Asia Adventures Cambodia Blog

In an effort to increase tourist access and prevent further damage to the magnificent pre-Angkorian temple in the far north of Cambodia on the Thai border a staircase has been built adjacent to the ancient stone steps. Om Phirom, chief of the Preah Vihear Heritage Police explained, “We will have this wooden staircase along the old one for tourists to walk up to Preah Vihear temple”. He added: “Tourists, especially foreign tourists, like to do adventure travel, so they will be excited to walk by the ancient staircase.”

Chuch Phoeung, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said the idea for the staircase had come from UNESCO, which in July 2008 approved Cambodia’s application to make Preah Vihear temple a World Heritage site. The deputy governor of Preah Vihear province, said that he believed tourists would appreciate the different views afforded by the new approach. “When this stair construction is finished, it will give tourists a chance to see new views, and it will help attract more tourists to the site”.

For tours which include a visit to the magnificent Preah Vihear contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post 21-10-09

Pandaw has recently announced an exciting new itinerary for late 2010. In October and November the RV Tonle Pandaw will make just four 10 night expeditions into the little visited northern reaches of the mighty Mekong River region in Cambodia. The destination being Kratie and beyond - exploring a lost Cambodia.

Highlights on the way to Kratie include the great Mekong Delta, a day at the lively capital of Phnom Penh, and several stops at small towns and villages to discover Cambodian rural life. Once at Kratie, an interesting French colonial riverside town passengers will continue by expedition boat to the dolphin sanctuary close to the Laos border. Also planned are road trips inland to see the rarely visited temples at Sambor, plus much more…

For more details about Pandaw Mekong cruises contact: info@asia-adventures.com

The unique 4 Rivers Floating Ecolodge, an ecotourism resort floating on one of Cambodia’s remote clear water rivers, has recently opened in Koh Kong province, offering the first luxury eco-tourism experience in the Kingdom.

The 4 Rivers Ecolodge is situated 22kms from Koh Kong town on a bend in the Tatai river. The rivers clear waters flow down from the pristine and little explored Cardamom Mountains. The 18 luxury tented bungalows stretch out either side of the reception area, gourmet restaurant, and river water swimming pool, and are surrounded by mangroves, palm trees and dense forest.

The 45sqm rooms exude luxury with 4 poster beds, flat screen TVs, a DVD player, minibar, and even in room WiFi. The decoration is enhanced by the scent of freshly cut local flowers. Outside is a private balcony with large sun-lounges where you can while away the hours gazing over the river into the forest beyond and listening out for the calls on wild animals and birds.

If you are looking for more action, boat trips and kayaks are available to further explore the river and its nearby waterfalls, or go trekking into the forest in search of wildlife.

The resort is attempting to keep its carbon footprint as small as possible and has made use of many environmentally friendly non-forest products in its construction. It makes use pf solar power but has a back up generator fuelled by bio-fuel, and the resort comprised a sophisticated waste management system. In addition local people have been hired and trained to work at the resort.

The resort makes a perfect base for further exploring the Koh Kong area which includes the pristine Cardamom Mountains, stretches of untouched mangrove fringed coastline, various ‘virgin’ islands. For the more active staying at the 4 Rivers Ecolodge is a great treat before and after spending time trekking and mountain biking around the small community of Chi Pat where you can stay a few nights in the much more basic local homestays or even sleep in the jungle on multi day adventures.

For more information please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Sambo, the only elephant on Phnom Penh’s streets, has become a symbol of the city. Here she tells her story for the first time as she prepares for her 50th birthday.

Hi everybody, let me introduce myself. My name is Sambo and I am an elephant. I’ve been living in Phnom Penh for a while. Thirty years nearly. Dear Lord Buddha, it’s hard to believe it has been so long! Anyway, I’ve seen things. They weren’t always good things, you know what I mean, but somehow I am still able to enjoy life. In fact, I love this world and this city. I am part of it, nobody can deny that. You can see me around town walking to work and back home every day: At my height and weight I am surprised I haven’t created a well-worn trench in the road after all these years. But – if you don’t mind – we’ll come back to my daily routine later.

This year is very special to me. As you know, elephants never forget, although there are some things that I would like to. But this year I’m having my 50th birthday. I was born in the beginning of 1960 into an elephant family that roamed freely and was considered wild. When I was only eight years old, two humans came and took me away from my home. I still cannot remember what exactly happened. I was so scared and shocked alone in the woods, but I do remember that they tied my legs together. The ropes cut into my legs and it was difficult to keep my balance as they led me to a human village. In the village were four other humans. They were much older than me and didn’t look too friendly at first. Fortunately, I then met Sorn, a human boy. He was only three years older than me and so gentle. He brought me food and said not to worry. We became friends and he gave me a human name, which I have to this day. He also very kindly introduced me to other elephants: Sampann, Romyoul, Chamroeun and Sambath.

Then, in the dawn of 1977, our world collapsed. I was staring with terror in my eyes when one quiet morning six human soldiers came to our village with guns and big hammers in their hands. I saw Sorn and his father with tears in their eyes listening to them. I only heard one soldier saying: “Good comrades, you have to give all your things to Angkar. From now on, these elephants are collective property.” They then chained all four of my older companions and took them away. I found out later that they had been forced to work day and night with no rest. I realised I was lucky to have been too young to follow them. That was only the beginning. Within a month the humans, who called themselves Khmer Rouge, named us “members of the former regime“, whatever that meant. One day, though, I was out walking with Sorn, when we saw, maybe 100 metres away, seven soldiers shooting Sambath. They were firing their rifles until he fell down quiet. Later I learned they did the same thing to Sampann, Romyoul and Chamroeun. Six months later they came for me.

