Cambodia has been elected to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the first time – a move that some say could pave the way for more of the Kingdom’s ancient ruins to attain coveted World Heritage status.

“This is a cause for happiness for all Cambodian people.… It is the honour and pride of Cambodia to have been elected as a member of the World Heritage Committee,” Prime Minister Hun Sen explined, going on to thank all the member states that supported Cambodia’s bid for the six-year term, promising that the country would make an effort to undertake its role on the World Heritage Committee “without bias”, a thinly veiled reference to the recent dispute with Thailand over the heritage listing of Preah Vihear temple.

Chuch Phoeung, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and chairman of the Preah Vihear Authority, said that committee membership would make it easier for Cambodia to get its national treasures recognised as World Heritage sites. “In the past, listing heritage sites such as the Preah Vihear temple was more difficult because we did not have representation on the committee,” he said. He also explained that committee membership would make it easier for Cambodia to draw on the expertise of other countries to improve its methods of heritage site preservation.

Chuch Phoeung said Cambodia had over a thousand heritage sites across the country, and that the first sites to be brought before UNESCO for recognition would be the Banteay Chhmar temple complex in Banteay Meanchey province and the pre-Angkorian Sambo Prey Kup temples in Kampong Thom.

The Angkor Wat temple complex was listed as a World Heritage site in 1993, and Preah Vihear temple on the border with Thailand, was awarded the status in July 2008.

To visit Cambodia’s wonderful heritage sites contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Phnom Penh Post 28-10-09.

Angkor Butterfly Centre (ABC) opened its net on October 1st allowing visitors to interact with hundreds of free-flying native butterflies. Located 25km north of Siem Reap, on the road to Banteay Srei temple, ABC is set within a netted tropical garden and will feature some of the world’s largest butterflies. Including, the Atlas Moth with a wing-span of 26cm (11in) and the exotic Birdwing butterfly – that resembles more of a delicate bird then an insect.

Interacting with more then 30 of Cambodia’s 400 species of butterflies, visitors can discover the miracle of insect life. Witnessing first-hand the complete lifecycle of the butterfly, from the tiny eggs to shocking caterpillars, mysterious pupae and finally the delicate adult butterfly.

However, underneath all of this fluttering beauty is a core community development project working with the local community to farm butterflies for the enclosure, helping to alleviate poverty. All of the butterflies within the ABC have been farmed within communities around Bantaey Srei and Phnom Kulen. Members of the community have been trained by professionals to farm the pupae sustainably without exploiting the natural population of butterflies – while earning a steady income from the preservation of these insects.

To visit the Angkor Butterfly Centre contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Aki Ra’s Boys, a newly released documentary, follows children injured by remnants of the war, as they live with a former Khmer Rouge soldier who disposes of the bombs he once planted.

In one scene the young boy points to a large metal object, “This one is Bouncing Betty,” he says. The next one is tall, with ridges all around, “This is a pineapple mine.” He could be talking about his favourite lollies, or rides at a fun fair - but he’s not. At just 12 years of age, Boreak has an encyclopaedic knowledge of land mines, and he’s giving us a tour of the exhibits at the Cambodian Land-Mine Museum where he lives.

The film centres on the young Boreak, an impish boy from a large family in a poor, heavily mined village 100 kilometres from Siem Reap. Boreak was 6 when he lost his arm in a land-mine explosion that also killed his grandfather. He endured painful amputation surgery and a recovery without painkillers; an agonising memory that he clearly remembers all too well. “They kept cutting it shorter and shorter,” he says ruefully, rubbing the pointy, sore end of his stump.

Aki Ra himself, as a young man, served the Khmer Rouge as a soldier, becoming an expert at laying land mines all around western Cambodia. After the regime fell and as an adult, he has assumed responsibility for helping to rid his country of these evil devices, working every day with simple equipment to dig up and defuse old bombs and unexploded ordnance.

In Aki Ra’s Boys, his method puts the audience on edge, grimacing as he drags heavy anti-tank mines out of the dirt with his hands and slowly, painstakingly, disassembles them. It seems a miracle he has never been injured in an explosion, despite having removed more than a staggering 30,000 explosive devices. It is a testament to his skill, dedication and in-depth knowledge of the composition of the mines that he has been able to work this way for so long.

Since the documentary was made, Aki Ra has received funding and training from the UK and, mercifully. has adopted conventional demining safety measures.

If you wish to visit the Cambodia Landmine Museum to learn more please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Phnom Penh Post (14-9-09)

A leap of faith, love, and strong conviction are what brought Katie Goad to Cambodia. Co-founder of Epic Arts in Cambodia, her journey from London to Kampot has not been without its challenges. Originally from England, Katie arrived in Cambodia as a newlywed in December 2003. “We boarded the plane for Cambodia with our rucksacks, and I’d been crying all the way to the airport thinking “What are we doing?” she says of her initial flight to Cambodia with her husband, Hallam. “That tiny little ‘yes’ to marriage, and suddenly we’re moving country!”

She was not without a plan, however. Inspired by the example set by her disabled father, and stirred by an integrated dance company’s performance, Katie had trained as a dancer to be able to share the joy of movement and artistic expression with people with disabilities. “My father had polio when he was four, so from when I was born I always knew him as disabled,” she says. “But I never thought of him as disabled because he never thought of himself as disabled.” Katie had always loved the arts and wanted to dance, but never had the opportunity. “Then I saw a performance by CandoCo, an internationally renowned integrated dance company, and suddenly I knew – that’s it, that’s what I’m going to do,” she explains. Together with friends from university, she established Epic Arts in London in 2001 under the motto Every Person Counts. “We do not want people to be hindered by their disability, instead we want to encourage society to see ability, not disability,” Katie says.

In following her husband to Cambodia, Katie’s aim was to bring the concept here. Yet she found it tough settling in Phnom Penh, without a job, language skills, or friends. “So I just went around on my bicycle with my CD player to different organisations offering movement workshops for people with disabilities,” she says. Few understood what that meant, and being able-bodied herself, the concept was hard to demonstrate. Then she was fortunate enough to meet Kim Sathia, a former professional dancer, Sathia had been injured in a traffic accident and became a wheelchair user. Initially, Sathia was hesitant to work with Katie, however her interest slowly grew. “Then one day she said to me, “I want to dance again,”” Katie recalls. The two set to work the very next day, exploring movements and finding a common language through them. The result was a small piece aptly titled ‘The Return.’ “That piece really helped lift the face of Epic,” she says. “It helped us to show what it really was about.”

Katie moved to Kampot in 2005 and began working with the Deaf Development Programme already working in the area. “It felt like the right place to be,” Katie reflects. Epic Arts Café was opened the following year. “It was a bit of shot in the dark, because none of us knew how to cook, but it just seemed like a good idea,” Katie smiles. Three years later, the café is not only a commercial success but has become a focal point for the deaf community in Kampot. It is helping to alter people’s preconceptions about disabilities. “When people come to the café they’re surprised that our deaf and disabled staff are being paid,” she says. “Hopefully the café will serve as a positive example.”

The organisation’s new, fully accessible centre, was opened in April 2009, completing Katie’s dream from university days. “It feels very overwhelming,” she says. “The day before the centre opened I was sitting on the steps of the building. There was this amazing rainbow over Bokor Hill and that just said it all to me somehow, it was a sign of promise and hope.” Katie plans eventually to return to England. For the next few years, however, she is committed to staying in Kampot and, like a mother, watch her project grow and mature. “I’ve seen the change in these kids from when I arrived, from when we started out in Kampot,” she says. “The deaf kids who used to be so shy and timid, now they’re in the café teaching foreigners sign-language,” she marvels. “At Epic we’re like a family,” Katie adds, acknowledging that when the day comes, it will be very hard to leave.

To visit Epic Arts and find out more about their work contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Asia Life (Aug 09)

To reach the temple of Banteay Chhmar from the Cambodian town of Sisophon in the dry season involves a two-hour drive through parched forests coated with brown dust. The temple is breathtaking. Bas-reliefs depict naval battles between ancient Khmers and their Cham rivals in remarkable detail. Giant sandstone faces loom over thick vegetation strewn with collapsed lintels and broken naga heads. Banteay Chhmar was built as a monastic complex by Jayavarman VII, the king who converted Cambodia to Buddhism. But the paucity of surviving inscriptions make it unclear exactly when and why. Writing in 1949, the historian Lawrence Palmer Briggs claimed the temple “rivalled Angkor Wat in size and magnificence.” It has four enclosures surrounded by a moat, a vast artificial lake, or baray, and could sustain a population of at least 100,000.

Visitors to Angkor Wat will have seen something like this. But the glory of Banteay Chhmar is its raw, unadulterated state. Sitting 100 kilometres, or about 60 miles, northwest of Siem Reap, this is Cambodia’s “forgotten” temple. You will probably find yourself alone, able to rekindle the experience of colonial French explorers as they first stumbled upon Khmer antiquity. But the same isolation was not lost on those who vandalized Banteay Chhmar in the late 1990s. The Cambodian military not only mined the complex but made off with large sections of bas-relief destined for private homes in Bangkok and beyond. Local guides like Seng Samnang remembers the oxcarts loaded with artefacts being wheeled out of the temple. “There was nothing we could do,” he said. “If we had challenged these men we would have been killed.” About 115 pieces, a truckload, have been recovered and they are sitting in the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Of the rest, there is allegedly much more, reports of Buddha heads appearing in Thai generals’ gardens have done little to ease longstanding tensions over Thai claims to Cambodia’s patrimony.

