The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: THE MURDER OF HONEY AND BARRY SHERMAN: PRIME SUSPECTS THE TWO “VIETNAMESE GENTLEMEN”
During my recuperation period from the near fatal spiny black toad incident Bobby Jr., Amira and I were lounging at the hotel pool when Bobby Jr. received a call from Madame Fong, his dear mother. Mouth agape and eyes as wide as saucers he blurted out. “The Sherman’s bodies were found this morning in their Bridle Path mansion in Toronto. The official word from Toronto Police Services stated their bodies were found but the cause of death was undisclosed.”
Bobby was telling Amira, Barry Sherman had many enemies as many billionaires do. Being a successful pharmaceutical manufacturer propelled him to vast sums of cash which philanthropist wife Honey distributed to this and that charity. What Bobby Jr. failed to disclose to Amira were the violent tirades the two “Vietnamese gentlemen” let fly during our private river cruise in Bangkok days earlier. Barry Sherman was not in their good books and what I recall hearing they wanted revenge for being swindled. Something to do with a Haiphong, Vietnam manufacturing facility.
Seems I have much more to deal with than my abduction.
The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: I WAS ALMOST A CAMBODIAN FATALITY: SAVED BY A VIKING CRUISE PERSON!
All of us were up at the crack of dawn, prior to the availability of breakfast. When you are playing golf in Cambodia you better secure an early tee-off time as by noon any serious physical activity becomes shall we say “problematic”.
A shuttle picked the three of us up. A packed breakfast awaited us at the clubhouse. All caddies are female and they carry your clubs while golfers enjoy a golf cart. I sat in between Amira and Bobby Jr. We teed off at 06:30 as the heat and humidity crept in.
Of course, I could not expect this may be the last day of my life.
It happened like this; on the third hole Amira’s approach shot skittered off the fairway and being the helpful puppy I am I decided to bird dog the ball in the rough. I did not hear the caddies shouting at me, “No dog. No go there!”
The ball landed right beside a black spined toad. Being a vermin hunter and a curious puppy I snouted that toad a few times and the next I remember was lying flat out on the ground gasping for breath with my heart going pitter patter, stopping then starting again.
I heard the caddy making a distress call to the clubhouse. I veered in and out of consciousness and was that a bright light leading me to The Land Beyond to meet Dylan the Westie?
Who do I see leaning over me giving me a needle that woke me up. I was flying but breathing and mostly conscious. It was one of the Viking Cruise people with a big gut!
I must have passed out again as the next time I opened my eyes I was in an animal hospital with a drip line attached to one of my front paws.
That black spined toad was no nuisance toad. You threaten this toad and it secretes a poisonous mucus and if it enters your body it starts messing with your heart and if you don’t receive the antidote in short order you are a goner.
It so happened the Viking people at our resort were veterinarians holding a conference aboard their Viking ship on an optional three-day excursion to Siem Reap and were staying at our hotel Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort. Fortunately for me Dr. Abigail Animaux had her emergency bag with her at the resort not with the antidote but adrenalin which started my heart again. As she later said she had brought the medical bag because the rabies epidemic in Cambodia. I was transported to Siem Reap Vet and the medical team there administered the antidote saving my life.
I would have dearly liked to jump up and give Abigail a kiss but I was under observation for 48 hours and the Viking people had since returned to their ship. Gosh I will miss them.
The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: UP ON THE WALL WITH ANGELA JOLIE AND MANNY PACQUIAO
The reception in my honour was at 19:00 at the “Explorer’s Tales” champagne bar at our hotel Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort.
While Bobby Jr. was in our suite conducting some business on his phone Amira and I went to explore the surrounding area. Legions of Tuk Tuk drivers were patiently waiting at the gates of the hotel to pick up some fares. They gently encouraged us to ride with them but we decided to walk in the blistering heat and humidity. Bobby Jr. had looked me straight in the eyes saying any attempt at escape would expose me a rough street life I would not survive in for long.
