T he second stop on the 2015 Angkor Photo Workshop was Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city. Phnom Penh is the largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since French colonization of Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation’s center of economic and industrial activities. In the last few years Phnom Penh has experienced tremendous growth and modernization.
Once known as the “Pearl of Asia,” it was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina. Founded in 1434, the city is noted for its beautiful and historical architecture and attractions. There are a number of surviving French colonial buildings scattered along the grand boulevards.
Phnom Penh metropolitan area is home to about 2.2 million. We spent three nights here exploring and photographing street life as well as reminders of the Pol Pot years, including S21 Prison and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek.
Featured image above; the interior dome and clock tower inside the restored, art deco, Pasar Thmei, (central market) which was built in 1937 during the French Colonial period.
Edible bugs for sale, Sithoway Quay
Inspired by Jack Kurtz’s February 2015 photo of a staircase inside the White Building
Central market smile
Chum Mey, one of only two remaining survivors of the Khmer Rouge’s notorious S21 prison
Day trip to the outskirts of Phom Penh to visit an NGO school/commune
Sleeping cyclo drivers at midnight
Young man applying his earrings in a hair salon near the Heart of Darkness bar
NIce group of shots. Love the White Building shot, the woman in central market and #56, the portrait of the cyclo driver. Thank you for sharing!