Digital Magazine Jul - Sep, 2014

Angkor WatAt the Center of the WorldDiving in Cambodia10 Greatest Street FoodsCambodia’s “Great Lake“Khmer Art History

2

1 3

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 20144

As we look ahead to the new year, we’re encouraged that we’ve weathered the initial growing pains and can focus now even more on producing the leading publication about Cambodian life, business, culture, and especially responsible tourism.

What will future issues bring? We’ll continue to spotlight the growing numbers of visitors and investors from Russia, the important role of investment from China and Korea, relations with our neighbors Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. And most of all we’ll continue to bring to our readers the wonders of the Land of Wonders, our adopted home.

As always, your readership, your advertising support, and you comments will help us make this the leading publication of its kind on the internet. We’re truly grateful.

Sincerely,

Charles R. Evans, Publisher H/P: 017.906.721Tel: +855 (0) 63.963.583 Fax: 63.963.583Charles@CorporateMarketingIntl.com

Dear Readers,

It’s hard to imagine anything that’s harder, more fun, and ultimately more satisfying, than

completing the first four year of a new venture still standing.

This issue of Cambodia Insight is our 19th quarterly publication. It’s been, as the Navy promises, not a job but an adventure.

Heartfelt thanks to our many readers. You’ve proven again and again that you’ll visit an online publication. We appreciate your attention, as well as your comments and suggestions. Every one of them was read, and many adopted. We’re grateful.

Heartfelt thanks, too, to our advertisers. We don’t charge our many readers, and your generous support has made this possible. We hope that your business has benefited from the attention your ads garnered both locally and internationally. We’re grateful.

Heartfelt thanks, as well, to our contributors. You’ve supplied us with interesting – indeed fascinating – insights into this Land of Wonder and its warm, welcoming people. The quality of your work shone brightly. We’re grateful.

Heartfelt thanks, finally, to our staff. You’ve worked tirelessly and without complaint under the pressures of deadlines. You’ve brought creativity to Cambodia Insight, along with a full measure of talent, hard work and good spirits. We’re grateful.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 5

06 Angkor Wat - At the Center of the World

13 Culture Shock: Driving in Cambodia

16 Cambodia’s “Great Lake“

20 Diving in Cambodia

26 Khmer Art History

34 Don’s Ocean Adventure

38 Cambodia’s 10 Greatest Street Foods

42 Another Diving Adventure

CONTENTS

Publisher and Managing DirectorEditor - in - ChiefSenior Creative DirectorCreative DirectorManager, Graphic Design &Print ProductionSales ManagerGraphic designGraphic designWebmaster & ProgrammerSales ExecutiveSales ExecutiveThailand Bureau Chief

Charles R. EvansDave Courtright

Don FinckKanyapat Evans

Savuth Sao

Chinda SovanAtchariya Priabnan

Sokum TimBunleab Hong

Sopheap KhomEric LarbouillatPeter Richards

A Quarterly Magazine on Business, Economy, Tour-ism, Culture and Society in English for Cambodia. Founded in Siem Reap City in January, 2010 by Evans Marketing

Evans Marketing Business Adviser Co., Ltd., Tapul Village, Svay Dongkum Commune, Siem Reap - Angkor, 17000, Kingdom of Cambodia

Tel: +855 (0) 63.969.200/201 Fax: +855 (0) 63.969.201. Advertising & SubscriptionsE-Mail: Advertising@CambodiaInsight.comE-Mail: Subscription@CambodiaInsight.com

@Copyright Evans Marketing Business Adviser Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. The name Cambodia Insight.com, in either English or Khmer languages, its associated logos or devices and the contents of this publication and website may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in print or electronically, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without written permission of Evans Marketing Business Adviser Co., Ltd.

Cambodia Insight.com is a wholly owned publication and website of Evans Marketing Business Adviser Co., Ltd. Licensed by the Ministry of Information.

Although every care has been taken in the production of this magazine and website, no responsibility for errors or liability is assumed through the use of the information contained herein.

Cambodia Insight.com is an independent publication dedicated to providing our readers with informative content presented in a positive light helping to boost business investment, tourism, cultural awareness and the image of the country.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 20146

The Governor of Siamrap having provided us with three elephants, on the 13th inst. we started for the ruins of Angkor, three and a half miles distant, to the north. We took but little baggage with us, being rather impatient now that we were nearing the main object of the expedition – the ultima Thule of our desires and hopes – and so we passed quickly and silently along a narrow but good road cut through the dense, riant forest, until, in about an hour’s time, on suddenly emerging from the woods, we saw a little way off to the right, across a pond filled with lotus plants, a long row of columned galleries, and beyond – high above the beautiful cocoa and areca palms – three or four immense pagodas, built of a dark-grey stone. And my heart almost bound-ed into my mouth as the Cambodian driver, turning towards the howdah, said, with a bright flash of the eye and a proud turn of the lip, ‘Naghon Wat;’ for we were then at the very portals of the famous old ‘City of Monas-teries,’ and not far distant was Angkorthom – Angkor the Great.

