Stone Buddas
I discovered the other day street 178 goes all the way from Monivong Boulevard (a very major road near where I live) to Sisowath Quay (the water front area) in a straight line with no interruptions for temples palaces or museums. So I hopped on my bike tonight and headed down to a cafe near the waterfront. (For those watching the photos, the Royal Palace is opposite the waterfront
I stopped outside a house – actually 4 houses – that had stone buddas on display outside: (too heavy to steal.) The adult daughter of the business owner –NIN- spoke quite good English and told me they are all hand carved using granite or marble. This is truly astounding, and I guess the father has devoted his life to it. She told me I could come back and take some photos if I wanted to.
She also explained something that’s puzzled me about Cambodian addresses. Many of them have Eo after the house number for no apparent reason. Some authority somewhere can designate houses being 42A, 42B, 42C 42D, 42E etc. The small o refers to the fact that the addressee lives on the ground floor.
The man next door to NIN’s house had gotten his house numbered 42.8, since 2 4 and 8 are lucky numbers
I will have to look more closely: I’ve seen many Es but not many A B C or Ds. In the meantime photos of Buddhas will follow in a day or two.
If you’ve read my other posts about the migrating garbage piles , the street kid recyclers who work the rubbish tips at night etc., it is reminiscent of a Leonard Cohen Lyric about “she shows you where to look among the seaweed and the flowers.
If you want a map of Phnom pehn click here
Monivong is the north-south road to the left of centre and 178 goes left right just above the national museum.
Photos to follow.
Richard Snow Writer 
