It's October 1949. After a long sea voyage, the young Cambodian Salazar has just made

land in France. It seems inconceivable that this privileged student will shortly be transformed

into a die-hard communist, that alone that he will later become one of the world's bloodiest

dictators. Sal arrives at Paris's Garda-lesse, on a bleak and wet Saturday, colder than

anything he's ever experienced. He's met by representatives of the Commaer Student

Association, the AEK, which has a strong presence in the French capital. With his clothes entirely

unsuitable to this climate, they take him straight to a local market to get kitted out.

It's not long before Sal starts to find his groove. One of King Cyrlox nephews is also

in Paris. As a fellow Cambodian abroad, he takes

Sal under his wing. He helps Sal to find lodgings not too far from the radio electricity

school raised to study. Sal may have some experience of the boulevard and the cafe culture

replicated in Pannon-Pen. But even still, Paris is an assault on the senses. The iconic

architecture, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, the sheer scale of the place. But more than

that, Paris is having a moment, finding its feet in the aftermath of the war. The left

bank bozzers with energy. This is the Paris of Camus and Sartre, holding forth in bars

waved in the smoke of Goulois cigarettes while bands play bebop in the corner, a far

cry from the Pannon-Pen technical school. Sal becomes an active member of the Commaer

Student Association. He attends their study circles. In early 1950s, Sal is flicking through

the AEK's newsletter when he spots an advertisement for a couple of summer trips. The first is to

go camping in Switzerland, enticing but expensive. The second option is to visit Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia is another country that bears the scars of war. It is attempting to plot a path

to communist paradise under its leader, Tito. The advert specifies that AEK members will

...