Frank VINCENT, Jr. in his book “The Land of the White Elephant” (1871 – 1872)

ANGKOR WAT was built under the reign of SURYAVARMAN II (1113 - 1150) and it is the

biggest temple of the Angkor civilization. It can be translated as City Temple and became a national emblem of Cambodia (the national flag represents three of its central towers). The complex is located six kilometers (3.72 miles) at the north of Siem Riep downtown and one kilometer (0.62 miles) at the south of Angkor Thom. This is a place that has inspired visitors thru the centuries. The City of the Temples, the City of the Pagodas, the Sacred City, the National Temple and many other places have tried to describe the impressions of those who get in contact with it for the first time.

Angkor Wat is a square of 210 hectares oriented to the West, unlike the other temples. Its whole structure represents Mount Meru in the Hindu traditions, the Sacred Mountain that is considered the center of the universe and the home of Lord Brahma and the Devas. The central tower is 65 meters (213 feet) high. It was built to honor Vishnu, one of the five primary forms of God according to the Bhagavad Gita. The galleries are especially meaningful because they represent scenes of the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana. There are also inscriptions from the Hindu and Buddhist time of the temple. The name of the designer of the temple is obscure. Dawn Rooney (Angkor, 2004, p. 125) says that some scholars believe that it was the Brahman Divakarapandita, minister of King Suryavarman II, who designed it, according to inscriptions. The Cambodian legends attribute the construction to Visvakarman, the divine architect of the universe of the Lord of Creation in Hinduism.

A history of glory,decadency and glory...

Today it is known as “Angkor Wat”, but it has had some other names over

ANGKOR WAT... at the center of the worldAn approach to the wonders of the temple

Drawing of Louis Delaporte (1880) in his work in French “Voyage au Cambodge” (A Travel to Cambodia)

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 7

the centuries. When French explorer Delaporte saw it in 1880, Cambodians called the temple as “Nokor”. One evidence is Nokoreach, the Cambodian National Anthem based in a tune of Chuon Nath (1883 - 1969). The anthem finished saying ...

“Thus heaven will lavish its bountyTowards the ancient Khmer country,the Moha Nokor. ”Nokor is a Khmer word derived from the Sanskrit Nagara that is Capital. Angkor Wat or Nokor is also known by Cambodians as Preah Pisnulok, referring to King Suryavarman II, the founder of the Sacred City-Temple. But its original name is unknown, since no inscriptions have been found. As it was dedicated to Vishnu, it is possible to conclude that the Hindu god was its name like Wat Preah Vishnu (the Vishnu Temple) or Preah Visnulok.

We know that the whole construction took about 40 years under the governance of the god-King Paramavishnuloka (Suryavarman II), one of the greatest and mysterious kings of Eastern Asia. Thanks to him, the Khmer Empire expands its boundaries to most of the South East Asian region and he established good diplomatic relations with China.

There is evidence that some decorations are unfinished, coming to the conclusion that the death of the king that occurs in between 1145 and 1150, also stopped the works.

In 1177 - about 30 years after the death of king Suryavarman II, his mortal enemies, the Chams, sacked the city temple. It was the first decadency of Angkor. It was only after the upcoming of king Jayavarman VII in 1181, that the Empire would retake control and he restored Angkor. But Jayavarman wanted his own capital and built it few miles

Voyage au Cambodge

The Cambodian flag represents three of the most emblematic

towers of Angkor Thom.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 20148

encroaching of the forest. Its historical location was reported in Europe and Asia since the 16th century by several explorers.

Here began the list of the first persons who saw the ruins of the great temple since 1585 according to Dawn F. Rooney in his work “Angkor, An Introduction to the Temples” (Odyssey, Hong Kong, ISBN 962-217-683-6; pp. 32 - 34).

1570: It is possible that in this year the Cambodians themselves reported the Temple according to records by Gabriel Quiroga and Christoval de Jaque, but the events reporting it are unknown. A visit of the king to Nokor? It is possible.

1585: The Portuguese writer Diego do Couto,

who never had been in Cambodia, described a Cambodian king visiting the temple by elephants. It is possible that do Couto knew about it through the reports of the Portuguese Catholic missionary Antonio de Magdalena, who came to the Kingdom in that year.

1601: Marcelo de Ribadeneira reported the temples as an ancient city and he wrote that some say they were constructed by the Romans or Alexander the Great.

1603: Spaniard Missionary Gabriel Quiroga de San Antonio reported that in 1570 an unknown city was seen by the local natives.

The galleries representing the stories ofthe Sacred Books of Vishnu in Angkor Wat.

A Tower of the Central Sanctuaryof Angkor Wat.

today venerated in Cambodia, including Angkor Wat.

Temples are asleep in the forest... (From the National Anthem)

In 1431 the Thais lead a great siege on Angkor. The second decadency of Nokor began and the complete abandonment of the Angkorian temples was effective after the 16th century when the Khmer people founded new capitals in the southern regions of the Mekong. However, Nokor, unlike many temples, were not totally abandoned as many think. Its good preservation is due to its wide moat that protected the area from the

north of Nokor: Angkor Thom, the other wonder.

Unlike his Hindu predecessors, Jayavarman VII was Buddhist and he decided to convert the Kingdom to the new religion. The Hindu Nokor, venerating Vishnu, was made a Buddhist temple under his reign.

