Things don't stay still on Riverside.
Two Circle Ks have closed (both have notices saying they are closed for stocktaking). The big one on the northern corner of 130 had all of its stock literally taken out yesterday!
The new ABA 24/7 has opened next to La Croisette. No staff (except security) just five pristine machines that will take care of all of your needs, and enough pure white lighting to make you think you have entered the gates of heaven.
Acleda are doing a similar development next to the Smart Shop north of 110.
The Chinese hotel next to the Amanjaya (used to the the lovely Red Hibiscus) has been closed for a while and the sloping ground in font of it (replete with plastic grass) now serves as a base for the stylish homeless Chinese lady who carries bags, wields a stick, takes care of several cats and dogs and wears a crash helmet.
The building to the right of that (a double unit) has been under development for more than a year but now looks like it is the right season for it to shed its green netting skin and emerge as another shiny hotel, oh the optimism.
Metro has reopened but with limited hours, 3-9pm.
Harry's is open of course (sorry did someone mention that already).
The enormous Soma hotel development on the southern corner of 130 continues its plodding progress. I read a report yesterday that confidently anticipates a big resurgence in tourism here starting mid-2023. Perhaps they are aiming to complete just in time for that. Meanwhile, with the old Cheers (ex-Paddy Rice) now closed, that entire block is devoid of business activity now (although upstairs ex-Cheers is open).

The aerobics classes have not yet resumed but the Tai Chi in the early morning has.
It's fairly busy in the late afternoon/evenings but the sellers with the rental rollerskates are not yet back. The enthusiastic football games are, however.

armchairlawyer wrote: ↑Sun May 30, 2021 10:22 am Things don't stay still on Riverside.
Two Circle Ks have closed (both have notices saying they are closed for stocktaking). The big one on the northern corner of 130 had all of its stock literally taken out yesterday!
The new ABA 24/7 has opened next to La Croisette. No staff (except security) just five pristine machines that will take care of all of your needs, and enough pure white lighting to make you think you have entered the gates of heaven.
Acleda are doing a similar development next to the Smart Shop north of 110.
The Chinese hotel next to the Amanjaya (used to the the lovely Red Hibiscus) has been closed for a while and the sloping ground in font of it (replete with plastic grass) now serves as a base for the stylish homeless Chinese lady who carries bags, wields a stick, takes care of several cats and dogs and wears a crash helmet.
The building to the right of that (a double unit) has been under development for more than a year but now looks like it is the right season for it to shed its green netting skin and emerge as another shiny hotel, oh the optimism.
Metro has reopened but with limited hours, 3-9pm.
Harry's is open of course (sorry did someone mention that already).
The enormous Soma hotel development on the southern corner of 130 continues its plodding progress. I read a report yesterday that confidently anticipates a big resurgence in tourism here starting mid-2023. Perhaps they are aiming to complete just in time for that. Meanwhile, with the old Cheers (ex-Paddy Rice) now closed, that entire block is devoid of business activity now (although upstairs ex-Cheers is open).

The aerobics classes have not yet resumed but the Tai Chi in the early morning has.
It's fairly busy in the late afternoon/evenings but the sellers with the rental rollerskates are not yet back. The enthusiastic football games are, however.

I just cringe at what's bound to happen with all these new ATMs on Riverside in perfect view of all the thieve gangs at every corner to follow you no matter what direction you go. People be careful, and don't go to ATM alone.

armchairlawyer wrote: ↑Sun May 30, 2021 10:22 am Things don't stay still on Riverside.
Two Circle Ks have closed (both have notices saying they are closed for stocktaking). The big one on the northern corner of 130 had all of its stock literally taken out yesterday!
The new ABA 24/7 has opened next to La Croisette. No staff (except security) just five pristine machines that will take care of all of your needs, and enough pure white lighting to make you think you have entered the gates of heaven.
Acleda are doing a similar development next to the Smart Shop north of 110.
The Chinese hotel next to the Amanjaya (used to the the lovely Red Hibiscus) has been closed for a while and the sloping ground in font of it (replete with plastic grass) now serves as a base for the stylish homeless Chinese lady who carries bags, wields a stick, takes care of several cats and dogs and wears a crash helmet.
The building to the right of that (a double unit) has been under development for more than a year but now looks like it is the right season for it to shed its green netting skin and emerge as another shiny hotel, oh the optimism.
Metro has reopened but with limited hours, 3-9pm.
Harry's is open of course (sorry did someone mention that already).
The enormous Soma hotel development on the southern corner of 130 continues its plodding progress. I read a report yesterday that confidently anticipates a big resurgence in tourism here starting mid-2023. Perhaps they are aiming to complete just in time for that. Meanwhile, with the old Cheers (ex-Paddy Rice) now closed, that entire block is devoid of business activity now (although upstairs ex-Cheers is open).

