Battambang, Cambodia, Cambodia Map, Google Maps, Online Map Search, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville
In Technology on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 11:44 PM
One thing I am thankful about life in the US is the availability of online map technology. Just one click away, I can get detailed driving directions to almost anywhere I wanna go. For a long time, this convenience has made me think of nothing but a wish for the same technology for Cambodia. Thanks to Google’s excellent Google Maps, this wish is fast becoming a reality.
While address and direction search remains unavailable (or to an extent, imprecise), Google Maps now offers one of the most comprehensive maps of Cambodia to ever be available online. Users can now access detailed street maps of the country’s four major cities – namely Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville – as well their landmarks. Though it is still a long way until the whole Cambodia map is well digitalized, this new release marks another milestone for Google in online map technology, apart from its popular Google Earth.
Apart from Cambodia, 15 other countries have also been added to the service. They include Bhutan, Bolivia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guam, Iceland, Mauritius, Paraguay, the Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
Below are some of the new Cambodia maps I found. Enjoy searching!!!
The new detailed map of Phnom Penh. I briefly did a test search for my house. While Google Maps failed to place it in its right spot, the result was not that bad either. Why don’t you guys try yours and let me know how it goes?
A close-up of downtown Phnom Penh and its many streets and boulevards
Battambang
Sihanoukville
and Siem Reap also go digital. Kudos to Google Maps for this wonderful piece of technology!
Memoirs of Saigon, Vietnamese Student Association of Minnesota, VSAM
In Minneapolis on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 2:17 PM
A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to attend a special performance by the Vietnamese Student Association of Minnesota (VSAM). Titled “Memoirs of Saigon,” the Broadway-styled play was set in 1975 Vietnam and integrated many interesting twists of traditional Vietnamese singing, dancing, comedy , and acting galore! It followed the love story and life of “Nam,” a Vietnamese immigrant who got separated from his high school lover by the Vietnam War and later ended up in the United States.
Below are some of the photos I took from the show. Enjoy!
We’re still proud South Vietnamese. I was surprised that after all these years, Vietnamese-Americans still identify themselves with the long gone South Vietnam – as reflected in the flag and national anthem used at the beginning of the show.
Traditional Vietnamese dance… មិនចោលសោះឡើយ មួកឌួន និង អាវសាយ!
The main character “Nam” and his two grandchildren
Nam and his high school lover in their younger days in pre-war Saigon
In 1976, Nam married a girl he met in the refugee camp. Under the sponsorship of an American church, he later migrated to the US and settled in Minnesota.
Nam with his daughters and grandkids
The show ended with a traditional Vietnamese fashion show. សុទ្ធតែ đẹp lam…
Please watch out for the Cambodian Student of Minnesota’s New Year Performance and Celebration coming up this April!!! 
Wisconsin, Wisconsin State Capitol
In Photography on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Located in Madison, WI, The Wisconsin State Capitol was completed in 1917. It houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. The building is the fifth to serve as the Wisconsin capitol since the first territorial legislature convened in 1836 and the third building since Wisconsin was granted statehood in 1848.
The Capitol is 284 feet, 5 inches tall from the ground floor to the top of the statue on the dome, making the building 3 feet shorter than the nation’s capitol in Washington D.C. The “Wisconsin” statue on the dome was sculpted in 1920 by Daniel Chester French of New York. Her left hand holds a globe with an eagle on it and her right arm is outstretched to symbolize the state motto, “Forward.” She wears a helmet with the state animal, the badger, on top. She is made of hollow bronze covered with gold leaf.
The Capitol was constructed of 43 types of stone from six countries and eight states. The exterior stone is Bethel White granite from Vermont, making the exterior dome the largest granite dome in the world. In the rotunda is marble from Greece, Algeria, Italy, and France, along with Minnesota limestone, Norwegian syenite (Labradorite) and red granite from Waupaca, Wisconsin. Other Wisconsin granites are located throughout the public hallways on the ground, first, and second floors.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Cambodian, Khmer, Stereotype
In A Minute of Laughter on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Great Firewall of Cambodia, Internet Blocking
In Cambodia on Monday, February 9, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Probably in an attempt to protect the government’s credibility domestically, several websites deemed negative by the government have recently been blocked by local ISPs in Cambodia. The Global Witness joined the blacklist today.
THE website of the UK-based corruption watchdog Global Witness has been blocked for some local web users following the organisation’s release of a scathing report on the Kingdom’s nascent oil and mining industries last week.
[...]
The apparent blocking of the site comes a week after reahu.net, the site of a Khmer-American artist, was reportedly blocked by several local ISPs for its scantily clad depictions of Cambodian women.
Chapei, Chapei Khmer Surin, Khmer Surin
In Cambodia, Khmer on Friday, February 6, 2009 at 1:53 PM
