All aboard the Cambodian cafe train to nowhere
Train travelling has largely ground to a halt in Cambodia because of COVID-19 but railway fans can still get their repair aboard a stationary carriage changed into a hipster cafe.
The country has a lot more than 600km of track extending from its northern border with Thailand to the southern coast, but decades of war and neglect have gone vast stretches damaged and corona virus has shut various remaining services.
A fresh airport rail link was closed this past year and passenger trains to the seaport of Sihanoukville have been suspended since March when Cambodia was hit with the worst of its COVID-19 outbreak. But a fresh train cafe - located at Phnom Penh railway station - has turned into a hub for Instagrammers and Facebookers buying a selfie location and cold take. As authorities chill out virus restrictions carrying out a three-week lockdown in the administrative centre, patrons possess flocked to the cafe for impromptu photo shoots and iced coffees.
Included in this is Chan Thol, a 19-year-old scholar, who along with her friends has made the cafe a regular haunt. She explained it was a wonderful change of scenery after weeks of boredom remaining home.
"I come for leisure also to take photographs with my friends and revel in the espresso," she said. "It can help reduce my stress."
Se Sokunaphors, 27, said the train cafe concept was exclusive.
"I never took a good train before. Which is fun," she stated.
