Cambodian TV

Enthiran movie poster

There's a TV in my room in the guesthouse where I'm staying but I haven't bothered to turn it on yet. Another TV blasts in the reception where the guesthouse employees are often glued to watch whatever is on. After three weeks in the guesthouse I have a general idea what their favorite shows are.

Friday night is boxing night. This is the sport that can’t be missed. Last Friday I was there when the match started and the prime minister of Cambodia promised $1000 to the winner. That’s a lot of money for Cambodian standards. I have no idea who was boxing or who won. I retreated to my room, to follow alpine skiing on the internet.

In the mornings there are Khmer soap operas. Some of them must be very dramatic because the women who work at the guesthouse watch them intensely, forgetting dirty breakfast dishes that accumulate on the tables.

There is a local game show, similar to the Games Without Frontiers show we loved to watch as children. It must be very popular because the tuk-tuk drivers who usually hang around on the street outside the guesthouse come in to watch.

On a related note, one of the guys who work at the guesthouse showed me a YouTube clip of his favorite movie. I can’t believe it’s the Bollywood Terminator! That’s not what it’s really called, it’s about a tough looking semi-robot guy, dressed in grey, wearing sunglasses, carrying a mean looking gun, killing everything in sight, rescuing Indian ladies in distress and topping it all off with some dance moves. You can’t beat that, Schwarzenegger! The movie is Enthiran and a sequel is coming up.