by andyinasia » Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:37 pm
The last city I lived in for any length of time before PP was Kathmandu. Not much industry in Nepal and few passenger vehicles at the time; however, the air was choking. For one thing, the city is in a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by mountains with nowhere for air to escape. For another thing, the trucks all used a thick black-smoked noxious combination of low-grade diesel and government-subsidised cooking oil. Where I lived on the outskirts I could sit on my balcony and enjoy unrestricted views of the Himalayas; a mile into town the smog haze was so intense you could see nothing.
The topography of Phnom Penh is quite different; I would expect the river to bring the OP some relief. While the dustmasks are eminently sensible, especially to motobike riders, and soil blowing in from the countryside during the dry season is an issue, I still say that compared to other 3rd world cities it's not that bad. It's all relative; had the OP previously lived in Kathmandu and Calcutta like me, rather than in Japan and Singapore (doubt anyone can hold a hygiene candle to those two nations), he might have a different perspective!
The last city I lived in for any length of time before PP was Kathmandu. Not much industry in Nepal and few passenger vehicles at the time; however, the air was choking. For one thing, the city is in a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by mountains with nowhere for air to escape. For another thing, the trucks all used a thick black-smoked noxious combination of low-grade diesel and government-subsidised cooking oil. Where I lived on the outskirts I could sit on my balcony and enjoy unrestricted views of the Himalayas; a mile into town the smog haze was so intense you could see nothing.
The topography of Phnom Penh is quite different; I would expect the river to bring the OP some relief. While the dustmasks are eminently sensible, especially to motobike riders, and soil blowing in from the countryside during the dry season is an issue, I still say that compared to other 3rd world cities it's not that bad. It's all relative; had the OP previously lived in Kathmandu and Calcutta like me, rather than in Japan and Singapore (doubt anyone can hold a hygiene candle to those two nations), he might have a different perspective!