Cambodia
The Female Deity Worshipped by the Kings of Angkor
Did you know that Angkorian kings used to regularly travel to the lower Mekong region to worship a female deity? No, you didn’t know that.
Srivijaya 2.0 (12): The Lost Multinational History of the Saigon – Vũng Tàu Coast?
Over the past few months, I have been demonstrating that information in Chinese sources that has been used for the past century to write about
Srivijaya 02: Sanfoqi = Samfhutshiaj = Jianpuzhai = Angkor??
As discussed in the previous post, in 1918 French scholar Georges Coedès came up with the idea that there had been a maritime kingdom in
Sihanouk’s “Glory to Our Arab and African Brothers”
Among the many musical compositions that Norodom Sihanouk composed was a piece called “Glory to Our Arab and African Brothers.” It would appear that this
Sihanouk’s “Korea and Cambodia Are Revolutionary Comrades-in-Arms”
After Cambodian Head of State Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown in 1970, he took up residence in Beijing, China and Pyongyang, North Korea. I’ve always wondered
Sihanouk’s “Thank You, Hồ Chí Minh Trail” (1973)
In 1970, the head of state of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, was overthrown by one of his military officers, Lon Nol. Sihanouk, who had declared Cambodia
Visions of Modernity in French Indochina
I recently discovered that the French Archives nationales de outré-mer has digitized a treasure trove of historical photographs from France’s former colonial possessions and has
Traveling Back in Time to Jam with Ros Sereysothea
As an historian, not only do I enjoy learning about the past, but I also have a strong desire to travel back in time to
Bombing Distilleries in World War II Indochina
I recently came across a report that the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) prepared during World War II on “Selected Industrial Sites in Indo-China.” In
Beautiful Saigon, Cambodian Girls and Cathay Pacific Airlines
There is a very famous Vietnamese song from the 1960s written by Y Vân called “Saigon is Beautiful” (Sài Gòn đẹp lắm). I remember being
Orientalism and Postage Stamps in French Indochina
A Vietnamese translation of Edward Said’s Orientalism has apparently just been published. That book became very influential after it first appeared in 1978, becoming a
The Khmer Rouge Top Secret Santebal (S-21) Archives
The digitization of historical materials is making research ever more easy, however I still find that I make my greatest “discoveries” by looking around in
Pen Ran’s Rusted Bachelor in 1970s Cambodia
Pen Ran (also written Pan Ron) was a famous singer in Cambodia in the 1960s and 1970s, during the golden age of Khmer popular music.
If Herb Albert and Jimi Hendrix had Visited Phnom Penh. . .
If Herb Albert and Jimi Hendrix had visited Phnom Penh in the late 1960s and recorded a song with Ros Sereysothea, it would have sounded
Mud on Our Wheels in Cambodia
Several years ago I spent a few years studying Khmer. I eventually started to do some research in Khmer, but then I got distracted by
Mapping Military Posts in French Indochina
Following on the post below, here is an attempt at making a map of military posts in French Indochina in World War II. On the
Forgotten Diplomats
Wars create refugees. In every war there are people who flee from the fighting, and people who flee from the victors. In the 1970s, the
A 1944 Secret Report on Caodaism
I came across a “secret” report that the Indochina Section of the Far Eastern Bureau of the British Ministry of Information in New Delhi filed
Blood Matters in Colonial Cambodia
I was looking at pictures that have been digitized by the French National Library and came across some interesting images of people from Cambodia that
Hu Nim on Clandestine Radio in 1973 Cambodia
Alexander Hinton’s Why Did They Kill: Cambodia in the Shadow of Genocide is a fascinating study of the ideas that the Khmer Rouge employed to