Crossing the main street was an act of courage with no pedestrian crosswalks and fleets of motorbikes paying scant attention to the passage of pedestrians. You might fairly say this part of town is very Third Worldish. Ramshackle buildings interspersed with a few high-end tourist shops selling “crocodile” fashion items and plenty of very expensive silk carpets of spectacular design.
Amira took us to a pharmacy where she purchased some band aids. A poster of a vicious slobbering German Sheppard with its jaws open like a Great White Shark advised readers rabies shots were available here. So many pharmacies in Siem Reap where most drugs were available without any prescription. Amira said beware of counterfeit medications!
There was a huge restaurant for the common folk where you could eat lunch and dinner buffets for $3. For tourists with a dainty stomach not advisable.
Just off the main road were a variety of shops purveying cheap goods, a few garages, some basic snack bars, grannies squatting on the pavement cooking food more or less on the street. Children without shoes. A general sense of poverty I have never seen before but “before” has some short currency as I have only been on this earth for 10 months now! It all reminded me of the scenes of Saigon street life in the movie, “Good Morning Vietnam”.
We did stop in the most impressive building “Le Plantation” selling artisanal foods including the famous Cambodian Kampot pepper and of course Bobby Jr.’s favourite tea “Twelve Monkies”.
We passed by the hospital on the way back to the hotel. Rather basic indeed. Amira joked that if were hard up for cash we could sell some of our blood there!
Back to the hotel for a quick swim. The “Viking people” were there in abundance bobbing in the water “like old geezer prunes” Bobby Jr. quipped. Amira and Bobby Jr. caused heads to turn wearing bright Keith Haring T Shirts. By the chattering gossip it was very clear these sophisticated “Viking People” were perhaps not sophisticated but being from Idaho who can blame them!
We were in the Explorer’s Tales champagne bar at 19:00 and given a warm welcome by the hotel manager. Twenty or so of the hotel staff were delighted to see me up on my hind legs and bowing and a photographer snapped a few pictures one of which was going up on the wall with photos of Angelina Jolie who had stayed at the hotel during the filming of “Tomb Raider” and of Manny Pacquiao who had also stayed there. There were kings and queens on the wall as well.
As the commemorative plaque under my photo would bear my alias “Cuddlecakes” I promised myself I would have to return one day and replace that plaque with RORY DYLAN STEPHEN!
Amira at champagne bar: Don’t see this style in Boise, Idaho!
Amira was “boldy dressed” where few women would go. Bobby was in a snazzy sports jacket he had made for him at the tailors in Bangkok. And yes the sophisticated “Viking People” were there, men with enormous guts augmenting them further by drinking beer and wolving down nuts. And they had their baseball hats on in Cambodia’s only champagne bar! Oh what a sophisticated lot these “Viking people” were!
In Ontario we are accustomed to drinking world class Cabernet Franc produced here. So much so is it possible we overlook Saumur Champigny from the Loire in France? Don’t be deep faked by France with Cabernet Franc!
In this case we try a Domaine Raton Clos des Cordeliers Cuvée Prestige Saumur Champigny 2019.
Aroma: Primary notes of blackberry and blueberry. Secondary notes of black cherry, raspberry and dark chocolate.
Palate: Initially gentle until the tannins raise their noggin. Tannic. Well managed acidity. Faint raspberry. The fruit seems to on the verge of retirement or could this mean a degree of elegance and sophistication in a world where expectations are big and discernable fruit?
Personality: From “On the Waterfront” I coulda been a contender! Perhaps a couple of years ago.
Cellarbility: The tannins are there and the acids are well controlled so perhaps the foundation for some ageing but with the fruit reticent I am hesitant about ageing. Sounding like some revolutionary newspaper heading I would venture to say THE TIME IS NOW.
Food Match: Stuffed cabbage rolls in a tomato sauce.
Price: $32 CDN. For this price you will attain a higher degree of satisfaction with Ontario Cabernet Franc.
RKS WINES OF FRANCE RATING: 86/100. Natalie MacLean 91/100.