Banteay Chhmar is returning to the spotlight, but now the news is good. In 2008 the Culture Ministry handed control of the temple to Global Heritage Fund (GHF), an organization in California that tries to safeguard the world’s most endangered sites. Established in 2002, the fund has a budget of $6 million and 44 employees to rehabilitate the temple, the eventual aim being its inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

GHF is determined to prevent the kind of commercial pressures on temple sites that has dogged Angkor over many years. He said he thinks the authorities are behind him. “The ministry has set out clear zoning rules which dictate the position and size of new building and plans to create a new road that bypasses the temple,” he said. The Culture Ministry’s heritage police will soon take charge of security. Only then might the return of the original bas-reliefs be possible under an agreement between the culture minister, the GHF and UNESCO.

For visits to Banteay Chhmar and overnight homestay with local villagers contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from GHF’s website

Visiting Stung Treng in the far north east of Cambodia near the Laos border? Then be sure to stay in the Tonle Guesthouse where you will contribute to local youths’ vocational training and enjoy their warm hospitality.

The Tonle Tourism Training Centre provides short vocational training courses that offer disadvantaged youths employable skills for their futures. The Centre functions as a guesthouse, restaurant, and training centre for students to practice in a true-to-life environment. They perform as service providers, cooks, clerks and front office staff

The Tonle Guesthouse comprises four nicely decorated rooms equipped with fans in a traditional Cambodian house. There is a book shelf upstairs packed with information about local attractions. A large sitting room and a terrace offering a splendid view of the Sekong River allow guests to really feel at home. The restaurant is also a delight offering a selection of western and local food, including vegetarian selections upon request. Beverages on offer include beer, wine, seasonal fruit juices, tea, and coffee.

The guesthouse opened in early 2007 with the backing of Tourism for Help (Switzerland & France). The main goal is to develop life skills for local disadvantaged people, whilst also contributing to the protection of their environment. The Centre plays an important role in reducing poverty by providing free vocational training to poor young people. During the one-year course, students have to study both theoretical and practical courses in cooking, computer use, basic accounting, English, tourism, housekeeping, as well as local geography, history and ecology. They learn by doing. Students also benefit after graduation as the Centre regularly contacts hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, and other companies or NGOs, advocating their graduates’ suitability for specific roles.

To arrange a stay at the Tonle Guesthouse in Stung Treng please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Construction on a new 16-story Sokha Hotel, owned by Sokimex Group, will begin this August in the heart of Phnom Penh on the Chroy Changvar peninsula, according to the head of the company that recently won the contract to build the $100 million hotel.

Thierry Loustau-Khao, managing director of LBL International, said construction work was scheduled to be completed in 2011. The French-Cambodian construction firm signed a contract with Sokimex to build the domestic conglomerate’s third hotel on July 20.

Svay Vuthy, executive assistant to Sokimex Chairman Sok Kong, said the 120,000-square-metre, 800-room “five star” hotel on Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changvar Peninsular would be launched in 2012. The hotel will also feature two conference rooms with seating capacity for 1,500 persons and parking spaces for 1,000 cars. The hotel will be located on 6 hectares on the opposite side of the Tonle Sap river (and with great views of the Mekong River) from Phnom Penh’s popular riverside promenade .

Sokimex also operates Sokha hotels in Sihanoukville and Siem Reap, and is currently developing a resort on Bokor mountain. In addition it has the management contract for the Angkor Wat entrance pass.

For great holidays in Cambodia contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (29-7-09)

A world-class golf course, designed by Nicklaus Design, one of the top golf course designer in the world, is taking shape in Grand Phnom Penh International City (GPPIC) near the heart of Phnom Penh.

Mr. Andri Witjaksono, Chief of Public Relationship of GPPIC said that the course is in a prime location due to all the local lakes and ponds. Nicklaus Design set up this course to be particularly challenging due to the several lakes. “Every golf course has its own obstacles but the lakes will be extremely challenging for the better players,” he explianed.

Mr. Andri continued, “Since the end of the last rainy season, the construction team have been working very hard in order to finish the golf course by the end of 2009. We started by grading the land and digging the lakes.”

Mr. Gunady Wirawan, Project Director of GPPIC said, “This golf course will celebrate its soft launching in late 2009. We’ll invite all of the top golf players and high ranking government officials in the country and region to witness the cutting of the red ribbon in that celebration.”

Mr. Gunady, continued that the golf course was projected to cover 70 hectares and be located in the central part of GPPIC. There are 2 big lakes and 4 ponds in this course. “The greenery of the course at the heart of our GPPIC will make our city environment fresh and clean,” he said.

“Every month a team of experts from Nicklaus Design comes to Phnom Penh to monitor our workers and ensure they follow the master plan step by step,” Gunady said.

Mr. Peter Sawyer is the project construction manager of Sandino International Co., Ltd. from Australia and has been contracted to build our Grand Phnom Penh Golf Course. He said that they started construction last October 2008 and, as of February 2009, were 80% done with the earth work. “The beginning is the hardest. We have many special technical requirements that have to be met in order to make this world-class golf course meet the specifications of Nicklaus Design’s master plan,” Peter said. “Everything here follows the American standard.”

For more information on golfing holidays in Cambodia contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Cambodia Scene Magazine (Apr-Jun 09)

During his speech at Cambodia Angkor Air’s inauguration ceremony the country’s Prime Minister Hun Sen described the Kingdom’s new national airline as a bridge for carrying visiting tourists to Cambodia. “If Cambodia can increase air travel, then it has the potential to boost tourism more than other countries in the region,” Hun Sen said at Phnom Penh International Airport.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said on Monday that Cambodia Angkor Air, a joint venture between the Cambodian government and state-owned Vietnam Airlines, is to start operating on 28 July 09 from Phnom Penh International Airport to Siem Reap, and later to Sihanoukville airport. Going on to say that at some future point the airline will fly to Bangkok and to destinations in Vietnam and Laos.

Ang Kem Eang, the president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, welcomed Cambodia Angkor Air’s inaugural flights, but said it will continue to be difficult to boost tourist numbers if the government does not push the airline to fly further than Vietnam and Thailand.

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (28-7-09)

For flights on Cambodia Angkor Air contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Cambodia’s innovative Mekong Discovery Trail project, which is encouraging local community sustainable tourism along a delightful stretch of the Mekong River between the Laos border and the colonial town of Kratie, has been accepted into the National Geographic’s ‘Geotourism Challenge 2009 – Power of Place’.

National Geographic defines geotourism as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place - its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. Geotourism incorporates the concept of sustainable tourism while allowing for enhancement that protects the character of the locale. Geotourism also adopts a principle from its cousin, ecotourism - that tourism revenue can promote conservation - and extends that principle beyond nature travel to encompass culture and history as well: all distinctive assets of a place.

For further details of the Mekong Discovery and to vote for it visit the Geotourism Challenge’s website at http://geotourism.changemakers.com/en-us/node/21346

To enjoy tours along the Mekong Discovery Trail Project contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Last week Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over the groundbreaking ceremony at Bellus Angkor Resort and City, a US$ 470-million project undertaken by the Korean developer Intercity Group.

The project will be built on a 265-hectare site located 22 kilometres north of Angkor Thom. In addition to a 1,500 room hotel and resort, water park, shopping malls and entertainment centre, the complex will be home to Siem Reap’s fourth international standard golf course. The construction of a forth golf course will strengthen Siem Reap’s claim of being South East Asia’s newest golfing destination.

For excellent golf holidays in Siem Reap contact: info@asia-adventures.com

As the sun rises between the trees, Akira, president of the Cambodian Self Help Demining (CSHD) team, begins his morning by setting a stick of TNT next to a land mine. The mine lies within a 4-hectare minefield his team is clearing in Anlong Veng. As the rest of the team stop work to take cover, Akira, wiping sweat from under his thick protective clothing, helmet and face shield, counts down. A boom rings out, the ground shakes and debris flies into the air as the land mine is destroyed.

“Before, it would only take me a minute to defuse and remove a mine,” Akira says, referring to his former gung-ho method of clearing mines with nothing but a stick and a knife. “I would collect the detonators in my pocket and make a fire at the end of the day to burn explosives from the mines I collected…. When I cleared the old way, I could wear a sarong and sandals. But now we must follow NGO procedures.”

For more than 10 years, Akira was famous throughout Cambodia for his controversial demining methods. Although opposed by government authorities and other demining groups for not following international safety standards, Akira, a former child soldier with the Khmer Rouge, became a local hero, clearing the countryside of more than 50,000 mines, many of which he had once laid.

Earlier this year, with the help of supporters both here and abroad, Akira gained the equipment and training needed to meet international standards and obtained a licence for him and his team to demine, creating the first Cambodian-run demining organisation. “Now we have much support, so there is no more trouble,” Akira said, after relating stories of being arrested for his work and the land mine museum he opened in Siem Reap in 1997 being closed down periodically and its contents confiscated.

“At that time, I liked to demine alone in the jungle or with my wife. I didn’t have the equipment to start an NGO, but I knew how to lay and I knew how to defuse. All kinds of land mines and bombs I know how to make safe, and I have cleared many, many thousands until now.”

BACTAC country director Peter Ferguson, who helped Akira prepare for demining accreditation, said many changes were required. “The way he used to work was to go into the field, find mines, render them safe and remove them, often bringing them back for display at the museum,” he said. “In humanitarian demining, you can’t operate that way. Particularly with land mines, they cannot be moved. You locate them and destroy them in place.”

But after the necessary equipment was donated and training completed, field reports on Akira’s methods were excellent, Ferguson said. Along with his new accreditation has come respect from those who once opposed him. Two years ago, the Cambodian Mine Action Authority (CMAA) certified the contents of Akira’s land mine museum in Siem Reap safe - the first time in the world such a museum has been opened to the public.

