The fantastic of phranom penh

above the ground floor. In Phnom Penh’ it see the more round level is unde 1e are always peeking in’ 50 Of course on]  evel. The truly impoverished live .3’ owed to wander‘ In  stairs you have to Climb to  apartments or houses sirable because dirt gets  that the more money your home. Ma says the 8 into the house and nosy p€0P  e live on the ground 1 where I have never been 311  to the market with Ma, I catch brif h with fascination as children Wit:  you have.  poor peopl makeshift tents in areas  Sometimes on the way 5 of these poor areas. I wat g old, dirty c bout the same size as me a g on their backs. Even from afar, 1 see ling in the creases of their necks and ll wooden carvings of the  o flutes with one hand  c lothes run up to our cyclo in the.  it  s they rush over Wth 1  glimpse oily black hair, wearin bare feet. Many look a naked younger siblings bouncin  red dirt covers their faces, nest  under their fingernails. Holding up sma Buddha, oxen, wagons, and miniature bambo  they balance oversized woven straw baskets on their heads or st ddl Y3 ed  on their hips and plead with us to buy their wares. Some have nothin Eofsell find appr1(:ach us murmuring with extended hands. Every timeg e ore can ma e out What they say, the C l ’ . . ’ forcing the children to scurry out Of our Vzacyg s rust)’ bell clangs noisily, There are many mark t ' Ph . . but their products are a1:V:y1SnSin£;::IiT1:pnh, some big and others small, Russian Market the Olympic Mark It :6 IS the Central Market, the ’ e go to shop depends on which marl\ 7 girl many 0thers.Where people told me the OlYmPic Mark t et 15 the closest to their house‘ Pa e . lackluster facade is gray from mwisi once a beautiful building. Now its 0 - . from neglect. The ground that and polluhony and its walls cracked bushes and flowers, is now deadwas Once‘ lush and green, filled with food carts, where thousands of h and burled Under outdoor tents and 5 O - Under the bright green and ilpers traverse everyday thing from fabrics with st _ ' ue plastic tents vendors Sen every- Khmer E 1- npeS’P3‘51€Y,andfl . 0 . ngish. and French. Crack Owers to books in Ch1n€S5: range mangoes, and pink dr ed green coconuts, tiny bananas, as silver squid\their be d agon fruit are on sale as are delicacies such ofbrown tiger Sh . 3 Y 6Y€s watching th . _ 15 “mp crawling in Wh- elf ne1ghbors—and teafl He plastic buckets. Indoors, Where  the temperature is usual] Starched 5},- Y ten de re irts and t)learnrl .L‘.\ p 8 ‘es cooler, welpgroomed I ..».IS