Killer Cars

Several sources have pointed to a growing story of a jungle girl, missing for 18 years, reappeared and recognized by her family in the Ratanakiri region of Northeast Cambodia. At first I slept on this, thinking it was a phony after first finding the story on Digg.

Khmer blogger Y Samphy rounds up media coverage of the “jungle woman” very nicely.

The return of a jungle girl whose name was claimed to be Ro Cham H’pnhieng, on January 13 in Rattanakiri of Cambodia has hit the world media’s headlines over the weekend. BBC News, CNN, The Times, Reuters and Guardian covered the story of her discovery. A Japanese TV also reported the news Saturday night.

Villagers hunt mystery wild man spotted with ‘jungle woman’, published by The Times, was the top Fox News’ Top News Story on Sunday. Cambodian “jungle girl” struggles to adapt, by Reuters, has become one of the most viewed Yahoo! News feeds.

The jungle girl was captured attempting to steal food from a villager 19 years (reported to be 18 years by The Times) after she disappeared into the jungle while her father was herding buffaloes in a remote area, according to all the online news articles.

She was not like an ordinary human at the time she was caught by villagers. She could not speak human language. When she was hungry, she would pat her stomach as a signal, reported CNN.

Sa Lou, a village policeman who recognized her as her daughter, said, “When I saw her, she was naked and walking in a bending-forward position like a monkey… She was bare bones,” according to BBC. “She was shaking and picking up grains of rice from the ground to eat.

However, once the initial shock went away, it started to become believable. This was Cambodia, and the media will put a spin on any strange story that leaks (check out this story, Cambodia’s rat restaurants brace for seasonal boom). Digging into the comments by the users of Digg notes that a similar story happened with 2 Indian girls, who were kidnapped and raised by wolves.

Quoting the original source :

According to Singh, Kamala and Amala both exhibited wolf-like behaviors. Both girls had developed thick calluses on their palms and knees from having walked on all fours. The girls were mostly nocturnal, had an aversion to sunshine, and could see very well in the dark. They also exhibited an acute sense of smell and an enhanced ability to hear. The girls enjoyed the taste of raw meat and would eat out of a bowl on the ground, much like dogs. In addition, the girls exhibited a hypersensitivity to touch, and hated wearing clothes. In fact, they seemed to be insensitive to cold and heat. The young girls appeared to show few human emotions of any kind, apart from fear.

Leave up to other bloggers and Diggers to actually make me believe the media.

I digress however. This story only made me remember about Ratanakiri, and the crazy trip I took there in February of last year. I blogged about it earlier on my Cambodia travelogue. In short, I spent 12 hours in a taxi sharing the front passenger seat with my cousin in a road trip that saw two flat tires, and a near frontal collision when the driver fell asleep, before arriving in a red and brown dustbowl town full of dirt trails, minority villages, crater lakes, gem mines, elephants, and amazing waterfalls. It was the trip that really made the traveler in me. Sometimes the best cure is to just laugh.

Some pictures have been posted before from the travelogue post. Here is the Flickr set which has them all, but here are some previews.

A jungle woman reappears after 18 years in the jungle in Cambodia? After being there, it wouldn’t doubt it.

What a year!

2006 was a year of changes indeed. Maybe even more than 2005. Sitting in my chair writing this, I am reminded at what I was doing last year on this day. Walking through the small town of Calheta, Cape Verde and accompanying my Nigerian friend to church. Real exciting stuff considering the midnight hour came without any excitement. Fast forward to now and ALOT has changed.

I traveled, I got a job, I went home, and then I went to the other home, and it was more or less how I pictured it. I saw friends, new and old, and I did the one thing that still makes sense. I partied. Breaking it down, this is (quickly) how it goes.

January was the most traveled month in my existence. After terminating Peace Corps early in the year, I traveled through Portugal on my way home. My mother surprised me of a trip to Cambodia once I got home, and after touching down in Singapore, was back in my home country of Cambodia.

February, Cambodia, land of the mighty Khmer empire. Eating foreign food, playing with wild animals, climbing steps to mighty temples, and having a damn fine time. A side trip to Thailand was also made, and I didn’t return and recover until March.

March, writing it all down and digesting it in. Visiting friends I didn’t get to see in January, and relaxing to the major jet lag. The NY job search went by, with many problems before giving up and deciding to keep it local.

April, keeping it local. Job applications and corresponding with local(er) contacts and finally accepting a position in downtown Boston. Always wanted to live and work in a city! The next phase in life begins.

May, I start learning the corporate way and the commute is like from hell. In between apartment searches, still managed to visit friends, pull all nighters and even bike all 5 boroughs of New York City! Finally settled into Boston and the third time in my life, living without a car.

June, I start to throw a few parties. Meet some international students in the diverse student section of Boston. Double kegger after kegger and some more. My fascination with running begins now, especially after suffering a flat tire on my bicycle.

July, my warming up peaks and I slow down. I start to look for a newer apartment to get out of being in a somewhat hostel of sorts. Job goes by nicely and getting the hang of things. Settle on the first apartment that I thought was nice. At the end of the month, I threw a last summer kegger, in which 4 of my best friends and my brother were at the same party for the first time.

August, the summer is coming to an end and is highlighted by the retreat to NH for the 8/13 bash. Cleaning up the house and moving stuff to the new digs takes care of the second half, and I say goodbye to 12 Saunders st.

September, new roommates, new apartment, better living lifestyle. New roomie Scott, is my age and we start going out regularly. Good to finally have somebody my age and new to the city as well. Also, my intense running training begins. I feel very ready for my race.

October, I run my first race ever, the Boston Half Marathon, with a suitable time. Another trip to New York City with the roomies and the hilarious run around town dressed as Borat for Halloween.

November, I start to go into a big slump. Much too settled into Boston, yet wanting to leave soon and fast. Start blaming the job, start blaming the cold weather, start blaming the city itself. Maybe it’s the beginning of the winter blues but I haven’t quite fully recovered from it yet.

December, a vacation from the job is in order, but not before having another great time in New York City (that’s 4 times this year! 7 if you count airport visits). A week being a vegetable before partying again with the RI crew for the holiday. Back in Boston to work and that brings us to today.

For 2007, I don’t know what we will have in store. But from what we have seen in 2006, it’s that I never settle. I dunno what wisdom I should instill in me, but I think I am carving out a new path I didn’t foresee before. We’ll see when the time comes, but for now it’s time to party!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

Welcome to the 3rd incarnation of Killer Cars.

The first, a 3 column orange on gray weblog on Movable Type 2.5

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