Bavet
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
SELL LAND: The major mantra these days in some of the unlikliest of places in Cambodia.
I went down to Bavet a few weeks ago for a photo shoot just before the Khmer New Year. Bavet is a border town in Svay Rieng Province that leads into southern Viet Nam.
Bavet is also undergoing rapid change as investors continue to build many large gambling casinos there.
Interesting contrast: Mom & Pop roadside vendors struggle to put up their weather-beaten umbrella across the road from one of many multi-milion dollar casinos being built there.
The old part of town is super slow and sleepy…
A cow grazing in the old part of Bavet, in front of the Bavet International Border Market.
Sleepy, slow-paced and a bit dusty.
The highlight of the trip was the ferry ride about halfway there…
Vendors on the ferry…
A faithful son leads his blind father alongside cars as he begs for money.
Typical Cambodian ferry passengers disembark…
One of the many casinos already open for business in Bavet.
Aside from the casinos already built and the ones under contruction, things look pretty much like this in Bavet.
You’ll find the usual border-crossing assortment of food vendors and fresh produce for sale alongside the main road.
The actual border gate leading into Viet Nam from Cambodia.
Fashion in Bavet seems to be highly influenced by their Vietnamese neghbors to the west.
Look for more exciting coverage of the Bavet phenoomenon in the days to come…
