Mouse loves rice.

cambodians love karaoke
i love karaoke

that equals a fun night out!

thursday nite a bunch of us decide to head out for soup and karaoke, little did I know the nite would end with an hour sleep and a bowl of rice porridge.

we start the night at a local soup restaurant.
i was at the head of a long table that faced a giant stage with a live band and professional singers. my heart started to beat fast – oh man – i have to go on that to sing but soon i found out that this was not the karaoke spot –phew!

our group - cambodian nurses, american resident and two swedes. they asked us what we wanted. the american and i said anything, the swedes said chicken. so the nurses order… first dish was chicken stomach and heart … it was actually quite good. next the soup comes… veggies…. Meat… shark fin..?... ganja..!?!.

pitchers of beer were quickly empty … the swedes leave ... i took the bill …. 87 bucks … super expensive for a local khmer joint.

we move on to karaoke… we arrive at what looks like a hotel and are escorted to a small room that says used.


There 50 english songs - - I barely recognize any of them. they are all slow love songs. i soon realize that is all they sing. the first song chosen was celine dion’s my heart will go on – it was a hit. the videos of the cambodian songs are lonely girls in thatched huts, longing for their men who are working hard in the fields.


the most popular khmer karaoke song is

Where is the hymen

finally my turn to sing. my cambodian friend asks me to sing the extremely popular song …

mouse loves rice!?! Only in cambodia!

since karaoke is a huge deal and they are all professional singers my fellow american and i choose to sing together. we picked guantanamera and sing in spanish - we sucked!!

tt was a long nite of singing and a huge bill!

it was 2 and time to move on to dancing. we head to zone one.
i am on a huge nyc like dance floor - i tower over the teens that flood the dance floor. we dance for an hour more and head outside for rice porridge – so yummy.

i wish i could include all the details of the night but since i do not understand all the culture mores i have to exclude some pertinent details that could be deemed offensive!