The conversion of Hindu Cambodia to Buddhism was rather specific as many scholars pointed out. It is possible that the idea that Buddha was born as a Hindu, plays its part. Hinduism continues its way among Cambodians until present time in a syncretic form of Buddhism. Images of Vishnu are

Angkor Wat is an irreplaceable treasure. The number of tourists visiting each year is dramatically increasing. The phenomenon is quite recent and so are its destructive impacts. Your behavior can make a difference to the preservation of Cambodia’s heritage.- Accept the restrictions placed on the temple complex ( e.g. do not touch, do not photograph, do not enter)- Avoid touching – every small touch becomes harmful when reseated by 1,000 people every day.- Wear appropriate footwear – avoid high heels and studded soles.- Mind your backpack- you could brush up against the walls and damage the carvings and bas- reliefs.- Avoid climbing unnecessarily on the statues and monuments. If you must take a photo on top of a monument, be selective and choose to climb only one.- Stop graffiti- resist the temptation to scribble your name or draw on the monuments.- Admire from afar- If every visitor to Angkor Wat took home a piece of temple as a souvenir, the temples would quickly disappear forever.- Shop responsibly- Beware of buying objects of unknown origin. The looting of archaeological sites results in the loss of significant social and cultural treasures, and robs the Cambodian people of their history.- Don’t litter- take your rubbish with you.- Respect silence and other people. The temple complex brings different experiences to different people. Allow other visitors to experience the peace and beauty.** Courtesy of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 9

1606: Christoval de Jaque mentioned in his chronicle that in 1570 there were visitors to Anjog.

1632: The Japanese interpreter Kenryo Shimano - said to be in the temples between 1632 and 1636 -, made a diagram of Angkor and called it Jetavana, the famous Buddhist monastery of the Savatthi city in India where Buddha gave many teachings and discourses. He omitted the word “Angkor” from his drawings. His son, Morimoto Ukondayu, visited the temple to pay tribute to the memory of his father and left a Japanese inscription that can be seen today.

1641: Dutch trader Gerard van Wusthoff described it as Anckoor and said that the king used to visit it.

1672: A French missionary named Pere Chevruel reported the temple as Onco and said that it was as Saint Peter’s in Rome for the natives.

1850: Another French missionary, Charles-Emile Bouilleaux, published his chronicles of 8 years travels and described Nokor.

1855: The American missionary Dr. A. House, published his own description of Angkor.

1857: Englishman Do King wrote his own report of what he saw for the Royal Geographic Society that was published in 1859.

“Towards the ancient Khmer country, the Moha Nokor...”(From the National Anthem)

Then, what was fire, is able to become fire once more. The ancient temple of

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201410

the past Glory of the Khmer people, was built to show the meaning of a Nation and the admiration of everybody who sees it.

The upcoming of the French Protectorate at the middle of the 19th century would also mean the full discovery of the Angkorian ruins. Well organized expeditions to the temples for studies and works of protection and reconstruction, began in the 1860s. Among others, Francis Garnier and Louis Delaporte wrote the most well elaborated reports about Angkor with their Voyage au Cambodge: L’Architecture Khmer (Travel to Cambodia: The Khmer Architecture, 1880.)

In 1898 the Ecole Française d’Extreme Orient was established (The French School of Far East) in Cambodia and it is the first responsible for the restoration for the temples and its new time of Glory.

The French archaeologists worked with Cambodians in the studies and protection of the ancient sites and Angkor soon became a symbol of unity and national identity for modern Cambodia. The works were suspended for short periods, for example, during World War II. But the most gloomy period was the Indochina wars, especially after 1970. Fortunately, Nokor, the City of the Temples of the military king Suryavarman II, the same one who conquered neighboring kingdoms and built a great Empire, was never attacked by the modern wars of the 20th century. During the Khmer Rouge era (1975 - 1979), foreign archaeologists were expelled and the natives were executed. But a small group was allowed to continue even in that time, according with the reports of D. F. Rooney. India signed an agreement with Cambodia in 1980 to

Image of Vishnu that still venerated inside Angkor Wat, in the First Level.The temple was built under the Hindu religion.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 11

continue the restorations. Although some scholars and journalists criticized the works of the Indian archaeologists of that time, D. F. Rooney points out that they were working under very difficult conditions and the fear of Khmer Rouge attacks.

After 1990s, the United Nations began to give its own contribution to the development of reconstruction and protection with the new Royal Government. One of the new measures was to stop looting by creating the mobile cultural heritage police unit. Many international organizations have been supporting projects that the Cambodian government is doing to preserver the archaeological site. The administration was given to a non-governmental organization, APSARA, and the world is getting to know Angkor through several documentaries in many languages around the world. The increased international tourism to Cambodia, especially after 2004, made Angkor a center of great interest and admiration, recovering its ancient glory. In 2008 the prestigious American travel guide Frommer’s, pointed out Angkor as an endangered site:

But Angkor’s tourist infrastructure is growing faster than the site itself can support. Travelers must be mindful of the impact they are having on the site. (for more, see Frommer’s new book 500 places to See Before they Disappear).

Research and pictures by A. Rodas

The Three Towers from the yard between the first and second level.They inspired the Cambodian flag.

