I didn’t know what to expect from Phnom Phen, or Cambodia in general for that matter. I’ve admittedly had a minimal education of the area, aside from brief history class lessons, lodged deeply in the recesses of my mind and the occasional film such as The Killing Fields. I knew about The Khmer Rouge and thus imagined Cambodia in a perpetual state of recovery. In my mind I pictured the countryside, lush green and flat, with sporadic palm trees and wooden ramshackle houses showing their age. The city, I viewed as dusty and tired, monotone grey buildings filling the streets. I knew my preconceived images to be faulty, by I hadn’t expected how modern, colorful, and teeming with life Phnom Phen would be. Though a bit more dirty and malodorous than previous cities it none the less boasts a quite modern feel.

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