Where to stay in Rattanakiri Province

Terres Rouge Lodge: "The lodge is very charming, beatifully situated at the lake at the border of the small town Ban Lung", notes uhu55 on tripadvisor.com. And this is only one of very good reviews, although some hint at missing mosquito nets. Terres Rouge Lodge is a combination of a Cambodian villa and luxurious bungalows in the middle of an exotic garden. The house was originally the old governor's mansion. See video by travelswithseila.

Picture by ethan.crowley

Growing Chinese Influence in Cambodia: Helicopters and training for the army and a railway deal

China's People Liberation Army and Cambodias ministry of defence have signed a contract to train the Cambodian army and to supply Phnom Penh with new and updated weapons, starting with 12 helicopters, as Bangkok Post reports.

China has been increasingly active in military and economic affairs in Cambodia during the past several years. In 2012, Chinese companies have promised to invest 8 billion US Dollars in Cambodia, the equivalent to almost two-thirds of Cambodias entire economy. According to the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) China is now by far the biggest foreign investor in Cambodia. On its website, the Council shows that in 2011 Cambodia attracted $1.15 billion in Chinese investments, with an increase of 71 percent from $694 million a year earlier. From 1994 to 2011, Chinese investments totaled $8.866 billion dollars notes asiancorrespondent.com.

On January 23 top officials of the Chinese government's railways ministry signed a deal in Phnom Penh to design, fund and build a new seaport and 404 km railway from Preah Vihear to the island Koh Kong. The railway will follow the eastern border of Thailand with Cambodia. This is part of a US$11.2 billion project, which includes the seaport, a steel mill and a 400-kilometre cross-country rail line linking the two. This is worth nearly 90% of Cambodia’s current gross domestic product, as www.chinadialogue.net underlines.

In January Cambodia inaugurated a new container terminal of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, turning the port as a large hub for logistics supply and goods collection and distribution. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Pan Guangxue. The construction of the 10-hectare terminal was begun in March 2011 by Shanghai Construction (Group) General Company with a soft loan of 28.2 million U.S. dollars financed by the Government of China, Hun Sen said at the event according to news.xinhuanet.com. The terminal is located along the Mekong River in Kean Svay district, about 30 kilometers east of capital Phnom Penh.


Read more:
Growing Chinese influence in Cambodia: A railway from Preah Vihear, a steel plant and a seaport in Koh Kong

Hotels and Guesthouse in Phnom Penh - and your reviews

See the locations on Phnom Penh Hotels and Guesthouses Google Map


Governor’s House: From 68 USD. Villa 3, Street Mao Tse Tung, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kong I. Just 12 rooms in a property built in 1990 as the home of a local senator, now a boutique hotel under the ownership of Belgian designer Alain Garnier. Each room is named for a historical figure or celebrity, from which it takes its decorative elements: For instance, the Hemingway room has brass furnishings and a sturdy wooden desk. Framed black-and-white pictures of Marilyn Monroe define the The Marilyn and The Sean room, which also benefits from an outdoor balcony overlooking the pool. Read the review by Scene Asia. Quite good reviews on tripadvisor.com.


The Plantation: In a renovated 1930s building.
Located behind the Royal Palace, with two pools. See picture by Crooka.


The Willow Boutique Hotel: Family-run boutique inn with seven rooms.


Hotels andd Guesthouses outside of Phnom Phenh

Farmhouse Resort and Spa:

Growing Chinese influence in Cambodia:A railway from Preah Vihear, a steel plant and a seaport in Koh Kong

Picture by Pigalle
Waiting for better times: Phnom Phenh Railway Station

Chinese investments in new railways in Southeast Asia are going on. Will the Chinese build a highspeed railway from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and to Nong Khai? That's what we asked here in December, when we also wrote about railway projects in Laos financed by Chinese loans. Now there is a new project in Cambodia for a railway from Preah Vihear province in the northeast to Koh Kong province in the southwest. The Cambodia Iron and Steel Mining Industry Group and the China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to build this 404-kilometer railway - and also a seaport in Koh Kong. The railway will run through the provinces of Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu and Koh Kong, while the seaport will be capable to handle about 50 million tons of goods a year according to globaltimes.cn.

The project shall begin on July 2013 and is expected to be completed within 4 years, said the companies. The reason: Cambodia Iron and Steel Mining Industry is set to build a steel plant in Preah Vihear, which has been found rich in iron ore. It is a Chinese firm based in Phnom Penh and established in 2006. The rail link and port would cost $9.6 billion and the steel plant $1.6 billion, notes reuters.com.

