# Siem Reap Ponders Tourism's Effects on Historic Monuments



## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Tourism boom brings hope and worry to Siem Reap, Cambodia's tourist hub *
By KER MUNTHIT 
29 November 2006

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AP) - Nineteen-year-old Ra Pheap is a garbage sweeper at Cambodia's world-famous Angkor Wat archaeological site, and is keenly grateful for the influx of tourists to the centuries-old monuments - it's because of them she has her 205,000 Cambodian riel (US$50;euro39) a month job. 

Suos Samnang, a 17-year-old souvenir vendor, also knows that her livelihood is closely linked to the busloads of camera-toting foreign visitors that arrive everyday. 

But as they witness the frenzied construction of hotels and guest houses to tap the flow of visitors' dollars in this once-quiet town, even these two poor country girls realize that the blessings of tourism are mixed ones. 

"I am worried that this will cause more pollution and migration to the town. The number of people living here just keeps growing. The streets are getting more crowded now," Suos Samnang said. 

And some experts are even more concerned than that. They fear the unregulated development -- specifically, unrestricted local pumping of underground water to meet rapidly rising demand -- may literally be undermining Angkor's foundations, destabilizing the earth beneath the famous centuries-old temples so much that they might sink and collapse. 

Tourism is a key moneymaker for cash-strapped Cambodia, about one-third of whose 14 million people earn less than 2,000 riels (56 US cents; 43 euro cents) a day. 

Last year, about half of the 1.4 million visitors who came to Cambodia went to see the Angkor monuments, architectural masterpieces built at the height of the Khmer empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Total tourist arrivals for Cambodia in 2005 were an impressive 34.7 percent above 2004's figures. 

The steady boom has already transformed Siem Reap into a bustling town filled with luxury hotels and vehicles. Its streets are adorned with billboards promoting the latest mobile phones, pizza and burger joints and shopping malls. Several notable old buildings have been razed to make way for visitors' lodgings, and honky-tonk strips have sprung up catering to low-budget travelers. 

"The identity Siem Reap had for centuries is gradually disappearing, or maybe almost disappeared," said Teruo Jinnai, director in Cambodia of the U.N. cultural organization UNESCO, and a 10-year resident of the country. "You have restaurants, massage parlors, hotels, and it's very sad to see that." 

Culture shock aside, the health and quality of life of many of its 120,000 residents is imperiled by the boom, as is plain to see when traffic snarls the roads and streets get flooded by rain because of clogged sewers. 

"This tremendous growth added to population increase has been exacerbating pressure on infrastructure," said a World Bank report on Cambodia's tourism sector last year. "Energy, water, sewage and waste are all significant problems." 

It noted that hotels are not legally required to have sewage treatment facilities, though larger ones do have their own plants. 

"But most guesthouses reportedly dump used water directly into the river, causing noticeable river pollution," it said, adding that E. coli, the bacteria found in human feces, has reportedly begun seeping into local wells. 

At least as threatening over the long run is the uptake of water, with unrestricted pumping from the water table underlying the area. 

"Water is being drawn from 70-80 meters (230-260 feet) underground by hotels and treated for use," warned the World Bank, noting that no one was quite certain how this affects the aquifers, or underground layers of rocks and sand, from which it is pumped. 

Already though, "one of Angkor's temples is reportedly falling into a sinkhole, suggesting that the underground aquifers may be rapidly disappearing," said the report. 

Japanese Ambassador Fumiaki Takahashi, whose country has drawn up a development master plan for Siem Reap to deal with the tourism boom, said most of its hotels are pumping underground water for their own use, "and there is no control." 

It is the Cambodian government's "urgent task" to control the practice, he said, because "if you take too much water, it might affect the Angkor site. In the long run, the underground water will go down and the site would sink." 

The plan of the Japan International Cooperation Agency calls for tapping underground water from near Phnom Kraom, a hill near the edge of the Tonle Sap lake about 7 miles (12 kilometers) south of the town, to avoid depletion of Siem Reap's underground water and reduce the risk of endangering the fragile temples, he said. 

Deputy Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the government is ready to accept the master plan to address existing problems and accommodate future growth. 

He sees a bright future for Siem Reap, in which the province won't just be a destination for touring the temples but will also become a hub providing air links for tourists to enjoy the sandy beaches of southwestern Cambodia and eco-tourism in the jungles of the northeast. 

He envisions that by promoting a diversity of destinations, the crowds will be distributed around the country, and the Angkor temples won't get "too jammed up." 

Meanwhile, though, the tourist hordes continue to tramp through fabled Angkor Wat and its satellite temples of Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Prohm and Bakheng. Even at the lesser-known 10th-century Bakheng temple, an average of 3,000 tourists climb the 223 feet (67 meters) just in the two hours before dusk each day to view the spectacular sunset. 

