VUTHASURF

I felt tired and stressed out of my work a little bit. I left workplace and drove alone to river side for relaxing. Sometimes, I rarely go around along riverside, it was not like I was studying in university. By the way, I wanted to see the independent monument and caught photo of it that was decorated and equipped with colorful lights with fountains around it.

While I arrived, seeing many people including small children and their parents standing around it and watching colored lights installed. Before I never saw many people like this, it is because of decorating and installing colored lights and fountains to be more attractive.

This is newly-decorated Independent Monument, installed by colored lights and fountains around it.

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Spending times to ride bike toward Cambodian Cultural Village located in Siem Reap province, where is the tourism destination. I just paid $3 entry fee in order to visit cultural village and it is first time for me. That is the good initiative to make money from local and international visitors. I show the wax statues at wax museum.

This is the wax status of the King Norodom Suramarith and the Queen Sisowat Kossamak, who are parents of the retired King Norodom Sihanouk.

Wax statue of King Ang Doung was good at writing Khmer poems and novels, throne from 1845 to 1860.

I was sitting in front of wax statue in wax museum of Cambodian Cultural Village, while visiting there with Virak at the end of August 2007.

Popularity: 30% [?]

It was taking more than 7 hours to approach Preah Vihear town, with departing from Phnom Penh at around 6:00 am by mini-bus containing 7 persons in order to organize public forum on “People’s opinion and demand for anti-corruption law” at provincial hall by participating from deputy provincial governor, military police, police, civil servant, NGO staff and people, totaled more than 150 participants.

That was the first time for all of us to get to this province. We had prepared already plan to visit Preah Vihear temple, which located in Northern in Cambodia by the Thai border. Our plan failed it was because of torrential rain last night. It was the obstacle to us to reach the major site of the cultural heritage of the country. The site is approximately more than 100 km from the town.

Even though, heavy rain last night, we managed to travel by mini-bus, while we went in the middle of road toward the site. We went back. A red-gravel road from town to the temple was muddy, sliding. There were a few trucks getting stuck in mud and sliding into the side of road. There was water settling into the big and small long pits on road. Before departure, provincial residents told us that it was hard to access to the temple due to rain last night. It was unlucky for us not to see the temple.

Even local people is hard to reach and see temple, why does the government not to build smooth road to get to the temple? How to attract foreign tourists to visit it? Government always is proud that there are many tourists visiting Cambodia. On the contrary, the road to access the tourist site is hard. Maybe senior government officials are sleeping or they do not know it. If they do not they should resign from their position. We should not blame neighboring countries to encroach on our territory, because our leaders do not love their own country. If they do, no one dare to take our territorial integrity.

When I went around in province, what it made me interested is that there was that the price of guesthouse in Preah Vihear is more expensive than other provinces and Phnom Penh. One room with double bed and air-conditioner is from $15 to $17 per night. A room equipped with fan for double bed is only $6 per night. At the time, I asked guesthouse owner why it is expensive. And then she said that it is because of high price of electricity, worth 2000 Riel per kilowatt, run by private company.

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Popularity: 28% [?]

This was the first time that I visited Bokor mountain with my close friends in November, 1999. At that time, there were not so much domestic and foreign tourists, while reaching on the top of mountain I feared a little bit because I met military safeguarding mountain. That is photo of us standing in front of old casino resort. I hope I will go over there in the near future. (more…)

Popularity: 2% [?]