Coffee shop culture

A large number of coffee shops have been opened over the last few years in Phnom Penh. My favourite one is Browns. Browns was started by a group of Cambodian university students and was the first of the really modern style coffee shops here .Their fourth branch has recently opened . It is beautifully decorated and would not be out of place in any international city.This clock is on the wall there.The cardboard Angry Birds figures at 1/4 to ,give it a distinctly Asian feel but apart from that it could be likened to the Corpus Christi Grass hopper clock in Cambridge.The coffee in these new shops is not nearly so tasty as the coffee I get from the stalls on the street corners here and costs a whole lot more. However I see them as a positive development for Cambodia They are always busy . It is not just expatriate workers using them but many young Cambodian men and women.Historically, ideas and plans, discussed and made in coffee shops by young people have helped to shape the future for many nations . Maybe this is happening here!