The aerobics classes have not yet resumed but the Tai Chi in the early morning has.
It's fairly busy in the late afternoon/evenings but the sellers with the rental rollerskates are not yet back. The enthusiastic football games are, however.

I agree with Joker Poker in his upvote. I've been trying to get some feel for the current Phnom Penh through recent videos. Most are truly awful, with just fleeting images that leave you empty of context, never mind the complete lack location references. The only things I've gotten from them, aside from seeing that the Lexus and tuktuk fleets are still blocking "sidewalks," is to be sickened by the featureless, artless Chinese behemoths polluting the viewscape.

Thanks, Arm-y, for painting with words.

A stunning new addition to the aesthetic appeal of Riverside.



With the Soma hotel under construction l in the background (corner st 130).

Maybe it will blow over in the next storm and kill a couple vendors.

Meanwhile the West is launching oat milk alternatives to dairy (Wow, no Cow)

It's quite busy on Riverside these days from before daybreak. People want to get their exercise done before the cops show up, usually around 6.45am. Even the Tai Chi crew do their thing in the morning twilight but with their plinky-plonky music turned down so as not to draw undue attention.
Slowly the combination of cops, the heat and sometimes the rain drive people away.
The river reversed flow a couple of months ago and is moving strongly now and the level has risen quite a bit. It's odd to see the sand cargo boats which used to move northwards at a snail's pace with their heavy loads, now they charge upstream at a rate of knots.

One by one the businesses close. Cheers has gone, Mekong Garden (corner 118) and La Tyvy (corner 144).
On the big block from 118 to 110, there is now nothing except for one forlorn looking Indian restaurant, then Oskars, and Riverhouse on the corner.
The Ukraine restaurant just beyond Riverhouse on 110 has closed.
As you look north, beyond the Night Market and the port, a massive column of concrete is rising slowly into the skies, replete with gigantic banners proclaiming something or other in dancing characters of red and white.

The only new businesses to open on Riverside recently are two 24/7 self-service banks. Not encouraging for employment levels, unless you are a security guard.

As the heat cools, people return to the promenade. Individual cops on motos gaze at them without enthusiasm but only the officious ones buzz up and down, berating them through loudhailers.
Then slowly you can begin to hear the staccato delivery of a powerful PA system and a pick-up truck comes into view with red and blue flashing lights atop. It moves at a steady pace in a northerly direction. Parked cars and motos are swept aside before its relentless path and the tireless speaker imparts the vital message of the terrible perils of walking, talking and exercising on the Riverside. Reluctantly, the populace drift away from the river. On one particularly pleasant early weekend evening, the strollers felt inclined to simply ignore the berating machine and so ultimately a team of white hazmat-suited figures arrived and dispersed eagerly around the promenade. The people were quickly convinced by this and it became deserted.

As darkness descends, the cops reduce in number, only to return around 9pm in a fleet of motos. They disembark with their epaulets doing rapid flashes of blue and red. They like to take photos of each other with the beautiful shimmering river at their backs, its water reflecting the multitude of lights from the other side.
And yet, quietude is not complete. The party boats emerge and ply up and down the river with piercing music, as if existing in some parallel universe where the relentless plague and its awful consequences are blissfully absent.

Then, as midnight doesn’t strike, even the boats return to their unknown homes.
Soon it will be time for the early athletes to arrive.

I'm surprised at the lack of civil unrest there seems to be here, despite many people living through incredible hardship at the moment. With businesses closed, probably owing thousands, jobs lost, debts remaining unpaid, probable evictions from people's homes etc, it's difficult to understand how many people are surviving at all. I know that Cambodians aren't particularly known for uprisings and protests, but when people are often left with a feeling of having nothing to lose, even the most docile, apathetic and uninterested usually try to make a stand. When other countries (*cough, Australia) are going crazy at the thought of just being asked to wear a mask and take the vaccine, here we have genuine poverty and hardship with many people not knowing where their next meal is coming from, yet very few signs of a call to action.