Signs of Times

APAD 135: No U-Turn?

Posted by The Insider on May 16, 2013 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, sights, Signs of Times, What's On in Cambodia | 5 comments

Unfortunately, this happens all the time.

No one cares. Almost always the traffic policemen, if ever they are around, ignore this violation. Or drivers talking on the phone while driving. For reasons they only know.

APAD 132: Figures

Posted by The Insider on May 9, 2013 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, Cambodia life, Cycle 2, sights, Signs of Times, That's My World, What's On in Cambodia | 5 comments

This LED signboard greets commuters along the junction of Monivong and Russian Boulevards. It displays daily the figures reflecting the “activities” happening at the from the fledgling Securities Exchange of Cambodia (CSX).

CSX was opened in 2011 and it has now about 12 companies trading there, a third of which are foreign accounts. The idea of a stock exchange is new to most Cambodians and, according to this report, it has been a slow progress.

With majority of the population barely earning the minimum wage, I wonder how many have few dollars left over to invest in stocks. Does an ordinary Cambodian even understand what this is all about, and much more, about investing?

APAD 130: No to sex tourism!

Posted by The Insider on May 2, 2013 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, Cambodia life, Cycle 2, Expat Life, sights, Signs of Times, That's My World, What's On in Cambodia | 2 comments

Found this at the entrance gate of a boutique hotel in Phnom Penh. It just reminds you of the many problems people encounter in this country, especially the women and children. There’s a lot of information on sex trafficking on the Internet and it’s enough to make you angry.

The tourism industry and other businesses in Cambodia have joined forces with NGOs and government agencies to combat this issue and pledged to cooperate with authorities in spotting and reporting cases. Also part of the tourism industry’s pledge is to provide training to their staff on how to recognise and report child sexual exploitation.

APAD 127: Montessori

Posted by The Insider on Apr 29, 2013 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, sights, Signs of Times, That's My World, What's On in Cambodia | 0 comments

APAD 126: The Cyclo

Posted by The Insider on Apr 25, 2013 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, Cambodia life, Expat Life, sights, Signs of Times, That's My World, transportation, What's On in Cambodia | 2 comments

If you don’t know what a cyclo is or what it looks like, just click here and here.

APAD 121: Suosdei Choul Chnnam Thmey!

Posted by The Insider on Apr 18, 2013 in A Photo a Day, Addicted to Meme, All things Khmer, Cambodia, Cambodia life, Cycle 2, Expat Life, sights, Signs of Times, That's My World, What's On in Cambodia | 6 comments

… Happy New Year.

Yes. We just celebrated the Cambodian New Year over the weekend, April 14-16 to be precise. It is a three-day celebration, according to the lunar calendar. It is also a celebration of the end of the harvest season. Hence, it is a colourful, festive and fun celebration.

This year, we welcomed New Year on the early hours of Saturday (2amish). Drumbeats and prayers from the wats (temples) ushered the New Year as well as the new Thevadas (see photo). In Buddhism, they are sort of angels, if you like, who’ve come to replace the old ones guarding the Earth.

To know more about the festive Khmer New Year, please click this link.