#Cambodia - The once deserted beach turning into a popular tourist attraction

With its long white sand beach and wooden bridge leading to a straw hut above the water, Ta Barang (translated as French grandpa) is a private beach that has experienced almost overnight success after thousands of Facebook users shared photos of it. 

Stepping down from a dark green Jeep, 68-year-old Puth Chantaravuth sports a white beard, dirty T-shirt and pants. He is walking around collecting litter in the beach’s parking lot. 

“I used to live in France from the age of 22, so when I came back here people called me bong barang [French brother], pu barang [French uncle], oum barang [French older uncle] and now ta barang,” the owner of the resort says. 

Ta Barang is located in Keo Phos commune’s Rithy II village in 1ha of land that Chantaravuth bought more than two decades ago. 

The Cambodian-Frenchman, who formerly worked for Royal Air Cambodge before it closed in 2001, tells The Post: “In 1997 I bought this land to build my own house to live with my wife because I love the sea air. I’ve developed it step-by-step and it suddenly became a hit on Facebook recently. Before, there were a few visitors who came here, but it was not famous.”

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 Chantaravuth says that during Khmer New Year the beach welcomed far more visitors than it ever has done before.

“In the Khmer New Year holiday, there were so many people who came in. I can’t estimate the exact number but at least 500 people. It was a lot,” he says. 

Chantaravuth explains that his resort recently found fame after a chance encounter with a motorbike group. 

“What has brought fame to this beach is a motorbike group who were visiting from Prei Nub. They came here, interviewed me and posted it on Facebook. They said the water is good, the beach colour is white and their kids can play around,” he says. 

Chantaravuth has built six huts along the beach for guests to stay in, as well as a long wooden pier leading to a hut sitting on stilts in the ocean that is also available to rent. 

But with the number of visitors now outstripping the facilities available, Chantaravuth says this success may have come too late as he now feels too old to expand the resort. 

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“I can’t do it. Some people ask me to build more relaxing spaces, but I don’t want to. I am old, this is enough for me. I developed in the past because I love my customers and it’s my honour that I can host them today. But now I am so exhausted; I do not want to expand and build ten or 20 story buildings,” he says. 

“If you had come when I bought this land, you would see it was just forest land that had no road and very few people. Locals only came to go fishing.”

 

Local tastes

Chantaravuth says the food at his resort largely caters to local tastes. 

“We serve local food, like restaurants in Phnom Penh and Prek Leap do. We don’t make international food, here we have roasted chicken, sour chicken soup, stirred fried squid, grilled squid, sour squid soup, crab and prawns.”

However, the Cambodian-Frenchman says that with the dramatically increasing number of visitors at Ta Barang, he takes his responsibility to protect the local environment seriously, asking visitors to be considerate of this. 

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“I suggest people help keep the environment clean, but some of them do not follow my request. Some people leave litter on the ground, so I collect it and burn it. I won’t allow the garbage to disturb the beach because I love it so much.”

The pensioner says that now he has returned to his homeland and bought this land, he isn’t going anywhere. 

“I will never leave this home. I love it so much. I do not want to leave the country for France again.”

Ta Barang has six huts for rent at 30,000 riel per night and two bungalows at $60 per night each. The resort is located in Steung Hav district’s Rithy II village, Preah Sihanouk province.

Source - PhnomPhenPost

 

#Cambodia declared the cheapest country to retire

International Living, a magazine that focuses on the best places to live and invest, named Cambodia the cheapest place to retire in 2019.

The Kingdom came first this year in the cost of living category in the publication’s Annual Global Retirement Index.

Earning full marks in the category, the ranking highlights the Kingdom’s attractiveness for retirees and expatriates in general.

This is the fourth year in a row that Cambodia has topped the list in the cost of living category. It was followed by neighbours Vietnam and Thailand, who came in second and third, respectively.

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“Centrally located in the beating heart of Southeast Asia it is a country undergoing a renaissance thanks to 15 years boom in economic growth and tourism centred on the world-renowned temples of Angkor Wat,” International Living said.

“When folks dream of visiting Cambodia they are initially more likely influenced by the exotic draw of these ancient temples, royal palaces, and saffron-robed monks or the beautiful beaches and undeveloped islands on the southern coast than anything else.

“But the cost of living leaves them astonished. Known as the ‘Kingdom of Wonder’, Cambodia is a place where retirees can upgrade their lifestyle to one of luxury on a modest budget,” it added.

The low cost of living lets expats in Cambodia live richly on a poor man’s budget, International Living said, highlighting the possibility of buying a bottle of Champagne for just $25 or playing golf with caddie for $65 a day at a country club.

Cambodia also scored high in the overall ranking for best places to retire in the world. It landed on the 12th position, one spot above Italy and one below France. It scored 80 out of 100 points in the ‘visa and residence’ and ‘healthcare’ categories, and 73 in ‘climate’.

Thoun Sinan, chairman of the Cambodia chapter of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, said International Living’s ranking will help promote the Kingdom abroad and lure more retirees and investors.

“This is great news. It won’t just attract more tourists but it will also bring more investment into the construction sector to build more facilities for these tourists,” he said.

According to Mr Sinan, most retired tourist that choose to visit the Kingdom are European.

In 2016, the government released a three-year multiple-entry visa targeting retirees and other long-stay travellers and investors.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia welcomed 6.2 million international visitors last year, up 11 percent from 5.6 million in 2017.

