| CAMBODIA |
| A
Cambodian Adventure - Out On The Edge In The Land Of The Khmer |
| - Cambodia
is a place where everthing seems possible. The above article gets you down
on the street and into the boxing ring and down on the beach and in the
bar. You can feel what the place is like and that's the way good travel
writing should be. |
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| Before
Angkor - In Cambodia |
| - Along the
dusty road, you pass ancient two-wheeled carts, pulled by large cows. Half
wild herds of buffalo make their lazy way through lush dense jungle, driven
by barefoot boys wearing krama. Rice farmers squat in their flooded fields,
their heads protected from the intense Cambodian sun by pointed wide-brimmed
straw hats. Children play, casing pigs and chickens under the houses on
stilts, whose thatched walls are made of woven palm leaves or shredded
bamboo. Many of the front doors are adorned with a plastic bag of red liquid
to ward off the vampires believed to drink the blood of young girls. Women,
wearing traditional dress, their heads wrapped in krama, walk or ride bicycles
along the side of the road. |
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| Building
Self-help in a Cambodian Community |
| -
On a sweltering February day, balancing unsteadily on a thin strip of wood
five meters above ground, I twisted my body enough to accomplish a simple
feat: hammering a nail. My small triumph was part of a much larger undertaking—building
homes for the poorest of the poor in a threadbare country. After three
decades of war and instability, Cambodia, which has experienced horror
rivaling anything in history, is on the mend, and the people are cautiously
optimistic about the future. Optimism exists because of Tabitha-Cambodia,
a nonprofit organization based in Phnom Penh. |
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| Cambodian
Director Preserving Khmer Culture, Through Martial Arts Movies - Preserving
Cambodian Khmer Culture |
| - All morning
people kept asking me if I had heard of E Pho Thoung. Of course I had.
Everyone in South East Asia knew the name of the Khmer boxing champion
and world kickboxing champion. But having heard of him was a far cry from
having him leap up, and crash down on the top of my skull with his elbow.
Effortlessly, he flew through the air, his huge, muscular frame, like a
cruise missile, intent on killing me. I jumped out of the way at last instant,
and caught a reprimand from director, Ouk Haiseila. |
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| Feeding
The Ancestors - The Cambodian Pchum Ben Festival |
| - The fifteenth
day, of the tenth month, of the Khmer calendar marks the Pchum Ben festival.
This is a time when the spirits of the dead ancestors walk the Earth. And
the living can ease their suffering by offering them food to eat. At four
in the morning, nearly all of the residents of Phnom Penh gather at the
temple with offerings of rice, which they toss on the ground, feeding the
dead ancestors. |
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| Feeling
Safe In Cambodia - Talking To The Nerves |
| - I promise,
I’m not a feeble man. I’ve traveled through Kenya, studied in Europe, just
finished a year working in Japan, but there is a reaction I encounter whenever
I cross a border into a strange country for the first time; it’s a nervous
feeling of impending tragedy and Cambodia brought that out of me unlike
any country I had ever approached before. Our mission was to travel overland
from Bangkok to Hanoi via Cambodia, and I almost turned around before I
got there because everything I read and everyone I loved said, “No. Don’t
do it. The place is too dangerous.” By all accounts, they were right. |
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| Glimpses
Of Cambodia - The Killing Fields Near Phomn Penh |
| -
Some fifteen kilometres from Phomn Penh down several dusty dirt roads we
arrived at Cheung Ek. This was one of the infamous Khmer Rouge “killing
fields” There was one in each of Cambodia’s 18 states. In them uncounted
people died. Chung Ek alone claimed 17,000 including nine westerners who
tried to help Cambodians. There are no words adequate to describe this
visit, one we felt we had to make. |
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| In
Cambodia - Politics, People And The Enviroment |
| - The truth,
of course, was far different. As with all of the journalists in Cambodia
covering the country’s third national election, I wanted the elections
to go off smoothly and for the country to continue on with its march to
democracy. But like most journalists in Cambodia, I didn’t think
this was going to happen. |
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| Praying
For A Cure - Faith In Cambodia |
| - When word
got out that there was a monk blessed with the ability to heal, desperate
patients came from all over Cambodia. We were still more than a kilometer
away from Wat Serey Soupein, but already, we found ourselves driving through
a crowded village, which hadn't existed just a few weeks earlier. The rainy
season and the unaccustomed press of crowds had churned the dirty streets
into mud, as hundred of people busied themselves with the activities of
daily life, buying and preparing food, caring for loved ones, and praying
for a cure. |
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| Pugilism
And Poultry - Even The Chickens Can Box In Phnom Penh |
| - Sunday is
usually the day that I go to watch Khmer kickboxing in Phnom Penh. But
on this particular day, my driver, Sameth, promised to take me to see something
really exciting. We turned down a dirt road, about twenty minutes outside
of the city, and ended at a dubious looking arena, in a rural farming community.
