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