This guide helps you to discover the treasures of Cambodia, especially Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat. It collects tipps by insiders and offers links to Google Maps as well as reviews of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants by other guests.
Not very many tourists have visited Dara Sakor Resort so far
When completed next year, Dara Sakor International Airport will boast the longest runway in Cambodia. Nearby workers are clearing trees from a national park to make way for a port deep enough to host naval ships, reports The New York Times. What is going on?
The Chinese company building the airstrip and port says the facilities are for civilian use according to New York Times. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen denies that he is letting China’s military set up in Cambodia. Instead, his government claims that a global logistics hub will be developped in Dara Sakor. But a local fisherman told the New York Times reporter, that officials from the Ministry of Land Management had informed him, that his home would be demolished to make way for a “military port built by the Chinese.” His land is part of the 110,000-acre Dara Sakor concession leased more than a decade ago to the Chinese company Union Development Group - with 20 percent of Cambodias coastline. The since then constructed Dara Sakor resort and Koh Kong Casino have seen little tourism according to the New York Times. Less than 50 miles from Dara Sakor, another nearly empty Chinese-built development rises from another national park, the Sealong Bay International Beach Resort - just in the neighbourhood of Ream Naval Base. Satellite images from the European Space Agency show that the runway for the airport is far longer than is required for civilian aircraft, South China Morning Post has reported. Zhang Gaoli, the former vice-premier of China and chairman of the leading group for Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, backed the project from the beginning, presiding over the signing of the agreement between Union Development Group and Cambodia, while he was the mayor of Tianjin. According to registration records, Union Development group is a subsidiary of Tianjin Wanlong Group, a Chinese property developer.
Dara Sakor is called a "model project" of Chinas Belt and Road initiative by MCC Singapore. But Reuters reported that Work began in 2008 - long before the Belt and Road initiative was launched in 2013 by China’s President Xi Jinping.
Dr. Beat Richner (71), who has saved so many lives in Cambodia, has died in Switzerland today. He had to return to Switzerland in spring 2017 due to a severe malady. Due to his illness, he has lost his memory. He even could not remember his work in Cambodia in the last weeks of his live. But the Cambodian people will remember him forever. His foundation in Switzerland announces that they will go on with organizing suppport for the children hospitals in Cambodia.
Post from 1.12.2012
Every Saturday, at 7.15 pm and sometimes also every Thursday at 7.15 pm at Jayavarman VII Hospital in Siem Reap, on the way from the town to Angkor Wat: Swiss doctor Beat Richner - he calls himself Beatocello - plays Bach on the cello and speaks about the activities of the five children's hospitals in Cambodia, which he has founded and where the access to treatment and medicine is free. And he shows the film "L'ombrello di Beatocello" about 20 years of work for justice in Cambodia.
Justice? Yes, according to Beat Richner there is no justice, if children in Cambodia do not have access to medicine, because it is too expensive for example for cambodian farmers, who earn less than 300 dollars a year. And for Richner there is no justice, if the Cambodian children are not allowed to have the same quality of medicine treatment as children for example in Switzerland. Richner critizises the World Health Organization (WHO) because they don't allow the poors in the pour countries to get the same quality of medicine care as the children in the rich countries.
And by listening to Richner you learn, that more than sixty percent of people in Cambodia are infected by Tuberculosis. Because so many people were in the 300 prisons and concentration camps during the regime of the Khmer Rouge. And prisons are a basis for Tuberculosis. But Richner talks not only, he plays the music. And his playing on the cello is one of the main sources for money for his hospitals, for donations. And only a small part of the money (annual running costs of 40 Million dollars now in 2012, 2400 people working in the hospitals) come form governments as the Cambodian and the Swiss government. And with this every day around 400 children can enter the hospital.
After you have heard all this, you will be moved and understand, why Richner says: "If there is no justice there will be no peace". And then he will invite you to make blood or money donations. And here you can make donations also.
Beat Richner is now more than 65 years old. He will not be able in the future to play in the money with his cello. So he tries now to involve more countries to invest money into the future of the children of Cambodia. He hopes, that also the Chinese government will give Cambodia money to give to the hospitals. And it may be a good sign, that the Chinese Ambassador in Cambodia was listening to Beatocello just the same evening in November 2012, when the author of this blog was listening too.
Picture by
Jean-Pierre Dalbéra
Below the jungle of Phnom Kulen a big suprise: Mahendraparvata - a city as big as Phnom Penh
Many secrets still surround the famous temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom in Cambodia, the Khmer empire and its decline. They are hard to uncover by archeologists, as in the Khmer world masonry was used almost only for the construction of religous monuments, whereas urban structures around the temples, even the royal places of Angkorian kings, were made of earth, wood and thatch. Not much has remained of these structures.
