Category: Daily Life in Cambodia

Much of the construction in Phnom Penh has ground to a halt because of all the difficulties created by COVID-19, and although it’s a Sunday afternoon, these men are still installing glass panels on the 19th floor of new building three blocks away from the Maryknoll office.

I’m not sure what I’m seeing here. This man has set up a little stand on the sidewalk beside the wall of a wat and it looks like he’s selling used sport shoes. But what are the black oblong things stacked up? Are they new soles that he can glue or stitch to a pair of shoes? They look awfully long, but then maybe he cuts them down to the shoe size. I’ll have to go by there again and see if he is still there and what he has on his stand.

One of my least favorite activities in Cambodia is going to a bank. Cambodian people don’t see anything wrong with their bank procedures because that is all they know, but to people who have gone to banks in other countries, it’s enough to make you scream. I was in a bank for about fifteen minutes this afternoon, to make a simple cash deposit. There were eight bank employees behind the counter (some moved as I took the picture), waiting on one person at a time. Notice the woman sitting at the left. These are the only banks I’ve been in where you go to the counter and present your cash, deposit slip, and bankbook–and then have to go sit down. The cashier signs several papers, presents them to her manager who signs them, and then they return to the cashier who signs and stamps them again. But it doesn’t all happen in a quick sequence. There are big gaps as the papers are handed back and forth. Thus they encourage you to sit. Grrrr…..