The big foreigner with the notebook received a lot of odd stares, and a
portly Khmer, in a dirty T-shirt gave us the third degree. “Who are you?
"What are you doing here? Who told you about this place". |
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| The
People Of Mekong Island - On The Tone Lesap River |
| - Her hands
shook as she poured the watery rice mix into the stone bowl. With effort,
she lifted the heavy crank into place, and began to turn. Slowly, with
the patience of ages, a frothy porridge of ricey paste began to trickle
out of the spout, and into the pail. Seeing that her work was going well,
Sae breathed a sigh of reliefe, and resumed her constant narration. "I
takes three cans of rice to fill one bucket. And, I have to turn the crank
for one hour." She told me. "When the bucket is full, I will make a batch
of rice cakes." The cakes are a favorite treat for the local children. |
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| CANADA |
| Articles
On Living & Investing In Canada |
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| CAPE
VERDE |
| Cape
Properties: Exotic and a Bargain - Real Estate in Cape Verde |
| I've come
to the conclusion that property in South Africa is now among the best bargains
in the world, in both absolute and relative terms. On this trip, I stuck
to Jo'berg and the Cape; it's a big country and I simply put myself in
the hands of my fairly numerous South African relatives. I can't make any
recommendations on Jo'burg property because although it's cheap, I can't
see the opportunity, and have no personal interest in it. That's not to
say parts of Jo'berg aren't quite nice. - Doug Casey on South Africa. |
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| Cape
Properties: Exotic and a Bargain |
| I've come
to the conclusion that property in South Africa is now among the best bargains
in the world, in both absolute and relative terms. On this trip, I stuck
to Jo'berg and the Cape; it's a big country and I simply put myself in
the hands of my fairly numerous South African relatives. I can't make any
recommendations on Jo'burg property because although it's cheap, I can't
see the opportunity, and have no personal interest in it. That's not to
say parts of Jo'berg aren't quite nice. - Doug Casey on South Africa. |
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| Cape
Properties: Exotic and a Bargain |
| - The word
is out. The Islands of Cape Verde are a fertile ground for investors. Both
individuals and corporations looking for the potential that exists with
the special balance of enough development to get things done, but not so
much development that there is nothing left to do, are leaving their native
countries and settling on the Islands. However, if you want to see your
dream come true, you'll have to do more than just show up. Here are some
steps that may help you along the way. |
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| CAYMAN
ISLANDS |
| Offshore
Stock Exchanges - Special Feature From LowTax Online TaxWire |
| -
In an ongoing effort to provide a cross-section of the best offshore information
on the internet, EscapeArtist seeks out the best online resources. We are
really excited about a new website and news letter called, Low Tax Online
NewsWire - In this issue or Escape >From America we present a Special Feature
from the NewsWire on Offshore Stock Exchanges. Countries such as Bermuda,
Ireland, Jersey, Cyprus (maybe), Hong Kong (already) and Mauritius are
cleaning themselves up for what could be a glittering future. This report
includes some of the offshore jurisdictions with Stock Exchanges, their
Regulatory Basis Including Listing Rules, Trading and Settlement, Costs
of Listing and additional resources. |
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| CHILE |
| Articles
On Living & Investing In Chile |
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| CHINA |
| Articles
On Living & Investing In China |
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| COLOMBIA |
 Live
& Invest In The New Colombia |
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| Adventures
In Colombia - The Journey Continues |
| - Back out
on the road and south of the border. Mark is an intrepid traveler and this
time he takes us to Colombia. Some of the best people I know are from Colombia
and from what they tell me the country is great even if the politics aren't.