Therefore the surprise was big, when The Guardian revealed in June 2016, that Archaeologists have found "multiple, previously undocumented medieval cities not far from the ancient temple city of Angkor Wat". Only two days later the Australian archaeologist Damian Evans, director of the University of Sydney's archaeological research centre in Cambodia, published his findings in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
To be exact: Surprising was how big these cities seemed to have been. Evans and his team were able to map them, due to a laser based technology called Lidar: by scanning vast areas from airplanes with laser. Lidar works by firing rapid laser pulses at the ground, measuring the time it takes for each pulse to bounce back. This method revealed multiple cities between 900 and 1,400 years old below the tropical forest floor. The Khmer Archaeology Lidar Consortium has revealed the surface of an area of 370 square kilometres.
Known so far: Elephants in the jungle at Srah Damrei and Damrei Krap
The first discoveries had been published in 2013, after the first flights with Lidar hat been analyzed. Then Evans and his team announced that they had uncovered a complex urban landscape connecting medieval temple-cities, such as Beng Mealea and Koh Ker, to Angkor. It was confirmed what archaeologists had long suspected: that there was a city beneath Mount Kulen, hidden under villages,
rice fields, grasslands and the jungle. On the slopes of Phnom Kulen ("Litchi mountain"), a sandstone plateau 40 kilometres northeast of Angkor Wat, so far isolated ruins in the jungle, about ten temples, and ancient inscriptions simple and relatively small basic brick towers, massive statues of elephants and lions at Srah Damrei ("Elephant Pond") and a moss-covered elephant at Damrei Krap ("Kneeling Elephant"), and carvings of lingas on the bottom of the streams had been discovered. These were the remains of the ancient royal capital Mahendraparvata ("Mountain of the Great Indra").
Picture by Gareth Bogdanoff
Already famous: Lingas in a stream at Phnom Kulen. Now part of a bigger picture.
For centuries pilgrims have come to the mountain of Phnom Kulen, that was considered a holy place. It was here, where King Jayavarman II founded the Khmer empire be declaring it independent from Java and where he was declared Chakravartin (“ruler of the Khmer world”). From here he let build his capital near where Angkor Wat stands today. But Evans research showed, that Mahendraparvata was built before the reign of Jayavarman. "This is where it all began, giving rise to the Angkor civilisation that everyone associates with Angkor Wat," Evans said. The scan with Lidar showed a complex urban landscape connecting medieval temple-cities, such as Beng Mealea and Koh Ker, to Angkor. Highways – the largest one 60 meters wide and eight kilometers long – ran through Mahendraparvata, which had a massive pyramid at its center.
During the last year the search with Lidar was extended. This showed, that only a part of Mahendraparvata had been discovered before. So today Evans says: "This time we got the whole deal and it’s big, the size of Phnom Penh big." Mahendraparvata was sprawling over dozens of square kilometres.
Vast city structures were found at Preah Khan of Kompong Svay as well. Lidar allowed to document a larger urban network, a grid of main and secondary roads linking temples, dikes, reservoirs, channels and human settlements. So far two dozens unknown temple sites were discovered. The village of Anlong Thom lies in the middle of this big city - none of the around 1200 villagers has known it. The expedition team has dated Mahendraparvata's origins to 802 AD. Mahendraparvata predates Angkor Wat by about 350 years.
There have been many reactions after these findings so far. Michael Coe, emeritus professor of anthropology at Yale University, was quoted: "I think that these airborne laser discoveries mark the greatest advance in the past 50 or even 100 years of our knowledge of Angkorian civilisation.” Peter Sharrock, who is on the south-east Asian board at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies, said: "This urban and rural landscape, linked by road and canal networks, now seems to have constituted the largest empire on earth in the 12th century.”
Parts of the history of the world have to been rewritten after these findings in South East Asia. And the mystery, why and how the Khmer empire later collapsed, remains and has become even bigger.
Pre Rup រាសាទប្រែរូប: The temple moubtain was built as the state temple of Khmer king Rajendravarman I and dedicated in 961 or early 962. The name Pre Rup ("turn the body") reflects a ritual at funerals: the ashes of the body are rotated in different directions.
Picture by Ashley
This north east view from the top shows the temple grounds. The towers at the entry are later additions, possibly in Jayavarman V's reign.
Picture by Ashley
The lintel on the tower shows Indra on a single-headed Airavata (the five-headed divine elephant).
Pre Rup is located just south of the East Baray, aligned on a north-south axis with the East Mebon temple. Pre Rup's laterite and brick materials give it a pleasing reddish tone, more intensive in early morning and late afternoon sunlight. The temple has a square lay-out and two perimeter walls. The outer enclosure is a platform bounded by a laterite wall. You enter by a laterite causeway from the east. The four external gopuras are cross-shaped, having a central brick section (consisting of three rooms flanked by two independent passageways) and a sandstone vestibule on both sides. To either side inside the eastern gate is a group of three towers aligned north to south. Further ahead, through another gate, libraries lie to either side of the walkway on the second platform. Long galleries are running along at each side. The final squared pyramid, measuring 50 m at its base, rises in three steep tiers a dozen metres in height to a 35 m square platform at the summit. The lowest tier is surrounded by 12 small shrines. At the top you discover five towers, one at each corner of the square and one in the center. Deities carved as bas-reliefs are guards at either side of the central tower’s eastern door. The southwest tower once contained a statue of Lakshmi, the northwest tower a statue of Uma, the southeast tower a statue of Vishnu and the northeast tower a statue of Shiva. The last one has an inscription on doorjambs that dates from Jayavarman VI and is the only proof of his reign at Angkor.
