Thursday, October 15, 2009
Friday, October 09, 2009
The Seven Plagues of Siem Reap
This week our intrepid columnist offers some advice for surviving the seven plagues of the apocalypse
The past week in Siem Reap was perhaps the most Old Testament-like experience I have had. I’m not certain there was a wrathful god behind the flooding that befell us, and if there was, he skipped the locusts and hail mixed with fire that he visited upon ancient Egypt. But there were plagues, nonetheless.First, of course, came the Plague of Water. That one has already been well-documented in the pages of the Post, though the photos do not quite capture the unique aroma of the brown river that was once my street, nor the alarm you feel when, submerged to the waist, you feel something (vegetable? mineral? animal?) adhere to your left ankle.
The floodwaters were followed closely by the Plague of Clogged Toilets, during which a battalion of battle-weary septic systems waved the white flag of surrender. No nearby restaurant with a working toilet was safe from me and my pressing needs. My household reached a point of near-crisis by day three, but thankfully the upstairs toilet managed one brave swan-song of a flush and we were spared.
I‘m not certain there was a wrathful god behind the flooding that befell us, and if there was, he skipped the locusts and hail mixed with fire that he visited upon ancient Egypt”
Though the cholera that I suspect is lurking on every fork has not yet reared its ugly head, no one is safe from the Plague of Strange Rashes. There is no telling what kind of pathogens are swimming in the pestilential tide pool that once was my next door neighbour’s house, but whatever they are, they turned my landlord’s legs into scabby, inflamed specimens, the likes of which one usually only sees on frightening television medical dramas. He seemed to be taking the rash in his stride, but now the thought of it is constantly on my mind, and whenever I dip a toe into the floodwaters, my entire body itches for hours.
I’m not sure how many people experienced the Plague of Broken Fuses, but our electrical system, too, succumbed to the flood. Weirdly, the sockets on the upper floor were working, so we managed to devise an elaborate web of extension cords to keep the refrigerator chugging away in the dark. Preparing dinner with a flashlight clenched in your teeth is no easy task, but it can be managed if you are hungry enough.
Humans were not the only ones enduring the flood, which led inevitably to the Plague of Cranky Animals. The frogs do not seem as destructive as those that rained upon Egypt, though they do enjoy curling up in my shoes at inopportune times and keeping me awake with their mournful, bellowing croaking. The Post’s Siem Reap bureau chief claims that any time there is flooding of any sort, he receives panicked reports of irritable crocodiles on the loose. Though these claims are mostly unsubstantiated, I urge continued vigilance on the part of our readers and advise the development of personal crocodile combat strategies.
The Plague of Mosquitoes, which had been incubating in our flooded street, arrived on Day Three. The nasty bloodsuckers have always had a passionate lust for me, clashing unpleasantly with my hypochondrial fear of dengue fever. My boyfriend, Jason, waded to the waterlogged Psar Chaa to purchase a bug-zapping racket for me, called (I am not making this up) the Black Killer. In the evenings, I stand on our porch and wield it like a samurai sword, taking out scores of mosquitoes with every swipe and thrust, each demise accompanied by a pleasing little sizzle.
It might have been overlooked by people experiencing more dire problems, but a Plague of Boredom arrived as well. I am a writer and thus used to periods of solitude, but even I was driven to stir-craziness by isolation and lack of electricity. Jason and I resorted to creating synchronised dance moves in our living room, including one in which we leapt through the air like superheroes. We plan to publicly debut these routines at Zone One in the very near future.
Whenever I felt defeated by the Seven Plagues, I had only to look to my fellow Siem Reapers. Throughout the ordeal, I was impressed with the characteristic resilience and panache with which they dealt with hardship. If there’s an angry deity out there listening, you can cancel the locusts: this is one tough town to beat.
Flooding spares the temples Angkor spared from floods
There were some areas of localised flooding, most notably around Ta Prohm. The level of the Angkor Wat moat was the highest I’d ever seen, and was flowing over the road at the south-west corner. Both reflecting pools at Angkor Wat were high and reflecting well, as you can see from the photo. The northern pool has almost doubled in size.
But visitors wanting to take a close look at the Elephants’ Terrace and many other sights are going to get damp feet.
As usual at this time of year, the paths can get muddy and waterlogged. Planks help, but I do see visitors with inappropriate footwear. I prefer to use trekking sandals with grippy soles in wet weather, as leather shoes and trainers become soggy immediately.
Cambodia tourism starts its slow recovery
Cambodia's Tourism Industry
Cambodia tourism has been confronted with the economic crisis to the slump of a dramatic decline from Northeast Asia, especially Japan and South Korea. Political skirmish with Thailand also contributed to a sharp drop from neighboring tourists.
After six years of uninterrupted growth –and mostly in double-digit figures-, Cambodia tourism has seen a decline in total arrivals for the first half of 2009. Albeit modest at -1.1 percent, it sent a worrying signal as tourism is one of the biggest revenues earning for the government and a major source of employment with over 300,000 Khmers working in the hotel and tourism business.
According to a survey, South Korean travelers, among Cambodia’s top incoming markets, drop by a third during the first semester 2009. Markets such as Australia, China, Thailand or Japan declined also in double-digit numbers. Growth was however recorded in Vietnam –now Cambodia’s largest incoming market-, France, the UK and the USA.
The city of Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat fabled temples are located, has been more affected by the drop. According to data from the airports authority, the number of passengers at Siem Reap declined from January to May by 25.5 percent, from 778,000 to 580,000.
During the same period, Phnom Penh saw passengers’ traffic declining by a more modest 12.9 percent from 767,000 to 667,000 passengers. Numbers have since substantially improved at Phnom Penh International Airport. Passengers’ traffic was only down by 10.2 percent at the end of August.
The disaffection for Angkor Wat is also reflected into the revenues from Apsara Authorities, which manages the temples. For the first half of the year, revenues from ticket sales were down by almost 20 percent. It would be the second consecutive year of decline for the authority as revenues from ticket sales already dropped from US$ 32 to 30 million between 2007 and 2008. Bun Narith, director general of the Apsara Authority, blamed the economic crisis, political uncertainties in neighboring Thailand and bad weather for the overall drop.
Meanwhile, tourism in Cambodia seems to have reached the bottom line. In July, the kingdom recorded an increase of 10 percent in total arrivals. Numerous price reductions and discounts in hotels and tourist attractions, the opening of new border crossings, more flights to Cambodia thanks to the new national carrier Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA) should contribute to put back tourism on the right track. The government has already promised to start again a TV campaign on channels in China, Japan and Korea and predict that tourism will grow again from September. With a bit of luck, it could even erase completely its decline and show a modest growth in total arrivals by year-end.
