Category: Daily Life in Cambodia

What is going on?

One of the conundrums of life in Cambodia is interpreting what is seen on the street. Is the woman above living on the street? Is that where she is sleeping and eating? Or is she cooking on the street? Is she there every day? Why ten different plates and bowls and pots? What is going on? A local might be able to evaluate the situation immediately. For us foreigners, it is usually a lot of questions and very few answers.

Bank Hours

Today I had to meet a St. Vincent de Paul Society client to talk about his needs and I suggested an easy-to-find site in a Phnom Penh mall. While waiting, I noticed that the bank hours for this branch extended to 8:00 PM in the evening! Is that something common in the US? It certainly didn’t happen when I was spending my time there!

Topics: Fire

Cambodia is trying hard to be a more modern country and in some ways–more paved streets, high-rise buildings, horrendous traffic–it has succeeded. But there are other elements of daily life that hearken back to the 18th century and beyond. One of those is the use of firewood for cooking. 80% of Cambodia uses wood or charcoal to cook every day, both at home and in the restaurants on the streets. It takes a tremendous toll on the remaining forests of the kingdom.

More than one problem here…

On the surface, this lead-in to an article in the Khmer Times seems hard to believe–that there could have been police raids on 10,000 gambling dens IN ONE MONTH! I doubt those gambling sites were all set up that month so this looks like an on-going problem. And it may well continue to be a problem if only 200 people were sent to court as a result of 10,000 raids. If there is such minimal enforcement and consequences, why stop running a gambling den?