Cambodia Independence Day

November 9^th is Independence Day in Cambodia. Since 9 November fell on a Saturday this year Independence Day is being celebrated on Monday, 11 November this year. The pictures below are of the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh where most of the celebrations took place, including a speech by King Norodom Sihamoni and as you can see from the pictures also included appearances by many Cambodian military officers.

I have previously posted blogs about Cambodia’s independence from France, but just to give a brief recap, in 1863 Cambodia’s King Norodom signed over protectorate status of Cambodia to France because he feared rising tensions with Thailand and Vietnam. Thailand was forced to release their suzerainty of Cambodia over to France (except for the provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap, which were maintained by Thailand until 1906). In 1953, a very young King Norodom Sihanouk (then only 30 years old) was able to regain Cambodia’s independence from France.

Unrelated bonus picture. I saw these (see below) at a bakery in Phnom Penh called Tour les Jours. They are probably the cutest pastries I have ever seen. They are called "Happy Bears", The manager, Mike, is from Vietnam and he moved here riding his moto all the way from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh! Since it was late in the day and there was still an amazing assortment of bakery items on display I asked him what they did with all the bakery items that did not get sold that day. To my delight he said that they donate them to people who are living in poverty. It makes me smile to think about all the children who will get treated to Happy Bears. While I was talking with Mike I spotted a customer wearing a Paul Smith shirt and I had coincidentally just seen a profile about Paul Smith done by Angie Lau. I had never heard of Paul Smith before, but really liked what he said in his interview (about being humble with success and not letting the job change him, about remaining childlike, not childish, by always having a curiosity and thirst to learn - and asking questions) - and so I started talking with him and he is a fascinating man from England who loves Paul Smith. He is an economist who has worked for the BBC and is now a professor at a university in Phnom Penh.

Happy Bears