With their workday over and dusk approaching, the CSHD team settles into hammocks around a campfire, boiling their jungle soup of wild fruit and animal innards. Akira tells how he lost his entire family in the late ’70s - all but one aunt, a Khmer Rouge solider, who took him in. Unsure of his birth date, Akira estimates he was between 10 and 13 when he became a soldier for the Khmer Rouge, learning about warfare and weaponry. Later, joining the Vietnamese army, Akira says his job was to control the K5 mine belt that stretched along the Thai border, planting new mines and training others to do the same. After the war Akira became passionate about seeing his country free from war and the remnants of war, particularly the land mines he had helped lay.

To visit the Cambodia Land Mine Museum whilst in Siem Reap contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Phnom Penh Post (May 09)

Revenues from Angkor Wat admission fees have shrunk by 20% in the first quarter, the Apsara Authority reports. This is in line with a 22-percent drop in foreign visitors this year up to the end of March. The number of visitors to Angkor Wat continued to drop by 16 percent in April.

The Apsara Authority’s Department of Angkor Tourism Development showed that the number of tourists who visited Angkor Wat had decreased 13 percent in January, 26 percent in February, 26 percent in March, and 16 percent in April compared with 2008 figures.

For excellent tours of Angkor Wat contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (1-6-09)

Just two hours away from Phnom Penh, in Kampong Speu province, lies Kirirom National Park, a thickly wooded mountain retreat long sought out for its peace, solitude, nature and respite from the oppressive heat of low-lying cities and towns. Boasting 35 hectares of protected land in the rugged Elephant Mountains, Kirirom possesses a landscape that is unique to the rest of Cambodia, with pine trees towering over the leafy slopes and cool breezes drifting across crystal lakes.

The name Kirirom means “mountain of joy", a name bestowed by former King Norodom Sihanouk, who was no stranger to the mountain’s beguiling charms. During the 1960s one of the King’s favourite summer getaways was his now deserted mansion at the summit.

Close to the abandoned retreat is a visitor’s centre, open only on weekends and managed with support from Mlup Baitong, an environmental NGO, as well the Ministry of Environment. Vendors sell a variety of drinks and snacks next to the visitor’s centre, including grilled fish, sticky rice with sweet potato and coconut, and, oddly enough, traditional Khmer remedies.

Close by is a small nature trail leading down to the secluded lake. The walk takes about 10 minutes and trekkers are rewarded at the bottom with access to the glassy blue body of water and near total seclusion amid the tall grass and gently swaying pine trees. Paths around the lake end up at either a cluster of small bamboo picnic huts sitting in a verdant patch of grass on the edge of the lake, or the towering stupa of Wat Chas, otherwise known as Old Wat, overlooking a bubbling stream.

One of Kirirom’s most popular attractions is the Tea Farm Waterfall, known in Khmer as teuk chreus jom ka tai. Located 700 metres from the main road, the waterfall can be reached by a steep set of stone stairs built into the side of the hill. Thatch and bamboo picnic huts balance precariously on the hillside, looking down onto the small waterfall, which tumbles noisily over the slick black rocks.

As well as a guethouse and resort more down-to-earth accommodation can be found at the Chambok Community-Based Ecotourism site, located at the base of the mountain, down a rich red dirt road and surrounded by fields of mango and jackfruit trees just 10 kilometres from the park’s entrance. Visitors can stay at the home of a local villager and enjoy traditional food. Guided treks to a 40-metre waterfall are also available, as are ox cart rides, trips to a bat cave, bicycle rentals and traditional Khmer dance performances. All revenues go directly to the villagers, and are used in part to protect and conserve the area’s natural resources.

For visits to Kirirom National Park & Chambok contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (22-5-09)

After much lobbying the Apsara Authority, which controls the entrance pass to the Angkor Wat temple complex, has agreed to allow greater flexibility.

Currently the 3 day ($40) pass and 7 day ($60) passes must be used on consecutive days. However, as of 1 July 2009 the 3 day pass will now be valid for a 1 week period, and the 7 day pass will be valid for a 30 day period.

This will allow visitors greater flexibility as rather than having to visit the temples on consecutive days to get the most from their Angkor Wat passes they will be able to break up their temple sightseeing by exploring other attractions in the area.

For great Angkor Wat tours contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Construction on a new museum housing artefacts from the Preah Vihear temple complex has recently begun, with local officials anticipating that it will bring much needed tourists to the disputed border area.

“The museum is for national and foreign researchers to study and learn about the history of Preah Vihear temple and Cambodian history,” Suos Yara, an undersecretary of state at the Council of Ministers, said. The Preah Vihear museum will house artefacts from the temple complex, as well as from other nearby temples, he added.

The district’s Deputy Governor Ros Heng said that the museum will increase the number of tourists, improving the community’s quality of life. “It is a very good attraction for tourists and Cambodians. It will promote knowledge about the temples and Cambodian history as well as develop the area, improving people’s lives,” he said.

For tours of Preah Vihear temple contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (5-5-09)

With several miles of white sand beaches, the resort town of Sihanoukville, on Cambodia’s southern coast has the countrys’ best known and most popular beaches. The town is a common weekend retreat for Khmers and expats and a popular hangout for backpackers. It is known for its laid-back attitude, cheap drinks and, of course, beaches.

Moving around Sihanoukville is simplicity itself. At the time of writing, foreigners are allowed to rent motorcycles, but this changes without notice so check on arrival. Moto taxis and tuk-tuks are ubiquitous, but agree a price before you hire one. The most popular beaches are Serendipity and Ochheuteal, which basically form one long beach. They have numerous bars and restaurants and most put out chairs and umbrellas on the beach for customers. These are a favourite hunting grounds for people selling everything from seafood to sunglasses and manicures. If you want a quieter beach try Otres. While it is starting to get built up, it is much more reclusive. At night, Serendipity and Ochheuteal really get moving. Watching the sunset and enjoying cheap drinks and good seafood or BBQ are a treat. There are usually some fire jugglers and other performers around as well. Some of the best late night bars – Dolphin, Nap House, Jack Shack – are on the beach.

If you don’t feel like going to the beach, there are a number of other things to do around town. Sticking with the aquatic theme, there is sailing, windsurfing and fishing. For the latter, besides arranging a trip for yourself at the beach, Fisherman’s Den offers day fishing trip that get rave reviews and include an eat-what-you-catch dinner. There are also a number of dive operators in town offering courses, day trips, island stopovers and liveaboards. Away from the water, Pim’s operates a mini golf course which advertises an endorsement from Tiger Woods – really! For the more physically active, there is a Khmer boxing gym or you can rent a bike and explore the area.

Sihanoukville is also great for food. Of course there’s good seafood, but there’s also a wide variety of options from fine French dining to Swedish comfort foods and Mexican, which are easy to find. A few choice selections are great pizzas from the Corner Bar and Oasis; Japanese cuisine at Happa; Swedish dishes at Small Hotel and my favourite – Rose’s. There you will find one of the best value meals in town with most dishes under three bucks including her famous fish’n’chips – look for her at the New Christmas Bungalows a couple of blocks from the beach. At night most people end up at the bars. There are plenty to choose from around town. Many of the most popular are between the Golden Lions and Serendipity and Ochheuteal beaches. It is easy to wander around until you find something you like.

For tours of Cambodia and Sihanoukville contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Cambodia Pocket Guide (Feb 09) www.cambodiapocketguide.com

The bustling markets of Phnom Penh are a Mecca for bargain hunters, and you may well be spoilt for choice when it comes to stocking up on souvenirs and knick knacks to take home to friends and family, but it’s worth knowing that there are many shops and boutiques which offer you an opportunity to contribute, in a small way, to improving the sustained welfare of local people and communities.

An initiative of The Active Help Cambodia Foundation, Aw’-kun Shop on at 19D St 172 donates its takings to help create and sustain employment in a village called Anlong Khong (15km outside Phnom Penh) and has assisted in raising the standard of living in the community. A pre-school for toddlers was also built by the AHCF four years ago and provides 200 children with an education and two meals a day. The shop primarily sells things that have been made in the village, from hand-embroidered velvet and silk bags to novelty mobiles; locally produced rose-apple, pineapple and papaya jams, lemon marmalade and palm wine with ginger. Also, if you get the munchies when visiting the shop, pop into the Blue Dophin next door who will donate 10% of the bill to Aw’-kun.

The National Centre For Disabled Persons (3 Norodom Bvd, near Wat Phnom) is a high-quality boutique showcasing the outstanding work from the many training workshops that are part of this admirable project. Inside it is a flurry of colour with bright, two-tone cottons and silks. Quality sculptures include onyx and wooden Buddha busts at $27, stone Apsara dancers gracefully adorned in snakes and an impressive seven-headed serpent entwined around Ganesh, the elephant god, at $42 were artistic standouts.

Friends’n’Stuff (215 St 13) is another well-stocked shop selling everything from electrical goods, lampshades and jewellery to clothes, CDs and DVDs, books, toys, bags, purses, scarves and hats of every description. Friends International’s main objective is to help Cambodia’s street kids find a better life through skills training, protection against abuse and educational and vocational help. It also runs a restaurant next door.

Edited from the Cambodia Pocket Guide (Feb 09) www.cambodiapocketguide.com

The latest exhibition at the National Museum of Cambodia provides an interesting opportunity to delve into Cambodia’s mysterious pre-Angkorian past. “Angkor Ancestors” showcases artefacts excavated from two sites in Siem Reap province, both of which have unveiled new findings that have significantly improved understanding of pre-Angkorian life.

L’Ecole francaise d’Extreme-Orient (EFEO) has been excavating the two sites near the Western Baray reservoir of Siem Reap since 2003. The artefacts excavated at both sites represent some of the oldest evidence of civilisation in Cambodia. “Very little is known about this period, and this exhibition is an opportunity for people to learn more about prehistoric Cambodia.” said Hab Touch, director of the National Museum.

