Cambodia Calling: Phnom Penh - second worst historic city to visit

Friday, October 24, 2008

Phnom Penh - second worst historic city to visit

Phnom Penh was voted 2nd worst historic destination in
National Geographic's 2008 "Places Rated" Destination Stewardship survey!

Why am I not surprised...I've met people who have described the place as "a dump", a "shithole" etc etc. However it is not for its pollution or rubbish or cramped streets packed with motorbikes that earned PP the distinction. NatGeo says it is because of "government indifference". That's why we moved from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap after a year and a half, although I think Siem Reap will soon be on the list. Lack of regulation means hotels, guesthouses, restaurants etc are sprouting up everywhere and anywhere.

Number one on the NatGeo survey is Central City, Colorado. I've never been, only to the Grand Canyon in Arizona which is a gorge carved by the Colorado River. It seems casinos have moved in and changed the character of Central City (I'm curious to see how casinos will change Singapore's character when they open next year)

While we are on the topic, I wonder where Dubai stands...

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So please, before you ask us to discount our bags, remember that we are not a minimum wage factory; we are a social enterprise. If you want a cheap factory-made bag, Bloom is not what you are looking for. If you agree that workers (where-ever they are--Singapore, Germany, France, the US) should always be paid fairly and are not here to produce goods and services at low wages for the profit of big business, then please consider Bloom. Bloom bags are all hand-made by our small team who spend our working hours dreaming up and making bags.

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Bloom is a social enterprise established in Sept 2006 with the intention of providing fair-paying jobs to abandoned, widowed and divorced Cambodian women. Bloom is not a factory. We are a small workshop of nine people who work closely as a team to produce original, quality handmade bags made from recycled rice and fish feed bags.

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Please Visit Bloom's new workshop off Norodom Boulevard in Phnom Penh and our retail outlets. Bloom is next to Warehouse Pub in the Old Market Area in Siem Reap and at No.808 Russian Market, Phnom Penh.