What is a contrast to these big sums: The correspondent of Reuters found in the companys headquartier in Phnom Penh "four Chinese labourers in flip-flops eating lunch" and a chairman, who was unable to say "where the billions of dollars for the Cambodian rail, steel and port projects would come from".

Phnom Penh Post adds, that there are plans to Export steel and iron to Thailand and Vietnam and that also passangers will be transported by the railway. But The Cambodia Daily notes, that Cambodias minister of transport Tram Iv Tek said: “I don’t know what the companies will do. Let’s wait and see all together (...) “If they can really do it, it will help Cambodia’s economy a lot.” The Cambodia Daily quotes also Environment Minister Mok Mareth Saying that an environmental impact assessment has not yet been submitted for the project. And according to the Preah Vihear provincial industry, mines and energy office, "the company currently holds a license to explore for iron ore, but not to dig a mine".

In May 2007 the Associated Press had reported from Shanghai that four giant state-owned Chinese steel firms — Wuhan Iron and Steel, Baosteel Group, Anshan Iron and Steel Group and Shougang Iron and Steel — had joined to explore for iron ore in Preah Vihear to address China’s lack of control over its steel supply. In the last days the plans in Cambodia were widely reported by Chinese media like the news agency Xinhua.

But doubts remain: "Chinese Plan to Invest in Cambodia Is Big, but Vague", write Andrew R. C. Marshall and Prak Chan Thul for Reuters.



And the revival of the railway from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville



End of December 2012 a railway line from Phnom Penh to the port of Sihanoukville has started temporary operations. Tram Iv Tek, minister of Public Works and Transportation, said according to Phnom Phenh Post the Toll Royal Railway company received a 30-year contract from the Cambodian government to restore and maintain the line. "He said operation of the new railway was not yet official because some technical improvements were necessary, but the train was able to run at about 60 kilometres an hour." So on this day End of December a train loaded with empty cargo containers left Phnom Phenh station. David Kerr, chief executive of Toll Royal Railways, the line’s operator, said to The Cambodia Daily "that once permission from the customs department has been obtained, hopefully this week, trains could carry up to 128 containers, which are about 6 meters long". For the moment it is unclear, when a passenger train operation will start.
This project has received $141.6 million of funding, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has provided an $84 million loan for the plan. The project involves also a 337-km Northern line from Phnom Penh to Poipet City on the Thai border. But for the moment it's unclear, if there will be enough money to rivive this railway line.


Read also:
Will the Chinese build a highspeed railway from Bangkok to
Chiang Mai and to Nong Khai?
Briefing Paper: The Chinese North - South Railway Project by equitable cambodia.

Pamper your body in Siem Reap

See the locations on Siem Reap Massage and Spa Google Map

Picture by Joe Hardesty

If you have not tried the Fish Spa until now you should do. It's a good cleaning of the skin. And the fish in the basin are not Piranhas! You will discover Fish Spas in Pub Street and near the Old Market.
But more relaxation you will get from a Khmer Massage: Head, shoulder, legs, feet or full body - what you like. If compared to Thai massage the Khmer massage is much gentler, much more soothing.

Amansara Spa: No 262, Krom 8. Their massage therapists provide a long list of Southeast Asian massages. And you can enjoy traditional Khmer meals prepared by the Spa’s chef.

Bodia Spa: At Heritage Suites Hotel behind Wat Polanka and at Old Market (Phsa Chas) above U-Care Pharmacy. With masseurs and masseuses. Good reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Bodytune: 2 Thnou Street, Old Market area. Traditional Thai Massage as well as "Harmony Plus": an ancient combination of Reflexology aimed at loosening tension in your legs and feet, and Traditional Thai technique that will take away fatigue in your shoulders, back and head.

Frangipani Spa: 617 Hup Guan Street. Pre massage specials like Khmer Coffee and Kampot pepper scrubs. Tropical Massage focuses on the pressure points and stretching techniques associated with Thai massage. Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Lemongrass Garden Massage and Beauty Spa: 7 Sivatha Road. They provide Khmer Massage as well as "Spiritual" Massage. What's this? For example "30 minutes Head & Shoulder Massage, then 1 hour Relaxing Khmer Massage". Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Seeing Hands Massage 4: 324 Sivatha Street. Blind people are trained here in the art of massage. Some reviewers on tripadvisor.com found the massage too strong. Read the story on massagemag.com.

Visaya Spa & Pool: At the Foreign Correspondent Club Angkor. Herbal bath and aromatherapy.


And more massage shops:

S.O.Angkor Khmer Massage & Spa: 666 Street No.6


Read more:

Hotels and Guesthouses in Siem Reap – and your reviews

Mouthwatering food in Siem Reap: Reviews of restaurants.