The display of pottery jars, skeletons and tools will help both the public and scholars learn more about this period of Cambodia’s history. Christopher Pottier, a French archaeologist from EFEO, said the overall objective of the dig was to find out more about the diet, habits and evolution of this civilisation, which existed in Cambodia in the seventh and eighth centuries.

“Angkor Ancestors” opens in May 09 and runs until the end of the year.

For tours of Phnom Penh and the National Museum contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (6-5-09)

A US$4 million tourist port is to be developed in Kep on Cambodia’s southern coast. The port will allow Kep to receive cruise ships and link the town to Phu Quoc island in Vietnam.

A ferry capable of accommodating 220 passengers would operate under the first phase of the project. “The master plan for the port development has been given the green light from Prime Minister Hun Sen already,” said Chhay Khoeun from the provincial tourism authority.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the development will begin soon and would “only take six months to complete". Travel between Phu Quoc and Kep takes only 90 minutes, he said, adding that Phu Quoc has become a popular destination for tourists in the region and could draw around 3 million visitors per year by 2012.

For wonderful tours of Kep and the region contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (1-5-09)

The National Assembly of Cambodia has recently approved a new draft tourism law, tightening industry regulations as part of efforts to increase security and crack down on rogue operators. “Our tourism industry is growing fast, and we need to have a law making the industry accountable,” Sam Prumnear, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Tourism, told lawmakers.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said that around 30 percent of tourism-related businesses did not hold government licences, and that such operators would be given three months from the implementation of the law to register with the government. Adding that the general situation of the industry at popular tourist spots was good, but that new rural destinations were still a concern.

For excellent tours of Cambodia with a fully licensed company contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Phnom Penh Post (1-5-09)

Travel agents and boat owners are locked in a dispute with the Korean owned Sou Ching Co, which developed and now operates the Tonle Sap lake port south of Siem Reap, where tourists board boats to visit the nearby floating village community of Chong Khneas.

On the waterfront in Siem Reap, a battle is brewing between those who believe that Sou Ching is bringing a desperately needed level of organisation to lake tourism and those who say the company is imposing ill-advised, draconian policies without consulting the people who rely on boat tourism. Businessman Pany helps manage a tour boat association of 72 families, who were attracted to move to the new port by what he calls the “main idea” of Sou Ching. “The main idea is that there should be one port, one boat association and one price,” he said. Pany said that the benefits of cooperating with Sou Ching were clear. “Before we had a port, the boats were all down a 4-kilometre bumpy road that turned tuk-tuks upside down,” he said. “And there was no security for the boats.”

Despite the potential gains, however, many boat owners would rather run the risk of operating solo than submit to the authority of Sou Ching. While the regimented new system ensures an equal wage for all, it is a drop in income for many. “Before the port, some boat owners could earn $200 to $300 per day by doing constant trips,” he said. “But now, the boats are rotated, so everyone gets the same number of tours.”

Jo Crisp, a manager at Intrepid Travel, believes the way in which Sou Ching is implementing the system is damaging the large network of tour guides and travel agents who provided safe, reliable and well-priced boat travel. Intrepid Travel is a member of CATA, a group of 170 tourist organisations that have agreed to boycott travel to Chong Khneas until Sou Ching meets with them. Ang Kim Eang, the president of the association, said that Sou Ching’s project is “unfair to the community. They said they were just going to build a port, but they are trying to control all the boats in the area, and that affects the whole community". “They did not inform us about the new pricing; they just implemented it,” he said.

While the big idea of Sou Ching was to have “one port, one boat association and one price", Ang Kim Eang mourns the fact that the company has “divided the community".

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (30-4-09)

Near Kratie, a town on the Mekong River in northern Cambodia conservation officials are expressing concern that overzealous fishermen, hoping to cash in on wet season fish migration, are netting endangered Irawaddy dolphin calves.

“Two baby dolphins weighing about 10 kilograms each died from gill net deployments in February and March. Last year only one dolphin died from illegal netting,” Touch Seang Tana, chairman of the government’s Commission for Conservation and Development of Eco-tourism in the Mekong Dolphin Zone explained. “We have arrested two fishermen in connection with the deaths and subsequently confiscated their illegal fishing equipment and educated them prior to their release,” he said.

Traditionally, there is an increase of gill net deployment in the lead up to the wet season, with fisherman hoping to capitalise on fish moving into the new waterways created by the rains. “We have launched a new crackdown until the end of next month, arresting fishermen who use illegal techniques such as dynamiting, electric fishing and gill netting - however I still predict that we will lose one or two more dolphins because our patrols are restricted by limited resources,” Touch Seang Tana said.

The global conservation group WWF recently estimated Cambodia’s Irrawaddy dolphin population living between Kratie and southern Laos at between 76 and 86. In 2005, a similar study by WWF estimated the number to be between 108 and 146. In 2004, Cambodia’s dolphins were listed as a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. WWF last year noted an increase in calf mortality and a decrease in birth rate being among several factors reducing the population.

For tours to Kratie and to spot the Irawaddy dolphins contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Phnom Penh Post (1-5-09)

To celebrate World Earth Day, Dengue Fever, a rock band fronted by Cambodian-American singer Chhom Nimol, has partnered with the environmental organisation Wildlife Alliance to help conserve Cambodia’s threatened flora and fauna. In addition to releasing the soundtrack to a documentary about the band Dengue Fever kicked off the partnership at a show in Virginia. “We want to preserve Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage, just like Wildlife Alliance is working to protect Cambodia wildlife species and forests,” Dengue Fever guitarist Zac Holtzman explained. The band and Wildlife Alliance hope to work together to hold benefit concerts, release charity remixes and make online commercials about conservation in Cambodia.

The Kingdom’s first marine conservation NGO plans to help local community members protect Cambodia’s diverse ocean life against the threat of illegal fishing and new development. ‘What was once a colourful sea floor teeming with ocean life had been completely wiped out. There was nothing left - just bare sand’, Paul Ferber, a co-founder of Marine Conservation Cambodia, said.

A fishing trawler had dragged a weighted net along the bottom of the sea floor, scraping the oceans bare and taking all the marine life with it. Bottom trawling - the marine equivalent to clear-cutting forests - catches everything in its path, rips out coral reefs and stirs up sediments that can suffocate life on the sea floor. As much as 90 percent of what ends up in the net is by-catch, unwanted marine sea life that is useless to fishermen but integral to the ocean ecology, according to Greenpeace. ‘It can take many years for an ecosystem to recover from something like that’, Ferber said.

It was that dive nine months ago that inspired Ferber to increase his conservation efforts. Ferber, along with Bora Raan and Bart Kluskens, founded Marine Conservation Cambodia, the Kingdom’s only NGO dedicated to conserving Cambodia’s oceans. Bottom trawling is not the only threat to Cambodia’s sea life. Other types of illegal, damaging fishing techniques that involve cyanide or dynamite are common farther off the coast. As the islands off of Sihanoukville become popular tourist destinations, a development boom promises to release sediment into the water, potentially smothering the coral reefs, Kluskens said. Increased scuba diving also poses a danger. Currently, there are no mooring buoys at the most popular dive spots, meaning many boats accidentally drop their anchors on the reefs.

But despite the threats, Cambodia still has abundant marine life. Gianluca Lamberti, a trainer for Reefcheck, the largest coral reef monitoring program in the world, who is working with Marine Conservation Cambodia, said: ‘On any dive, you’ll see 10 to 20 seahorses. This is incredible. There’s not a place in the world where a person can see that’. Seahorses are an important indicator species, because they are particularly sensitive to pollution, Lamberti said. The government has recently classified seahorses as endangered, making them illegal to fish.

With the help of the Koh Rong Samleom community, the organisation is constructing an island office, replete with bathroom, restaurant and bungalows, where it hopes to house scuba divers interested in learning ocean-conservation techniques. During the divers’ conservation training, they will be monitoring the reefs by counting indicator species, Lamberti said. The biggest focus of Marine Conservation Cambodia, however, is on land. The group has targeted people on Koh Rong Samleom, an island near ecologically diverse sea grass areas and coral reefs, to educate about marine conservation.

To arrange tours to Sihanoukville & Koh Rong Samleom contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from The Phnom Penh Post (10-12-08)

Famous for its population of silk weavers, Silk Island, or Koh Dach in Khmer, also has a small beach on its far-north edge. There are two ways to get to either by road and ferry, or more relaxing by boat.

Once on the other island enjoy the scenery. A dusty, sandy road takes you through charming villages and past picturesque views of the river. The pace of life here is reassuringly slow. When you reach the island’s northern tip scramble down the eroded bank that leads down to the white, sandy beach. Make your way to the river’s edge, install yourself in one of the many little thatched huts that are pulled into the water and enjoy the calm. The water itself is very clean and inviting enough for a refreshing splash on a hot afternoon. Local vendors are eager enough to sell you food, fresh fruit and cold drinks – a whole chicken costs about US$10 and is cooked for you in three different ways. If you order some food, the use of a thatched hut should be thrown in for free.

change into your swimming gear. At the weekends and during public holidays it can get quite busy when families flock here. If you are not only looking for water but also for some calm, then you’d better come during the week when you will find the isolation you crave. Lazing around with a suspenseful book and a cold beer while listening to the sound of the water underneath your wooden platform, makes you forget that this is still Phnom Penh.

