Around Town

Lux Cinema

Lycee Sisowath

A house on Monivong in 1946

The monument to the dead that once stood in the park in front of the French Embassy. The elephant heads around the base were recovered and can now be seen in front of the National Museum.

Another city view from 1946.

Pont Verneville and Fabre and the Port

A few pictures of the bridges on the old canals. The lower two pictures are from 1946, the others are much older, pre-1930s.

Street Art

Street art is very unusual in Cambodia, there are a very few of the more obvious hip-hop influenced pieces around but this piece on Street 430 has a different look to it.

Hun Sen Radio Tower Completed

Steam Trains at the Station.

One of these trains, from 1939, has been restored to working order and can be hired out for short trips. The wooden carriage behind has a large bar inside, it was Prince Sihanouk's carriage in the 1960s. The other engine which can be seen from Russian Boulevard when you pass the station is not in such good condition. The plate on the side dates it to 1912. There are quite a few other engines in the nearby sheds in various states of disrepair.

Hun Sen Radar Tower

I first noticed this odd-shaped structure being built at the southern end of Monivong Boulevard about 6 months back. As it is being built in the Department of Water Resources Management and Conservation's compound, I imagined it might be a water tower. Some time later I was talking to a soldier in the neighborhood who told me it was going to be Hun Sen's Radar Tower. I took this to be some sort of mistranslation, but then found out it was true. At first I presumed that it was for national defense, but the truth is more ordinary. It's a weather radar tower, the giant glass ball which will go on top is typical of one, although the design of the building is a lot more elaborate than any others I've seen in pictures. It will be 60 meters high once the ball goes up and should stand out as one of the more unusual landmarks around the city.

Carriage at the railway station.

Toll Royal Railways have been busy refurbishing the Cambodian
rail system for the last few years.
Some old trains they have restored are on display at the Phnom Penh railway station, including this 1969 German diesel railcar and coach. Apparently there were two of these at one stage, but the other one is lying down an embankment in Battambang, after being blown up during the wars. As you can see from the pictures, it's the same model (perhaps the same train) as the one in this 1975 photograph of the Democratic Kampuchea leadership. Pol Pot is sitting in front on the left, with Nuon Chea behind. On the right are Vorn Vet and Ta Mok. At the bottom you can see the train as it was prior to restoration.