Ra Pheap, the 19-year-old sweeper, said she knows the onslaught could damage the delicate monuments. 

She is employed by a Cambodian company that sells entry tickets to the temple site, and the visitors there are essentially paying her salary. With her earnings, she has reduced her family's reliance on rice farming and been able to help pay for Japanese-language classes for her younger brother and sister. 

"I want them to become tour guides because I am confident more tourists will visit here," she said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Invasion of Angkor Wat *
19 August 2007
Sun Herald

*Cambodia's jewel has survived a lot, but popularity may be its biggest challenge, Kerry van der Jagt writes. *

ANGELINA Jolie has a lot to answer for. Ta Prohm, with its ancient stonework and massive tree roots, is now sadly known as the Tomb Raider temple. And the tour groups love it. I watch on as entire groups re-enact Lara Croft running out from the temple. 

One at a time they sprint, leap and hurl themselves towards their tour guide - and his video camera. 

More like a stampede of clearance-sale shoppers than responsible travellers. 

Angkor Wat and the surrounding Angkor temple complex in Cambodia are without doubt one of the seven man-made wonders of the world. 

Stretching over 400 square kilometres, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer empire, from the 9th to the 15thcentury. 

In December 1992, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation declared Angkor a World Heritage Site. 

In 1993, 7600 intrepid travellers visited Angkor, but by 2006 the number had skyrocketed to 1.6million. By 2010, 3 million people are expected to visit Cambodia. 

Dr Dougald O'Reilly, one of South-East Asia's foremost archaeologists and lecturer at the University of Sydney, founded the non-governmental organisation Heritage Watch in 2003. 

The group has implemented a number of projects to help protect Cambodia's heritage by raising awareness of looting and its consequences. With full support from the Ministry of Tourism and the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap, Heritage Watch declared 2007 "heritage friendly". 

Its aim is to bring together locally-based private, public and non-governmental sectors in a nationwide collaboration to promote responsible tourism, while encouraging businesses to promote the arts, culture, heritage and development projects in Cambodia. 

An additional component of the Heritage Watch project, the Heritage Friendly Tourism Campaign, was launched in January. 

"The idea behind the campaign is to raise awareness of the fragility of heritage and the need for travellers to be responsible when they visit archaeological ruins," O'Reilly says. 

"We also hope to discourage people from purchasing antiquities and to broaden their travel experience outside of just Angkor." 

O'Reilly would like to see visitors venturing further afield. 

"Cambodia is an amazing and diverse country with much to offer, yet too few people leave Siem Reap where the temples of Angkor are located," he says. "Rural communities are in desperate need of tourist dollars and encouraging people to lengthen their stays and visit other places is one of the goals of the campaign." 

A major component of the Heritage Friendly Tourism Campaign has been to involve the business and corporate community in promoting arts, culture and heritage in Cambodia. 

More than 100 businesses have been certified as heritage friendly. Heritage friendly businesses are promoted through banners, street signs and stickers to help travellers identify and support those companies that give something back to Cambodia. 

Heritage Watch offers some simple and undemanding guidelines for visitors: do not purchase ancient artefacts; respect the temples as they are religious monuments; refrain from touching bas-reliefs as the lanolin on hands imparts oil into the stone; use environmentally friendly transport such as bicycles in the park (vibrations from buses affect the monuments); conserve water in Siem Reap - the water table is dropping, which may cause the monuments to subside; purchase Cambodian-made products; dispose of rubbish appropriately; support businesses certified as heritage friendly. 

Dr Tim Winter, of the University of Sydney, has worked in Cambodia for many years on the challenges that emerge around heritage and tourism. Winter acknowledges that though there has been significant damage to some of the temples, including erosion to steps, entrance ways and fragile carvings, this is only part of the problem. 

Winter says there are other important things to consider when visiting the area: the local economy and major inequalities arising in Cambodia because of tourism and Siem Reap as an island of hyper-growth, surrounded by some of the poorest communities in the whole of Asia. 

Associate professor Roland Fletcher of the University of Sydney, who is also the director of the Greater Angkor Project and the Living with Heritage Project, encourages visitors to prolong their stay in the area. "Basically, the key thing that tourists need to do is to stay longer than the average two-day stay," he says. 

It sounds so simple, but makes good sense. By increasing your stay to four days, you will significantly contribute to the local economy. Even the pollution problem caused by washing your sheets and towels will be reduced. 

Yes, parts of Angkor can feel like a circus. But if you venture further a field to the quieter temples of Preah Khan, Ta Som, Banteay Srei or Beng Mealea or spend a few extra days away from the madding crowds, you will be rewarded with the moments that every traveller craves. 

Perhaps it will come while you're sitting under a centuries-old silk-cotton tree that is slowly devouring a temple, or when you talk with a saffron-robbed monk. 

