A quick glance at Phnom Penh’s skyline reveals a now-familiar sight – yellow construction cranes peppered across the growing metropolis. During the day, the cranes sway around, groaning under the weight of construction material. At night, the sky is dotted with little red specks – the cranes’ safety lights glowing in the dark.
Horm Piseth gets to view these cranes from his condominium on Chroy Changvar peninsula, on the eastern bank of the Tonle Sap. The 33-year-old businessman last year purchased the condo in a modern housing development. The $80,000 investment got him a one-bedroom apartment, with the added benefits of a gymnasium and swimming pool.
But it served two objectives: to live independent of his parents and close to his workplace. The former was a hard sell for his family.
