#Cambodia - Bayon Restoration to resume

The Japanese and Cambodian governments have allocated $1,5 million to fund phase five of the Bayon temple restoration project, a Unesco official said on Tuesday.

Unesco Culture Programme Specialist Philippe Delanghe told The Post yesterday that the project which is slated to begin this year will be completed in 2020. This is according to a mutual agreement signed by the UN agency and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

The project is backed by the Japanese and Cambodian governments, with each contributed $1 million and $500,000 respectively, he said.

Delanghe said: “The financial contribution is necessary to continue restoration of the Bayon Temple.”

The fifth phase of the project focuses on studying and restoring the central structure of the temple, as well as preserving its sculptures which reflect the people’s daily lives during the great era reigned by Jayavarman VII around the late 12th century.

Through Waseda University, Japan plays a crucial role in researching, protecting and preserving the Kingdom’s World Heritage site.

 .

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.

 It has been financing restoration projects via the Japan Trust Fund for the Conservation of Culture World Heritage.

During the implementation of phase three (2005-2011) under the joint framework called Japan-Apsara Safeguarding Angkor (JASA), Japan provided financial support amounting to $3,268,286 in addition to the $500,000 contribution given by the Apsara Authority.

Unesco was responsible for the administrative arrangements for this project.

Phase four of the project, which started in 2011 and finished in 2015, was implemented with a $2.5 million contribution from the Japanese government and $500,000 from the Cambodian one.

Greater understanding

A spate of restoration activity by various stakeholders throughout the years led to the uncovering of many buried artefacts and greater understanding of the Khmer empire.

Apsara Authority director-general Sum Mab said the fund will make the process of protecting and conserving the temple easier.

“The contribution indicated a huge participation by the Japanese government in protecting and conserving [Bayon temple] which is part of the Angkor Archaeological Park – a world heritage site.”

He said restoration within the archaeological park is very important, noting that the effort would allow future generations to learn and research the traditions and culture of the ancient empire reflected through the historical structures.

Other than Japan, other countries have also participated in many of the Kingdom’s temple restoration projects.

Last year, a report saw China rolling out funds to restore the royal palace complex within the Angkor Thom archaeological site in Siem Reap.

In 2014, Korea, via The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), contributed $4 million towards a three-year restoration project of the 12th century Preah Pithu Temple located within the Angkor Wat World Heritage site.

Source - TheNation

 

#Thailand - ‘Inappropriate behaviour’ leads to ban on visitors entering Royal Crematorium

THE CULTURE Ministry announced |yesterday morning a ban on entering the Royal Crematorium of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej after visitors reportedly touched exhibits and displayed other inappropriate behaviour during a trial run on Wednesday spread on social media.

After HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the opening of the Royal Crematorium exhibition yesterday morning, the ministry announced a new rule restricting photography to the area outside the Royal Crematorium in an effort to protect the sacred structure.

 The Culture Ministry hosted “trial run” tours for 16,500 invitees on Wednesday, including governmental officials, monks, students, physically disabled people and other citizens. Three separate hour-long tours of the complex took place.

.

.

The exhibition organising committee, led by Deputy Prime Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn, permitted the select audience a close-up look of the Royal Crematorium, including visiting the interior second level.

But photos posted on social media showed visitors with their heads leaning together and posing with the Crematorium in the background. Additionally, people were seen touching the sculptures decorating the masterpiece, while others took items from the exhibition. 

“In order to run the tour smoothly with appropriate manners, the ministry announced that from November 2 [yesterday] onward, the general public can visit only the surroundings of the Royal Crematorium,” Anan Choochote, director-general of the Fine Arts Department, told Kom Chad Luek.

He added that the committee was also concerned for the safety of visitors.

.

.

In the afternoon, Deputy Prime Ministry Wissanu Krea-ngam met with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House to discuss Princess Sirindhorn’s advice regarding related problems.

“The government will take action immediately on HRH Princess Sirindhorn’s advice to solve problems related to visitors crowding the area at the Royal Crematorium Exhibition, where items could be broken before the exhibition closes at the end of this month. However, there is no discussion on the extension of timetable,” Wissanu said.

Officials were seen yesterday equipping sensors on some items, which were said to be a preventive measure to detect if people came in too close a proximity.

Wassachon Thiangtae, a second-year student at Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin Poh Chang, said that it was a pity that people cannot enter the second floor of thcrematorium after the prohibition was issued. “Because of them [people displaying inappropriate behaviour], people today missed an opportunity to get closer and to have an experience to visit the Royal Crematorium. 