Or maybe when a shy local child plays peek-a-boo with you from behind a temple or during that spine-tingling moment when the sun first climbs through the sky over Angkor Wat. 

TRIP NOTES 

* Getting there: Regular flights are available to Siem Reap from Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Vientiane and Shanghai. There are also a number of border crossings. 

* Staying there: There is no accommodation within the park. Visitors must stay in Siem Reap, about six kilometres from the main temples. Accommodation is plentiful and ranges from luxury five-star hotels to budget guesthouses. 

* For more information: See www.heritagewatch.org and www.angkor.usyd.edu.au . 

* Packages: Peregrine Adventures has a 14-day Saigon to Angkor cycle trip from $2420, excluding international air fares. See www.peregrineadventures.com .


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Studying Angkor's demise, archaeologists warn of repeating the past *
14 February 2008

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AP) - By destroying vast tracts of forest to enlarge their farm land, inhabitants of the wondrous city of Angkor lit the fuse to an ecological time bomb that spelled doom for what was once the world's largest urban area. 

So believe archaeologists engaged in groundbreaking research into the ancient civilization of Angkor. 

And they are warning that history could repeat itself through reckless, headlong pursuit of dollars from tourists flocking to see Angkor's fabled monuments. 

"It's just a weird cycle. It seems like Angkor is self-repeating itself," said Mitch Hendrickson, who recently led an excavation as part of research into Angkor as a human settlement. 

Conservationists have long expressed concerns about the state of the monuments, especially the stress from the tourist invasion. They also say the uncontrolled pumping of underground water to meet rising demand of hotels, guesthouses and residents in the adjoining town of Siem Reap may be destabilizing the earth beneath the centuries-old temples so much that they might sink and collapse. 

"There's just so much building going on without any concern about the long term. Things are moving so fast in Siem Reap today that it's going to chew itself up very quickly and become unsustainable," said Hendrickson, an archaeologist from the University of Sydney, Australia. 

From their city, Angkorian kings ruled over most of Southeast Asia during their pinnacle between the 9th and 14th centuries, overseeing construction of architectural stone marvels, including Angkor Wat, regarded as a marvel of religious architecture. 

While the 1431 invasion from what is now Thailand has long been regarded as a major cause of Angkor's fall, archaeologists from the Australian university's Greater Angkor Project believe earlier ecological forces led to the city's demise. 

Their findings supported a theory in the early 1950s by Bernard-Philippe Groslier, a prominent French archaeologist, that the collapse of Angkor resulted from over-exploitation of the environment. 

Angkor's inhabitants started rice farming from the low lying area near the Tonle Sap lake just south of Siem Reap town, said Roland Fletcher, another archaeologist with the project. 

But gradually, they cut down natural forest to extend their farm land up to the slope of Kulen mountain, 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the north, said Fletcher, who led 10 archaeologists to excavate various sites near the Angkor complex. 

Flooding ensued, and huge amounts of sediment and sand were washed down to fill up canals -- thus probably choking the vital water management system. 

Using NASA's airborne imaging radar data, the project has conducted numerous aerial and ground surveys across nearly 1,200 square miles (3,108 square kilometers) which revealed that the city -- with about 1 million inhabitants -- was far larger than previously thought. 

It covered some 385 square miles (997 square kilometers) and featured a sophisticated hydraulic system that proved too vast to manage. 

Angkor was "a huge low-density, dispersed urban complex" comparable to Los Angeles and "by far the most extensive preindustrial city on the planet," Fletcher said. 

Its water network included an artificial canal used for diverting water from a natural river about 15 1/2 miles (25 kilometers) north of Angkor, and two mammoth, man-made reservoirs known as the East and West Barays. 

"They (people) probably didn't necessarily need any of this extra water ... because just a rain-fed rice agriculture is quite sufficient to feed a very substantial population," said Damian Evans, a project member. 

One theory, he said, was that the Angkorian kings built the water system just "to demonstrate their power and their authority to rule." 

But he said only excavations and soil analysis could yield more clues. 

"It's a process of going to those sites on the ground and looking for finer detailed information like the profiles of the canals underneath the ground and the types of sediment that lie within those canals," he said. 

Armed with a printed digital map of the Angkor area, Evans and Fletcher toured an excavation site at the West Baray where archaeologists dug trenches to seek traces of an ancient channel through the bank. They were trying to determine whether the channel really existed and could have served both as water inlet and outlet. 

The reservoir is walled by four banks -- now covered with jungle -- each 40 feet (12 meters) high, 331 feet (100 meters) wide and about 12 miles (19 kilometers) in length. It can store up to 1.8 billion cubic feet (50 million cubic meters) of water. 