Source - Khmer Times

 

#Cambodia - The mysterious ‘foreigners’ carved into the temples of Sambor Prei Kuk

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At an ancient Chenla site, a series of carvings depict men who appear to be foreigners. Their identity has confounded, and divided, archaeologists and historians and raises questions about the interactions of the Khmer empires with the outside world.

 

Leading off of the main highway 10 minutes north of Kampong Thom city, the road to Sambor Prei Kuk is seldom travelled by tourists. But after 16 kilometres, the road reaches an ancient temple at the site of the former capital of the Chenla Empire. 

The ruins provide not only a glimpse of the Pre-Angkorian period, but of a mystery that has confounded researchers – one that, if solved, could shed light on the people and cultures that interacted with ancient Khmer civilisation.

Amid the dense tropical rainforest and bomb craters left by American attacks in the 1970s lie 150 ancient sandstone temples, all pre-dating the Angkorian era. Constructed on an area of 4 square kilometres, the temples are divided into three clusters: the North Group, South Group and Central Group. 

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 The southernmost is the home to the puzzle.

Facing the main temple, Prasat Yeah Poun, is a derelict construction called Kda Ouk. Its architrave – the beam above the columns – bears the carvings of 12 men. Each is different – some with strong, chiselled features, and others more delicate – but they have notable characteristics in common, including moustaches, long curly hair, big eyes, thick eyebrows and pointy noses. 

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The unique features of these men do not fit with the statues and engravings at the rest of the temples – nor, researchers say, with the physical appearance of Cambodian people. This has led to speculation that they are the portraits of foreigners. But who were these outsiders and why, in the seventh century, would they have been important enough to the Khmer people to have been literally put on a pedestal? 

Chiv Heng, a 52-year-old farmer who has lived near Sambo Prei Kuk for his entire life, said he has always wondered about the identities of the men since he was a boy, but no one in the area had any answers for him.

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 “Some elderly people told me that they were Indian, and some said they were religious idols, but no one is sure,” Heng said. “But, when UNTAC [the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia] came to Cambodia to organise the election, I noticed that the faces looked similar to the face of the UNTAC’s barang [Western] staff.”

“Although I stayed in school for only five years and do not know much about Khmer history, I could tell that the heads must have been the copies of barang men who came to Cambodia in the past.”

Smey Smak, 59, a tourism police officer born in Kampong Thom and stationed in Sambor Prei Kuk since 2004, shares the same hypothesis with Chiv Heng.

“I usually hear the tour guides explain to the tourists that they were Indian, but I do not believe that,” he said. “The busts look like the Spanish people, if one asks me, but I never learned that Spanish people came to Cambodia in ancient times.” 

A foreign concept

Given its decay and remoteness, today it is easy to forget that Sambor Prei Kuk was the capital of the Khmer Empire during the Chenla period, beginning during the reign of King Isanavarman I between 616 and 637 AD.

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Kep Province, #Cambodia

Kep City is a municipality in Cambodia with the status of a province. Kep is just a few kilometres from the border with Vietnam located and used to be Cambodia's most popular beach town but has fallen on hard times in recent years (especially due to the Khmer Rouge). Many of Kep's, mostly French villas are abandoned, but some of the town's former splendour is still apparent. 

 The see is lined with huge sidewalks and some large statues that now seem largely out of place. The king built a palace overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, but it was never furnished and now sits empty. A good, paved road connects the small town with the 15km far away Kampot. The slightly darker beaches than in Sihanoukville are mostly scattered with mangroves and black rocks, but Koh Thonsay (Rabbit Island) is just a short boat ride away (approx. 1/2h). 

 Kep appears to be experiencing something of a renaissance, with several mid-range and luxury guesthouses and bungalows recently opened or still under construction. The seafood is cheap, plentiful and delicious - particularly the quite famous crabs. Kep is also home to an extensive national park covering some mountains with deep green jungle.

The French established Kep City during the colonial time in 1908. Today Kep is mainly popular to the domestic tourists, who choose Kep as their holiday destination. What's more, Kep offers great seafood and magnificent views of the mountains and the beaches. 

 Taking a boat to the nearby islands is also a breathtaking experience. Another itinerary, which must not be missed, is an excursion to the serene waterfalls of 'Tuk Chhou" situated about 10 km from Kampot. Kep City is located in the Southwest of Phnom Penh. The city is accessible by the National Road No 3 from Phnom Penh via Kampot province (173 km) or by the National Road No 2 from Phnom Penh via Takeo province. 

Especially during the Sixties, during the time of Sang Kum Reas Ni Yum the city was developed as a beautiful seaside tourist resort for the rich and government. The story related to the name of Kep said that there was a king named Sa Kor Reach, who had a mighty spell. He put a sleeping spell on a commander at AngKor Thum, than stole the commander's white horse and fled together with his troop to the Southwestern seaside.

 When he took a rest at the seaside, he was overhauled by the commander's troops, who chased him from behind. Suddenly, he got on the horseback; the horse reared, and made him fall down on the ground together with the saddle. Then, he got on the horseback again and fled away without picking up the saddle, because the commander's troops almost approached him. So that's why this area was called ' Kep Seh ' meaning ' the saddle ', nowadays it's only called ' Kep '.

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