Phnom Penh portraits

Disconnected thoughts from a fascinating city

Last words on Cambodian capital Phnom Penh: it’s really nice. Yes, there’s some bad history, but the country is vibrantly optimistic and the people very welcoming indeed. I heartily recommend it. More comments with each pic.

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Like many capitals, Phnom Penh is busy by day but really comes alive at night. People are everywhere, enjoying the mild evenings after the scorch of the day. There’s no pestering — beyond the constant optimistic “tuk-tuk?” (a cheap, thrilling way to get right into the heart of the city) — just folks selling things to those who want them. Here, a mother and daughter offer fruit below the gaze of iconic former leader “King Father” Norodom Sihanouk.

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Down at Wat Botum Park, dozens of people are doing aerobics to a boombox; a hundred yards away, dozens more are doing different aerobics to a different boombox. Apparently they do it every evening. Elsewhere at this night on the polished tiles, young men play soccer barefoot, flipflops for goalposts, while a youngster whizzes expertly around on a sawn-off Segway.

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They have a nice line in quiet spectacle, the Cambodians. Coloured lights, water fountain, Buddhist pagoda: what’s not to like?

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There’s always one.

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Yer standard worlds-within-worlds shot. The crumbling concrete block in the foreground is fully occupied, colourful washing hanging alongside the plants growing out of the structure itself. Behind, a gilded palace of commerce reaches for the stars. The advert tempts us all, rich and poor, to Get More Stuff.

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Evidently Cambodian lifts give lifestyle advice.

Originally published on Facebook, 20 Mar 2017.