Wise Words Worth Noting

Of all Cambodia's treasures, the richest is its resilient people.

If for nothing else, the Lonely Planet guide to Cambodia deserves a mention for this quote alone. But it also offers frequent chatter on the Thorn Tree travel forum which can help keep prospective tourists up-to-date.

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Lack of Money or Motivation

An opinion piece in the Bangkok Post points to Prime Minister Hun Sen when looking for reasons why the Khmer tribunal has stalled again.

The superficial claim that the government can't come up with money for a tribunal was unconvincing. It ignored a hugely conciliatory offer by Japan to allow the government to use aid funds for its paltry share of the tribunal. It also brushed aside all consideration of the importance of a tribunal to the Cambodian people.

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Phnom and on

A wonderful title from the Scotsman.com in which Megan James shares her experiences of a recent visit to Cambodia. Her piece reminds "Tan and Trev" of a favoured stomping ground which we haven't yet mentioned in this blog.

A number of projects have sprung up. I came across one of the more innovative ones, a non-profit restaurant called Friends which, apart from serving delicious food, helps to get kids off the streets by providing housing and vocational training in cookery. It is a kind of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen of the Third World, and serves an interesting and tasty mixture of local Khmer cuisine and western-style dishes. The banana fritters with lime sauce are a dessert to die for.

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Cabinet Backs Push for Unified Commerce

More action on the business front with the Cambodian government paving the way for a national chamber of commerce.

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Boon for Business

Much needed raw materials could seen be given an easier passage into Cambodia with plans to open a second Special Economic Zone now underway.

News of the project, to be built near the Sihanoukville International Port, was quick to follow the inauguration of the first Special Economic Zone last week.

Cambodia's Attwood Investment Group unveiled a master plan Tuesday to invest 89 million US dollars in the country's second Special Economic Zone, to be built in October.
The zone will cover 200 hectares of land in Sihanoukville's Stung Hav district, where a port, utility supply facilities and other infrastructure will be built, according to Khmer newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea.

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Fishy Tale of an Escaped Crocodile

Cricky! The tale of an escaped baby croc at the Dead Fish Tower has Charles Russo sharing a joke with his waiter.

Two weeks into my trip, and Cambodia was still taking me by surprise. As I hung out in the Dead Fish Tower – with its blind piano player, phenomenal food, and pool full of deadly reptiles – it seemed no small irony that the remote city of Siem Reap boasted a long list of first-rate bars and restaurants easily on par with the offerings in stateside hipster destinations like SoMa and SoHo.

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Protecting Cultural Landmarks

The two-edged sword that is tourism is a topic for debate this week among experts.

The impact of increasing tourism, the motor for many developing economies including Cambodia, which lures thousands of tourists a year to its Angkor Wat temples, would also be debated.

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Lawmaker Returns

Self-exiled legislator Chea Poch, 32, of the Sam Rainsy Party, has http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1438229.htm to Cambodia, according to a report by ABC Radio Australia.

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Funding Shortfall on KR Tribunal

BBC News reports that prime minister Hun Sen has said the tribunal to try former Khmer Rouge leaders is at risk of collapse unless more international funding is procured to cover a $11.8m shortfall in the country's contributions.

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Countdown to 2008

Dennis L. Siluk today posts a yarn about 2002 trip with his wife to Ankor Wat ruins.

(Yes I know some would consider "Tan and Trev" as being slow in the re-telling of our trip, but I'd hope we have it fully documented long before the three year mark).

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Transit Hub for Weapons

Illegal firearms trade along Vietnam’s southern border with Cambodia is said to be expanding.

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TV Trivia

Jim maps out a three hour tour for anyone interested in exploring beyond the usual sights of Phnom Penh. (Didn't Gillian's Island start with a three hour tour?)

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More Long Roads Ahead for Longmore

Kristopher Longmore will be one of about 20 Australians cycling 500km from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap to raise money for Oxfam Australia later this year.

Each participant aims to raise $5000 for the community-based aid and development organisation.

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Demand Waning for Teachers

A spike in the number of English-speaking Filipino teachers seeking work in Cambodia outstripped demand, with a knock-on effect on pay rates.

The influx of teachers has also created an “unnecessary imbalance in the general payment scale” as more teachers accept lower pay and fewer teaching units just to remain employed in Cambodia.

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Citizen "Croft"

Angelina Jolie is Cambodia's newly anointed A-list citizen with King Norodom Sihamoni signing a special decree granting her citizenship.

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Many Happy Returns

Hunting through the back archives of some sites, Tan and Trev today realised that our visit to Cambodia must have been overlapping with that of Andy Brouwer who spent three weeks seeking out previously unseen Angkorean temples.

Andy located around 40 structures which he had not seen on previous visits.

It was also a chance to meet up with numerous friends around the country.

To read more about his 11th trip to Cambodia in as many years, check out his individual travel tales and a handful of photos at this link.

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Royal Visit

King Norodom Sihamoni jets into in Beijing to start a five-day state visit to China at the invitation of President Hu Jintao.

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Channy Verdict

Further developments concerning this item: Judge Ney Thol has handed down a verdict against Cheam Channy of the Sam Rainsy Party.
The result is seven years jail from a half-day trail.

The judge prohibited Channy's lawyers from calling witnesses to testify on his behalf and cross-examining all of the prosecution witnesses. Although the prosecution accused Channy of creating illegal "armed forces," no evidence was presented in court that anyone connected to the SRP's Committee No. 14 had weapons or had plotted or committed any act of violence.