Fletcher called it "the single largest artifact and piece of engineering in the preindustrial world." 

"All of this work is aimed at understanding how the water management system of Angkor functioned ... and how it stopped working," he said, adding that forest clearance is "the current key piece of information" about the ecological peril that caused Angkor to tumble. 

Although past environmental problems were associated with deforestation, they also underline the menace the tourism boom is posing to the temples, the researchers say. 

"The same types of things which we knew were problems of Angkor are essentially being repeated in our modern day context in the Angkor area -- things like unsustainable use of water, massive overdevelopment without any consideration of the long-term effects," Evans said. "There's definitely lessons to be learned from what happened here before." 

------ 

On the Net: 

Greater Angkor Project: http://acl.arts.usyd.edu.au/angkor/gap/index.php


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*48 hours in Siem Reap, Cambodia *

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, July 11 (Reuters) - Got 48 hours to explore the ruins of the ancient Angkor empire? Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors make the most of the temples and Siem Reap, the tourist town booming in the shadow of Angkor Wat.

FRIDAY

6 p.m. - Relax on rattan armchairs in the pleasant garden of the Singing Tree Cafe just down the street from the Siem Reap river. It's a nice place for an evening drink or a healthy meal or for those seeking to unwind completely, there's an evening yoga class in the wooden, traditional Khmer house.

8 p.m. - Every year, more than two million tourists visit Angkor Wat, the 12th century Hindu-Buddhist temple which is synonymous with Cambodia. By day, flag-waving guides herd package tourists through the world heritage site. But if you go to the night viewing, you can gaze at the reliefs depicting scenes from Hindu mythology and the intricately carved apsaras, or celestial nymphs, in solitude and immerse yourself in the grandeur of the ancient architecture while other tourists eat dinner.

SATURDAY

7 a.m. - After a quick breakfast, head for the temples. Drive around the Angkor Wat moat to Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer empire.

The Bayon temple, with its 200 enormous faces smiling down on visitors from stone towers is a must-see. The Terrace of the Elephants, where King Jayavarman VII viewed public ceremonies, is well preserved compared to some of the surrounding temples which need a bit of imagination to appreciate.

11 a.m. - Go back to Siem Reap to avoid the midday sun. On the way, take a detour on the airport road to the National Centre for Khmer Ceramics Revival, a workshop which seeks to recreate ancient Khmer pottery using clay from the nearby hills, fired in a giant kiln built based on information found by archaeologists researching similar ancient sites. Watch the potters create giant jars like the ones that are found at archaeological digs or try throwing a pot yourself on the primitive potters' wheel.

12.30 p.m. - Siem Reap's food choices have expanded dramatically in recent years. Go to Amok Restaurant, named after the Khmer curry made by steaming the coconut-based dish in a banana leaf for a typical Cambodian lunch. Besides the fish amok, the banana flower salad and the green papaya salad are nice.

1.30 p.m. - A good time to wander around the airconditioned shops. Angkor Candles stocks a selection of handcarved candles in the shape of local motifs. Rajana is a fair trade shop selling handmade silver jewellery, cushion covers and other knick-knacks. For cotton "krama" or gingham check scarves worn by Khmer Rouge fighters, head to the Old Market where they are sold in every color combination imaginable.

3.30 p.m. - For a quick and unusual snack, try the fried crickets and other creepy crawlies sold on the bridge spanning the Siem Reap River. Or, for those less adventurous, you can go to the Blue Pumpkin for a banana ginger tart and iced coffee before journeying back to the temples.

4 p.m. - If the Angkor temples had not been restored, they would all look like Ta Prohm, about one km (mile) from Angkor Thom. Trees with huge roots threaten to swallow the moss-covered walls of this temple and return it to the surrounding jungle. It's a familiar sight for "Tomb Raider" fans. Proceed on to Pre Rup, a 10th century Shiva temple whose sandstone and brick walls glow orange in the late afternoon light. Then, climb up Phnom Bakheng, a temple mountain also dedicated to Shiva, to watch the sun set over what remains of the Angkor empire.

7 p.m. - To catch the latest gossip on archaeological finds, have a drink with the experts. The French team will be at the Laundry Bar in the centre of town. The Japanese, who are the second largest contingent after the French, are usually at Cafe Moi Moi on the road back to town from the temples.

8 p.m. - Keeping with the Angkor theme, dine at Le Malraux, a bistro named after writer and statesman Andre Malraux who embarked on an exploratory mission into the Cambodian jungle in the early 1900s and was arrested by French colonial authorities for trying to steal bas-reliefs from one of the Angkor temples. Confit de canard and other things French will help you enjoy the atmosphere of Indochina of bygone years.

10 p.m. - Night comes early to Siem Reap. But if you follow the neon lights and noise emanating from places like the Sok San Palace and Sokha Entertainment Club, you'll find young Cambodians singing, dancing and trying their luck on the slot machines.