For tours of Phnom Penh including Koh Dach contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Asia Life (April 09)

Following internal debate within various government departments that has been ongoing for the last four years, the Cambodian government recently approved the establishment of a new protected area in Rattanakiri Province. Comprising around 100,000 hectares, the O’Yadav Protected Forest (OPF) is slated to become the Kingdom’s first hunting reserve, where big-game trophy hunters will be allowed to pay thousands of dollars to shoot wild animals including gaur, banteng, wild boar and deer.

According to the government, revenues would be used to protect the area, manage sustainable wildlife levels, provide funds for social development and generate income for the national budget.
“If we calculate several gaur and banteng [per year] in the next five years - gaur, a maximum of 20, and banteng about 40 - with that and other small pigs and deer, we can generate about US$4 million,” said Chheang Dany, deputy director of the Wildlife Protection Office (WPO) at the Forestry Administration. “And from royalties and licences [we could earn] about another $600,000.”
Based on recent field surveys conducted in the OPF, the wildlife office estimates that there are between 50 and 80 gaur and between 250 and 350 banteng currently in the area.

A Spanish company, NSOK Safaris, has been working with the government on the reserve. He explained that NSOK’s proposal included plans to build a hunting lodge, a small airport so hunters could fly directly from Phnom Penh to the protected forest, and that they were committed to build a school and a health clinic - probably in a local village.

Trophy-hunting as a method of managing and preserving wildlife is a controversial issue that has seen hunting organisations and conservation NGOs go head-to-head for decades. “I support the concept with the caveat that it has to be done right,” said Hunter Weiler, a technical adviser to the WPO. Seng Teak, Cambodia country director for the global conservation group WWF, said that the decision to designate the area as a protected forest was “good news” but that any hunting had to be based on “scientific information and sound management".

However, don’t expect to see rifle-toting big-game hunters kitted out in safari suits passing through Phnom Penh any time soon, as a raft of regulations still remain to be passed. Moreover, the global economic downturn may for the time being take the wind out of the sails of any guy who needs to come up with the $50,000 required to walk around the jungle looking for a wild cow to shoot.

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (3-3-09)

A new tourist attraction said to open in October 09, the Angkor Butterfly Centre, is being built on the outskirts of Siem Reap and will double as a poverty alleviation project, with rural families trained to breed butterflies and harvest pupae, organisers say.

The privately funded centre is an offshoot of a similar venture in Tanzania, the Zanzibar Butterfly Centre, which opened to the public in January 2008. The Angkor centre, in Sanday village, about 25 kilometres from Siem Reap, is run by some former staff from Zanzibar and is headed by director Ben Hayes, a founder of the Zanzibar centre. Also from Zanzibar is Project Manager Alistair Mould, and representing Cambodian interests is Tek-Sakana Savuth, executive director of local NGO Angkor Participatory Development Organisation. Involved in an advisory capacity is WWF stalwart Mike Baltzer.

“In Zanzibar, we are working with just one village, but here we want to work with more, especially in areas that as yet don’t have any income from tourism.” Mould explained. Director Hayes said: “Initially, we’ll work with 10 families spread out over a number of areas including Phnom Kulen and here in this village. But we hope to expand that. Plus, we’ll do farming of pupae within the exhibition and on site.”

Like Zanzibar, revenue for the Siem Reap centre will initially be generated by tourism admissions, but in time income will also come from the sale of butterflies and butterfly pupae to collectors, zoos and other centres mainly in Europe and the United States. Hayes said there were several reasons why Siem Reap was chosen for the new centre, including the tourism potential, communities to work with and the richness of butterfly fauna. “The butterfly fauna of Cambodia is not as well-studied as that of Thailand and Vietnam, but it’s very high in diversity; and for the project, we will probably deal with 20 to 30 species. Those species are local to the Siem Reap region.”

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (9-4-09)

In addition to their sophisticated roads, the ancient Khmers also built a complex network of irrigation channels, causeways, and reservoirs, many of which are still is use today.

The vast Western Baray was the largest of all. This immense reservoir, measuring 8.5 x 2.25km, was contained within earthen banks and filled solely by rainwater. Although built 800 years ago, it still contains water today. The small Angkorian temple at its centre can be reached by boat.

The slightly smaller East Baray extended 7.5 x 1.75 kilometres, but this reservoir dried up centuries ago. The splendid brick East Mebon with its five towers was at its centre. The area is now a rich farmland area around the village of Pre Dak. After passing through the village of Pre Dak on the way to Banteay Srei you the road passes through the northern earth embankment.

For wonderful tours of the Angkor Temples contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Nearing the shady end of the lane, by a grand Buddhist temple, 69-year-old Bun Roeung lives in the same house in which she was born. The structure, a fine example of traditional Khmer architecture, was categorised as an ‘antique house’ in 2005 by provincial authorities under a listing scheme that officials hope will both preserve these architectural gems and bring tourists to the area to see them.

Built in 1920, the grounds of Bun Roeung’s house are surrounded by mature fruit trees that hang low with fat oranges, pawpaw and jackfruit, their leaves littering the stone staircase leading up to the traditional living quarters of the once vibrant family home. But the rooms these days are empty, and the houses only remaining inhabitant sleeps beneath the floorboards on a rotting hammock, waiting for tourists to come and see the frozen splendour of the home.

‘My first memory of this house is my mother singing songs to me and my sisters in our hammocks to put us to sleep’, Bun Roeung said. ‘Her voice was sweet and she used to sing so softly. So my first memory is of a feeling of a great peace within the walls of this house’. Bun Roeung’s grandfather was an affluent army commander and later a lawyer, and his wife Yin had the house built in 1920 during the reign of King Sisovath, in the classical Pet style, meaning a house had verandas. Bun Roeung’s parents, who inherited the house, were also wealthy and socialised frequently with the French officials working in the area. However, in 1975 everything changed. Bun Roeung’s father was killed by the Khmer Rouge, as were 30 other members of her family, including her mother and most of her siblings. Bun Roeung was evacuated to the north of Cambodia and stayed with peasant relatives with whom she toiled in the fields. In her absence, the house was taken over by the Khmer Rouge and used as a storage facility and barracks for soldiers.

When Bun Roeung returned home in 1979, 80 percent of the house was destroyed. Bun Roeung survived by selling fruits and vegetables at the market, as she began the slow process of rebuilding her life. She now lives alone, and supports herself from a donations box to which tourists sometimes contribute.

The traditional house is located in Wat Kor village on the road next to the Sangke River. It is a 10-minute drive from the centre of Battambang and is located by Wat Kor. Entry is free, but donations are welcome. Battambang.

For interesting tours of Battambang contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Phnom Penh Post (15-12-08)

Wildlife officials are using cash to entice Mekong residents in north eastern Cambodia to protect nesting grounds of Cantor’s soft-shell turtles, believed extinct just two years ago.

The Cantor’s habitat lies mostly within a 55-kilometre stretch of the Mekong in north eastern Cambodia between the towns of Kratie and Stung Treng, where scientists have noted the richness of the natural environment. In a report released Thursday, the WWF said the “near-pristine region of tall riverine forests, waterways and island archipelagos” is a sanctuary for the critically engandered Irrawady dolphin and other vulnerable fauna populations, a total of 36 of which are listed as threatened under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The area used to be one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge until as late as 1998. Now, it is rapidly shrinking as peace is leading to migration of communities to areas previously off limits due to security concerns, the group said. The two dams proposed for just outside the unique strip would “massively disrupt the delicately balanced ecosystems in the area", it said. WWF has petitioned the government to designate the area as protected.

LAST year, Mekong resident Su Pie sold the delicate eggs he unearthed to Chinese miners working in the area, banking around US$20. This year, he stands to make exponentially more by not laying a hand on any nests he discovers, as well as ensuring no one else does either. The 59-year-old fisherman and farmer, whose home lies along the Mekong in a district called Sambor, about an hour from the town of Kratie, stands along the banks of the river with his wife and three children as he explains to Conservation International (CI) officials his mixed success this year in contributing to their project.

The good news was he found two nests. The bad news was he ate the eggs from one after he suspected it would be discovered by other local fishermen, given its visible location. The conservation officials cringe as they hear this. They can count the number of meals that could push Cambodia’s population of the endangered Cantor’s giant soft-shell turtle to extinction. But the program employing locals to protect nests is in its first year, and they expected it to develop with hitches.

Cantor’s can grow up to two metres in length and reach weights of more than 50 kilograms. The turtle’s flat, soft shell is covered with rubbery skin and has been valued for use in post-natal traditional Khmer cures. In 2007, wildlife experts found the super-sized freshwater turtle species, which was previously believed to have vanished from Cambodia.

Since then, the wildlife groups planned to employ local villagers to protect the species’ breeding grounds. “I like helping protect them, but if I didn’t get money, I would always take half of them and leave the other half,” the fisherman said. “Other fishermen come around looking for eggs, also, so it can be difficult to do what I’m asked.” After verifying the location of the preserved nest, the conservation officials pay Su Pie $30 on the spot. The fisherman receives a net, which he is instructed to place over the nest to protect it from natural predators, such as monitor lizards, so the baby turtles can be caught and studied before they are released by the CI team, which will base itself in the area as the hatching period nears.

“Thirty dollars for finding the nest, plus $2 a day from the time we see the nest until it hatches, plus $2 per hatched egg,” explained the program’s head monitor, Kim Chamnan. Nests typically hold 20 to 50 eggs, which take more than 60 days to hatch. “He can make a lot more by cooperating with us. He’ll get more than $200 for this nest if they hatch,” said Kim Chamnan.

Last year, CI officials were able to preserve four nests and held onto twelve hatchlings for a “Head-Start” program in which they allow them to mature in captivity before they are released at a size large enough to overwhelm any would-be natural predators.

To visit Kratie and Stung Treng and find out more about the turtle project contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (20-1-09)

Siem Reap is home to only 17 elephants, but that small number comprises almost a fifth of Cambodia’s total number of domestic pachyderms, the second-largest provincial population after Mondulkiri.