“Those people are selfish and did not think about others,” said Wassachon.

She added that she and her friends would return to the site since one hour was not enough. 

“We waited at the screening point only a short time. Officials there have very good management,” Wassachon said.

.

.

Sanchai Premsiri, 53, from Bangkok, said at first he planned to just look around, but after an official told him the queue was not long, he waited only 20 minutes to take the tour. 

He agreed with the prohibition preventing people from entering the second floor, saying items could be damaged if 100,000 of people went there each day for one month.

“This place is not a tourist attraction, it is a sacred site,” Sanchai said. He said he wanted the Royal Crematorium to be kept intact for the next generation. 

A Cultural Ministry official said the tours were running smoothly, with people dressing properly, behaving well and following the rules. 

As many as 100,000 people are expected to visit the exhibition daily, with the eight roads adjacent to Sanam Luang remaining closed. In total, more than 3 million visitors are projected to visit the Royal Crematorium exhibition, which is open to the public until the end of November from 7am until 10pm.

Source - TheNation

 

Chanthaburi a place to reconnect

.

The Chantaboon Waterfront Community in Chanthaburi offers a much-welcomed reminder of life away from all those gadgets

 .

IN THESE days of ever-more rapid information technology, the connections we have to places and people are at risk of being lost. An abundance of information is constantly popping up on our personal screens, telling us where to go, what to do and who to meet, resulting in a disassociation from the physical and psychological realities of daily life.

.

 

 .

Chanthaburi River sweeps through the old community in the eastern province of Chanthaburi

.

To reclaim some of what we have lost, my friends and I take a walk along Chantaboon Waterfront Community in Chanthaburi Province. Here, in the province’s oldest area, the Christian church, Chinese shrine, Buddhist temple and old houses lining the waterfront serve up a big dose of reality. A bowl of rice noodles topped with garlicky Mantis shrimp is, for me at least, way more real than the best photos of noodle dishes flying around the social media.

.

“Can I have two more bowls? Please. An army marches on its stomach,” Pla, my travel companion, asks the vendor even though our “army” will only be covering a few kilometres at most.

. 

 .

 In fact, the old waterfront of Chanthaburi River is barely a kilometre long, flowing north to south from Tha Luang Bridge to the Catholic Church. The right bank is lined with old wooden houses and timeworn European-style mansions. The left bank is home to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception – Thailand’s largest Catholic Church. The cathedral, with its two towers, is visible from anywhere along the Chanthaburi River waterfront and much like a giant mother hen, guards her chicks on both sides of the river.
.

.

A chapel inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
.

“The Chantaboon community, which was once clearly marked on nautical charts, was an important trading port,” says local guide Krit Phetchang. “It was a meeting point for Thais, Chinese and Vietnamese who traded and exchanged wild produce and spices. Chantaboon was also a strategic location for the French during the Franco-Siamese War of 1893.”
.

We stop at the church to admire the neo Gothic house of God. Built in 1909, the cathedral celebrated its centennial eight years ago. In fact, the Christianity arrived at the waterfront 300 years ago, when farmers and merchants started trading alongside the river. The present cathedral was built on the site of a chapel constructed in 1711. The chapel is huge and peaceful, and the stained-glass windows are impressive. The statue of the Virgin Mary at the front is decorated with more than 200,000 sapphires – a fitting link between the faith of the locals and city’s gem trade.
.

From the cathedral, we cross the bridge to the right bank of the Chanthaburi River.
.

.
Just as in Hoi An in Vietnam, Takua Pa in Thailand’s South and other ancient ports, the residents of Chanthaburi waterfront started trading peppers, scented woods, wildlife hides and rubber sheets with foreign merchants. Today, the one kilometre-long street still includes many private homes and the emerging art galleries, coffee shops and tasty snack stalls entice visitors over the weekends.
.
It is a place of contrasts too, with two very different types of architecture, both of them charming.
.
The first and the more lavish are the colonial style mansions owned by the royal servants with their sculpted clay ornaments. Then there are the wooden houses with intricate lace-like wooden facades favoured by the wealthy merchants.
.
“People of Chanthaburi are recognised for their wealth,” notes the local guide. “The rich sent their children to study in Bangkok or Penang and George Town in Malaysia.
“Unfortunately, the younger generation abandoned their family homes along the waterfront and settled in other towns. Some of the old houses are rented out. Others have been sold off and still more have fallen into disrepair.”
.Source: TheNation
.
.