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Khmer Rouge

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Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to the state of Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The term was originally coined in the 1960s by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the then-head of state, to describe the country’s diverse and often fragmented communist-led dissidents. The regime’s rule was marked by one of the most extreme and violent societal restructurings of the 20th century. In their pursuit of a radical agrarian utopia, the Khmer Rouge leadership evacuated urban centers, abolished currency, private property, and religion, and forced the entire population into rural labor communes. This brutal social experiment resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people, approximately a quarter of Cambodia’s population at the time, through a combination of forced labor, malnutrition, disease, and mass executions. The period under their control is now widely recognized a...

The Entity:- The Victorian House

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It began when Trudy and Ben, found their dream home, an old Victorian house nestled on a quiet, tree-lined street, well away from the hustle and bustle of modern city life. It was a fixer-upper, yes, and it needed work for sure but it had character, a warmth and a charm that drew them to it, a magnetic allure that neither of them could resist. As they strolled up the cobblestone path that led to the front door they were filled with a sense of excitement, and when they walked through the house, they envisioned laughter echoing through its halls, romantic dinners in the dining room, cozy evenings by the fireplace, and a future filled with love built within its sturdy walls. But as soon as the renovations began, the whispers started. A soft voice speaking in gentle whispers too faint for them to make out what it was saying often echoed in their ears. Then the unexplainable happenings began. Small things at first – doors creaking open on their own, shutters moving to an unknown breeze, ...

The Entity:- The Haunting

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The first time that he caught sight of the place he knew that there was something there, a story to be told perhaps, or a mystery to unravel. He was intrigued to say the least. It was an old house, located on a decent piece of land, he didn’t know who the owner was, and it looked like it had been just left there for years. It looked slightly rundown and was in need of repair, whoever owned the place didn’t appear to have any intentions of renting it out. He asked around, and discovered that the house had a caretaker who lived nowhere close to it, and when they caught up with him, and asked him about it, he simply replied, “trust me no one would go near the place”, with a touch of confidence that implied that the man was telling the truth. “Why?”, he asked, despite having his suspicions, and the man simply replied, “because it is haunted”. Tim took a deep breath, he’d been in the business for a long time and he knew that haunted places did exist, and researching them and writing about t...

My stay at the Crowne Plaza Penang (December 2025)

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Nestled in the heart of Province Wellesley, is the Crowne Plaza Penang. It is located in a 23-story building situated on the waterfront along Jalan Bagan Luar, featuring 343 rooms and sitting on the former site of the Straits Trading Co. tin smelting plant. The street in front of the hotel makes it accessible, and from its width, it is easy enough to discern that it is a rather busy street. The hotel has a decent parking area and that makes it all the more convenient especially for those driving down from Kuala Lumpur, or from where I am based at present, Petaling Jaya. The hotel has a nice lobby with a bar, where anyone who chooses to can have a quick drink, with the usual sofas in the seating area where one can wait for guests. It exudes a soft calming ambiance that is nothing short of relaxing. The lobby isn’t overly large, but it is large enough, and it does the basics well. The lobby and the dining area are located on the eighth floor, and the rooms are located on the floors abov...

The Entity:- The Shield

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Sanun sat astride his horse on a hill and watched the events that were unfolding before him. In front of him, an army was on the move, churning up clouds of dust as foot-soldiers and men on horsebacks trampled forward, and from the size of the dust clouds it was easy enough to discern that it was no small army that was headed their way. The scout watched for a bit longer before he turned his horse around and rode at breakneck speed for the encampment and within the hour he was in a tent and was speaking to the general in charge, a young nobleman of some caliber, and once he was done, he made his way out, to have a meal, while general Ratana, sat back on his chair, and pondered on what he’d just heard. From the sound of things, a large army was on its way and from what the scout had told him, they were more than formidable. He took a deep breath before he called for his scribe and had him transcribe six letters, one for each of the other five generals that were tasked with guarding the...

The Entity:- Auria-lia

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Love was a strange emotion to say the least, and it was difficult to define at best. It gave her butterflies in the stomach and made her knees go wobbly. Her heartbeat would go up a notch and her palms would get all sweaty whenever she saw him, and she’d try her best not to look in his direction, but she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from doing so every now and again to steal a fleeting glance. She started to lose appetite and she was beginning to lose weight. She struggled with it for months but the feeling did not go away and if anything it only got worse. Auria-lia was at a loss. She didn’t know if the feeling was mutual, she didn’t even know if he noticed her, and she wasn’t confident enough to approach him. He was tall, lean, with shoulder length black hair and his features looked like they were chiseled from a block of granite. Just thinking about him got her all hot and flustered. There was something else about him, there were rumors in the palace that the younger warriors w...

The Entity: - The Amulet

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Thea sat on the stool in front of her dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror. She was pretty to say the least. She was tall, lean and petite, and she had sharp enticing features, and made for a sultry, attractive, woman that could catch the eye of any man, with the exception of the man that she had set her heart on. He seemed oblivious to her attentions, and no matter how hard she tried, and despite the numerous figure hugging, and revealing outfits that she’d used during their meetings, he never as much as gave her a suggestive look, and that for some reason or the other made her want him all the more. Born in an affluent family in Chiang Mai, she was not short of money, and she could more than afford to splurge on herself on a regular basis, but despite all her efforts, the man that she had her eyes on didn’t seem like he wanted to take their relationship further. Somewhat disheartened, she consulted a friend, who was well-versed in these matters, and she in turn made ar...