(Clos des Cordeliers Cuvée Prestige 2019, Saumur Champigny AOP, Domaine Ratron, Maine et Loire, France, 13.5%)
The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: ANGKOR WAT LEAVES ME BREATHLESS: I AM TO BE ON THE WALL OF FAME AT SOFITEL ANGKOR PHOKEETHRA GOLF & SPA RESORT
Prior to my abduction Bob had some huge chuckles about Viking cruise advertisements showing sophisticated passengers enjoying some very sophisticated activities onshore. Bob thinks that is all a load of crap as what he has heard and witnessed over the years is a cruise ship passenger likes nothing more than to have Mickey Mouse butter pats at dinner, midnight chocolate buffets and to wear gaudy clothing as they stream off the ship soiling the beauty of Venice, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Lisbon, Porto, Positano and just about every destination a cruise ship infects by its presence assuming there is no raging plague onboard preventing disembarkation of passengers.
I saw a Viking announcement board just off reception and despite the early hour of our breakfast we see Americans speaking far too loudly with some men wearing baseball hats in the dining room. I may be a dog but these are poorly behaved “Viking people”. Whereas Bobby Jr. and Amira enjoy an Asian breakfast I see the “Viking people” eating bacon and eggs, pancakes and Cornflakes “just like home”. Now that’s sophistication!
We drove 40 minutes to Angkor Wat and to our delight it was not jammed with tourists yet. We wandered around from about 07:30 -11:00 thankful for our early start as by the time we had finished our tour we were suffering from the intense heat and humidity. Bobby Jr. was so hot he downed two beers one after the other at the refreshment tent. I had half a bottle of Orange Fanta which I enjoyed but had a few large burps!
It is difficult to describe Angkor Wat as a picture tells a thousand words. It was an astounding site. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 12th century; it is the largest temple in the world and the crown jewel of the temples that sit within the 155 square-mile Angkor Archaeological Park. It was built by King Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu; the temple eventually became filled with Buddhist elements as the new religion spread through the empire.
We stopped at an artisanal rice noodle enterprise making rice noodles by hand. We saw how they were made by soaking the rice, pressing it, boiling it then cutting it into noodles. Amira told us these noodles were far superior to commercially prepared rice noodles and famous in Southeast Asia. What a delicious lunch we all had eaten off a rough wooden table with vegetable curry over rice noodles, a puffy rice cake and several desserts made with rice. There were a few feral dogs engaged in a fight in the bushes behind the area where we were eating. Amira said there are over 200,000 dog bites a year in Cambodia.
feral dog at Angkor Wat
We returned to the hotel to a crowd of “Viking people” wobbling round with fanny packs and clapping at a Khymer dance troupe that welcomes cruise ship passengers to the hotel.
As I entered the front door to be greeted with a bow by a beautiful Cambodian lady I went up on my hind legs, put my front paws over my eyes and gave a bow. The staff cheered and the manager pulled Bobby Jr. aside. Bobby looked at me and said, “And you thought you’d be sniffing out land mines with groups of gigantic jungle rats! You will be honored at a special reception tonight at the champagne bar!”
We all had a brief nap and were up groggy from all our heat this morning. Amira took me out for a late afternoon walk and it was like “Good Morning Vietnam” out there!
“Oh, a consumption is worse than a Capius ad Ligatum: to nothing can I compare it better than to a reprieve after a man is condemned, or to a boy with his hose about his heels ready to be whipped, to whom his master stands preaching a long time all law and no gospel ere he proceed to execution. Or rather it is a man should be roasted to death and melt away little by little, while physicians like cooks stand stuffing him with herbs and basting him with this oil and that syrup.
I am of the opinion that to be famished to death is far better, for his pain in seven or eight days is at an end whereas he that is in consumption continues languishing many years ere death have mercy on him.”
