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