The tragic death of Phnom Penh Lake Area

The tragic death of Phnom Penh Lake Area -

almost six years to travel in my world, my days on the lake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, remain some of my favorites ,

I had come for a few days and end up staying for a few weeks. I spent my time in the famous number 9 Pension am See, movies, a few cold beers, meet fellow travelers from around the world, and watch beautiful sunsets over the lake. We had a perfect view as the lake bank faced west. At night, my friends (all of them also got "stuck" in the city), and I would eat cheap Indian, play poker and head to our local hangout, The Drunken Frog. It was our "Cheers." Everyone knew your name, and I could do everything on my tab.

was My experience probably shared by thousands of other travelers who got stuck in Phnom Penh in the Lake District. Sure, it was a bit shabby - a backpacker ghetto, if it was ever before. It was the slide, the advertisers, the dreads, bootleg movies and cheap beer. But it was fun, relaxing, and a place that people are brought together.

And it is no longer.

Beoung Kak Lake has been destroyed and is completely filled. When I was here in 07, the speech was to close to the region and urge the residents, so the developers could fill in the lake and build on the land. Well, the conversation turned into action, and for the price of $ 88 million dollars, Shukaku Inc., a company run by the influential Senator Lao Meng Khin (corruption, anyone?), Obtaining a 99-year lease of the lake and the surrounding area.

And the with the fate that the area was sealed.

have

part I of its decline in recent years. The encroaching sand and the departure of its inhabitants. Now that I'm back in Phnom Penh, I made sure to go to see what they left in the hand at first.

And for the first time in my travels I was very sad and angry about the development. The development can bring a lot of benefits to a community, but here the blatant disregard for the people and the environment was too much. When I saw in the area today, my heart sank - and is still lower. It was heartbreaking to be there.

has gone to the lake, quite apart from a small strip of polluted waste water filled. What looked again like this:

And this:

looks now like this:

And from another point of view:

And another:

Gone are the. Docks, which stretch across the river where you could watch the sunset and bond with new friends while being attacked by mosquitoes

two dollars, all-you-can-eat Indian place was demolished:

And my favorite bar, the Drunken Frog? Boards and imprisoned.

All that remains of this once bustling area, is a pile of demolished buildings, vacant lots and booths. Buildings that are held once vibrant company now tenements. Some companies have kept, and I saw three guesthouses still open. But it was less than a handful of people around. The lack of tugs and tuk-tuk driver spoke with the fact that crowds had long since disappeared.

"This place used to have a great breakfast," I pointed out to my friend. "That's where we played poker." "That pile of rubble used to be a big fish place." "I used to stay here," I said to another place showing.

I wandered through the ruins, and when I stood on the sand pile that was once the lake, I was deeply disturbed. There's a hole in my heart where the lake once was.

I do not not mind development. Change places, cities grow, to develop societies. For the most part, I believe the development can be a very good thing, especially if it is done properly. But a look here, I saw nothing but destruction and greed. The area lake was home to thousands of people who eked out a living in a not too glamorous part of town. They ran businesses here. Raised families here. Lived life that were destroyed.

But as often happens in the world, the locals have been set aside for the big money. Residents had very little legal recourse. The dispute over eminent domain and fair compensation was a farce. They were told just to leave, given a little compensation, and if they did not like it, too bad. The same thing happened in Ko Phi Phi after the tsunami, when the locals were rebuilt resorts way to extend it. Over the years, Cambodia has become rife with corrupt land sales. Residents are kicked moves in blatantly illegal that even want to have some people, for the Khmer Rouge because "it is at least a place to live." Residents are left with little compensation and a lot of unemployment and debt.

I'm sorry, the lake area is no longer there. I wish future travelers might have the same great memories.

But above all, I am sad and disappointed at the short-sightedness of those who would fill in a lake, ruining a community, and part of the city in the destruction name of money. There was no real need to fill in this lake. The only "real" Not was greed

were allowed to stay While some families -. intervenes only after the Prime Minister - thousands more were not so lucky. The lake could develop with families in mind and the area have been saved. But that was not the case.

And as the officials enrich themselves in a clearly questionable and corrupt land deal, everything remains any other, is a pile of sand and a lot of trouble.

Note : Save Boeung Kak has the latest on the ongoing battle between the inhabitants, try to keep what to leave their homes and the government.

Share this post