Charles Dittmeier – Page 133 – Welcome to Cambodia, and…..

Our new home?

Maryknoll Cambodia (the official name of our Maryknoll presence in Cambodia) is considering a move to a new, smaller office.

We have identified 25+ shophouses that are available in our area but most are not the right size or the right price. One especially promising one we visited this morning. Up on the third floor it had this strange open place at the rear, next to the stairs going to the open roof area. Since most Cambodian houses are built without closets, this flat space is probably a storage area.

What to watch…

I don’t worry….

This motorcycle driver is a good illustration of the casual approach to driving here. He has no helmet. His bike has no rearview mirrors. His taillight is broken. His bike has no license plate. Does anyone worry? No. Could he get stopped by the police? He could, especially if the officer feels the need for a little extra money. Is it likely? No.

Becoming permanent?

When the major markets were closed because of COVID-19, all sorts of people selling meat and vegetables and fruits appeared on the sidewalks and street corners. Could they become a permanent part of city life? Click here to see a variety of street vendors.

Maybe it’s needed…

Today’s Khmer Times newspaper had an article about a new water pumping station that was put in operation today. The new pumping station, one of six funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, will reduce flooding in the streets in Daun Penh area.

One of those days…

And there are the days when you a) forget your poncho, b) left it at work, c) it’s too torn to do any good, or d) you just feel macho and power on. The good thing here is that it’s always warm so you may be wet, but you’re not freezing.

Rain=Wet

Raincoat or not, rain poncho or not…when it rains and
you’re on a motorcycle, you’re going to get wet!

Only the language is different

Here is what a large anti-COVID-19 billboard looks like in Cambodia. You can probably recognize what are called here “the three do-s” and “the three don’t-s.” Just the Khmer script is different.

Unsafe at any speed

When large areas of Phnom Penh were locked down and restaurants were closed or forbidden to have eat-in diners, the food delivery services bloomed all over the city. And very quickly these drivers developed their own ethos: anything goes. Cambodia has never been a nation to follow the discipline of careful driving and now these delivery people take driving arrogance to a new level. There is no law they do not flout, and since there is no traffic law enforcement, they have established themselves as a dangerous, separate entity in the life of the city–driving too fast, not stopping for lights, driving in the opposite lanes, watching their phones to find the delivery address, cutting through and around normal traffic. There is no limit.

Monks Receiving Alms

Hundreds of monks are out on the streets every morning to beg alms for themselves and for the poor people they serve. Click here to see their encounters with the devout Buddhists.