Category: Daily Life in Cambodia

It’s mid morning and this granny surveys the street from her front gate.

The fruits sold on the street indicate the season of the year–in the absence of changes in temperature, plants, etc.—and now it’s pineapple time!

A new insurance law is being proposed for Cambodia where there currently is no required vehicle insurance.  The photo above suggests why insurance might be advisable.  An average of four to six people a day are killed in Cambodian traffic.

Under the new law–which probably will not be passed and implemented for at least five years–motorcycles would pay a premium of $17 per year, small cars $70, and large cars $80.  If there is an accident with injuries, there will be a payout of $580.  If there is a death, $3,000.  That’s about all that has been proposed so far and leaves many questions, for example, what if there is an accident with no injuries?  No payout?

Sometimes backwards is best.  When you’re carrying something really bulky on the back of a motorcycle sometimes the only way is for the rider to ride backwards with the load in her or his lap.  I had to do that once when I was carrying a new monitor in a big box to one of our offices.

Pets are not really common in Cambodia, at least not in the city, although many Westerners here seem to like cats–probably because expats may be alone here and want some kind of company and cats are relatively easy to keep.  At least the cats can generally be left at home all day by themselves and won’t frighten the lady who comes to clean the house.

There are a few shops, though, that sell fish for home aquariums.  Probably some of the same reasons apply for keeping fish–they are easy to keep and don’t frighten anyone–but they are also especially valued in Chinese culture and many, many people in Cambodia have Chinese heritage.

There are many mysteries in the Kingdom of Wonder.  One of them for me is what kind of street food this guy is selling.  You see all sorts of things sold on the street, many of them foods that would not be street food in the U.S., like corn on the cob, but I’m not sure what this man is vending.  I can tell there is some shredded lettuce or similar vegetable and some other yellowish vegetable, but is that the main ingredient or just a garnish for something else?  And what is the mortar and pestle for?  He’s ladling some juice into the mortar but the end product is an unknown for me.

A shirt with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the back?  That’s not a common occurrence in Phnom Penh and it’s not likely that its owner is a Catholic–or even knows who Our Lady of Guadalupe is.  Phnom Penh is a T-shirt printing hub and there are all kinds of shirts with all kinds of slogans on them displayed here–some of the slogans just gibberish, some with extremely obscene language, some with political sentiments probably not held by the wearer, etc.  Many Phnom Penhers can’t read English so the shirts are chosen because they’re cheap and someone likes the design or the colors.

Life in the boonies, in Cambodia’s rural areas, and life in the cities is quite different in many ways.  Some of them are to be expected, e.g., not needing to be available every day in late afternoon to bring the cow back from the fields.  Other characteristics of city life are less obvious, e.g., eating more meat in the city.  Many of the rural population are really poor and just can’t afford meat.  If they do have it, it’s probably just a few times a week at larger meals.  But in the cities, these vendors are everywhere, and at meal times hundreds of them are grilling fish and chicken and beef and pork on the streets.  Buying meat for a family meal is a relatively expensive proposition.  Buying a kabob snack or even making a meal of meat for one person costs much less and might seem much more do-able for the passersby on the streets of Phnom Penh.