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Cambodia: Favourite bar area in Phnom Penh seriously affected by Coronavirus
Street 308, also known as Bassac Lane, Phnom Penh’s once-vibrant expat favourite area, where many restaurants, entertainment joints and other businesses thrived, now looks like a ghost town at night.
Tourists, foreign residents and locals were often seen congregating in the area at night, especially at weekends, for entertainment, drinks and food, but that is not the case anymore, with an escalating health crisis brought about by the Coronavirus outbreak.
Cambodia has reported 117 cases of the infection so far. There are fears the number will drastically increase in the next few days or weeks, leading the way for the government to institute some preventive measures such as temporarily closing schools, KTVs and cinemas.
A roving check of St 308 this week revealed that only very few of the business establishments within or in the immediate vicinity have remained open.
Normally bathed in light and sound, the place was eerily silent and dark with nary a soul in sight. The live bands that draw people from near and far were noticeably absent.
Even the throng of tuktuk drivers that regularly wait for passengers there have deserted the area.
Le Boutier, Red Fox and a host of popular bars were closed. So was Party Patio, a favourite hangout for expats from Russia and other Eastern European countries.
“The Bus”, a double decker converted into a cocktail lounge, is nowhere to be seen, apparently leaving for a more profitable spot in town. Of the many restaurants in the area, a few of them, including Namaste India remained open but not a single customer could be seen eating there. The few hotels and guesthouses there such as CAMA and Golden Grand International Hotel are still open, but only a few, if any, customers were seen entering their doors.
According to a staff member at Piccola Italia Da Luigi, customers are hard to come by these days. In the past, the establishment was often crowded with people eager to take a bite of pizza and other Italian food.
“We now have few customers,” she noted. She and another staff member also confirmed that most establishments in the area have not opened in the last few days.
Two weeks ago, some expats complained of police carrying AK-47 assault rifles turned them away from the area. But there was hardly a police presence there on Monday evening, except for a few policemen at a traffic stop a short distance away.
St 308 is not the only “expat area” in Cambodia that has been affected by the health crisis. It has been reported that “Pub Street” in Siem Reap was partially shut a few weeks ago to prevent the spread of the potentially deadly virus.
There are also reports that some restaurant owners in Phnom Penh were asked by local authorities to temporarily close their businesses because of excessively close distances between people.
It remains to be seen when St 308 will return to its former self. A prolonged crisis means that expats and others will have one less place to hang out after a busy day or week.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50711065/favourite-bar-area-in-phnom-penh-seriously-affected-by-coronavirus/