Gavin Bourchier, elephant manager at Compagnie des Elephants d’Angkor, oversees all of Siem Reap’s remaining elephants, and under his regime the only interaction they have with tourists is giving rides near the temples, a “necessary evil” that provides funding.

Elephant exploitation for a quick tourist buck is just one of Bourchier’s worries. Cambodian pachyderms are threatened by habitat loss, an aging population, poaching and the lack of trust and coordination between various NGOs and the Cambodian government. Unless that hurdle is cleared soon, Bourchier said, domestic elephants could vanish from the country altogether. “In 10 or 20 years, the number of domestic elephants will absolutely crash. Not decline, but plummet,” he said.

His view is shared by Matt Maltby, project adviser at Fauna and Flora International who has recently put together a Cambodian domestic elephant census - the first nationwide survey conducted by one body. The results show that there are 102 domestic elephants left in the Kingdom, down from 160 five years ago. “Following current trends and an aging domestic population, there are likely to be none remaining in 10 or 15 years,” he said. The reason for the decline is demographics. “There are 17 elephants in Siem Reap,” Gavin said. “And their general condition is ‘aging’. Most elephants are getting old. If everything goes well, an elephant can live to around 70. … The average age of an elephant in Cambodia is 46 to 48.”

Maltby maintains the decline of domestic elephants isn’t a death sentence for the species in Cambodia. But Bourchier believes the futures of both domestic and wild elephants are linked, and NGOs need to join forces to prevent the domestic elephant disappearing.

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (12-3-09)

Author and journalist Denise Heywood describes traditional Khmer dance as an “embodiment” of the country’s past. As Heywood explains, “The story of Cambodian dance is … in fact, the story of Cambodia. Every chapter in Cambodian history includes dance.”

Heywood’s most recent publication, Cambodian Dance: A Celebration of the Gods, explores the many phases of this variegated history through the prism of one of the country’s oldest art forms. A lavishly illustrated 144-page work, the book is described by Heywood as a “labour of love". “The very first time I saw Cambodian dance was children performing at the foot of Angkor Wat. I just fell in love with it,” she said.

In contrast to this idyllic scene, however, it was the brutalities suffered by classical dancers under the modern Pol Pot regime that most inspired Heywood’s fascination. “I love dance generally, but I was most touched by the plight of Khmer dancers,” she said. “I just found their story so moving and so heroic.”

Dance in Cambodia had historically been the domain of royalty, with dancers serving functions of entertainment, worship and diplomacy in the nation’s courts for over a millennium. As a result, dance became an emblem of the Cambodian monarchy, and subsequently under the Khmer Rouge, of all that was abhorrent and outlawed. Like others from artistic and educated classes, dancers were singled out by the regime and transported to rural camps or the killing fields, where 90 percent of them were slaughtered.

An epic task awaited those who survived. As Heywood describes, “The remaining dancers walked barefoot and starving back to Phnom Penh, where they attempted to restore together their art.” Classical dance has historically existed only in the minds and bodies of performers, “Expertise was handed down through the generations from master to pupil and never documented in written form,” Heywood said.

The renascent Khmer dance has received modest sponsorship from international aid organisations and NGOs. The art has been embraced both within Cambodian and internationally, with the Royal Ballet of Cambodia added to Unesco’s 2004 list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

It is the original spiritual function of the art that holds most appeal for Heywood and informs the title of her book. “Cambodian dance is … first and foremost … a sacred art-form. It originated in the ancient temples and is tied up with cosmic symbolism.” So too, this mysticism has bound Heywood to Cambodia since her initial visit. “I came here by chance, although I always say it was my destiny,” she said.

To see wonderful traditional dance shows when in Cambodia please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from The Phnom Penh Post (5 March 09)

An eight-day otter protection workshop that will include lectures, discussions and field training began in Phnom Penh this week, drawing experts from across the globe to Cambodia - which many called a key location for otter protection.

‘This is a very important region because of the variety of otter habitats,” said Nicole Duplaix, founder of the Otter Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “Cambodia has large lakes, mountain ranges and the Mekong delta, and many of these areas are still wild enough to protect.”

Annette Olsen, research manager for Conservation International, said the purpose of the workshop is to bring international experts together to discuss priorities in otter conservation, raise awareness, improve government involvement and train university students to continue the work of research and otter conservation both here and overseas.

Cambodia is home to four rare species of otter including the previously thought-to-be-extinct hairy-nosed otter, which was rediscovered in the Tonle Sap Lake.

Forestry Administration research and monitoring manager Peov Somanak admits there are still improvements to be made. “Poverty is the biggest problem threatening wildlife protection,” he said. “Hunger makes people do things without thinking. Cambodia does not have an otter fur trade, itself, but poor people are easily persuaded by international traders and local middlemen.” Peov Somanak said another big problem is enforcement. The national status of many species does not reflect local studies or scientific research, he said. But he saw international cooperation at this workshop as a positive sign for things to come. “If we work together and care about wildlife conservation, we can preserve our wildlife for the future,” Peov Somanak said.

Edited from The Phnom Penh Post (Feb 09)

Only 27% of illegally operating travel agencies have been licensed by tourism authorities following a government crackdown announced in January, according to officials. The crackdown follows a nationwide effort to clean up the tourism sector by tightening rules and boosting quality standards.
The Tourism Ministry gave unlicensed agencies until February 1 to obtain permits. But the ministry said that some agencies have been evading authorities.

Currently there are about 300 licensed travel agencies in Cambodia. The government said that unregistered travel agents and agents with expired licences will have one month more to register or extend their licences, or face fines and penalties.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Tourism Working Group and head of the Steering Committee of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, said there is a growing problem with illegal travel agencies in Siem Reap province. ‘Illegal tourism companies are doing business without taking care of tourists after they buy tickets from the companies - they are only after their own profit’, he said.
He explained that the tourism industry has pressed authorities to enforce licensing requirements, saying that rogue agencies are bad for the country’s image.

For tours in Cambodia arranged by a fully licensed travel agent contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from The Phnom Penh Post (25-2-09)

Chan Thay Chhoeung’s neighbours thought she was insane when she began growing grapes on her farm, but she’s certainly had the last laugh as tourists flock to her vineyard in Battambang, where she makes red wine and brandy.

In a climate barely even suited to the production of white wine, and into a local market where the vast majority of people have no experience with the pricy and pungent foreign tipple, her plan was a tremendous risk. But Chan Thay Chhoeung and her husband were determined and from their first eight grape vines in 2004, they now have 8,000. She has even begun contracting her formerly sceptical neighbours to produce grapes on their farms. To learn the art of viticulture, she and her husband bought some English winemaking books and, with the help of a dictionary, laboriously translated them into Khmer. They tasted wines mainly from France and Australia, and Chhoeng says it took time for her to become accustomed to the strong taste.

Her products, Banan Red Wine and Brandy, sells for between US$6 and $15 a bottle, and she produces between 8,000 and 10,000 bottles a year, but demand still outstrips supply. Her wine, made from Shiraz and ‘black queen’ grapes, is light and fruity to taste, with a thin colour (like a faded deep purple rather than red), a strong smell of oranges and a hint of cranberries. It is sweet and very drinkable, and the many foreigners who visit her vineyard are shocked she is able to produce such a quality drink from the arid landscape on offer.

For interesting tours of Battambang contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Phnom Penh Post (19-12-08)

Recently opened, the Preah Khan Visitor Centre (funded by the World Monuments Fund) is a unique living heritage museum that explains the local culture and village life which was based around the wonderful temple over the centuries.

How the temple was built is explained on large displays, and there is also a specially commissioned map of the whole area. An exhibition by a local photographer documents contemporary life in the nearby villages, and Buddhists who still use Preah Khan temple as a sacred place of worship, making offerings at the central stupa.

Preah Khan temple is the second largest temple in the Angkor area and an estimated 70,000 people lived and worked there in the 12th century. Many local people claim to have ancestors who lived in the area during the reign of the great King Jayavarman VII.

There is no charge to enter the Visitor Centre, but you will need a valid Angkor temple pass.

For wonderful tours of the Angkor Temples contact: info@asia-adventures.com

The second Annual Kep Trio (Half Marathon, 10km Run & 10km Bike Ride) will be held over the weekend of Saturday February 28th and Sunday March 1st 2009. The Kep Trio is a unique fundraising event, created by running enthusiast and former Bridges Across Borders South East Asia (International NGO) volunteer Nikki Wise. The event will raise much needed funds for the nearby vocational training centre in Chamka Bei village. This area was one of the last Khmer Rouge strongholds, not surrendering to the government until 1994, as such it was often neglected and the villagers marginalized. The centre is training and empowering the disadvantaged villagers in a number of skills. The First Annual Kep Trio Event, Jan 08, was an amazing success with over 80 participants generating $54,000 in cash donations and delivering 50 new locally sourced bicycles to the community.

The Kep Trio 2009 kicks off on Feb 28 with the 10km bike ride, followed by a gala dinner at the delightful Knai Bang Chatt Sailing Club. The running portion of the event continues bright and early the following day. The route begins in Kep, a beautiful seaside resort, and passes through wonderful rural Cambodian scenery and finishes at the Chamka Bei vocational training centre, where runners will be greeted by the villagers and see first hand how the money they have raised will be used. The fun-filled two day event concludes with a village celebration including an awards ceremony and entertainment by local dance groups.

“This is an excellent event for both serious runners and fun-seekers alike. It brings them to perhaps the most beautiful part of Cambodia, with gorgeous scenery and fresh sea air” said Chouleang Yin the Operations Director of Asia Adventures, a tour company that can assist participants with travel arrangements. “In addition participants are really helping the poor villagers help themselves, they have had a really tough recent history yet are really keen to learn new skills that will help lift them out of poverty”.

