Henri Mouhot’s records on Kampot

In 1859 the famous traveller Henri Mouhot arrived on boat in the port of Kampot. It was on his second journey coming from Bangkok via Chantaburi. He gave a description of the Kampot of his time in his publication. It is remarkable for it represents one of very few pieces of written information on Kampot around the mid 19th century.

At that time nowadays Kampot didn’t exist; the settlement Mouhot mentions was situated at the western banks of the Teuk Chhou River.

After arriving in Kampot, Mouhot saw the king of Cambodia on one of his ships on Kampot River (Teuk Chhou River). The king was accompanied by one of the famous pirates of the time. Mouhot described the circumstances as follows:

“Behind the king’s boat, in no apparent order, and at long intervals, followed those of several mandarins, who were not distinguished in any particular manner. One boat alone, manned by Chinese, and commanded by a fat man of the same nation, holding in his hand a halberd surmounted by a crescent, attracted my attention, as it headed the escort. This man was the famous Mun Suy, chief of the pirates, and a friend of the king. I was told that, two years before, he had been compelled, owing to some iniquities not very well known, to fly from Amoy, and had arrived at Komput with a hundred followers, adventurers and rovers of the sea like himself. After having remained there for some time, keeping the whole place in terror, and extorting by menaces all he could from the market people, he conceived the project of seizing upon and burning the town, and putting all the inhabitants to the sword, intending then to retreat with his spoils, if not strong enough to hold his ground. Fortunately the plot was discovered, and the Cambodians from the neighbourhood were armed and assembled in readiness to defend the place.
Mun Suy, not liking the aspect of affairs, embarked with his band in his junk, and fell suddenly on Itatais. The market was sacked in a minute; but the inhabitants, recovering from their surprise, repulsed the pirates and drove them back to their vessel with the loss of several men.
Mun Suy then returned to Komput, gained over by presents first the governor and afterwards the king himself, and ever since has carried on his piratical acts with impunity, making his name dreaded by all around. Loud complaints arose from the neighbouring countries, and the king, either overawed by the pirate, or for protection against the Annamites, appointed him commander of the coast-guard. Henceforth, therefore, he became a licensed robber, and murder and rapine increased to such a degree, that the King of Siam sent a naval expedition to Komput to capture the malefactor and his gang. Two only were taken and executed. As for their leader, he was hidden, they say, in the palace.”

Mouhot, Henri:
Travels in the central parts of Indochina,
London 1864
Volume I, p. 184-187

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Tropical Rainforest and Jungle in Southeast Asia

In the early 1960s, global rainforests spread over 11% of earth’s land mass, nowadays the remaining rainforests alltogether cover some 6 to 7 percent of it. That is a thin belt along the equator, mostly below the 10th degree of latitude. A hundred years or more ago the size of the old forests was much larger. Nevertheless, between 50% to 70% of the known species are living in these richest biotopes. That’s a total amount of estimated 30 million plants and animals. And there are many more who are yet undiscovered.

The last remaining tropical rainforests are located in the Amazon catchment area in South America, the Congo basin in Africa and in parts of Southeast Asia. Since the rainforests of south America (the world’s largest) and the ones in Africa are based on mainland, most of the Southeast Asian rainforests are spread over ten thousands of islands in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

It is the year-round warm temperatures, the not much changing climate conditions and the plenty of rain and humidity who keep a stable environment and grant so many different animals and plants a habitate. Evolution had one of it’s best playgrounds in areas like the Malayan rainforest, which is counted as the oldest forest on earth. The Malay peninsula and the great Sunda islands are uninterruptedly forested since more than a hundred million of years already. That’s why so many species could evolve particularly here. Not on chance got Alfred Russel Wallace his igniting idea concerning the theory of evolution, driven by natural selection, in the rich rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia.

What’s actually the difference between rainforest and jungle? Well, jungle is a more common expression for all wild vegetation which is growing in the tropes and subtropes, including bushes and dense vegetation of all kind. Fast growing green wilderness, so to say. Rainforest means real forest, old trees and it’s a vegetation form which needs ages to develop.

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Firefly

Fireflies or ‘lightning bugs’ are always a fascinating appearance, particularly when they come in swarms. They have a light-producing organ at their abdomen. This bioluminiscent light has the function to attract mates or prey as well as to warn predators. Fireflies appear in the tropes, particularly in marshland and tropical rainforests, but as well in moderate climate zones.

The sketch is made after a firefly seen in Kampot, Cambodia. Length below 1cm.

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This is only a part of the richly illustrated article ‘The Animals of Southeast Asia’. Read here the whole article on The Animals of Southeast Asia.

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Literature Index for Southeast Asia

The listed works on this page give a rough overview on a selection of books, brochures and other publications on Southeast Asia, it’s countries and plenty of different topics. Some, but not all of them had an influence on this web project. Others who were of influence are not (yet) listed. There is, of course, much, much more.

