound had excited him from childhood, turned out to be the perfect instrument. Kong Nay thus decided to take up Chapei classes with an uncle, who then was also a Chapei player, when he was 13. Within two years of beginning his studies, at the age of fifteen Kong Nay began to perform professionally. His reputation grew quickly, and he soon earned the nickname Kung “Handsome” Nay.

When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, Master Kong Nay was no different from his fellow Cambodians. The fact that he was a blind did not land him in any special treatment and care. Instead he was forced to give up his singing and work long hour with little food. Unlike most of his fellow musicians, however, Kong Nay was miraculously spared from the regime’s hideous attempts to wipe out intellectuals and artists. Kong Nay has since performed internationally in six countries, including Belgium, France, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam, once even stopping to perform in Africa.

Ouch Savy, 21, is Kong Nay’s female protege. She is one of the new generation of Chapei musicians who are at the beginning of an emerging musical awareness that could come to rival imported karaoke and pop. A student sponsored by Cambodian Living Arts, Savy began classes with Master Kong Nay in 2003. She has already made more than 20 television appearances and performed improvisational pieces with the LA-based Dengue Fever.

According to John Lusk, our interview should be out in this Friday’s copy of the Guardian. So let’s see how everything goes.

Savy, Kong Nay, his wife, Carol, John and I at the end of the interview

Understanding that Kong Nay, his wife and Savy are far from being used to Western food, Dickie and Will that evening took us to a Cambodian restaurant on Royal Street in the Camden neighborhood of London. Known as “Lemongrass”, this little restaurant is run by Cambodian immigrant Heng, who first came to the UK as a student in the early 1970s. When Cambodia plunged into its civil wars, this Phnom Penh native decided to stay behind and opened this restaurant 10 years later.

Lemongrass offered an atmosphere like home. We could find almost anything we wanted here — either Samlor M’choo, Lok Lak, Cha K’nyei or Mango Salad. To Cambodians like us, it really meant a lot. We were so glad Dickie and Will had found it. And as you could have predicted, we ate until all the bowls and plates were clean.

Our happy gang at the dinner