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

Air traffic in 2008 dropped by 110,000 passengers with Siem Reap taking the biggest hit from the economic downturn, airport operator Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports (SCA) says in its annual report.

While traffic through Phnom Penh International Airport increased slightly from 1.6 million passengers in 2007 to 1.69 million in 2008, representing 5.6 percent growth, numbers to Siem Reap International Airport fell from 1.73 million to 1.53 million over the same period, a decrease of 11.6 percent. Overall this meant air traffic dropped by 110,000 passengers in 2008 over the previous 12 months.

The figures point to a decline in tourism numbers, a trend backed up by recent reports from hoteliers who have said occupancy rates have dropped about 30 percent. Passengers into Phnom Penh climbed one percent in October 2008 over the same month in 2007, but fell sharply at the beginning of the winter tourist season - traffic was down seven percent in November 2008 over November the previous year and fell 10 percent in December 2008 over the same month in 2007. Siem Reap saw an even sharper drop in numbers at the end of 2008 - traffic fell 15 percent in October, 22 percent in November and 26 percent in December over the same months in 2007.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Tourism Working Group, said the government should give a green light to SCA to work closely with the aviation authority to devise a strategy to increase air traffic through Cambodia, adding that the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents and Hotel and Restaurant Association should work alongside airlines to help the tourism industry tackle the current downturn.

Cambodia has yet to open its international airport on the southern coast, which would add more capacity, but Ho Vandy noted: ‘I was told that Kang Keng [Sihanoukville International] Airport had been planned as the Kingdom’s largest airport, but I have no clue what is going on now’.

For excellent tours of Cambodia contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (10-2-09)

Smiling Hotel & Spa a new established deluxe four star Hotel opened its door to tourists in December 08. It is built in a traditional Khmer style and currently has 150 rooms, when fully complete it will house a total of 236 rooms. All rooms come with their own balcony and are divided into 5 different quality standards.

The Smiling Hotel & Spa offers luxury and comfortable accommodation with international standards of service and full equipped facilities for relaxation and recreation in a friendly atmosphere. The Cambodian hospitality, the genuine smile and helpful Cambodian staff will ensure that your stay at the Smiling Hotel & Spa is an enjoyable one. The location of the hotel gives easy access to both the airport and the mighty Angkor Wat temples.

The hotel also features an outdoor swimming pool, 2 separate Spa rooms for male and female, with attached with steam and sauna, 2 restaurants, 4 bars, conference rooms, a business center, and a fitness centre.

If you wish to stay at the Smiling Hotel & Spa when visiting Siem Reap please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

The iconic 1930s Central Market (Phsar Thmei) in Phnom Penh is undergoing a much needed $4.2 million renovation project, which has been funded by the French government, and will take some two years to complete.

At the official start of the works, ‘It is for you all’, Kep Chuktema, governor of Phnom Penh, told vendors and gathered dignitaries. The landmark Central Market is the first Phnom Penh market to have its own board of directors, organised by Phnom Penh Municipality, which will manage the market and work with vendors, he said.

The plan is to renovate and modernise the market, which has become dilapidated with old age. Originally built in 1935, the market was designed by French architects. ‘Central Market is an example for all other markets in Phnom Penh’, Kep Chuktema said. ‘The market will continue to be as famous as it used to be’, he said, adding that the new renovation will allow the market to stay open 24 hours because of new night security. He continued explaining that once construction was finished, likely in 2010, the market would adopt the slogan: ‘If one does not know Phsar Thmey, one does not know Phnom Penh’.

For interesting tours of Phnom Penh including the Central Market contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (23-1-09)

The Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA) has elected a new President Ang Kim Eang. Here he discusses prospects for the Cambodian travel industry in these challenging times.

As new president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA), what strategy do you have to lead this association?
I have nine points that I want to focus on, but I’d like to start with the first three. First, I will press for training for members of the association. Second, I plan to cooperate with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to urge CATA members to sell packages abroad to boost foreign travel here. Finally, I want to strengthen our administrative capabilities within the organisation itself.

Recently, the Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said he would crack down on unlicensed travel agents. Is that a good idea?
We have been urging the Ministry of Tourism to take this action, so we welcome the decision. It is unfair for us to have to continue to compete with illegal businesses that do not pay tax. We pay taxes and obey the laws and we want a level playing field. Travel agents that have no licenses are earning a lot of profit, and they are selling low-quality products to tourists. In the long run, illegal operators will damage the reputation of the Cambodian travel industry.

How should the country be attracting foreign tourists given the recent economic downturn?
Asean recently held a summit in Hanoi where members pushed for a cut in the price of package tours and measures to improve services. Between 50 and 70 percent of total tourism spending is on accommodation, so we will try to speak to hotel owners and encourage them to reduce their prices.

What have you promised to your members who elected you to be new president?
I promised to cooperate with members while working to benefit them all. I will lead the association with transparency and fair play.

Asia Adventures is a member of CATA, if you wish to arrange your Cambodian travel arrangements through them please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (28-1-09)

The Angkor Palace Resort and Spa in Siem Reap, Cambodia has been incorporated into the Preferred Hotel Group, part of the Summit Hotels & Resorts brand of more than 150 international hotels.

The hotel is the first Cambodian-owned luxury five-star resort and its design reflects traditional Khmer architecture. It features 251 guestrooms and suites and eight villas, all furnished in Cambodian style with inlaid teak floors and traditional poster beds, and balconies overlook the gardens of the resort. It also features four restaurants and bars, and the Kainnora Spa, with nine treatment rooms and four spa villas offering a wide range of ‘holistic body treatments’, including traditional Khmer massage. It has a gym, two tennis courts and a large outdoor swimming pool. A new feature is a golf driving range within the hotel grounds, with 16 sheltered driving bays.

‘Siem Reap is one of the major tourism hotspots in Asia, and we are thrilled to be partnered with a hotel that is truly representative of genuine Cambodian hospitality. We aim to bring high-end FIT and MICE business to the city and to the resort through our global channels’, said Mark Simmons, area managing director for Preferred Hotel Group’s Asia-Pacific operations, in a Hong Kong-released statement.

For very competitive rates for staying in the Angkor Palace Resort & Spa contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Tini Tinou 2009, Cambodia’s circus extravaganza now in its sixth year and bigger than ever, which attracts artists from around the world, will take place in both Phnom Penh (the country’s capital) and Battambang this coming March & April.

The spectacle is arranged and hosted by Phare Ponleu Selpak, whose roots are in the 1980s Thai refugee camps, caused by helpless people fleeing Cambodia as a result of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. Phare’s initial aim was to utilise visual arts to help children and young people overcome the Regime’s and subsequent 20 years of civil war’s torments. Today Phare Ponleu Selpak (meaning Light from Arts) is based in Battambang and goes from strength to strength, now providing fresh beginnings for disenfranchised and disaffected youth.

From March 10 to 26, prior to the festival officially commencing, their will be two weeks of workshops held by professionals and senior artists from around the world, such as France, Canada, Romania and Japan, to train the younger Cambodian artists.

The festival will officially open in Phnom Penh on March 28 with a colourful and exciting parade through the streets of the city, featuring all the invited artists, over 120 from 10 countries. Later that evening in the capital’s Olympic Stadium there will be a free stage show, continued the following morning, with a cabaret afternoon; rich moments, unique & unmissable!

The international troupe then moves on to Battambang, where from 2 to 5 April the 12 companies from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Japan, Romania, Germany, France, Belgium, Canada and Australia, will entertain the public with feats of acrobatics, juggling, trapeze flying, tightrope displays, contortionists, tumbling, and of course everyone’s favourite the antics of the clowns…

For people wishing to visit Cambodia during this time and experience the lively atmosphere, Asia Adventures Co. Ltd. - a Cambodia tour operator, is putting together a number of itineraries that will allow people to experience the event from start to finish, or just parts of it whilst visiting other destinations in the country such as the magnificent ancient temples of Angkor Wat. ‘This is truly a unique event in South East Asia, and it is a great time to visit Cambodia where not only can you experience the ancient cultural heritage of the country, but also witness the vibrancy of contemporary Cambodia’, explained Mark Ellison, Asia Adventures Managing Director. ‘The work Phare is doing with these youngsters, lifting them off the streets and filling them with hope, seeing how much they enjoy performing, shouldn’t be missed by anyone who is in the country during this time,’ he added.

For more information and to experience the Tini Tinou Festival please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

The Cambodian Minister of Tourism says that unlicensed travel agencies have until the end of January 09 to register with the government and pay up or face closure. Tourism officials are set to launch a crackdown on unlicensed travel agents after issuing repeated calls for tighter regulation of the sector, said the tourism minister.

The ruling could see 12 percent of the Kingdom’s 200 travel agencies shut down the end of the month, according to ministry figures. ‘Twenty-two of Cambodia’s 200 travel companies are operating without licences’, Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism explained. The Ministry has been working to upgrade the country’s hotels and travel agencies by introducing industry standards. The minister said the ministry sent warning letters on January 12 saying that companies have until January 31 09 to register or face legal action. ‘After the deadline at month’s end, we will invite them one by one to license their companies’, said Thong Khon, ‘If they still fail to apply for a licence, we will shut them down’.

Ho Vandy, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA), stated that its 171 members back the ministry action. He said that CATA has complained to the tourism ministry for several years regarding legal action against unlicensed tour operators. ‘There is no transparency in the market. We have licences, we comply with the law and pay the tax. [Unlicensed agencies] are not following the rules, so they do not pay tax - it is unfair competition’. he said.