SUNDAY

7.30 a.m. - From dawn, the Old Market is a hive of activity as housewives rush to buy fresh vegetables, meat and fish. That is also when the food stalls offer the most choices. Rice porridge, duck noodles and sticky rice steamed in banana leaf packets make an interesting Khmer breakfast.

8 a.m. - Drive out to Kbal Spean or the Valley of the 1,000 Lingas. Wear sturdy shoes as it is a bit of a hike to the myriad stone gods carved into the riverbed and boulders on the banks. The Angkoreans believed the water passing over these symbols of Shiva would fertilise their rice fields and ensure a bumper crop.

1.30 p.m. - Maintain the Hindu theme over lunch at Kama Sutra back in Siem Reap. The Indian restaurant is one of the classier ones in town and serves both north and south Indian favourites. Try their dosas -- very thin and crispy.

2.30 p.m. - Cambodia's weaving masters at the Institute of Khmer Traditional Textiles (IKTT) will be back from siesta now and at their looms creating silk in intricate designs. You can watch them spin, dye and weave at their workshop on the edge of town. If you are a textile fanatic, journey to their farm to see silk worms being raised and dyes of different hues being created from tree bark, leaves and other natural sources.

4 p.m. - Follow the road to the right of IKTT, past the crocodile farm and basket shops, and you will soon be in Roluos, an area that is home to a clutch of 9th century temples. Ancient architecture buffs can study the structural differences between the Bakong and Preah Ko temples and Angkor Wat, which was built centuries later. Ordinary tourists will enjoy the journey which takes you through villages, rice paddies and herds of water buffalo wallowing in the mud.

6 p.m. - Paved roads are increasing in Cambodia, but many are still spine-jarring dirt tracks. Go to Chai Massage near the road to Angkor Wat and let them knead the knots and kinks away.

7 p.m. - Tourism exceeds journalism by far in Siem Reap, but there is still a Foreign Correspondents Club. It's near the river and the garden is the perfect place for a last gin and tonic before the journey home.


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## phillybud (Jul 22, 2007)

*My trip to Siem Reap*

I visited Angkor Wat and Siem Reap in October of 2006. I really liked the place, and found that for a small town it had plenty of hotels, good restaurants of great diversity and fun night life. I too am worried if the place becomes over developed by tourism. I don't know what the solution is. The premier archeological attraction in South America is Macchu Picchu in Peru which attracts millions of visitors ... but very few actually stay near the archeological site (I did, at the government run guest house within the National Park ... but reservations were made months in advance, and the cost was rather pricey for the rather basic accommodations). Rather, tourists make it day trip from Cuzco, which is a couple of hours away. Perhaps the solution is to build a tourist town 100 kms away so that the environment immediately around Angkor is not too stressed ...

What do you think?

By the way, the admission to Angkor Wat (2 day pass) is about US$40 or Euros 30. That is almost a months salary to an average Cambodian ... but I'm not complaining, we who live in the wealthier nations can afford it.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Yes, I've also heard about how commercialized that place has become and how the tourist influx is actually doing harm to the monuments. However, the local government has a key responsibility in maintaining the upkeep of the site as they're making quite a lot of money by gouging international visitors.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Cambodia, UNESCO post sign of world heritage at Angkor Wat temple *

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) on Monday unveiled the sign of World heritage at the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province, which was listed as a World Heritage in 1992.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, were presided over the ceremony at the Angkor Wat temple.

"It is a great honor for Cambodian people and the world because the Angkor Wat temple is universal for humanities," Hun Sen said at the ceremony with live radio broadcasting.

"We want to use our culture to develop the country through tourism," he said, adding that the country has hundreds of ancient temples.

"We also want to see a ceremony like this at the Preah Vihear temple," he said.

He also expressed concern that local residents in Siem Reap are trying to pump underground water which could cause damage to the Angkor Wat temple.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

By *db_sam * from dchome :


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## goschio (Dec 2, 2002)

phillybud said:


> What do you think?
> 
> By the way, the admission to Angkor Wat (2 day pass) is about US$40 or Euros 30. That is almost a months salary to an average Cambodian ... but I'm not complaining, we who live in the wealthier nations can afford it.


I like that price. Hate it when countries sell their good too cheaply.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

But not every tourist comes from the wealthy West that can shrug off USD 40 admission. How about Cambodians? Shouldn't they get a chance to afford a visit - or do they price discriminate and only rip off foreigners?


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## OshHisham (Nov 14, 2005)

i believe locals are given free access....like in malaysia, locals get special price.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

So they make the act of ripping off tourists very explicit.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*The dark side of Angkor's night visits*
By Andrew Buncombe ASIA CORRESPONDENT
6 June 2009
The Independent

THE MAGICAL temples of Angkor - already visited by around half a million tourists a year - could lure even more people if the Cambodian authorities go ahead with a controversial plan to open the 12th-century complex into the night.