This report shows Human Rights Watch giving some strong criticism of the process.

The trial of Cheam Channy comes on the heels of another controversial trial, in which two men were convicted on August 1 on charges of murdering Cambodian union leader Chea Vichea without any eyewitness testimony or forensic evidence.
"These two trials, within a week of each other, bode extremely badly for the upcoming Khmer Rouge tribunal, in which Cambodian judges will play a key role alongside foreign ones," said [Brad] Adams [Asia director of Human Rights Watch]. "The current state of the judiciary simply does not justify any faith that Cambodian judges involved in the Khmer Rouge tribunal will be able to act professionally and independently of the government."

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2000 Posts and Growing

Online guide Travelfish has achieved a milestone with the posting of its 2000th option for accommodation in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Check it out.

"The vast majority of charming places in Cambodia and Laos cannot be booked in advance — but these are places that travellers really should know about. It’s important to us to give travellers as much information about their choices both before they travel and while they’re on the road."

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Up to $2 a Day

Pay rises ahead for all Cambodian government employees.

Even with a 100 percent increase, the maximum monthly extra for most will be about $US30.

Cheam Channy

BBC news reports that a military court on Monday started a trial for MP Cheam Channy, a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, who has been stripped of his parliamentary immunity to face charges of trying to form a group to overthrow the government.

Human rights activists have strongly criticised Cheam Channy's trial, which is widely seen as a move by the government to stifle political dissent.

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Mother-of-all Shock

An bizarre story about a family reunion [and sad for all involved if true] tells of Cambodian spouses discover they are siblings after 25 years when reunited with their long-lost mother.

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Border Watch

Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to intensify border security and to share more information. Perhaps this might be a sign that tensions concerning the Preah Vihear dispute have eased.

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The Value of Consensus

As a follow-up to our post earlier this week about the foreign minister from five countries meeting at Siem Reap, this report reads as if they agreed to the need to agree about agreement but concede that a decision about the agreement needs to be reviewed at a future meeting upon which they all agreed.

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Thanks for the Feedback

And a big "hello" from Tan and Trev to James Hathaway, co-founder for Clear Path International. We mentioned the work of CPI here and today got a "thank you" note.

Anyone keen on learning more about CPI's links with Cambodia and its work in rebuilding shattered lives in southeast Asia, should check this month's article written by co-founder Imbert Matthee for the Journal of Mine Action.

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Foodie "Finds" Dish

Jode' Hyman gives Cambodia-inspired cuisine a big "thumbs up" for its distinctive spice combinations.

I had always assumed that because of Cambodia's close proximity to Vietnam, Thailand and China, its cuisine must be quite similar. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Cambodian food has its own unique flavor during a recent visit to Siem Reap.

Jode, you should take a trip beyond Long Beach's Cambodian community is the United States. The source of its inspiration in Cambodia itself is even more enjoyable.

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The Lure of a Full Moon

Tan and Trev can recommend reading the entire account of Shirley Ganse's visit to Angkor Wat in December 1992.

Without risk of steal the punchline, it does provide an amusing anecdote of holiday terror and gun-fire.

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Where Life is a Beach

Circle of Asia offers this handy review of beaches at Sihanoukville.

Indeed, the country boasts many pristine beaches on its southern coast. Among them is Sihanoukville, a small beach town about 3 hour drive south of Phnom Penh.

Tan and Trev certainly agree.

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Ministers to Meet

Thai's Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon is set for a two-day meeting in Siem Reap with with the foreign ministers of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Infrastructure development and health are key points for the talks.

Thailand would propose that development partners such as Japan, Australia, Singapore and European countries join the grouping's efforts to tackle avian influenza, malaria, and HIV/Aids, as well as cooperate with the group in promoting tourism, Mr Kantathi said.

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Customised Travelguide

The sights and attactions of Kompong Cham are given an impressive forum with Travelfish.org

The site is well worth the visit.

Reluctant to Use Funds

In a move that could further delay the start of the trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders, the Cambodian government says it will continue to seek funding from other international donors first before dipping into Japanese aid money.

Meanwhile, an American study in Long Beach has found nearly two-thirds of Cambodian refugees there are still feel the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the violence they witnessed during during the genocide.

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Weird Brit Humour

Perhaps it is a cultural gap, but we fail to find this piece amusing or clever.

The Hendon & Finchley Times seems to have gone to great lengths to draw a link between Cricklewood (the birthplace of food snack Smith's Crisps) and the size of Angkor Wat. It's tedious and laboured humour.

The Cricklewood redevelopment will see the area balloon in size over the next two decades, with more than 5,500 new homes as part of the £2.3 billion plans, making the Khmer temple complex a mere joke by comparison.

Sorry to break the news to you spud-lovers in Cricklewood, but even in 20 years time it is unlikely that tourists will be ditching Angkor Wat for a tour of your abode. The chips will always be down on that score.

See "Angkor" and Drive Home

Meanwhile Cranston puts a freshspin on an old proverb:
If you can't pre-date 'em, then recreate 'em.

The Rhode Island city has a new religious landmark - a miniature replica of Angkor Wat.

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No Hard Sell for Cell-phones

Mobile phones are reported to be gaining a solid foothold among the teenage market in Cambodia.

Competition and the country's low incomes have forced carriers to come up with ideas such as prepaid phone cards. About 90 percent of cell-phone subscribers use prepaid phone cards, with cards available for as little as $5.

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