Angkor Archeological Park : The incredible remains of the Khmer kingdom

Magical Tonle Sap Lake: Living on the water and with the nature

The best dance performances in Siem Reap: What are you looking for?

See the locations on Siem Reap and Angkor Wat Google Map


Picture by Peter Nijenhuis
A traditional dance performance that was previously practised in the royal palaces.


You ask: Where can I see the best Apsara dance performance in Siem Reap? I ask you: What exactly do you mean? Is it the best show for tourists? Is it the best interpretation of classical Khmer dance? Are you looking for the Royal Cambodian Ballet?

Shows for tourists: There are cheap opportunities. Go to The Temple on Pub Street and enjoy free Apsara dances (from 19.30 pm till 21.30 pm) while you enjoy your drink.

Alliance Café: 7 Makara Street, Wat Damnak area. Shadow puppetry, traditional Apsara dance andvillage dances are shown with a dinner every Saturday from 20.00 pm till 21 pm.

Apsara Theatre: Traditional dance performances (Apsaras Ballet, Fishermen’s dance, Mekhala, Coconut dance and Reamker with Khmer orchestra). Apsara Theatre is "a class apart, set in a striking wooden pavilion finished in the style of a wat, which plays host to one of the more renowned troupes around town", notes lonelyplanet.com. See video by Michounet1947. Quite good reviews on tripadvisor.com. Daily from 20.00 pm till 21.30 pm during main season. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on low season.

Picture by dalbera

La Résidence d’Angkor: On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays guests have the opportunity to watch traditional Khmer Dance Performances from 20.15 pm till 21.00 pm.

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor: In the gardens of the hotel The Apsara Terrace restaurant is surrounded by traditional Cambodian boundary stones and wooden gates at the entrance. Here residents and guests gather to enjoy a majestic performance of classical Khmer dances and Bokator Khmer martial arts Monday, Wednesday and Friday at7.45 pm.

Smile of Angkor: A big show with laser and 3D around the smile of Angkor. "Smile of Angkor is the first grand epic performance in Southeast Asia. From foundation to prosperity, tale to folk custom, past to present, it revives all the myths depicted in the Angkor temple reliefs, with original culture expressing all aspects of the Angkor dynasty", writes The Phnom Penh Post. At 7.15 pm.


Picture by The Shifted Librarian
Golden Mermaid Dance


And what is the background of these shows? "In Cambodia the Ramayana is better known in Khmer as Reamker. A Reamker performance can go on for hours and hours, so usually only an abreviated version of it is performed", notes Angkorlad on tripadvisor.com, who has attended outdoor performances at Wat Bo.

"There are four main modern genres of traditional Khmer dance", adds canbypublications.com: . Classical Dance, also known as Court or Palatine Dance (lakhon preah reach troap or lakhon luong). "Classical dance, including the famous 'Apsara dance,' has a grounded, subtle, even restrained, yet feather-light, ethereal appearance. Distinct in its ornate costuming, taut posture, arched back and feet, fingers flexed backwards, codified facial expressions, slow, close, deliberate but flowing movements, Classical dance is uniquely Khmer. It presents themes and stories inspired primarily by the Reamker (the Cambodian version of the Ramayana) and the Age of Angkor", describes canbypublications.com.
. Shadow theater (sbeik thom and sbeik toot)
. Lakhon Khol (all-male masked dance-drama.)
. Folk Dance (Ceremonial and Theatrical).

These dances have been revived in the 1980s and 90s due to extraordinary efforts of Princess Bopha Devi, the daughter of Norodom Sihanouk and a half-sibling of current King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni. Her grandmother, Queen Sisowath Kossamak, had chosen her to become a dancer, when she was very young. She then toured the world as the principal dancer of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. Under the brutal repression of Khmer Rouge regime (late 1970s) 90 percent of all Cambodian classical artists were killed. Those who did survive formed groups to revive their traditions. Khmer classical dance training was established also in the refugee camps in eastern Thailand.

Read more on guardian.co.uk: Cambodia's art of survival and on nytimes.com: How Dances Defied Death In Cambodia. Read also this blog: Cambodia Dance with a lot of comments.



Read more:

Hotels and Guesthouses in Siem Reap – and your reviews

Mouthwatering food in Siem Reap: Reviews of restaurants.