Southeast Asia is in a process of rapid change, as the whole world is. Changes might be partially faster here than elsewhere, because of the particular economic dynamic in this world region. It’s relatively easy to research historical topics; it’s much more difficult to get a realistic image on what’s going on right now. A lot of internet sources serve therefore as additional information suppliers, containing of newspapers, scientific websites, private blogs etc. The good, old books are getting a bit slow in a rapidly changing world, for they are not so easily updated as a website is.

It’s rather superfluous to say that Asienreisender is neither responsible for the content of the works nor necessessarily favouring opinions, ideas or whatever is expressed in them.

Asienreisender is an advocate for the freedom of expression in all means. Therefore this page lists a wide variety of different, partially contradicting sources. Excluded are works presenting racist, sexist, violent content or follow merely business interests.

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Koh Kong / Cambodia

The dusty (or muddy, depending on the weather) hole at the Cambodian border to Thailand’s Trat Province is mostly a transfer point for people who come from Thailand and are too late to get a bus to other places in Cambodia. The most busses leave in the morning, and the arrivals from Bangkok usually don’t reach the border before midday or early afternoon. It’s due to the lousy and uncoordinated transport system that people get stuck here.

There is not much to do in Krong Koh Kong, the province capital, apart from strolling along the waterfront. It’s promenade looks similar to the one at Kampot’s waterfront, but it’s wider and shabbier. Means dirtier and more broken.

The waterfront here is situated along a long, pointed seabay which is blending it’s saltwaters with the sweetwaters from the Kah Bpow River. It’s said around here were still some of the Irrawaddy Dolphins living, as at the shores of neighbouring Trat Province / Thailand. The Bangkok Post reported in the last years repeatedly of severe losses among the decreasing dolphin population due to industrial impacts.

Since ‘Koh’ actually is Thai language and means ‘island’ one might wonder about the name for the land-based town. However, there is a Koh Kong Island some 20km beeline southwards. Besides there is so called ‘Beach 2000’ not far from town, reachable allegedly by boats only. It’s popular among Khmer.

The long coastlines are still mostly undeveloped, although the towns in Koh Kong Province are growing fast. That causes an increasing impact on the mangrove forests. Particularly the shrimp farms grew extensively in the last years. They are preferably built on the grounds of former mangrove forest, which is removed by caterpillars then.

In Koh Kong is also one of the ‘Special Economic Zones’ established. Import-Export business…

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Bangkok

So, the city has it’s attractions. Thailand has an interesting history, and a good deal of historical places in Bangkok are worth a visit. The historical city center is, as mentioned above, Rattanakosin Island. Near to touristic Khao San Road is the Grand Palace situated, dating back to the foundation time of modern Siam/Thailand in the years from 1782 on. Here are the three most representative Thai temples among the other 400 temples in the city. It’s Wat Phra Kaeo, which is housing the emerald Buddha, Wat Mahathat with a Buddhist ‘university’, and Wat Pho, the biggest and oldest temple in Bangkok with the reclining Buddha in it.

Between the Grand Palace and Khao San district there is the national museum which is the biggest in Southeast Asia, a national art gallery, the national theater and the national library. East and north of the Grand Palace stretches an area with a lot of historical buildings. Among them are as well many of these typical 19th and 20th century two storey shop houses. Most of them are still in use as what they always were: a shop downstairs, and housing for the shopkeeper family upstairs. In this area are also the giant swing, the city pillar shrine, an old fortress, the democracy monument and a number of old wats.

Another place worth to have a look at is Anantasamakhom Throne Hall, built in the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) before the First World War in a victorian style. Dusit park with it’s large green recreation area and a zoo inside offers a retreat from the hecticness of the megacity. The zoo is pretty big and gives an introduction into Thailand’s wildlife. In Dusit park also Vimanmek mansion is located, it’s said being the largest teak wood building in the world from about 1900.

Opposite the road at the Dusit Zoo is the house of parliament. Closeby is the government house and other government buildings.

Hualamphong railway station is an impressing building, and the history of Thailand’s railway is interesting itself. Everywhere around are old steam engine locomotives displayed. The first line opened in 1893 between Bangkok and Pak Nam at the seaside, being 25km long. In 1924 the southern railway line reached then still sleepy Hat Yai and triggered it’s boom.

A walk through Chinatown is a choice, or a walk over the amulet market between the grand palace and Thammasat University gives an idea how superstitious so many people are.

Visiting temples may be a pretty boring undertaken, but it’s rewarded by many interesting temple painting. Though it’s written in the guide books, that there were some of the finest temple paintings of the country in Bangkok, I was disappointed by what I saw. In Wat Po or Wat Borowinet the paintings are barely accessible (barred, one can not come close to most of them) and what I saw was severely faded out and needs defenitely a thorough restauration. The paintings I found in other parts of Thailand look partially much, much better, therefore most of them are clearly not of such a high artistic quality and rather painted in recent years.