Prasat Bakong ប្រាសាទបាគង: The first temple mountain of sandstone constructed by the rulers of the Khmer empire and dedicated to Shiva in 881. 900 metres x 700 metres in size, Bakong includes two moats and three concentric enclosures. The pyramid is almost square (65m x 67m), and was reconstructed in the 1930's by Maurice Glaize. In the 9th century AD it served as the official state temple of King Indravarman I in the city of Hariharalaya, located in an area that today is called Roluos. There is a striking similarity of the Bakong and Borobudur temple in Java, for example if you look at the gateways and stairs to the upper terraces. The five tiers of Bakong symbolise Mount Meru, the mythical abode of the gods.
Picture by Ashley
The Bakong temple at Roluos rises in four stages, and the first three have stone elephants at each corner. Eight brick towers can be seen from the lotus-shaped tower, at top, presumably a replacement for the original square crown. Some of the lintel work in Bakong's buildings survive but most of the sandstone decorations have been destroyed. Fallen stonework remains at the base, waiting to be restored.
Preah Ko ប្រាសាទព្រះគោ: Nearby Prasat Bakong you find Preah Ko ("The Sacred Bull"), the first temple built in Hariharalaya. The temple was built under the Khmer King Indravarman I in 879 to honor members of the king's family,
Almost all of the buildings and galleries are in ruins. The six towers are based on a sandstone platform with three sets of steps, each guarded by a pair of lions. Three statues of the kneeling bull Nandi face the temple. Figures and lintels are carved out of sandstone, and include kala, mythical creatures with large mouths and bulging eyes; makara, sea creatures with trunk-like snouts and Garuda (Vishnu's eagle mount).
Prasat Lolei រាសាទលលៃ: Lolei was part of the city of Hariharalaya. In 893 king Yasovarman I dedicated it to Shiva and to members of the royal family. Lolei was located on an island slightly north of centre in the now dry Indratataka baray. Lolei consists of four brick temple towers grouped together on a terrace. Originally the towers were enclosed by an outer wall access through which was through a gopura, but neither wall nor gopura have survived to the present. Today, the temple is next to a monastery. The towers are known for their decorative elements, including false doors, their carved lintels, and their carved devatas and dvarapalas. You can see the sky-god Indra mounted on the elephant Airavata, serpent-like monsters called makaras and multi-headed nagas.
The Phnom Kulen plateau lies some 48 km north of Siem Reap and is formed of sandstone. Phnom Kulen National Park was founded to protect the area. Phnom Kulen is considered a holy mountain by Hindus and Buddhists who come as pilgrims. It was at Phnom Kulen that King Jayavarman II proclaimed independence from Java in 804 CE. He was the founder of the Khmer Empire. During the Angkorian era the relief was known as Mahendraparvata (the mountain of Great Indra).
Kbal Spean is known for its carvings representing fertility. Just 5 cm under the water's surface over 1000 small linga carvings are carved into the sandstone riverbed.
Picture by Prerit
At Kbal Spean you find a series of relief carvings in sandstone formations of the river bed and banks
The waters are regarded as holy, the legend says that Jayavarman II bathed in the river and had the river diverted so that the stone bed could be carved. You find depictions of the gods Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Lakshmi, Rama, and Hanuman as well as animals (cows and frogs).
Picture by dalbera
Lord Vishnu in a reclining repose lying on the serpent god Ananta, with Goddess Lakshmi at his feet and Lord Brahma on a lotus petal.
Picture by BluesyPete
A grid pattern layout with the channel flowing out represents Yoni
Preah Ang Thom Pagoda ពរះអង្គធំ with the reclining Buddha: A staircase leads up to the Buddhist monastery founded in the 16th century. The reclining Buddha was carved into a sandstone boulder and is eight metres high. The view from the 487m peak is great. There are also two large Cham Pa trees nearby.
Angelina Jolie Pitt will start filming her adaptation of memoir "First They Killed My Father" in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from mid-November, reports KFTV. The film is based on story of how Cambodian author and human rights activist Laung Ung survived the brutality of the Khmer Rouge regime, which seized power in Cambodia in 1975. Ung was forced to become a child soldier. Ung has written three books and is working on her first novel.
Filming will run through to the end of January. Jolie will be filming for Netflix. The film will be co-produced by Oscar-nominated Cambodian director Rithy Panh (The Missing Picture, The Sea Wall), as Phnom Penh Post adds. Read about the final preparations.
Angelina Jolie has founded the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation in 2003, a Cambodia-based NGO that focuses on environmental conservation and rural poverty, mostly in the northwest of the Kingdom. The Battambang-based group has several ongoing projects, addressing issues ranging from female empowerment to elephant protection. Recently, the group uncovered an illegal logging project near the O’Tavao Waterfall in Pailin province.
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