phnom penh



STORY OF THE DAY • Nov 10, 2020 • 10 min read

City planning As wetlands are filled, Phnom Penh ignores Bangkok’s flooding lessons

By Wanpen Pajai • Nov 10, 2020
As Bangkok attempts, at high cost, to reverse much of the damage done to the flood-prone city by restoring a more porous landscape, next door in Phnom Penh, wetlands are filled and skyscrapers erected as the Cambodian capital runs the risk of being submerged

STORY OF THE DAY • Oct 21, 2020 • 6 min read

Opinion The hidden plight of Phnom Penh’s urban poor during flooding

By Horn Chanvoitey • Oct 21, 2020
Cambodia has experienced severe flooding in recent weeks, with large sections of the capital under water. But major events like these don't tell the whole story, with small and consistent issues associated with flooding worsening a cycle of poverty among the urban poor

Oct 06, 2020 • 4 min read
Photography

Irving Penh: Portraits of Phnom Penh’s riverside sellers

The vendors plying their trade on Phnom Penh's streets play an invaluable but under-appreciated role supporting life in the capital. But using their makeshift riverside studio, two photographers set out to place these overlooked workers in the spotlight
By Alastair McCready • Oct 06, 2020

Sep 17, 2020 • 3 min read
History

[Photos] The cyclos, street food and shophouses of 1950s Phnom Penh

This collection of archive images depicts Phnom Penh in April 1953, offering an insight into Cambodia on the brink of independence, a country yet to be touched by the heady development of the 60s or the tragedy of the 70s
By Alastair McCready • Sep 17, 2020

Aug 12, 2020 • 13 min read
Cambodia in Quarantine

Hanging up the hard hat

With no building in Phnom Penh higher than four storeys only 20 years ago, Cambodia's capital and many provincial cities have seen explosive development. But with the hard hats hung up on many smaller projects in recent months, how sustainable is the boom?
By Andrew Haffner • Aug 12, 2020

Aug 03, 2020 • 5 min read
Editorial

Vann Molyvann’s house is up for sale – but should it be a heritage site?

With the former Phnom Penh home of visionary Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann on the market, its potential sale to private investors provides few guarantees over its preservation as a Cambodian cultural artefact and heritage site
By Alastair McCready • Aug 03, 2020

Jul 10, 2020 • 9 min read
Cambodian democracy

‘A true man of the people’: Revisiting the murder of Dr. Kem Ley

Four years since the passing of Cambodian political commentator and advocate Dr Kem Ley, his murder remains a highly sensitive political issue in the Kingdom. Why does his legacy continue to hold such significance in Cambodian discourse today?
By Andrew Haffner • Jul 10, 2020

Jul 02, 2020 • 6 min read
The Quarantine Chronicles

Entry 2.5: Quarantine Matters with Alexi Demetriadi

As Globe reporter Alexi Demetriadi nears the end of his Phnom Penh quarantine experience, he touches base with Alexi Demetriadi in a no-holds-barred interview to hear about how its gone, and what travellers coming to Cambodia should know
By Alexi Demetriadi • Jul 02, 2020

Jul 02, 2020 • 7 min read
Covid-19

[Photos] A Cambodian community’s struggle to survive virus economic fallout

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Cambodia’s urban-poor communities have suffered severe economic shocks and fallen further into poverty. Without a secure social security safety net to fall back on, many are now relying on NGOs to keep them afloat
By Christine Redmond • Jul 02, 2020

Jun 30, 2020 • 7 min read
Wildlife trade

Why are there roving gibbons and hornbills in Phnom Penh?

Today, you'd be lucky to spot a gibbon in the Cambodian jungle, but in the capital, a trip to Toul Tumpoung should do the trick. These primates, along with a flock of hornbills, are often seen walking the power lines of this Phnom Penh suburb, for a rather peculiar reason
By Andrew Haffner • Jun 30, 2020