Khmer Apsara Ladies

Siem Reap Riverside Hotel• Comfortable room with Fan & A/C• Cable TV with Satellite programs• Hot & Cold Shower, Clean Water• Full Internet Access, High speed in the room

E-mail : booking@siemreapriverside.net sales@siemreapriverside.netFacebook: Siem Reap RiversideWebsite : www.siemreapriverside.netAddress : #481, Sivatha Blvd, Svay Dangkom District, SiemReap Cambodia

Mobile: +855 (0) 12 517 000 Tel: +855 (0) 63 760 177Fax: +855 (0) 63 760 277

• Roof top balcony for relaxing• Currency Exchange and Laundry• Helpful Service• Helpful Food Service• Sun bathing on the roof top

Old Market area, Alongside of the river.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201412

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 13

It was immaculate: shiny black, and the interior was covered in fresh white linens. If you know that I’m a car girl, you likely have an idea of how impressive this greeting really was. The driver wore a white cotton out-fit, had upright posture, and had his hands perfectly placed in the 10 and 2 o’clock positions on the huge steering wheel. It felt like something from a 1930s movie.

Driving through Cambodian villages we saw simple, colorful and weathered -- yet charming -- stone and wood architecture, with streets dotted with quaint and casual restaurants.

People of all ages rode various vehicles -- mostly bicycles and Japanese motorcycles -- to their destinations along a crowd-ed two-lane highway. Women rode what I would consider to the very first hybrid vehicle -- the half-bike, half-motorcycle moped -- carrying baskets of fruit and sugar cane. And chil-dren. And chickens.

I learned a little about Cambo-dian life, and a lot about Cam-bodian traffic. I’ll share a few thoughts on the traffic.

Culture Shock: Driving In Cambodia

Rule #1: There are no rules…

Flying straight west, Cam-bodia is about 12,000 kilo-meters from my home in

Winnipeg, Canada. So, why am I in Siem Reap city in Cambodia, hanging off the back of a motor-ized rickshaw – known locally as a “tuk tuk” - that’s piloted by a local man who apparently has a death wish?

Let’s get back to that tuk-tuk in a minute.

Before my wedding in March, I worked double-time to be able to take three-and –a-half weeks off for a honeymoon in South-east Asia. While we visited Thai-land, Indonesia and Vietnam, I fell in love with Angkor Wat in Siem Reap Cambodia.

Why? One reason was our ad-ventures with local transporta-tion. How hubby Ilya and I got around Siem Reap, and toured the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, created plenty of thrills and scares. And plenty of unfor-gettable memories.

As you might expect, Cambo-dia is not “touristy” in any way. We were dropped right into the culture and the raw spirit of the land . . . and it didn’t hurt that we were greeted at the airport by guides from our hotel in a vintage 1960s Mercedes.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

RULE #1: There are no rules.

Few people actually wore hel-mets and many of the drivers were kids, often appearing to be as young as 12, which was a little shocking. The roads are flat and mostly straight, so they are not challenging to navigate, but the speeds aren’t steady and there is a lot of weaving in and out of traffic.

It’s clear that “lane discipline” hasn’t caught on here yet.

RULE #2: Traffic in Cambodia drives on the right-hand side of the road – mostly.

About 3 years ago the government passed a law requiring that regis-tered vehicles be equipped with left-hand drive, to accommodate driv-ing on the right side of the road. (In neighboring Thailand they drive on the left, so traffic doesn’t really flow between the two countries.)

However, an alarming number of vehicles – trucks, buses, and cars – are still right-hand drive, the two modes mixing quite confusingly to a newcomer but perfectly comfortable for locals.

RULE #3: You’re on your own at most intersections.

Most intersections (other than major intersections on the na-tional highways) are unmarked by traffic control signals.

Drivers look both ways, then take their chances crossing or merging into traffic. Since on busy streets there’s never real-ly a break in the traffic, drivers “merge” into traffic by simply pulling out and driving along the side of the road until an opening in the traffic allows them to merge – or to cross.

That’s why you’ll often see vehi-cles driving on the “wrong” side of the road; they’re simply bid-

ing their time until there’s room to cross the lane and merge into the traffic on the other side.

Turns onto a crossing road are begun when there’s a break in traffic, which may be some dis-tance away from the actual in-tersection you approach.

RULE #5: Right-of-way goes to the bigger vehicle.

Under no circumstances should you assume that because you’d have had the right-of-way back home, you have it in Cambodia. It’s estimated that as few as 10% of drivers on the road actually

have licenses – which is to say, have had any driver training – so it’s the law of the jungle. The bigger guy always rules.

RULE #6: If you have an acci-dent and you’re a foreigner – it’s entirely your fault.

Since so few drivers have licens-es, it stands to reason that they don’t have insurance. So try very, very hard not to have an accident. It comes down to this: If you hadn’t been here, the acci-dent wouldn’t have happened. Ergo, it’s your fault.

By the way, in Siem Reap local officials don’t allow foreign-ers to rent cars or motorcycles. Which, on balance, I’ve decid-ed was a good decision. Which brings me back to my tuk-tuk adventures.

Men (always – I think it’s a ma-cho thing) rocketed the tourists around in tuk-tuks, which are basically motorcycles with car-riages pulled behind. It’s actu-ally, a comfortable and inexpen-sive way to get around.

