The ducks of Phnom Penh

"Quack, quack. Quack, quack." That's the sound of the recyclers of Phnom Penh, who walk the streets looking to buy plastic and metal from residents. To attract their attention, the recyclers call out or honk horns. If only they bought paper too!

Or is it Dispatches from Street 97?

At first glance, the Phnom Penh street grid seems logical: north/south streets are odd numbered, starting from the east, and east/west streets are even numbered, starting from the north. However, the system is not completely logical, as 1) occasionally, the same street will have different numbers (as is the case with our street, which is street 95 where we are but street 97 up the block and both from the house in the photo) and 2) house numbers are not unique--house numbers will restart at 1 every so often, so different houses will have the same number.

I wouldn't find this so bad if I could just explain that I was on Street X between Streets Y and Z. However, the concept of cross-streets seems to be foreign to Phnom Penhites. Instead, they pinpoint a location by reference to the closest temple or commune, which is smallest unit of municipal organization in Cambodia. So, in the end, it takes a village to find your place in the city.