In an effort to boost tourism at the site, officials at Angkor say visiting hours could be extended and lighting provided to give visitors a different experience. "We want tourists to see all views of the temple, even in the dark places where they may have not have seen some of the sculptures and statues," said an official, Bun Narith.

The plan is just one proposal being considered by officials who are trying to counter the first slump in visitors to Angkor, which for a decade has experienced a boom. Recent figures show a 14 per cent drop in visitors to the town of Siem Reap, where Angkor is located, compared with last year. The authorities have also called on hotel owners to reduce their prices.

Foreign tourism is hugely important to Cambodia, reportedly providing up to 75 per cent of its foreign currency earnings. Around 50 per cent of all tourists to the country end up visiting the temple complex, six hours' drive north of the capital Phnom Penh.

But the issue of tourist numbers is complex. Conservationists warn that boosting the number of people visiting Angkor, without doing more to control them when they are at the site, could have a detrimental effect.

"Angkor is colossal but the problem is that there is very little control over the movement of tourists," said John Sanday, country officer with the Global Heritage Fund. "It can handle the number of people that are there if they are co-ordinated - perhaps with tickets."

Already, there has been controversy about the installation of lights at Angkor. This week officials were forced to deny reports from tourists that the building's structure had been damaged by the lights. "This accusation that new holes were created simply is not true," said Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Cambodian Council of Ministers. "The installation will not involve any new holes being drilled."

Ahmed Bennis, a French lighting expert who was commissioned to install the new lights, said there would be no structural alterations made. "These new lights will use solar power and they will not be built into the structure of the temple," he said. "Because the lights are powered by the sun there will be no electricity cables at the site."

Angkor was removed from Unesco's World Heritage in Danger list in 2004, but conservationists remain concerned for its welfare. Last year, Unesco raised concerns about the impact that the growth of Siem Reap was having on Angkor's foundations.

The UN organisation said that a surge in demand for water had led to a massive increase in the amount of groundwater being pumped. Philippe Delanghe, the culture programme specialist at Unesco's Phnom Penh office, said: "There is a very important balance between the sand and water on which the temple is built. And if that balance is taken away then we might have trouble with collapse."

Angkor is believed to have been built as a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II to honour the Hindu god Vishnu. The sandstone blocks from which it was constructed were quarried more than 30 miles away and floated down the Siem Reap river.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*SKorea to fund new road at Angkor temple complex*
1 March 2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - South Korea has provided $9.2 million to Cambodia to build a new road that will circle the famed Angkor temple complex and reduce traffic in the area, officials said Monday.

The 13-mile (21-kilometer) road will be closed to trucks to reduce pollution, noise and vibrations that could damage the ancient ruins, said Soeung Kong, vice secretary-general of the Apsara Authority, the government agency that oversees the temples.

Construction will start this year and take three years to complete, he said.

It will be the second road in the Angkor area funded by South Korea, connecting with existing roads to the north and northwest of the temples, said South Korean Embassy official Son Sungil. The first road extended south from the temple complex.

Tourism is a major source of foreign currency for cash-strapped Cambodia, which hosts nearly 1.5 million foreign tourists each year, mostly from South Korea, Japan and the United States. More than half of the tourists visit Angkor, a UNESCO World Heritage site in northwestern Siem Reap province.

The temples were built when Angkorian kings ruled over much of Southeast Asia between the 9th and 14th centuries.

Conservationists have long expressed concerns about tourism's impact. They say uncontrolled pumping of underground water to meet the rising demand of hotels and residents in the nearby town of Siem Reap may be destabilizing the earth beneath the temples.


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## party_animals (Feb 2, 2010)

better do sth about the local exploitation,,,,,Cambodia without these places as World Heritage is a huge damage...


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## jonathanclark (Mar 4, 2010)

phillybud said:


> By the way, the admission to Angkor Wat (2 day pass) is about US$40 or Euros 30. That is almost a months salary to an average Cambodian ... but I'm not complaining, we who live in the wealthier nations can afford it.


I visited Angkor Wat in 1994, and it was free to enter if my memory is correct. I have a fantastic trip to Cambodia, loved it.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Ah ... so they learned to exploit the wealthy tourist ... really hate these obvious tourist traps ... absolutely taking advantage of people.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Roads to protect Cambodia's Angkor from fires *
12 March 2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Seventeen new roads will provide quick access to Cambodia's Angkor complex in case of fires at the ancient temples, officials said Friday.

The roads will alleviate fears of damage to the country's greatest artistic treasure, especially during the dry season when blazes often break out, said Tan Sambu, an official of the Apsara Authority, the government agency that oversees the temples.

