That’s my next-door neighbor Nuut standing in front of what will be a huge building next to my house.  Part of the building, which will be finished this Fall, will be where Nuut and his family live.  Their current wooden house (behind him in the pic) was physically lifted with a machine and moved 50 yards backwards, all in one piece.

That’s Nuut’s brother, Nuit.  Their other brother is named Neet.  Their dad’s name is Ned.  I’m not kidding.  It took me a few months to not be confused.  Luckily there is a fourth boy in the family whose name is Sai.  Their family owns a pharmacy next to my house, and by Puok standards the family is very wealthy.

All four boys speak at least some English.  Their father is fluent in English and has brothers who fled the Khmer Rouge and now live in San Francisco.  Their father is also a great source of Puok history for me.  He’s told me a lot about what our town was like during the hard times and about all the family members he had who were killed.

The construction on their house has gone quickly.  The photo below was two months later (and was taken from my front porch).

And, across the National Highway from our houses, a major row of new, modern buildings is going up.  This photo was taken from my balcony.

This construction has gone fairly fast too.  In January 2011, it looked like this (a flat stretch of land):

I’ve asked around.  No one is sure what type of businesses or people will rent these places.  No one seems to be sure how much renting or buying a spot will be either.

It’s hard for me to imagine any sort of expensive shop going there because the majority of people in this area don’t have the income to support expensive buying.  And, anyone wanting a lot of expensive stuff can go down the road 20 minutes to Siem Reap.

See more major changes across the country:

Development = A New Cambodia