Daily Life in Cambodia – Welcome to Cambodia, and…..

The roof leaks…

Today I went to Russian Market to buy a few gifts for people I will see in Taiwan and Hong Kong and Macau later this week. The market is quite an experience as you might surmise from this photo.

Then it started raining–really raining–outside and water started coming across the floor from different directions.

The vendors don’t pay much attention to the rain coming through the ceiling except when it drips on their merchandise and then they have plastic sheets to cover the counters.

The rain certainly cuts down on the number of tourists, though, so all in all, it was probably not a good afternoon for the marketers.

New Clothes

Clothing is much cheaper here than in the US so I am getting some things to wear when I get back. Today Sophy, a very competent and practical member of our management team, took me on a DDP moto to a small tailor shop located by our DDP barbershop. Sophy helped me with Khmer, to make sure the tailor understood what I wanted him to do.

The young tailor has made some clothes for me before so I trust him for this relatively big job. I take him clothes that fit, to copy, and pick out some material from a swatch book, and then he checks measurements as a precaution.

I ordered a black suit, three clerical shirts, and two pairs of pants, and he is charging me $232. The clothes will be ready in two weeks.

Monk on the street

A Buddhist monk walking a Phnom Penh street.

What’s in a name…

One of the interesting parts of living in another country, another culture is seeing how English words are used in a different way and with different meanings. Notice that this building is a medical clinic and MATERNITY. In US English, maternity is the condition of being pregnant, being a mother. Here the word designates a specific type of medical facility, a building.

Dinner Time

A young woman preparing for the after-work shoppers picking up something for dinner.

Here they are!

This is where you get your shrimps–all sizes–and other bite-size shellfish.

Disappointing….

Coming from a German background and a family where Mom baked cakes, cookies, or pies every week, for me the cakes in Cambodia are a real disappointment. They are created for visual effect rather than good eating. Who needs play money, huge candles, and two Spidermen on a cake–and especially when the icing is like whipped lard?

People have to eat!

A night time food stall–with an arriving customer!

Really BIG Mangoes!

There are all sorts of mangoes just like there are many types of apples. I can’t tell them apart but these lower mangoes are distinctive because of their size. Look at the difference between the upper and lower ones!

Height of the Season

If you like mangoes–my favorite fruit!–it’s a great time to be alive. We are at the peak of the mango season and they are everywhere. Mango trees appear on almost every household lot and right now many, many people have many, many mangoes. People are giving them away and dealers like this one above are selling a kilogram (2.2 lbs.) for 75¢. Love it!