Angkor ‘copy’ raises ire

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken its concerns over a large-scale “copy” of Angkor Wat to be built in Bihar, India – first mooted to a firestorm of controversy in 2012 – directly to the Indian government, asking it to intervene and put a halt to the project.

In a letter sent Saturday to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the government appealed to India to act in order to maintain “historical” diplomatic ties between the two countries.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia considers that this copy of Angkor Wat temple [built] for commercial benefit seriously violates [its] world heritage, which is a universal and exceptional value of humanity,” the letter states.

It continued: “[The Cambodian government] strongly requests that India’s Ministry of External Affairs … reconsiders the planned construction of the Angkor Wat replica in order to preserve the traditional historic relations between the two countries and our people.”

The letter added that the imagery associated with Angkor Wat has been a defining characteristic of Cambodia’s image for centuries, and is even the central design element of the country’s national flag.

The statement was issued after the Cambodian government received a report that the Mahavir Mandir Trust is moving forward with plans to construct the Viraat Ramayan Mandir, a massive Hindu temple complex with striking similarities to Angkor Wat, Cambodia’s most famous and valuable tourist attraction.

Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts Secretary of State Thai Norak Satya yesterday voiced his concern over the potential commercial effect the copy may have for Cambodia.

“I think that the replica temple doesn’t have as much value as our Angkor Wat temple – it’s a listed [UNESCO] World Heritage Site since 1992. It belongs to the people of the world, including India,” he said. “What’s concerning is the commercial effect. People who don’t have money [for travel] will go see the replica temple. But I think many people will still come to see the real temple.”

Speaking to the Post yesterday, Kishore Kunal, who heads the Mahavir Mandir Trust, assured that his company was not creating a replica of Angkor Wat, saying that Cambodia’s famous complex was simply a source of inspiration for the new temple.

“We are using only the architecture of the spire as inspiration,” he said. “Inspiration is also being taken from other temples across India.”

But Kunal added that he has consulted with Cambodian authorities to determine whether or not his temple, which will upon completion be the world’s largest religious monument, is in fact an exact reproduction of Angkor Wat.

“We have asked Cambodia to send architects to see the plans and decide if it’s a replica,” he said.

“They will realise that it’s an improved version of many temples, including Angkor Wat, the Hanuman temple in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, India, and others.”

Kunal added that there is technically no rule against replicating a World Heritage Site, saying that India’s neighbour Bangladesh hosts a replica of India’s iconic Taj Mahal to no one’s apparent dissatisfaction.

“Angkor Wat was a temple [devoted] to the Hindu god Vishnu,” he said. “But our temple will have many Hindu gods, such as Shiva, Ram – an avatar of Vishnu – Hanuman, Ganesh and Vishnu as well.”

Meanwhile, Anne Lemaistre, the head of UNESCO’s Cambodia office, was confident that the Indian replica would “never replace the original Angkor Wat’s authenticity”.

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Understand Bhutan & Survival Guide

I think it is time to put travel to Bhutan into some kind of perspective. During my three week travel to this idyllic country I discovered the place is not all it is hyped up to be. Value for money is extremely poor. Furthermore, service is terrible and there is little understanding of the desires of tourists.

One huge problem is the setup of the entire tourist industry ; tourist agencies book your hotels and restaurants so that there is no true consumer competition between establishments and the places most likely to profit are either those that either offer the guides best service or are the cheapest. Although there is no lack of staff in restaurants, hotels and museums, there are often few people actually working. One of many examples of this is the widespread habit of all meals being buffet based. If you are paying $250 per day and are clearly paying enough staff, I think it is reasonable to expect more than this, especially as there are usually only 5 dishes anyway so for a table of people it is really not a lot of hassle to serve warm fresh dishes instead of luck warm self service. There were many more examples of poor service for example; our three week trip started at the airport in Parowith a luke-warm welcome from our guide who we discovered did not even know all of our names! In any other place in the world if you are spending $15000+ for a private guided tour for a group of 4 you would really expect the guide to be familiar with your names!