There are also motorbike taxis – known here as motos – that will drive you even less expensively

14

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

than tuk-tuks. If you’re a woman, you’ll ride side-saddle behind the driver, who will also always be a man. Lots of women drive motorbikes and cars here, but for some reason they don’t work as professional drivers. Blame it on the male motorbike mafia!

On to our temple-viewing ad-venture. The temples of Angkor Wat are a major attraction for Cambodia. They were built by Hindus in the early 12th centu-ry. The largest, Angkor Wat, (or Angkor temple), is the largest religious structure ever built, but there are many others. Ap-parently, the prime time to get on the road for a visit is 5:30 am, to see a magnificent sunrise over the entire complex.

Husband Ilya arranged it, and if we had had any trouble wak-ing up at 4:30 to meet our driv-er, our personal tuk-tuk cowboy helped get the blood flowing. He was speedy and erratic, seemingly narrowly escaping head-on collisions to get us to the spot where Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie, was filmed back in 2001.

This experience was somewhat amplified by the fact that I’m a terrible backseat driver. If back-seat driving was an Olympic event, I would have won gold for the last three games.

Somehow, I managed to keep quiet. Perhaps it was out of sheer terror, as I closed my eyes -- a lot -- and rationalized that the driver must be good at what he does, or he wouldn’t be alive to drive us around in the first place. Sometimes you must hang on to anything.

As death-defying as it all seemed, I didn’t see a single crash/accident/collision/mis-hap. And, obviously, I’m alive to recount the story.

It’s worth noting, too, that none of the other drivers on the road were the least bit fazed by the non-stop thrills. Maybe they’re just used to it, or maybe it has something to do with the Bud-dhist acceptance of that which cannot be controlled. But there was no cursing, no road rage, just lots of patience.

Anyway, it was several kilo-meters on paved roads to the various temples that are spread throughout the miles of the An-gkor Wat complex. Getting close to each one meant travelling for the last half-kilometer or so on bumpy and rutted dirt roads. I actually felt the safest on this part of the tuk-tuk journey, even while bouncing around the back of the carriage, because at least there was no oncoming traffic that we were about to crash into.

As we exited the tuk-tuk, we were greeted by the sight of an-cient, grand, stone staircases of the temples leading up several hundred feet, just like a vision from a story book. It was truly breath-taking, making the ner-vous trip well worth the taking. It was absolutely my most exhil-arating experience of a lifetime.

The ornate hallways are a sight to behold, as are the small pas-sageways and the temples inter-twined with massive iridescent trees that had a beautiful silver and gold sheen.

After each temple hike, we were back in the tuktuk carriage for an equally adventurous ride back to our hotel.

You can be sure I’ll be back to Cambodia. As soon as I can. There’s still lots I haven’t seen, but already -- I love this place!

About the writer: Courtney Han-sen is a Winnipeg, Canada-based travel writer.

15

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201416

Cambodia’s “Great Lake”Cambodia’s “Great Lake” The Tonlé Sap is both a river and a lake. It is also unique among the world’s waterways.

The Tonlé Sap (Khmer for “Large Fresh Water River,” but more commonly trans-

lated as “Great Lake”) is a com-bined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia.

The Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia, an ecological hot spot des-ignated by the United Nations as a “biosphere” site in 1997.

The Tonlé Sap is unique for two reasons: its flow changes direc-tion twice a year; and the por-tion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons.

From November to May, Cam-bodia’s dry season, the Tonlé Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year’s heavy rains be-gin in June, the Tonlé Sap backs

up to form an enormous lake.

For most of the year the lake is fairly small, around three feet deep and with an area of 2,000 square miles. During the monsoon season, howev-er, the Tonlé Sap

River, which connects the lake with the Mekong River, revers-es its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong into the lake, increasing its area to 12,000 square miles and its depth to up to 25 feet, flooding nearby fields and forests. The flood-plain provides a perfect breed-ing ground for dozens of vari-eties of fish.

The pulsing system with its large floodplain, rich biodi-versity, and high annual sedi-ment- and nutrient-fluxes from the Mekong makes the Tonlé Sap one of the most productive inland fisheries in the world, supporting an estimated three million people and providing over 75% of Cambodia’s annu-al inland fish catch, and 60% of Cambodians’ annual protein intake. At the end of the rainy season, the flow reverses and the fish are carried downriver.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 17

Much of the nation’s psyche is connected to water. Every year, revelers flock to the capital city of Phnom Penh - where the Tonlé Sap and Mekong rivers meet - for the annual Water Festival.

The festival draws more than one million people to the cap-ital, and the rest of the nation all but shuts down. Rural Cam-bodians flood into the city, ea-ger for a brief respite from the hardship of their daily rou-tines. Journalist Kay Kimsong of the Cambodia Daily says the festival celebrates many things.

“Thanks to the water, and thanks to the moon,” he says. “The water provides many things - water gives us life.”

So intertwined are the Cam-bodians and their fish that the

country’s cur-rency, the riel, is named after the small silver carp that is the staple of many diets here. Images of fish and fisher-men are etched into the walls of stone buildings around Angkor Wat, the majes-tic temple com-

plex that was once the center of an ancient empire more than 1,000 years ago.