There is also the famous Jim Thompson house, a traditional teak house what serves nowadays as a museum. Jim Thompson was one of the Westerners who made a remarkable career in Thailand by promoting Thai silk. He led an adventurous life, and his end is still obscure. He disappeared traceless on a short stroll in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia.

Another grand green part of the megacity is Lumphini Park. It’s a center for Bangkokians to do morning sports activities. No cars are allowed in here and there are lawns and bigger lakes inside. It’s possible to observe monitor lizards here, of whom not a small number life in the lakes and hideouts in the park and who lost their shyness of people.

Bangkok is also attractive for shoppers, as I pointed already out. Some of the biggest shopping malls of Southeast Asia are located here, and at some places one gets goods for wholesale prices or almost. Apart from Rattanakosin Island as the historical city center Bangkok actually doesn’t have a modern city center. The huge downtown area around Siam Square is considered as a shopping center. But Patpong district along Silom Road houses also a number of modern shopping centers, while Chinatown is a place where mostly typical Asian goods, usually foods, spices, clothes and much, much more is dealt with.

Thonburi, the place which marked the historical beginning of the megacity at the western banks of the Chao Phraya River, is no more that central, although still very crowded. Here are more house blocks situated, and furtherly to the west the city is still largely expanding, looking much shabbier than the city parts east of the river. The buildings are also far not as high west of the river.

In Thonburi lies also Thonburi railway station, a small station at the beginning of the old route to Burma. This line was built in World War II by the Japanese armee and became in a tragically way famous for a great number of prisoners of war and Asian people who were forced to built the ‘death railway’, and lost their lives due to the hardships. The best known part of the line is the famous ‘bridge over the River Kwai’ in Kanchanabury.

The highest concentration of Bangkoks 800 slums is in the south, near the city’s port. Verymost of the foreign visitors of the city never get a glance on them.

However, it’s actually not really worth to come to Bangkok for doing much sightseeing, except one is interested in culture, history or it’s peculiar nightlife. Patpong district, particularly the sideroads near Silom Road, change at sunset into one of the world’s most notorious redlight districts.

Elsewise Bangkok is rather a big hub for tourists and travellers into whole Southeast Asia, because it’s hosting the biggest airport in the world region and most flights from America, Europe, Japan and Australia and more and more other Asian countries arrive in Bangkok. From here on tourism finds it’s way to other places in Thailand and the neighbouring countries of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Burma/Myanmar or even Indonesia.

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Animals of Southeast Asia

Sketch of a blowfly in Cambodia.

A blowfly, seen in Cambodia. Flies, appearing in masses, are an indicator for a low hygienic standard. Where food remains are thrown or spit on the floor, these animals thrive. That’s the case in many rural places in restaurants and fresh markets. Dogshit is another agars for these insects.

When going on food they serve as a vector for countless diseases. Their larvaes thrive in meat, milk, fish. Excrements of blowfly larvaes are very poisonous for humans and after they attaint food it’s no more edible.

The high child mortality in Cambodia has partially to do with the lack of hygiene. Sketch by Asienreisender, 2013

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New Blogsite on Southeast Asia

For some news and additional information on Southeast Asian themes I started a new blog at www.asienreisender.com. Pay a visit to it for some background on the recent Bangkok demonstrations in Thailand or a report on land grabbing practises in Cambodia and Laos.

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Kampot Pepper

Kampot pepper is famous for it’s taste and quality. In the French colonial times the local pepper plantations alledgedly supplied any restaurant in France with Kampot pepper. And it’s still a famous product of the region; a number of pepper plantations are around Kampot and Kep. But, what’s actually the difference compared to other peppers?  Visiting a pepper plantation and having a guided tour, the question was answered with the difference of the Kampot soil. There is a high degree of a certain quartz in the local grounds. The pepper plants therefore are not different than elsewhere, the plantation owner said. Well, there are certainly different kinds of pepper. However, there are still three different colours of Kampot pepper. There is black pepper, red and white pepper. Where are these differences coming from? It’s not the case that the different colours come from different kind of plants, as one may assume on the first glance. When the pepper corns are ripe, part of the same bunch is already red, part of it is still green. They get picked then together. If the harvest would be delayed until the green corns get red as well, then the corns who went red first would fall down and get lost. So, the bunch is picked as a whole, and in a next step the red and green corns get separated. Both kinds get airdried for one week. The green corns change their colour to black when drying, the red corns remain red. To produce white pepper, part of the red corns get boiled for ten minutes in water; in this process they loose their skin. After that they get dried and gain a white color.

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This is only a part of the richly illustrated article ‘Kampot’. Read here the whole article on Kampot.

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Check the list of recently published articles on a great variety of Southeast Asian themes. All of them are richly illustrated: Asienreisender