Tourism is a major source of foreign currency for cash-strapped Cambodia, which hosts nearly 1.5 million foreign tourists each year, mostly from South Korea, Japan and the United States. More than half of the tourists visit Angkor, a UNESCO World Heritage site in northwestern Siem Reap province.

The temples were built when Angkorian kings ruled over much of Southeast Asia between the ninth and 14th centuries.

Earlier this month, South Korea provided $9.2 million to build a new road that will circle the temple complex and reduce traffic in the area.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Italy to help fix Cambodian ancient artifacts*
1 July 2010

PHNOM PENH, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Italian ambassador told the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An Thursday that Italy is to build a laboratory center in Siem Reap province and send professors to train Cambodian students to fix broken artifacts.

Ambassador Michelangelo Pipan told Sok An that Italy has been pleased with helping the Kingdom to restore the Pre Rup Temple over the last four years.

Pre Rup was the second temple mountain, after East Mebon which it resembles, constructed in the Angkor region by Rajendravarman II (944-968). In recent years Pre Rup Temple has been undergoing restoration financed through the Italy funds-in-Trust Project.

Italy has also expanded its project in Siem Reap province, the home of Angkor, to fix the staircase of more than 300 meters of Angkor Temple.

The well-known Italian professors, of the University of Palermo, are expected to arrive in October this year in Siem Reap, where they will train 20 Cambodian students from the Royal University of Fine Arts to learn about the artistic works and how to fix over 4, 000 Khmer artifacts, which have been collected and stored in the province.

The ambassador said that those students, who will attend the three-year training course, will be awarded master degree which is equivalent to the degree provided by Italian universities. They would be sent to study more in Italy in the future if necessary.

"I ask the Cambodian government to summit its request of any prioritized projects to the Italian embassy from there we will consider more assistance," Pipan told Sok An, who is also the Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers.

Sok An, in response, asked Italy to look to expand its assistance to preserve as well as preservation of the 900-year-old Khmer Preah Vihear Temple which was listed in July 2008 as a World Heritage Site.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*SKorean developer says Cambodian airport project includes new city, industrial estate *
16 December 2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A South Korean company contracted to build a new airport serving visitors to Cambodia's famed Angkor temples says its $1 billion project will also encompass a new city and industrial estate.

NSRIA Co. Ltd. in a statement received Thursday said its planned New Siem Reap International Airport and linked developments represent Cambodia's "largest national project" and Korea's first-ever export of its airport development and operation expertise.

The statement, which expands upon partial information released by the Cambodian government and in the Korean press, said its concession for the project spans 65 years -- covering five years of construction and 60 years of operation -- after which it can be extended.

NSRIA is Cambodian joint venture whose main investors are two South Korean companies, Lees A&A Co. Ltd. and Camko Airport Co. Ltd.

The statement said the project will include an adjacent "Special Economic Zone," a dry port and a 15.4 square mile (40 square kilometer) city.

South Korea in recent years has become a major investor in Cambodia, ranking number two after China by some measurements. However, some ambitious Korean-funded real estate developments in Phnom Penh, the capital, have stalled.

The new airport will be able to handle Boeing 747s, making it the country's first capable of handling direct long haul flights from Europe and North America, said the statement. The area is currently served by a modern but small airport.

The airport will be located 25 miles (40 km) east of Angkor Wat, the statement said, alleviating concerns about potential noise and vibration damage to the centuries-old temples at Angkor, Cambodia's main tourist attraction.

There is concern that the temples, already damaged by warfare, looting and the ravages of weather, could be harmed by a greater influx of tourists.

Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2011, with operations to start in late 2015. At the end of the $500 million first phase, the airport will have the capacity to handle 4 million passengers a year, and will be able to handle 15 million after expansion.

Cambodia had 2.3 million visitors this year, with about half of them visiting the temples, according to Kong Sophearak, statistics director for the Tourism Ministry.

The statement said the special economic zone will provide an alternative for South Korean companies to investing in China and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam where labor costs are rising from low levels.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Cambodia's ancient wonders suffer modern ills *
By DENIS D. GRAY - Associated Press
Jul 12

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AP) — The blistering heat at Cambodia's Angkor temples eases, and the sun's last soft shimmer will soon brush some of the most wondrous monuments ever created by man. A moment for peaceful reverence? Hardly.

A traffic jam of up to 3,000 tourists surges up a steep hillside, trampling over vulnerable stonework and quaffing beer at a sacred hilltop that provides spectacular sunset views of the massive beehive-like towers rising from the main temple in this ancient city: Angkor Wat.

Below, guides describe its wonders through blaring loudspeakers in a host of tongues as buses circle what is said to be the world's largest religious edifice, one of hundreds erected by Angkor's kings between the 9th and 14th centuries. 

