Charlie Dittmeier's Home Page
The light colored areas of this night time map are the heavier clouds–the kind that produce rain. We’re into May now so the rainy season should become more regular. So far we’ve just had a few heavy downpours, nothing like what the rainy season can produce.
The Khmer Times is a pro-government newspaper so it was rather surprising to find this editorial rather strongly criticizing the government’s handling of the restrictions caused by Covid-19. Click here to read the editorial. Notice, though, that the writer was careful to applaud the prime minister while speaking ill of his “minions.” The writer’s harsh comments are very valid.
And here is the prime minister himself saying the police have done a good job.
One of the problems with controlling the spread of Covid-19 in Cambodia is the porous nature of the borders with Vietnam on the east and Thailand on the west. A good number of Chinese make their way to Vietnam and then illegally cross the border into Cambodia while on the Thai border, there are numbers of people going both directions, some with the reported help of the Thai military.
There are lots of new sights and scenes around town because of Covid-19 and all the lockdowns and restricted areas. There are some bananas hung up for sale on a wall along a street near the big market that has been closed because of many infections.
During the lockdown the big open public markets were closed so resourceful people opened up little stalls in their neighborhoods to supply the needed fresh meat and vegetables–and to make a little money. Click here to see the results.
On Wednesday three weeks of lockdown ended for Phnom Penh and there was an explosion of pent-up energy and activity as people were able to get out of their houses after a long confinement. Traffic noticeably increased as pictured here on a street leading out of town.