Angkor Archeological Park : The incredible remains of the Khmer kingdom

Magical Tonle Sap Lake: Living on the water and with the nature

The Cardamom Mountains: Have Forest Have Life - and the Dead of Chut Wutty

"Have Forest Have Life" is a documentary about biodiversity issues in the Cardamom forest region of Cambodia, produced by Camerado SE Asia for WildAid (now Wildlife Alliance), Conservation International, and Fauna and Flora International. See the movie:



The Cardamom Mountain rain forests are considered by some to be one of the most species-rich and intact natural habitats in the region, but they are also one of the least explored, writes worldwidelife.org. The Cardamom Mountains Rain Forests ecoregion sits astride the Cardamom Mountains (locally known as Kravanh) and the Elephant Range (locally known as Dom rei) in southwestern Cambodia and extends slightly across the border into southeastern Thailand. The mountain range rises from sea level to more than 1,500 m to intercept and extract the moisture from the monsoon winds. The orientation of their topography along the Gulf of Thailand produces unusually wet conditions of 3,000-4,000 mm annual rainfall on the southwestern slopes of these ranges, and only a short dry season occurs. The mean annual rainfall total exceeds 5,000 mm in the Emerald Valley near Bokor in the Elephant Range, whereas Kirirom, more distant from the coast in this range, receives about 2,000 mm annually. Also included in the ecoregion is Phnom Aural (1,813 m), the highest point in Cambodia.

The ecoregion is considered to harbor more than 100 mammal species. See a video of a mammal population licking salt deep in the forested mountains.

The elephant population in the Cardamom and Elephant ranges is widely considered to be the most important in Cambodia and among the largest in Indochina, writes worldwildlife.org.

The Phnom Aural and Phnom Samkos wildlife sanctuaries in the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia were established by Royal Decree in 1993. See a map of Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary and read more about the sanctuary. See a video about the Sanctuary:


Read, what birs you find in the Important Bird Area of Phnom Sakos on birdlife.org.
Read about reptiles research by Thy Neang.

See the Buffalo Eye Fungus und read about it.


See the discovered Cambodian kukri snake.

Cambodian environmental activist Chut Wutty, who fought against illegal logging, has been shot in the Cardamom Mountains in 2012. His contribution to the conservation of the Cardamom Mountains and its wildlife was critical, writes Ally Catterick. Read his story on Phnom Penh Post. On the day that Chut Wutty died, he was travelling from Pursat to Koh Kong on a new road constructed by the China-Yunnan Corporation, as part of its development of the Atai Dam, located in the Central Cardamoms Protected Forest, writes Sarah Milne. And she continues: "Since 2009, when construction of the Atai Dam began, the trafficking of rosewood in the northern Cardamom Mountains has been rampant. It appears that tens of millions of dollars of timber have been extracted from the area so far, under the auspices of the MDS Import Export Company. This well-connected Cambodian company was originally contracted only to clear forest from the Atai dam reservoir area, but its logging activities have been widespread and systematic." The investigation into the death of Chut Wutty has been dropped by a local judge, writes The Cambodia Daily.

The drug Ecstasy is coming from these forests. Safrole oil is taken from rare species of trees and is used as the starting material for the illegal production of the drug. Sources of Sassafras oil are now becoming more and more difficult to find both due to the more strict control on the illicit use of the product and, even more importantly, in order to prevent massive deforestation of tropical forests. China, Brazil and Vietnam, the three main historical producers of Sassafras oil, have now banned harvest of the trees, writes www4.ncsu.edu/~rjdoming/. So the production moved to Cambodia, namely in the Cardamom Mountains controlled by the Khmer rouge. In 2005 the Cambodian government also banned harvesting of Sassafras trees. Deep in the Cardamom Mountains and Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary in western Cambodia clandestine factories are distilling safrole oil to be used for the production of ecstasy. As a result there is a growing price being paid by the local environment. Trees containing the viscous, fragrant, safrole oil are cut down during the manufacturing process. Read more by Robert Jonathan Dominguez, a senior at North Carolina State University. Read also Ecstasy: No Party for Cambodia's Forests.

NH48 is a very rough road going from Koh Kong through the wild Cardamoms to Pailin and Battambang, it passes mountain towns such as Veal Veng, O Som (there’s a ranger station) and Promoui. "It should be attempted only in the dry season by dirt bikers with oodles of off-road experience", writes lonelyplanet.com.

Where you stay and treck in the southern Cardamom Mountains: ecoadventure.cambodia.com. Read Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, full of secrets by Washington Post. Tours are offered by mekong-travel.com. Se also Cardamom Mountain Resort. Read more about Chi Phat commune and Rainbow Lodge. And a Cycling Trip across Cardamom Mountains.


Picture by -AX- O Som Village

Picture by -AX- Dam under construction near Mondol Seima in 2011

Picture by Carsten Dohrmann Saom River near Srae Ambel