Environmental alarmists often claim that the Tonlé Sap Lake is rapidly filling with sediment. However, recent long-term sedi-mentation studies show that net sedimentation within the lake proper has been in the range of 0.1-0.16 mm/year since some 5,500 years ago. Thus, there is no threat of the lake filling up with sedi-ment. On the contrary, rather than being a danger, sediment is an important part of its ecosystem, providing nutrients that drive the flood plain’s productivity.

The reversal of the Tonlé Sap River’s flow also acts as a safety valve to prevent flooding fur-ther downstream. During the dry season (December to April)

the Tonlé Sap Lake provides around 50% of the flow to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

The lake occupies a depression created due to the geological stress induced by the colli-sion of the Indian subconti-nent with Asia. In recent years the building of high dams for flood control and electricity generation in both southern China and Lao has threatened the strength and volume of the reverse flow into Tonlé Sap; a phenomenon that many envi-ronmentalists have been slow to recognize.

In the past several years, fish catches from the Tonlé Sap are significantly down, which led to the fears about sedimentation.

The Tonlé Sap Lake and its sur-rounding provinces are part of the Tonlé Sap Biosphere Re-serve. There are nine provinces that make up the Reserve, in-cluding Banteay Meanchey, Bat-tambang, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear, Pursat, Siem Reap, Otdar Me-anchey, and Krong Pailin.

The area is home to many ethnic Vietnamese, and numerous eth-nic Cham communities living in floating villages around the lake.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201418

Other local people live beside the lake in temporary thatched huts, which are dismantled and moved along the causeways to escape the flood waters; their lightweight homes are lifted onto trucks to take them on their journeys of 1 or 2 miles inland several times each year. Once the floods recede the homes are again loaded onto trucks and returned to their origi-nal positions. Some local residents build their homes permanently on stilts up to 30 feet high, to sit safely above the rising water.

Visiting a floating village has be-come an important tourist destina-tion in recent years. Canny villag-ers have begun to charge visitors for tours and photographs.

It is also possible to boat from Phnom Penh up-river to Siem Reap during the months when the lake is navigable, a several-day trip.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 19

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201420

tionally but it has some of the most untouched marine trea-sures that make it a perfect des-tination for diving.

With similar characteristics compared to the underwater en-vironments in the Gulf of Thai-land, Cambodia’s untouched

underwater territories are yet to be discov-ered.

Numerous rocky reefs provide a ma-rine sanctuary for hard and soft corals and abundant species of fish including eels, rays, dolphins and whales. Seasoned div-ers have designated the dive sites around

the area as some of the best they have visited.

Cambodia’s resort town of Si-hanouk Ville is perhaps the hub of scuba diving due to its white sandy beaches and untouched dive spots.

Lengthy stretches of beaches, untouched coastlines, and nu-merous islands offer several op-tions make diving in Cambodia an ideal diving experience.

The Kingdom of Cambodia: Kingdom of Wonder

Cambodia is a Southeast Asian country bordering Laos and Thailand in the north, Vietnam in the east, and the Gulf of Thai-land in the southwest. Agricul-ture and tourism are two of the biggest parts of Cambodia’s economy.

Diving in Cambodia

Cambodia is still virtualy un-known to many divers interna-

Diving in Cambodia: the undiscovered diver’s heaven

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201416 21

The water

Cambodia’s water conditions are considered ideal for long enjoyable hours of underwater exploration.

Water temperature is relatively warm, ranging between 27-31oC (80-88oF). Visibility varies ac-cording to weather conditions that can reach up to 40 meters (131 feet) during the dry season from October to June.

A majority of Cambodia’s dive sites are comparatively shallow being around 15 meters (49 feet) in depth. The somewhat gentle currents also make accessibility easy, creating an ideal spot for snorkeling adventures as well.Diving in Cambodia is consid-ered perfect for both beginning and expert divers. There are several dive centers and dive shops scattered along the coasts of Cambodia and foreign divers are helped when they would like to explore even the most difficult spots.

Cambodia has a tropical climate similar to other neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. The weather conditions are charac-

terized by a rainy season, which occurs from May to October. Cambodia’s dry season starts in November and ends in April.

Dive SitesIsolated for several decades from tourists, the waters of Cambo-dia definitely offer some of the richest and the most untouched dive sites in Southeast Asia. In addition to the great dive sites in Sihanouk Ville, scuba diving in Cambodia will definitely be-come even better known with these stunning dive sites:

Koh Sdach Archipelago

Koh Sdach Archipelago is one of the hidden jewels of Cambodia’s waters. With pristine coral reefs

and flamboyant sea creatures, this dive site definitely offers a fabulous diving experience.

Sightings include multiple va-rieties of eels, crabs, rays, nudi-branches, scorpion fish, lion fish and more.

Koang Kang

Characterized by shallow wa-ters, Koang Kang is not only ideal for scuba diving but is also great for anyone interested in snorkeling.

With an attractive collection of corals and a great diversity of marine species, this dive site should be included on every diver’s bucketlist when visiting Cambodia.

Koh Rong Samloem

The shallow depths reaching only to a maximum of 18 me-ters (59 feet) make diving in Koh Rong Samloem easy and convenient. Enticing the divers are beautiful species of corals, anemones, sponges and critters.Its rocky reefs are occasionally visited by majestic sharks, tur-tles and barracudas as well.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201422

Koh Tang

With its clear water of excellent average visibility of up to 15 me-ters (49 feet), Koh Tang boasts of many large and wild eagle rays and leopard sharks.

