Prayuvong Buddha Factories, Phnom Penh

In order to replace the countless Buddhas and ritual objects smashed by the Khmer Rouge, a whole neighborhood of private workshops making cement Buddhas, naga and small stupas has grown up on the grounds of Wat Prayuvong. While the graceless cement figures painted in gaudy colors are hardly works of art compared with Angkorian sculpture, they are an effort by the Cambodian people to restore their Buddhist culture. The local neighborhood around here is a fascinating warren of lanes.