It's just wonderful to be in Phnom Penh now. A cool 27C in the day, dropping down to 16C in the early morning. If you're on a tuk tuk or a bike, you hit pockets of cold air even when the sun is out, at night it's freezing. The water is too cold for me to shower now and I have resort to bathing with hot water, something I have not done since last year end. The only downside is the dryness which makes my skin itch, but this is easily remedied with a generous application of body lotion from my vast collection from various hotels.
I dread the coming change of season, 40C and 90%+ humidity, the merciless sun biting into the exposed skin. You have to live with changing your clothes 2 to 3 times a day, BO (nothing like Nivea), damp underwear and the resulting fungal infection around the waist, smelly socks, worse, Hong Kong foot which can only rid of with a tube of 5,000 Riel (USD1.25) anti-fungal cream. Going to air-conditioned cafes, restaurants, shopping malls doesn't offer much relief. Most establishments, other than foreign-run (though not all), turn their air-con way high to shave the high electricity bills.
The dry season is also a season of blackouts. Other than a few areas in Phnom Penh where the elites live, every district experience some degree of power cuts lasting from 1 to 5 times, from 1 to 5 hours daily. The government have been promising solutions 'next year', for, let's see, the past decade or so. Solutions include a 1.8gW coal-fired power plant that was planned in the southeast bordering Thailand, but it seems the Thai partner has pulled out of the deal.
There are hydro-dams on the drawing board but everyone knows hydro-dams are not efficient during the dry season when there's no rain, duh. However this does not deter donor countries donating a billion or 2 to build the dams. Everyone knows large tracts of land need to be cleared and preferably land that are heavily forested and sparsely populated. Somewhere stipulated in the contract is the clause the main contractor has to be from the donor country, and has to be responsible for the clearing process and the disposal of the debris. But everyone knows that the 'debris' can be sold in excess of $4,000 per cubic meter. But the good thing is, at least someone's making money for the good of all.