Its abundant marine life and beautiful sandy beaches have also made this site truly a diver and sea lover’s paradise.

Koh Kon

Also known as the “Baby Is-land”, Koh Kon is a small island offering homes to a wide assort-ment of corals and marine life such as the boxfish, parrotfish, snappers, stingrays, and cat sharks.

With an average of 10-meter (33-feet) visibility, this charm-ing diving spot will amaze both beginner and expert divers.

Condor Reef

With its 30-meter (98-feet) aver-age visibility and 20-meter (65-

feet) depth, the Condor Reef features an impressive under- water architecture jam-packed with submerged ships andcolorful coral formations.

This dive site is also an excellent spot for recurrent sightings of sharks, turtles, eels, and whale sharks.

Set Salam

With a great diversity of marine plant and animal life, the beau-tiful dive site of Set Salam pres-ents a spectacular abundance of colorful corals and vibrant fish inhabitants. Seeing the warm and friendly bonds formed be-tween juvenile fish and their coral shelters also dazzles div-ers.

Knowing More About Cambodia

In order to gain legal entry to Cambodia foreigners are re-quired to get a tourist visa (ex-cept those who are from selected Asian countries). The visa

application is available on the Internet and may cost extra but doing it this way doesn’t take up so much of your time.

Aside from scuba diving, sever-al other enjoyable activities are available for tourists. Observ-ing the serene scenes of Kampot River and visiting the breath-taking temples of Angkor are among the top attractions cho-sen by visitors.

The Cambodian riel is the official currency in Cambodia although US dollars are widely accepted as well. In fact, there are ATMs in several common tourist areas dispensing US currency.

With several landmines still planted on Cambodia’s terrain, tourists and locals are warned to keep away from entering jungles and undeveloped areas and staying on well-maintained roads and trails to avoid them.

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 23

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 20142422 24

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 2523 25

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201426

Prehistory

Several prehistoric sites are known in Cambodia (inc. Samrong Sen, Anlong Phdao, Melou Prei, and Laang Spean).

It is believed that many more prehistoric sites exist, but have yet to be discovered.

However, remnants of circular earthwork villages dating from the Neolithic times are found in the province of Kompong Cham.

Ancient stone, bronze tools and weapons, enigmatic bronze drums similar to those found

at the Dong Son site in Vietnam (thought to be used in rain and war ceremonies), and ancient ceramics have been found and documented.

Current archaeological research into Cambodia’s extensive prehistory will no doubt provide better insight into the lives of the people who made these objects, and give us a more concrete time-frame for their dates of manufacture.

KHMER ART HISTORY

Ceramics

Recent archaeological excavations at Angkor Borei (in southern Cambodia) have recovered a large number of ceramics, some of which probably date back to the prehistoric period.

Most of the pottery, however, dates to the pre-Angkorian period and consists mainly of pinkish terracotta pots which were either hand-made or thrown on a wheel, and then decorat-ed with incised patterns.

Glazed wares first appear in the archaeological record at the end of the 9th century at the Roluos temple group in the Angkor region, where green-glazed pot shards have been found.

A brown glaze became popular at the beginning of the 11th century and brown-glazed wares have been found in abundance at Khmer sites in northeast Thailand.

Decorating pottery with animal forms was a popular style from the 11th to 13th century.

Archaeological excavations in the Angkor region have revealed that towards the end of Angkor period production of indigenous pottery declined while there was a dramatic increase in Chinese ceramic imports.

Direct evidence of the shapes of vessels is provided by scenes depicted on bas-reliefs at Khmer temples, which also offer insight into domestic and ritualistic uses of the wares.

The wide range of utilitarian shapes suggest the Khmers used ceramics in their daily life for cooking, food preservation, carrying and storing liquids, as containers for medicinal herbs, perfumes and cosmetics.

26

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 2727

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201428

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

Bronzes

Use of bronze-casting began in Cambodia sometime between 1,500 and 1,000 BCE.

It is widely assumed that this technology was introduced to Southeast Asia through contact with the Chinese, but the possibility of independent development of bronze casting in Southeast Asia has yet to be conclusively ruled out.

Whatever the case, bronze-casting had become a major industry throughout mainland Southeast Asia by 500 CE - at which time bronze was used to make a wide range of tools, weapons, ritual objects and ornaments.

After Indian political and religious ideas began permeating Cambodia (around the time of Christ), a tradition of casting bronze Hindu and Buddhist divinities emerged.

This tradition reached its pinnacle of output and skill during the Angkor period. The large bronze figure of the ‘Reclining Vishnu’ (late

11th century) demonstrates the level of mastery which Khmer bronze artists achieved. The museum’s Bronze Gallery contains bronzes dating from the 7th to 20th century.

Besides the objects which were made in veneration of religious divinities, the other types of bronzes on display can be divided into two categories: ritual objects and secular goods. Many of the ritual objects in the collection, including popils (stylised candle holders), bells, bowls and conches for ritual water, are still used in a variety of Khmer ceremonies today.