Asia Adventures is fully registered with the Ministry of Tourism and is a Member of CATA. To book excellent tours in Cambodia using them please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (21-1-09)

The 1 day Izabella cruise between Phnom Penh (Cambodia’ charming capital city) and Siem Reap (the home to the magnificent Angkor Wat temples) has been withdrawn from service until at least September 09.

After a series of mechanical failures that led to a number of last minute cancellations and customer disappointment, Compagnie Fluviale du Mekong, the operators of the Izabella boat service, have decided to cancel all future sailings until at least Sept 09. The company states ‘Following our recent technical difficulties with the Izabella Speedboat, CFM management have been left with no alternative other than to cancel the bookings for the rest of the season 2008-2009. We understand that this is very unfortunate and by no means the ideal situation, but CFM needed to act like this to save both our partners’ and our own reputation and reliability’.

However CFM believes there is a strong demand for this fascinating and insightful 1 day cruise and is therefore seeking ways of how to improve and/or replace Izabella for Sept 2009 onwards.

A third PGA rated golf course opens in Siem Reap on 19-1-09, with Prime Minister Hun Sen hiting the inaugural tee-off.

A South Korean company has invested $150 million over the past 13 months to build the Siem Reap Lake Golf Resort, which is located 6km outside of Siem Reap town and created by well-known Japanese course designer Kentaro Sato. The 18 hole golf course is the first phase of a $450 million project including villas, a hotel, a water park and a horseracing track.

Tourism Ministry Secretary of State So Mara said a third golf course in Siem Reap will boost overall tourism. Siem Reap’s two other golf courses; the Angkor Golf Resort and the Phokeethra Country Club both expect the new arrival to boost the city as a golf destination and attract more visitors.

For golf packages in Cambodia contact: info@asia-adventures.com

In August 2008, the Wildlife Conservation Society counted 2,500 yellow-cheeked crested gibbons in Cambodia’s Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area, an estimate that represents the largest known population of this endangered species in the world. Cambodia’s first Khmer primate expert explains why he’s chosen a life researching Cambodia’s endangered yellow-cheeked, crested gibbons.

In the depths of Cambodia’s tropical forest, Channa Phan wakes up at 4am. The air is cool and wet, and he puts on clothes that have not been washed for days in order to neutralise his smell. He loads his bag with rice and beef or pork - never fish, because the smell would betray his presence. He takes his flashlight and waits for a call - the call of the gibbons.

Unlike poachers, Channa Phan will not follow just any gibbon song. It took one month for this young Cambodian researcher to recognise the song of ‘his’ gibbons, a family of four he has been following. ‘Each of them has a specific song, just as each human being has his own voice’, he said.
When he hears the male, he follows the voice and walks quickly for a few kilometres along old elephant roads in this remote section of Ratanakkiri. Equipped with modern GPS equipment, he is not afraid of getting lost, but he does regularly come across wild animals. ‘I met a bear one day. I was so surprised that I ran away and the bear did the same on the opposite side. Local people say there are king cobras and leopards, too, but I have never seen one’.

As a scientist writing his master’s degree thesis at the Royal University of Phnom Penh with funding from the government and Fauna and Flora International, Channa Phan thinks only about his goal of observing the gibbons in their daily lives and creating a database of their actions. The yellow-cheeked crested gibbons are an endangered species native to Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Scientists know very little about the lives of these blonde or black monkeys in the wild. ‘I want to know their activities because in the future, if some gibbons are in captivity and we want to release them, we have to know what their life in the wild is like’.

At the age of 28, Channa Phan plans to do his PhD on primates. Next month, he starts a new job as researcher and monitor for the global conservation group WWF.

For wonderful ecotourism trips in Cambodia email: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (23-12-08)

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) has appointed a new Executive Director, veteran travel specialist Mason Florence. ‘I am truly excited about being given the task of promoting the Greater Mekong Sub Region as a single tourist destination’, he said. ‘It’s a dream mission. The Mekong region is my favorite place to travel, and offers so much in terms of natural beauty, culture and, of course, food! Plus the people you encounter along the way are among the kindest and most hospitable on the planet’.

Prior to joining the MTCO Mr Florence spent nearly two decades living and traveling in Asia as a writer, photographer, tour leader and consultant. His career began in 1990 as a Kyoto-based reporter for ‘The Japan Times’ newspaper. He later joined Lonely Planet Publications, authoring numerous travel guide titles including ‘Japan’, ‘Kyoto’, ‘Vietnam’, ‘Hanoi’ and ‘Ho Chi Minh City’. After 12 years in Japan as a travel journalist and pursuing rural sustainable tourism development work, Mr Florence relocated to Bangkok in 2002. There he co-founded Talisman Media Group, publishers of ‘Bangkok 101′ magazine and various other publications about art, culture and travel in Asia.

Edited from: Mekong Tourism (Dec 08)

In Kandal province’s Svay Rieng village, locals have begun to call on an old Khmer tradition to protect their animals from disease and evil spirits. The area near the Vietnamese border is rural, dirty and scattered with houses made of mud, but a plague of ghosts and disease does not discriminate between the rich and the poor.

Late last month, buffaloes and cattle started to die on the outskirts of Svay Rieng village and to ward off the evil spirits, villagers started erecting ting mong - the Khmer version of a scarecrow - in front of their houses. Dressed in old clothes and decorated with paint, these jar-headed scarecrows are truly a frightening sight to behold.

Sam Soeun, 32, was one of the first villagers to put her trust in the Khmer tradition and erected her scarecrow after three out of her eight buffaloes died suddenly and another fell ill. ‘I have placed ting mong in front of my house because according to traditional religious belief it can protect the rest of my animals against any kind of disease, such as cholera, that might infect them’, said Sam Soeun, adding that she believes the scarecrow can also ward off ghosts and evil spirits.

Further down the muddy path, 45-year-old Hun Sophal still has her whole herd intact but has put up a scarecrow as a preventative measure soon after hearing about the death of nearby livestock.

Som Trapey, research supervisor at the Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap, explained that the use of scarecrows in Cambodia is neither rooted in Buddhism, but said that the tradition of using scarecrows to ward off evil spirits comes from ancient times.

‘The use of ting mong is a traditional belief that has been used for a long time in Cambodia’, he said. ‘Most villagers in the provinces still believe in the use of ting mong to protect their animals and family members, and they often combine putting the scarecrow out with prayers to gods’.

A more modern version of the tradition was seen in several places around Cambodia in 2005, when rumours were circulated that ‘bei sarch chunh chuk chheam’ - evil spirits that suck blood - had been seen in the country hunting virgins. To prevent the blood feast, villagers from several different villages hung plastic bags containing fake blood on their front gates, sometimes combined with a scarecrow.

In Svay Rieng the villagers strengthen their defence by drumming out all evil. ‘All of us make loud noises by hitting on drums each evening from 6pm to 7pm’, Hun Sophal said, explaining that the drumming is meant to ‘expel the evil spirits and warn them not to come and hurt the animals’.

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (2-12-08)

Battambang’s rich architectural heritage is a legacy of the northwestern city’s importance as a regional administrative centre and a vital link between Phnom Penh and Thailand during the period of French rule from 1863 to 1953. While views on the benefits or otherwise of French rule inevitably remain mixed, few disagree that the city’s nearly one million inhabitants have done well out of France’s attention to architecture and urban design. The city’s wide boulevards, grand gardens and sweeping alleys of trees make the city an attractive place to live and visit.

Battambang district Governor Uy Ry is well-aware of the importance of the city’s colonial French architecture to tourism in the city, particularly the simple French shop houses that flank the edges of the Sangke River, which flows through the centre of town. ‘There are 800 good examples of French colonial architecture in Battambang province, most of which are shop houses or flats’, he said. ‘It is very important that we preserve their original style both for tourists and students who want to conduct research on this style of architecture’.

The Battambang District Administration is leading the preservation effort, dividing the city’s examples of French colonial architecture into two categories. Almost 800 properties have been listed in the ‘Important’ category and are considered to be of utmost priority for conservation. Another 40 have been listed in the ‘Secondarily Important’ category. As part of the conservation effort, the administration has initiated a number of regulations relating to the preservation of French colonial architecture in the city, including a ban on owners making changes to the exterior of protected buildings. Interior renovations are permitted. The Battambang District Administration has also recently begun receiving aid from Germany and the EU to help preserve and restore the houses.

For delightful tours of Battambang please contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Phnom Penh Post (17-12-08)

Despite being the most lucrative tourist destination in Cambodia, Siem reap remains one of the poorest provinces. Soria Moria Hotel is fully aware of this social imbalance and attempts to assist by contributing to economic development by actively supporting and encouraging the interaction of guests with the neighbouring environment.

As well as providing spacious, elegantly decorated rooms, a restaurant with local and international delicacies, a rooftop bar, a sundeck with an open-sky Jacuzzi, a spa with a tantalizing treatment menu, and truly hospitable local staff, Soria Moria is now one of the best role models of sustainable tourism development in Cambodia.

Soria Moria has successfully established a number of community orientated projects. It has mainly contributed to the economy by helping people and organisations to become sustainable; by providing workplaces that follow higher standards; by supporting existing community projects to become profitable and self sustaining through purchasing their products and services; and by assisting these organisations with their marketing, promotion, and structure.

Children from the Sangkheum Centre perform traditional Apsara dance to hotel guests who give donations in return. The Iron Workshop (a project set up to help disadvantaged men) makes the hotel’s furniture, and The Silk Lab (a project set up to help disadvantaged women) makes all the in-room decorations. The profist from both projects are donated to a local orphanage.

If you would like to experience the Soria Moria Hotel whist staying in Siem Reap please contact Asia Adventures for very competitive rates: info@asia-adventures.com