It's Sunday morning in Phnom Penh (PP) and it's pouring with rain and the lowest temperature---probably about 22C, that I have experienced in the past 7 weeks in S.E. Asia (except in the mountain towns and passes). Time to do some domestic chores like laundry under the shower in the hotel. Why is it that they never supply a sink plug to make life easier. With necessity often the mother of invention, I have frequently converted the room garbage bucket into my laundry bucket on more than a few occasions!
An over-riding memory for me of PP, will be the noise level and how it has affected my experiences at the hotels where I stayed. The first one, the RS guest house, was under going some kind of wall reconstruction--the hammering started at 7am and continued for 12 hours. In self-defence I was forced to relocate to the Nawin guest house several building along the street---actually in a side lane just off the main #178 street. Lo and behold, the lane was immediately blocked off to traffic (motor cycles) and a big white tent erected. The common opinion from the resident westerners was that we were to be witness, up close and personal, to a Cambodian wedding (with lots of juicy photo opportunities) but no, it is a funeral. Of course--white is the colour of mourning in the Orient. In Cambodia, apparently a funeral is a 2 day affair with mournful, repetitive, wailing music played quite loudly non-stop (volume turned down 50% in the middle of the night) to assist the spirits of the dear departed to be transported to the 'other side'. Stressful for all I am sure, including the hapless hotel residents. Why did the ditty from the Goon Show, "Ying tong, ying tong, tickle my toes" spring to my mind? Not complaining, dear readers, these little frustrations add to the total travel experience and anyone who might be truly upset should probably not be a visitor to magnificent, loud and raucous places like Phnom Penh.
The invasion of S.E.Asia by 'big brew'. It is noticeable to one who does enjoy a glass of beer with his noodles on a steamy hot tropical night, that the big international brewers, notably Heineken & Carlsberg are making a big push to capture the minds and hearts of newly affluent young people in the region. The streets of Hanoi's old French quarter---the entertainment, hotel and restaurant district were awash in pretty young things dressed in trendy green outfits, handing out samples of suds. This assault was supported by full blast disco to add to the experience. Very professional marketing and clearly well received by the target market. The banks of the Mekong River in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) are decorated with perhaps a kilometre stretch of massive bill boards incorporating the red star as depicted on the Heineken bottle label---clever marketing move here as a tie-in--the red star is also central to the flag of the Peoples' Republic of Vietnam. In Phnom Penh, just a few doors away from my guest house, Carlsberg rented a real decrepit and spooky, moss covered old French colonial era villa, eerily flood-lit the place, installed mega-sound equipment and issued a load of "private invitations" to young trend-setters (beer drinkers) to party the night away.
Observation from the build-a-brand case study. The local brands---Angkor, Saigon and Lao Beer, seem to this strictly non-expert beer consumer, to be just as tasty and refreshing, at half the price, as the international beers----but is n't that what building profitable brands is all about!!
An over-riding memory for me of PP, will be the noise level and how it has affected my experiences at the hotels where I stayed. The first one, the RS guest house, was under going some kind of wall reconstruction--the hammering started at 7am and continued for 12 hours. In self-defence I was forced to relocate to the Nawin guest house several building along the street---actually in a side lane just off the main #178 street. Lo and behold, the lane was immediately blocked off to traffic (motor cycles) and a big white tent erected. The common opinion from the resident westerners was that we were to be witness, up close and personal, to a Cambodian wedding (with lots of juicy photo opportunities) but no, it is a funeral. Of course--white is the colour of mourning in the Orient. In Cambodia, apparently a funeral is a 2 day affair with mournful, repetitive, wailing music played quite loudly non-stop (volume turned down 50% in the middle of the night) to assist the spirits of the dear departed to be transported to the 'other side'. Stressful for all I am sure, including the hapless hotel residents. Why did the ditty from the Goon Show, "Ying tong, ying tong, tickle my toes" spring to my mind? Not complaining, dear readers, these little frustrations add to the total travel experience and anyone who might be truly upset should probably not be a visitor to magnificent, loud and raucous places like Phnom Penh.
The invasion of S.E.Asia by 'big brew'. It is noticeable to one who does enjoy a glass of beer with his noodles on a steamy hot tropical night, that the big international brewers, notably Heineken & Carlsberg are making a big push to capture the minds and hearts of newly affluent young people in the region. The streets of Hanoi's old French quarter---the entertainment, hotel and restaurant district were awash in pretty young things dressed in trendy green outfits, handing out samples of suds. This assault was supported by full blast disco to add to the experience. Very professional marketing and clearly well received by the target market. The banks of the Mekong River in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) are decorated with perhaps a kilometre stretch of massive bill boards incorporating the red star as depicted on the Heineken bottle label---clever marketing move here as a tie-in--the red star is also central to the flag of the Peoples' Republic of Vietnam. In Phnom Penh, just a few doors away from my guest house, Carlsberg rented a real decrepit and spooky, moss covered old French colonial era villa, eerily flood-lit the place, installed mega-sound equipment and issued a load of "private invitations" to young trend-setters (beer drinkers) to party the night away.
Observation from the build-a-brand case study. The local brands---Angkor, Saigon and Lao Beer, seem to this strictly non-expert beer consumer, to be just as tasty and refreshing, at half the price, as the international beers----but is n't that what building profitable brands is all about!!
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