“Meanwhile the hounds were giving vent to voices of every conceivable kind. One, his head tossed back, was, drawling so protractedly and zealously that God knows what fee he was getting for it; another was snapping it out as briskly as a sexton; among them rang a tireless treble, probably a young puppy’s, like the bell of a mail-coach; and all this with a robust canine nature, because he wheezed the way a vocalizing basso wheezes when a concert is in full swing, when the tenors rise on tiptoe in their burning desire to hit a high note, and all strive upwards, heads thrown back, while he alone, his unshaven chin tucked into his cravat crouching and sinking almost to the floor, lets out a note from down there that makes the window panes rattle and tinkle.”
“In three years’ time the thin man will not have a single serf left to him that has not been mortgaged; the fat man goes on his quiet way, and ,lo and behold, suddenly at the end of town there appears a house that’s been purchased in his wife’s name, then at the other end of town another house, then near the town a comfortable little country home, then a village and all that goes with it. At length the fat man, having rendered service to God and Tsar, having earned the respect of one and all, leaves his position, transfers his household and becomes a landowner, a glorious Russian lord and master, the soul of hospitality, and he lives, and lives well. After he is gone, his thin little heirs once again, in the time honoured Russian way, gallop through their paternal fortune at full tilt.”
“These were the highly respected officials of the town. Alas! The fat ones of this world know how to manage their affairs better than the thin ones. The thin ones are mostly employed on special assignments or are merely carried on the civil service list, and flit hither and yon. Their existence is weightless, insubstantial and utterly insecure. The fat men, on the other hand, never occupy peripheral positions, but always central ones, and if they do sit down somewhere then they sit firmly and securely, and the seat would sooner crack and sag beneath them than they would fly off it. They have no liking for external glitter; their tailcoats are not so artfully cut as those of the thin men, yet their coffers are filled with God’s abundance.”
The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: OFF TO SIEM REAP TO SEE ANGKOR WAT AND PLAY SOME GOLF
Up with Bobby Jr. and Amira who gussied themselves up and we went for breakfast at the Waterfront Restaurant at our hotel the Bangkok Peninsula. What a lovely spot enjoying the breeze off the Chao Phraya River and watching the boats chug by. Bobby Jr. and Amira enjoyed a splendid buffet breakfast with so much delicious and exotic fruit. I had a bowl of chicken congee and a few mango slices oh so sweet! Bobby Jr. gave me a small bowl of Jasmine tea which I developed a fondness for in Thailand.
The plan was to hop in a limo so Bobby Jr. could have some made to measure suits tailored for him in a manner of hours! Amira dispensed advice and I sat and watched.
We went to the Blue Elephant Bangkok built in 1903 and located along the historical Sathorn Road. It was restored in 2002 and is a beautiful colonial style restaurant with a sophisticated ambiance and tasteful Thai inspired décor.
I had a Purple Rice Dumpling and simply poached Snow Fish while Bobby Jr. and Amira tucked into Crab Maprao Coconut Soup followed with Pernakan Tumee Banana Prawns.
After lunch off to the tailors to pick up Bobby Jr.’s two suits and then straight to Don Mueang Airport for our private jet charter to Siem Reap. I must say a private jet beats the cargo holds I have travelled in to Singapore. I can chase a ball down the aisle and sleep on a comfortable seat, enjoy snacks and slurp up Evian at will.
Siem Reap’s airport is smallish but brand new. Bobby Jr. picked up his rented Mercedes and we drove for 45 minutes to Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort an oasis of greenery with colonial architecture.
A beautiful suite overlooking a large pond surrounded by beds of beautiful flowers.
A glass of champagne at the Champagne Bar and a dinner of steamed sea bass in a coriander sauce and of course the omnipresent rice in the deserted restaurant. Amira told me Cambodian men eat 260 kilos of rice and year and women 190! When humans eat rice in Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia it is usually a very large mound of it. I love rice but Bobby Jr. ensures I have protein, veggies and fruit.
Off to bed as tomorrow morning we are off to see Angkor Wat a breathtaking World Heritage site.
I am amazed how all the hotel staff here and in Bangkok bow to say hello. And being a Westie, I can smell sincerity. They are so hospitable and it is not an act. I thought it was time to practice. I am very adroit on my hind legs. Tomorrow I will return the bows.
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