Flavors of Cambodia

"What? In Cambodia for five years?" "How did you survive there?" " Is'nt that a war torn country?" These are such questions which are bombarded on us when we mention that it was our home for five years. A peace loving country which smiling faces Cambodia still bears the scars of the wounds inflicted during the Khmer Rouge from 1975-79 and effects continuing till late 90s.

But, as I leave Cambodia, which has been my home for the past five years, I travel down memory lane.
There is so much to see and learn here.
The country with a glorious past, followed by a gory one has come a long way with people determined to overcome all the hurdles and come neck to neck with its neighbouring countries.

I have witnessed a lot of change specially in Phnom Penh, the capital city. The sky line used to be clear a few years ago and I enjoyed viewing Mekong in the distance from my 8th floor apartment. It was fun to see fireworks lite up the sky for 20 minutes from 7 pm to 7.20 pm on important events such as the King's or Queen's birthday, Independence day, water festival and so on. But with the economic boom, its a sad reality that the old beautiful villas which were an important part of Cambodia's character are being razed to ground to make place for boxy high rise buildings.

view from our balcony 5 years earlier

the present view with 4 multistoried buildings from one side of our balcony

the skyline has completely changed

One thing I really appreciate and like is the Cambodians preserving their culture so well.

the place of ancestors

It is common to see the place for ancestors in every house. Every morning food is offered to them.

morning alms time

Monks can be seen early mornings with umbrella over their head to beat the heat and going from one place to another for  alms.

Market place:
Most of the Cambodia cuisine consists of plenty of vegetables along with some meat. Fresh produce is still preferred, with maret places opening early in the mornings. People throng such places taking back lots of greens. The meal is healthy with a soup consisting of bean sprouts, plenty of flavored greens, pieces of meat, noodles. It is a common sight to see people by the street having a bowl of it for breakfast or lunch.

fresh chicken in market

sea food

Most of the fish comes from river, Mekong being its major source.

greens ready to be picked

some imported fruits

A typical market place will  not only have food but also have lanes for clothes, shoes, cosmetics, groceries.

The economic boom:
If you thought this is Cambodia with small shops then it also has another side. With lots of money, people seem to be drifting from their tradidional healthy food to pizzas, burgers etc.
When I moved to my present country in Barbados, some one was surprised as to how we lived there for 5 years. People still think it to be a war torn country. But, a visit to that place will change your opinion very quickly. On the roads are expensive cars like Hummer, Rolls Royce, Lamborgini, Ferrari apart from Mercedes and BMWs.

 beautiful villa converted into a restaurant

Chatime makes way into Phnom Penh

the biggest chain of coffee shops in Cambodia. It is not surprising, you see Brown in every street. A hot popular place for people of all ages.
With development came the opening of Aeon mall and everyone thronged to that place. There is local cuisine on the ground level and world dining on the upper floor. Apart from that you have shops for everything from perfumes to clothes....

Aeon mall, favorite for people specially on weekends

imported fruits make an entry

sour sop and dragonfruit

 inside the mall

The food court on the ground floor is an excellent place to sample local food. It is hygienically prepared and at a very resonable price.

So much has changed in Phnom Penh and the city is fast developing like its neighboring  capital, Bangkok, fast leaving behind its charm of traditional values.