Cartegena and Barranquilla are considered safer than most other cities
in Colombia. Mark gives us an idea about what it's like to travel and explore
Colombia and what a hard night with a bottle of Aguardiente is like...hmmm,
have had a few of those lately myself. |
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| Colombia
- Up In The Mountains Above Cali |
| - Have made
many friends from Colombia during my time in Panama and invariably they
tell me that the Colombian countryside is amazing. Most people own farms,
but have trouble reaching them as the political situation in the countryside
is too dangerous. The above article gives you a little bit of an idea what
life in the countryside can be like when things are peaceful. |
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| How
To Disappear In Six Easy Lessons - Hiding Out In The Walled City Of Cartagena |
| - For professional
reasons I read all the books on 'disappearing,' how to become a fugitive,
vanish, jump ship, go away, and not be found. Most of them are rubbish.
One failing they all have in common is telling the 'disappeared' what location
to go once they jump ship. Most of them mention Costa Rica.
Disappearing in Costa Rica is like disappearing in Beverly Hills, and almost
as expensive. No one disappears in Costa Rica, except perhaps the
Costa Ricans that you invest money with. If I were seeking a city
where I could live without being found it would be Havana, Cuba.
Cartagena would be a second cousin, a slightly poorer choice, but it would
certainly be on my list. |
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| Into
The Amazonian Badlands - Remote Amazon |
| - Outlaw territory
is where we were headed. After the 84th km the National Police and Marine
patrols became more frequent and visible. The land begins to roll into
the foothills of the Cordillera Azul that will itself rise into the Andes
300 km to the West. It was the week before Christmas and six years after
the first time I had set eyes on this land. I fell in love with this hill
country back then even though, unbeknownst to me, the place was off limits
to US government personnel. The notable exceptions being the usual CIA
operatives and Special Forces “advisors”. |
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| Quality
of Life in Bogota |
| - When I retired
a few years ago I discovered that for the most part, old people in the
US are forced into doing old people things, generally with other old people.
I knew I wanted more than that. I had lived for the previous 15 years on
a beautifully wooded ranch in a pretty rural area near Houston in Texas,
but by the time I stopped work, it was surrounded by upscale subdivisions,
shopping malls and Walmart. |
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| Retiring
In Cartagena - In Colombia |
| - Colombia,
are you nuts? You might well ask this question if you haven’t visited this
enchanting city and not many North Americans have. Cartagena is a jewel
in the Caribbean and I’m not the only one who feels that way. Cartagena
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a favorite vacation and retirement
destination for many thousands of Europeans and Colombians. |
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| Under
The Shade Of The Mango Tree - Into The Colombian Amazon |
| - It had been
a particularly bad year for me. I hadn’t worked the entire year (thank
you Enron, Dick and George), my mother had passed away, and Plaintiff #2
took the kids and left. All this during an election year when the so-called
Patriot Act was being touted as an effective measure to make me feel safer
(no one of Middle Eastern descent had been detained, offended or otherwise
insulted but my abilities to travel freely and do as I please with my own
hard earned money have been seriously curbed), and the body count of young
Americans was on the rise in a war that fewer and fewer of the American
people wanted anything to do with. |
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| Viva
COLOMBIA - Heart of Heaven, Heart of Hell - The Pros and Cons of Living
and Working in Colombia - Living and Working in Colombia |
| - Larry M.
Lynch has been living and working in Cali, Colombia, for the last seven
years. He has this to say to those of you considering moving to South America,
"Don’t worry needlessly over the politics and news reports. Never mind
the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. No longer does the sound of helicopter
gunships firing into the suburban brush greet your ears in the evenings.
President Andres Pastrana has adopted a 'get tough' attitude with guerilla
forces. President-elect Alvaro Uribe won based on his hard-line stance
against Guerilla and Para-military forces. Just remember to prepare yourself
for the adventure of a lifetime when you do come. It’s up to you whether
Colombia becomes the heart of heaven or the heart of hell." |
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