Some of my favourite scenes were a bunch of Bhutanese standing around in a museum with no clear role and one westerner busily working on the electrics. Clearly there was little interest to work or to learn in this scene. This is an attitude which is freely admitted by some Bhutanese we meet. Bhutanese are extremely proud people, although this characteristic is one great factor that has allowed them to preserve much of their cultural heritage it is also a huge barrier for development and prosperity of the country. Many of the physical labour jobs are not done by Bhutanese as people there look down on these vocations. For example, all of the road works and much of the building construction, electrics and plumbing is done by Indian labourers. Bhutanese people lack skilled work forces to do these jobs yet there is little interest to acquire these skills as they are looked down upon by Bhutanese.

I would argue there is something foul in a country where even the monks eat meat and yet no animals are butchered due to Buddhist beliefs. All meat you will be served will be imported from India, over terrible roads and without consistent cooling– I am neither a vegetarian or Buddhist or an animal rights fanatic but I can just imagine with disgust the condition where these animals are farmed and thus this setup is disturbing and hypocritical for numerous reasons.

Furthermore, people are a lot less interested/open to foreigners compared to other Asian countries, which is ridiculous when considering how important tourists are for this country. In reality you can do very little without your guide and their constant presence may limit contact with other locals. I found that the best experiences where the few times we managed to slip away from out guide and were invited to a local festival.

Do not go expecting to purchase any souvenirs as the quality is poor and items are overpriced to the point of insult. The best quality items are invariably those imported from India, Nepal or China- but there two are overpriced. Also be aware of always inquiring about prices before you make use if any service. We ended up paying over $40 for one load of laundry. When complaining about this cost the hotel staff wrote down how this cost was created by listing each item and its price individually. We had obviously thought it they would just charge a lump sum or one load of laundry and not over a dollar for each pair of underwear. This was in Bumthang and it is not reasonable that this cost twice what this service would have cost in New York, obviously the overheads are not comparable and there is plenty of labour available as there is no other industry.

We generally like to travel in a way that allows us to visit hospitals, schools and industry. The first two where readily accessible to us which is quite a positive, however, there is no real industry to speak of in Bhutan. We also always make a conscious effort to consume local produce (obviously our attempt of consuming local meat was a shot into the wind), one such product was Panda Beer however, this unfortunately was actually run by a Swiss man who immigrated to Bumthang, and therefore less Bhutanese that expected.

All in all I recommend you reconsider spending your hard earned money on this trip, however if you do decide to travel there avoid using the Bridge to Bhutan travel agency. Our guide was not good and the atmosphere he created was very negative. He chose some pretty bad restaurants and hotels and did not react to our preferences. The two brothers running this company seemed more capable than our guide however, although this is a quite a new company, in a start-up economy they do not find it necessary to take out tours personally. Anywhere else in the world people trying to run a small company would probably be more involved. Would not recommend this agency

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Honeymoon Trip

While weddings are often a mutual effort with family and friends, a romantic trip or you can say “Honeymoon” is often the first big decision you make mutually as a couple. Not all newlyweds take a honeymoon trip just after marriage, but if you can, do so. It’ll facilitate you to recover from the wedding stress and rejuvenate you for few much-needed days alone. Here are some tips to guarantee your dream honeymoon is everything you hope for:

1) Decide on a budget. Does your wallet permit for a night at 5 star hotel accommodations, a round-the-world tour package, or something in between? Before making any final decisions just figure out how much you have to spend and what kind of extra vacation activities such as shopping, movies, sightseeing, long drives etc you want to do during the whole trip.

2) Discuss your idea of the perfect vacation. Who likes sports? Who likes sun? Who likes beaches? Who likes hill stations? Who wants to travel around to exotic destinations? Make a list of the things that mean the most to you. Also discuss it with your partner.

3) Pick your destination. If you’re on a budget, then keep in mind that many places adjust their rates depends upon season. For instance, it’s cheaper to visit the Manali between March to July and Manali resorts that proffer a lot of activities (but no snow) in summer will also be less expensive.

4) Use a travel agent/expert. It doesn’t charge any more, and he can make you understand where you should go on budget romantic tour furthermore he’ll also do all the arrangements without you having to worry about them. A travel expert will also make other travel arrangements such as booking flight tickets at cheapest rates, hotel reservation, car booking for sightseeing, food & Dining and if something goes wrong, at least you’ll have someone you know to call.

5) Let your travel expert aware about you’re honeymooning. People will want to please you more if you’re on a honeymoon trip. You may get upgraded to a superior room at no charge, obtain a welcome bottle of champagne, a well decorated room and bed, special dining facilities such as candle light or beach side dinner and who knows what else.

