Chop Chop

Ok ok ok…..lesson learned…first off I just spent all morning writing ,and somehow deleted the draft…ugh….plus. The home office has been expressing their miffyness at my lack of punctual blogging( that’s not really true..there is no home office…sounds cool tho). I have however come to understand,..if you don’t keep on it…it backs up…so round 2 here. Now sitting on the roof at Mr Franks ..they run tapes of birds singing to promote extra saliva output from the birds…harvesting a super expensive saliva for cooking…I shit you not..
I am sick,,,to be expected…just spent the morning at my friend Mr Eugenes awesome kampoccino place trying to not to soil the cute rattan furniture and hold down my honey crepes…still can’t believe I erased the whole morning…
Thursday marked a field trip return to the kampot market. I have always felt that the ” market ” was the most immediate Insight into a culture…I used to go with my dad a lot when we traveled…looking at cool fish…so…mr shermmrjustinmrjoseph woke at 7 and made our way down…watching mr Justin diving into his bowl of soup from the noodle stall was in something to behold…followed by mr Justins filming of the potential bird flu pandemic epicenter. Lots of live birds..cute birds…the helpful duck lady thought it would be of thematic importance to begin breaking the necks of said ducks while Mr Justin filmed….this would have been a ” kampot ” moment in and of itself..until Mr Sherm pulled out his leatherman and proceeded to join in the carnage..the lad butchered 30 ducks chickens and pheasant before the Kampot offal police had to drag him giggling and screaming from the pile of now soup ready fowl…there are indeed some things one cannot” unsee”. As Mr Jeny would say it was….awkward. ..so….a blood drenched tuk tuk ride outa there…I would love to return with Anthony Bourdain and David Chang and shop for dinner sometime…the fowl stall not withstanding.
Later that evening it was Madi’s bar…Madi has a cool Khmer band called the Kampot Playboys…we opened the show…much thanks to his lovely Swedish girlfriend for moving the pool table…I would go into the excellent story. However. Mr Frank keeps reminding me..he lives here.
There were actually people singing along ..a testament I believe to my linguistic skills..I impressed myself with my ability to transpose “staple gun” into Khmer.and sing it in the correct modal fluctuations…tho who knew..that ” hard to keep a hard on when I’ m covered in your blood”. Also means “Mr Sherms duck soup special” in falsetto…some confusion there
All in all a good start for Chop Chop. The mrfrankmrjerry combo we are taking on tour.
Yesterday morning saw another early field trip to Kep. Home of stunning French colonial mansions blown to fucking pieces by Khmer bazookas. Also…the Crab Goliath…and the crab market…a quick skiff to rabbit island..a lovely spot for quiet meditation and yoga that we had neither the time nor inclination to stay for…..then I got sick…the crabs? The tuk tuk exhaust? who knows…but I went down…
We had a show last night at Hugh and Jos’s Bhodi Villa . Very cool spot..very nice people…we debuted our new doumbak player Ali. French Algerian…” give it 4 then come in like fuckin Al-Qaeda. Indeed . Friends showed up…the ever evasive Mr Clark rolled up Brando style on his scooter with a large bag of ..in his words ..stuff… Then my war correspondent – lonely planet photographer friend Kraig Leib also rolls in..driven by the ever stoic Mr Sam…super cool to have them along…watching Israelis sing along to Townes van Zandt Two Hands in a river hostel in Kampot is the stuff dreams are made of… The music was great once Mr Sherm saved the guitar…so…tonight is round 3. Greenhouse. The abode of Mr Donkey Dave ( I can’t make this shit up]. Another stunning river house….then sadly we must leave Kampot..until the monsoon residency at Madis. Again…I have been to a million backpacker expat destinations around the world and Kampot is far and way one of the coolest places I have been ,truly beautiful people amazing food. And now the home of internationally acclaimed Chop Chop Two Arabs and a Mexican walk into a Khmer bar in Kampot with an accordion ………….I forgot the punch line..or that is the punch line. …thanks to Mr Eugene and his killer Kampoccino. See you all tonight. Bring a pool table. Kisses and goodnight noises everywhere. J