This blog will be used to show Phnom Penh, and other places in Cambodia, as they were and as they are now. The city is changing rapidly and I would like others to see and read about its growth, progress and stories. Any readers submissions of pictures or comments are most welcome.
Thank you so much for this fantastic blog. I first lived in Phnom Penh in 1997 and became enchanted with its history. I tracked and bought a copy of the book Phnom Penh Then and Now, which is similar in purpose to the this blog. However, this blog has a lot of pictures that aren't in that book. I love it.
ReplyDeletePhnom Penh has changed and modernized so radically since 1997 that it is hardly recognizable in a lot of ways, and I feel a sadness that many of the surreal details rich in history and charm that abounded will slowly disappear. I accept that cities are living, dynamic entities and that economic growth is crucial to Cambodians, so modernization and progress are bitter-sweet for me.
Thanks, I appreciate that. I did have a look at the "Then and Now" book years back, and wanted to do something similar but more up-to-date and varied. I first arrived here in 1999, and can hardly believe the changes sometimes. As you say, obviously a city needs to move forward, but there was also something I liked about the place then which has been lost.
ReplyDeleteI too find inspiration in the old and almost forgotten buildings of PP. Thanks for these great photos!
ReplyDeleteEduardo