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Khmer Temple "koh Ker"

koh Ker was once an ancient capital of Cambodia, located in Srayong Cheung village, Srayong commune, Kulen district, about 49 kilometers west of the provincial town. The Koh Ker complex is on the Chhork Koki highland. It was built by King Jayavaraman IV (AD 928-942). Koh Ker temple is 35 meters high, and its design resembles a seven-stepped stupa. The temple faces west toward Angkor city. It was built to worship Treypuvanesvara, the god of happiness.

So far, 96 temples have been found in Koh Ker: Dav, Rumlum Bey, Beung Veng, Trapiang Prey, Dey Chhnang, Srok Srolao, Lingam, Kuk Srakum, Trapiang Ta, Sophy, Krahom, Andoung, Ang Khna, Teuk Krahom, Damrei Sar, Krarab, Banteay Pichoan, Kuk, Kmao, Thneung, Thorn Balang, Rohal, Chamneh, Sampich, Trapiang Svay, Neang Kmao, Pram, Bat, Khnar Chen, Klum, Chrab, Dangtung, Prang, Kampiang.... These temples were not constructed near each other. Today, many of them are no longer standing, and some are buried in the ground. The followings are locations and descriptions of some of the Koh Ker temples:

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Greenland

8 days, 96 km of paddling, and the opportunity to experience a place where not too many people ever set foot.
This is the “Back to the Wild” excursion offered by Greenland Tours.
We were greeted at the airport by one of our two guides (Jón) and he made sure that all was on track with the gear and our tickets. We took off from Reykjavik, Iceland and our journey had begun.

The moment the tour kicked off, Greenland Tours was thinking about us, their customer. For the flight to Kulusuk, they had arranged for seats on the right hand side of the plane to ensure that we are treated to an amazing first view into what is Greenland. We were joined by our second guide (Gaddi) when we landed.
the journey

The tour lasted 8 days from Kulusuk to the Knud Rasmussen glacier, and we camped along the way. This was pure Greenland wilderness (except for one stop at a small town) – there was no wi-fi, no power, and of course, no toilets.
There were only two long kayak days (+20 kms), which took us about five to six hours to paddle. The rest ranged from 8 – 16 kms, and one day we could not kayak at all because the wind had been too strong. Instead, we just enjoyed a day exploring the area by foot, which was not at all a disappointment.by our second guide (Gaddi) when we landed.


There were both double and single kayaks to be used. We rotated such that everyone could get a turn in whichever kayak they preferred. Dalene and I found that we most enjoyed using the double kayak as we could easily focus on our video and photography without falling too far behind.
In all honestly, the paddling was not the heavy endurance test that we thought it would be. The weather, on the other hand, was a bit more of a challenge.

the weather

By the end of our journey, we were just a few kilometers shy of being in the Arctic Circle – we did not expect sunshine the entire way, and we were right. We also paddled through many fjord crossings where the waves can get tricky especially if the weather changes quickly.
A warm front normally sits right over this part of east Greenland – one other group we met that had done it before said that last year they were wearing t-shirts the entire time. We had a couple of days without seeing any sun at all and that did wear on us a bit. But luckily, the rain was never too hard, and the wind only delayed our journey once. Considering where we were, we could hardly be too disappointed. The dry suits given to us worked as intended, and on land we dressed appropriately and were never too cold.

The guides

It was evident from the very first meeting with Jón and Gaddi that there were two main objectives for our trip: one, that we are safe, and two, that we enjoyed ourselves. And not only were the guides in constant communication with each other, but with all of us. Each morning we would have a briefing to explain the day’s itinerary, the weather forecast, any potential challenges or dangers of where we were heading, and to answer any questions we may have had. Jón also was tasked with the responsibility of making using the GPS tracking button whenever we were ashore to assure the people in the Greenland Tours office that our crew had safely landed.

overall

I am writing this a couple of weeks after the completion of the journey and I have to say – the more that I think about it and reflect on our time in Greenland, the more appreciative I am of what an unforgettable experience it was in an unforgettable setting. Greenland Tours ensured that we were always safe, and that this trip was everything that we expected, and far more. The guides were professional, diligent and fun to be around; the kayaking was challenging but not overwhelming (some on this trip were beginners), and the views around Greenland were incredible. We would never hesitate to recommend this tour to anyone, and it will fondly be remembered as one of the highlights of all our travels.