"Nobody should be allowed to walk on 1,000-year-old stones," says Jeff Morgan, executive director of the U.S.-based Global Heritage Fund.

He says limits on tourists at the temples are decades overdue.

The influx hastens the deterioration of edifices already buffeted by invasive tropical vegetation and monsoon rains. The relentless tread of feet and the fumes from heavy traffic wear away the soft sandstone. Oily fingers harm the magnificent bas reliefs. Noisy crowds rob visitors of near-mystical moments of quiet contemplation or the chance to imagine they are jungle explorers discovering a lost city.

Too many tourists are not Angkor's only woe.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site and its gateway town of Siem Reap are also beset by crass development, alleged corruption and endlessly delayed plans on how best to preserve the temples.

Once abandoned and overgrown by the jungle, and isolated by wars, these stone buildings have emerged as one of Asia's top tourist draws and a vital money spinner for one of the world's poorest nations. Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon says some 6 million visitors per year are projected by 2020.

The growth curve has been spectacular.

On one day in 1980, shortly after the overthrow of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, this correspondent was the sole tourist in the entire complex. The inauguration of direct international flights to Siem Reap in 1998 was pivotal, and the filming at the temples of Angelina Jolie's 2001 Hollywood hit "Tomb Raider" also helped put Angkor on the map.

Tourist arrivals quadrupled from 60,000 in 1999, to 250,000 in 2001. This year's expected total is 2.5 million.

"Mass tourism is the major challenge. There will be an accelerated use of temples that were not constructed for that purpose," says Anne Lemaistre, who heads UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural and educational body, in Cambodia. "It's not time to talk about it anymore. We need to act."

There has never been a lasting master plan to preserve and regulate the 160-square-mile (400-square-kilometer) site, although an Australian-devised Heritage Management Framework enacted this year should help, she says.

"It's just the beginning. I am not going to say if it is going to be successful or not but we will try," Lemaistre says.

Previous plans over the past two decades have been violated or became outdated.

In 1994, zoning rules to keep approaches to the temples development-free were openly flouted. Today, the once-grand avenue flanked only by towering trees leading to Angkor Wat is a congested line of top-end hotels mingling with cheap, ugly shophouses.

Vann Mollyvann, an architect who headed an independent Cambodian agency to manage Angkor, fought for the zoning and other measures to prevent what he called an "Angkor Disneyland." He eventually was fired for being obstructive, and the agency, Apsara, was put under the direct control of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

A company owned by Sok An's son was later awarded a contract to light up the temples. It was revoked after widespread criticism that the installations were damaging the monuments. Still, a high-profile critic of the project was sentenced to prison in 2009, accused of spreading disinformation.

The way entrance fees are collected also has drawn criticism.

In a hushed deal with no bidding, Sok Kong, a tycoon close to Prime Minister Hun Sen, was granted a concession to collect the fees. Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay and others allege some of that money flows into the dealmakers' private pockets rather than government coffers and Angkor's restoration.

Morgan says Sok Kong's company "is just milking the site."

"Everyone knows it. It's a great deal. You are getting lots of money without putting in any investment," he says.

The government denies any wrongdoing, and the tourism minister said it's "a good mechanism. We can get a lot of money."

Critics say such deals at Angkor merely mirror today's Cambodia, dominated by Hun Sen and the powerful politicians and tycoons around him.

"They control Siem Reap and Angkor like everywhere. They could do whatever they please no matter what the law says," Son Chhay says.

The population of Siem Reap is projected to double to a quarter million by 2020. Unrestricted pumping of underground water has sparked fears that the earth under Angkor's temples might sink and collapse.

The once-charming town now has 320 hotels and guesthouses. More will soon rise after the construction of a new airport that can handle long-haul jets. The current airport now takes smaller planes from regional points.

Many protectors of Angkor say the time has come to strictly limit the number of tourists per day, as is done at Spain's Alhambra palace and Peru's Inca citadel Machu Picchu, or to require slippers and severely curtail where visitors can walk.

Starting this past year, only 100 people have been allowed entry into the uppermost section of Angkor Wat at any one time, and they can stay for no longer than 30 minutes. Some wooden walkways have been installed at the most popular temples.

But much of the temples remain free-for-all zones.

"Tourist management at Angkor sucks and they've had 20 years to work on it," Morgan says.

Lemaistre agrees that Angkor's romantic charm has faded — standing alone on the glorious causeway of Angkor Wat is no longer possible — but that all is not yet lost.

"It's very complicated to maintain Angkor's great quality but it must be maintained," she says. "It cannot become a tourist factory. That would be a nightmare."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Associated Press reporter Denis Gray has covered Southeast Asia for more than 30 years and first visited Angkor in 1980.


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