It was midday when I heard some noises and humans shouting. Then I felt a terrible pain in my left back leg. Then again, and again and again. I turned my head and was able to see a soldier hitting me with a hammer. His face was deformed with rage. He was yelling something I couldn’t understand and the pain was too great for me to think clearly. I knew I was going to die. Then, suddenly, he stopped. My saviour was the last person I could have expected: the soldiers’ commander. My tormentor stopped because through the pain I heard the commander shouting: “Don’t kill her! She’s too young. Let me take care of her.” To be honest, his idea of caring for me wasn’t so great, but he did save my life. He chained me to a tree and left me a little food and water. After some time the commander told me we were going on a journey. We set off there and then and walked for several days through the mountains. He left me there with some people who seemed to know him. I had to work hard for them, but at least I was safe.

A couple of months later I was in for another shock, although it was a joyous and pleasant one after all the horror and fear. It was like a dream, a miracle because there, some way off, was a dirty, tired young man with a bicycle. His smell was unforgettable for me, and a piece missing from my left ear – that his father had cut off – was enough for him. It was Sorn. We were both crying with joy and dancing like children. He explained everything to the family where I was working and begged them to release me.

The Khmer Rouge now were gone but life was hard because we had to start again from scratch. Although things improved, Sorn was keen to seek our fortune elsewhere, so after three years we decided to move to the capital, Phnom Penh. That was in 1982. At the time Phnom Penh was a mess with torn-down buildings, rubbish everywhere on the streets and humans wandering around looking for food and what shelter they could find. We went from market to market meeting people. I was so happy to see them smiling again. They must have liked us, because they always offered us food and some money. Quickly, I fell in love with our new home.

Sorn even built a little shelter for us in Wat Phnom – now the city’s beautiful, central landmark – which had for many years been neglected. Our neighbours were only the monkeys on the ground and the bats in the trees. Gradually, Phnom Penh began to change. People returned from the countryside where they had been taken by the Khmer Rouge and many came to the capital in search of work, and we were pushed out of our home. But it wasn’t all that bad. The city had to develop and offer good housing and well-paid jobs for the people. Good development also attracted a lot of tourists, which is good for everyone like us in the hotel and entertainment business. It was pretty hard at the beginning, but Sorn didn’t want me to work like the other four elephants who lived in the capital at that time. It seems he made a good decision because, sadly, they all died from exhaustion. That’s how I became the only elephant in the city for the past 20 years.

Nowadays I wake up every morning at about five and walk to Wat Phnom, where I earn money by giving rides. I love to meet people, I carry them on my back, but Sorn doesn’t want me to make more than six rounds of the temple a day, he says more would be bad for my health. That’s it, I guess. Thank you all very much for listening to me.

Adapted from South East Asia Globe Magazine Jan 2010

To visit Wat Phnom and meet Sambo contact: info@asia-adventures.com

2009 was a rough one for tourism in Cambodia, as vacation destinations around the world suffered from a lack of visitors due to the world financial crisis. But despite the temporary downturn, tourism remains one of the most promising sectors for development, as the Asian Development Bank predicts that Cambodia’s gross domestic product will grow by 4 percent this year.

As is the case with development in all sectors, tourism projects in Cambodia are often funded by foreign investments, meaning a lot of the profits do not stay in Cambodia. But, by bringing tourists with money into the country, the benefits of tourism investment indirectly benefit everyone. For people who work in the service industry, the benefits are obvious; they have more potential customers with more money. However, more financial resources for tourism can benefit all of Cambodia through an improved physical and social infrastructure. These infrastructures include physical structures such as roads, hospitals and airports, but also societal infrastructures such as better law enforcement. While tourists might provide the economic incentive to create these things, the benefits are shared by native populations as well. Better roads for tourists are better roads for Cambodians and improved law enforcement makes everyone safer.

While tourism has opened exciting opportunities for development in Cambodia, it has also provided a unique opportunity for the preservation of the Kingdom’s culture and history. The preservation of the forests and temples in Siem Reap has been made possible largely through foreign visitors and foreign aid. Many projects to maintain traditional culture, such as Apsara dancing and puppet shows, have also been undertaken with foreign audiences in mind. Siem Reap is the most obvious example of how tourism can contribute to cultural preservation. In addition, it can also offer alternative employment for populations in rural areas who are engaging in environmentally-damaging industries such as logging. Tourism development that integrates native populations into the creation and maintenance of a destination is called community-based ecotourism, and according to the Ministry of Tourism, 30 such organisations have formed in recent years. Ideally, these organisations try to build a tourism infrastructure that capitalises on natural beauty without damaging it, and also returns a maximum amount of the profits back to the community.

In the last two years, the government has begun to market Cambodia to TV viewing audiences around the world as the “Kingdom of Wonder”, helping to build up Cambodia’s international profile.
However, much still needs to be done in the country to make it truly tourist-friendly.

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post 20-1-10

For great tours of Cambodia and to visit community based ecotourism areas contact: info@asia-adventures.com