Cambodia- Phnom Penh

When I first visited Phnom Penh in 1999, streets were dominated by cyclo's and mopeds, the few cars one saw were big 4X4 driven by merry youngsters of NGO's. Only the big avenues had tarmac and most streets were dirt roads that would turn into mud pools during the monsoon rains. Most apartment buildings were rundown to some degree and so were the temples and public buildings. Most tourist coming to Cambodia ony came for Angkor and didn't dare to see other sights in the country like Phnom Penh. The city had a certain reputation as a place where anything was possible and laws were few and open to negotiation. This was the city of the "happy pizza" (pizza with a seasoning of marijuana), the shooting ranges where one could fire anything from a Browning 9mm to the 50 calibre machine gun and if that was not completely satisfying, one could even fire an RPG at a cow. Prostitution was rife and so was unemployment. Most males seemed to be occupied in the cyclo business or some kind of hustling scheme related to prostitution or drugs. All this together made this city attract many sinister characters.
Today, most of these things still exist, but they no longer seem to be the 'major industries'. Most buildings have had a paint job and the streets are bustling with 'normal' commercial activities. The down side of this is that the amount of mopeds and cars spoil the former peace and quiet.
Peter.

Laos'tan sonra Phnom Pen bana oldukca kalabalik ve hareketli geldi. Ama o gunun aksamina dogru sehir hayatina tekrar adapte olmustum. Parkta ziplayan maymunlar, tapinakta calinan muzikler, carsi ve ara sokaklar hemen bizi icine cekiverdi.
Ayrica restaurant ve barlar gercekten ozledigimiz gibiydi. Uzun bi aradan sonra pizza yiyerek bu durumu degerlendirdik.

Ozden.