As a photo, its not one of my best by any stretch of the imagination, but it represents the first picture taken with my new Sony camera and it also shows part of the changing face of Phnom Penh. Just behind the grass island in the shot, used to be a wonderful old broken-down yellow-painted colonial building that belonged to the tourism department. Now a solitary 4WD sits on its foundations. This intersection, immediately in front of Wat Ounalom, is still one of the most tricky to cross on foot especially after dark, as traffic flies at you from all directions. In the bottom left hand-corner, that 2 metre high green aluminium fence has recently been erected and has destroyed the street-level view of the river from Wat Ounalom all the way north to Psar Chas. Its expected to be there for more than a year as work takes place to get the drainage and flood systems sorted out, but hats off to the capital's works' department - they waited until high season was in full swing before they erected it without a moment's notice for the bars & restaurants who trade off the river view. Priceless.Below is a photo taken as you pan to the right of the shot above. These are the spires and roof-top buildings of Wat Ounalom, which hosts no less than 44 structures. The home of the country's Buddhist hierarchy, Wat Ounalom was founded in 1443 but didn't fair particularly well during the Khmer Rouge regime.
2 comments:
Double whoops...I forgot to mention that the picture was taken from the 3rd floor of the Amanjaya Hotel on Sisowath Quay at 7.30am. I was there for a breakfast meeting and took the opportunity to grab a couple of photos.
Good pictures, I see you have been at the Amanjaya? Nice place. Don't you think if they are working on the much needed drainage, it has to be done in the dry season anyway? Its a big scheme and it should help to solve much of the flooding around Wat Phnom, Psah Chas and Psah Kandal, and the other areas near the palace and museum.
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