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Mondul Kiri Province the bast destination

To the south of Rattanak Kiri is Mondul Kiri, the most sparsely populated province in Cambodia, despite being the largest in land area. This province is known for its thickly-forested hills, verdant landscapes, and cascading waterfalls. Its capital is Sen Monorom.

Though remote, Mondul Kiri will awe visitors who make the trip with its otherworldly tranquility and beauty. To truly appreciate this province, one should arrange for a trek (or an elephant ride!) through the area's lush jungles to enjoy unspoiled scenery and the bracing fresh air, not to mention some of the country's most spectacular waterfalls. Few visitors will pass up the chance to soak in the rare and dramatic beauty of a waterfall tucked in the thick of the Mondul Kiri jungle.

Mondul Kiri also offers a handful of unforgettable cultural attractions. Many visitors enjoy a stop at the Phnong minority villages where they can observe the rich culture belonging to local hill tribes. There are even opportunities to experience cultural community life on the edges of the forest through ‘home stay’ arrangements in the corridor zone of Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and the Mondul Kiri Protected Forest.

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Koh Rong has “Asia’s Best Beaches”

International business magazine Forbes has recognised three pristine Cambodian beaches ? including Koh Rong ? in its ranking of ?Asia?s Best Beaches?.

each in Sihanoukville, nearby Ream Beach in Prey Nop, and the sands of Koh Rong, an idyllic island just 30 minutes off the Cambodian coast which is being developed as the region?s first environmentally planned resort island.

The Koh Rong archipelago is already setting the benchmark for luxury tourism off Cambodia?s coast. On a nearby island, Song Saa Resort is on schedule to open next year as Cambodia?s first international quality resort. The exclusive private island resort is being developed by Brocon Investment Co., Ltd. It comprises 14 one and two-bedroom residential villas, with facilities including a 5-star ?over water? restaurant and bar, swimming pool, spa & wellness center, yoga & meditation center and water sports center.

Although largely unknown to international tourism, Cambodia?s 443 kilometre coastline is studded with ?paradise? islands bordering Thailand to the north and Vietnam to the south. It is being touted as the ?next Asian Riviera? to rival Phuket and Koh Samui.

Tourism in Cambodia has developed strongly over the past decade, reaching 2.16 million last year, but by far the main attraction is Angkor Wat. Unlike neighboring Thailand, where most tourism concentrates around beach resorts, a mere 7.7 per cent of Cambodia?s tourism is so far ?coastal?. Visitors to Cambodia tend to combine Angkor Wat with a beach holiday elsewhere in Asia, overlooking the unspoiled beauty of the country?s undeveloped coast.

Behind the visionary plan is one of Cambodia?s largest business, property and infrastructure conglomerates, The Royal Group. Headed by prominent tycoons Kith Meng, The Royal Group has been granted a 99-year lease by the Cambodian government to develop the island.

A team of leading international consultants has started realizing the vision ? with a Master Plan nearing completion by MAP Architects of Hong Kong, in consultation with world renowned environmental and airport consultants Scott Wilson.

Leading international property firm CB Richard Ellis is adviser and sole agent driving the marketing campaign targeting international tourism infrastructure developers and operators. ?The main focus is on developers with plans for exclusive, environmentally sensitive tourism projects,? said David Simister, Chairman, CB Richard Ellis Thailand and Indochina.

Development of the Koh Rong as ?Asia?s first environmentally planned resort island? for high-end tourism is now gathering pace, and was featured by Property Report South East Asia in its July 2010 edition.

International investors snapped-up the villas at Song Saa ahead of completion, and Si mister said: ?Song Saa is the first project to target foreign buyers and its runaway success indicates the interest in this area. The Koh Rong story is similar to that of Samui and Phuket 20 years ago. It is one of the last undiscovered paradises in South East Asia.?

Rory Hunter, Chairman of Brocon Investment Co., Ltd. said: ?The launch of Song Saa Island Resort has put Cambodia on the global map and paves the way for future developments in the area.?

Bart Kluskens, a conservation adviser for Song Saa Resort and a member of the panel consulted for the Forbes list, said:  ?The further you go from the mainland, the more and more beautiful the beaches are.?

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