Lately I had the chance to travel to Cambodia and I spent ten days in the capital city Phnom Penh. Cambodia is a poor country with a very difficult past and its economy is struggling. I saw people living in the streets on the most basic level that I have ever seen on all my trips. One thing that I noticed that there a barber shops everywhere in the city and no matter how little money these people living in the streets have – you will hardly find anyone who doesn't have a decent haircut.
Another thing that I noticed and that partly explains why I feel so comfortable in this country: when these barbers have their time off they can just leave their stuff behind and nobody will be stealing anything – even though people are so poor. It seems they have a great sense of community.
I’ll be going back to Cambodia soon and I think this time I’ll switch to the active side of things and get myself a haircut in the streets of Phnom Penh.
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I have a picture very like this of my husband having a haircut in Vietnam.
I lived in Cambodia for 3 years. 10 years have passed since I left that country and nothing seems to have changed. I love your pictures...
They all seem to be amazing characters! They might be just some poor barbers, but I'm sure they'd always have an interesting story to share with a client. Or at least, most barbers are like that.
I don't know much about the seasons in Cambodia, but don't they have an intense rainy season? Are there other times of the year that they can't work? These are beautiful pictures.
vietnam is not far, but it's pretty much the same there. It's very interesting.
They all seem to be amazing characters! They might be just some poor barbers, but I'm sure they'd always have an interesting story to share with a client. Or at least, most barbers are like that.
I don't know much about the seasons in Cambodia, but don't they have an intense rainy season? Are there other times of the year that they can't work? These are beautiful pictures.
vietnam is not far, but it's pretty much the same there. It's very interesting.