AsiaLIFE

The economic downturn may be affecting most businesses in the Penh, but is this necessarily such a bad thing? Making money is easy in boom periods. Shops, restaurants, bars and even magazines flourish even if they lack a sound financial basis. Inefficient businesses sprout up everywhere. The ruthless nature of capitalism is that for every boom there is a bust. Businesses are compelled by market forces to put their house in order, trim costs and re-evaluate their modus operandi. Otherwise they go bust.

This month, we look at how the capital’s restaurants are coping with recession. Are they seizing the opportunity to place their business on a surer financial footing or burying their heads in the sand? We talk with several restaurateurs to try to ascertain what is the successful formula for a thriving restaurant in the Penh. After all not every business is going to the wall.

As regular readers will know, last month we decided to start charging for AsiaLIFE Guide. In last month’s editorial I said that this was to maintain and “improve” the standards we have set. One of the areas we aim to improve on is better regional coverage. Greg Lowe, an experienced journalist based in Bangkok has agreed to send us monthly updates on what is new and fresh in the Thai capital. We have also agreed with our sister magazine in Saigon for regular exchanges of articles. Without diluting the main focus of the magazine – life in the Penh – we hope to provide you with a better flavour of what is going on in the region.

The improvements apply as much to our website as to this magazine. Those who have joined our website or the Facebook group AsiaLIFE Guide, will have received our regular newsletter on what is happening in the Penh during the week ahead. All the events are included in the website’s weekly calendar, which is updated daily. With the greater financial security charging for the magazine provides, we are now able to get out about town more often. Each week, we will have fresh stories on what is happening in the Penh, as well as scrapbook photos. Currently we have uploaded to the Gallery over 2000 photos taken this month at various events. They have received over 2,200 hits in barely three weeks.

We are also beginning to publish articles exclusively to the website. Fans of the Penh’s most popular import band Bad Neighbour, will be glad to hear that an interview with the band’s leader Claudio Duek by Nora Lindstrom is now online. As always, we hope that you enjoy this issue of the magazine, but this time, invite you also to check out the website at: www.asialifeguide.com

Mark Jackson