Many of the secular goods are objects which would have been bestowed by the royal court as an insignia of rank for officials.

These include ornate hooks for palanquins, gilded rings from the handles of parasols, fans, and military or official seals.

Pre - Angkor period

Recent excavations at a site known as Angkor Borei and earlier work at Oc-Eo are confirming that this region was the site of important kingdoms that predate the Angkor empire - those of Funan and Zhenla (Chenla).

The oldest known Khmer stone sculptures date to the early 6th century and were found in cave temples which were carved into the side of Phnom Da, a small hill near Angkor Borei.

Angkor Borei, today a small town in the Mekong Delta region, was a major city - centre within what is thought to have been the first large-scale centralised Khmer state (c.1st-6th century; often called ‘Funan’ as it was denoted in Chinese annals of the period).

The Phnom Da sculptures were carved from single blocks of fine-grained sandstone and de-pict both Buddhist and Hindu divinities.

Although the sculptures reveal traditional In-dian stylistic influences, one can also see that the Khmer artists strove to break away from their mentors.

Moving away from the Indian tradition of sculpting in high-relief, the Khmers attempted to make free-standing statues, supported by an arch or by an attribute of the divinity (such as a piece of clothing or a hand-held object).

In the 7th and 8th centuries, the power base shifted north to the plains east of the Tonle Sap Lake.

29

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

Funan’s dominance ended when King Isanavarman I established the first capital of this new power centre (called ‘Zhenla’) at ‘Ishanapura’ (Sambor) in present day Kompong Thom province.

In the 8th century, Zhenla was divided into two competing powers, ‘Land Zhenla’ and ‘Water Zhenla’.

This situation remained until Jayavarman II set up a capital on Mount Mahendraparvata (Phnom Kulen) in the Angkor region in 802 and successfully unified the Khmer people.

The majority of the sculptures from Zhenla and Funan depict Vishnu, while another popular deity, Shiva, is usually symbolised by a linga (stone phallus).

Pre-Angkorian sculptors often combined these two Hindu divinities into one deity, called Har-ihara. Statues of Buddha and other Buddhist divinities were also popular with pre-Angkori-an artists of both Funan and Zhenla.

The Zhenla period saw an increase in relief carvings on stone lintels and pediments.

Angkor period

Cambodia is rich in sandstone deposits. Throughout the Angkorian period, sandstone was quarried from the Kulen hills (to the north of Angkor) and floated on rafts along rivers and canals to the building sites.

The first recognisable art style of the Angkorian period is the Kulen style (c.825-75), named after the hill on which Jayavarman II built his capital and had his royal consecra-tion ceremony initiating the cult of the devara-ja (god-king) which would be followed by all subsequent Angkorian kings.

This style was the first to dispense with sup-porting arches - as a result the figures became heavier. The body is sculpted rigidly upright with distinctive Khmer features - round faces and broad brows.

The Koh Ker style (941-944) shows another in-teresting development with gigantic figures - human and animal, captured in dynamic movement. ‘The Wrestlers’ and the ‘Monkey Kings, Valin and Sugriva’, are good examples of this style.

In contrast, the Banteay Srei style of the late 10th century is unique in the intricacy and rich-ness of the decoration, and the warm tones of the pink sandstone.

The statues of the Baphuon style (1010-1080) are slim and graceful. This was made possible by adding subtle supports behind the ankles. The eyes are often incised and they may have been fitted with gems and precious metals.

30

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

The Angkor Wat style (1100-1175) presents the highest achievements in architecture and ornamentation of buildings and bas-re-liefs.

Besides the world famous Angkor Wat tem-ple, Phimai temple (in Thailand) was also constructed during this period.

Sculpted figures are upright, muscular and formal, and are prominently adorned with ornate belts and jewelled necklaces and bracelets.

The Bayon style of the late 12th to early 13th century, produced a great number of Bud-dhist images due to the religious preference of King Jayavarman VII.

Still highly revered today as one of the greatest Khmer kings, Jayavarman VII, although a de-vout Buddhist, was tolerant of other religions as evidenced by the combination of Hindu and Buddhist symbols in Bayon art. An example of this is the portrayal of Buddha wearing a dia-dem (ornamented crown) similar to that nor-mally worn by Vishnu.

The intention was to portray the Buddha as a powerful universal monarch in keeping with the contemporary images of Hindu gods.

Another defining aspect of the Bayon style is the development of portraiture-particularly the portrayal of royalty in the guise of Buddhist deities.

Post - Angkor period

Not long after the end of Jayavarman VII’s reign, stone art production and monumental temple building become almost non-existent in Khmer culture.

With the wide-spread conversion to Theravada Buddhism (c.15th century), wood becomes the primary medium for Khmer sculpture.

Although wood would have certainly been used for statues since pre-Angkorian times, due to its susceptibility to rapid decay, only a small number of wood statues have survived from the late Angkorian period.

In post-Angkorian wood sculpture, artists began applying one or two layers of lacquer which played a decorative as well as protective role.

Also during this period, artists developed the technique of decorating wood figures with encrusted ornaments - frequently using ivory, mother-of-pearl, or vitrified lead inlays.

Most of the wooden statues in the museum’s collection were carved in the last few centuries. One can see varied influences in many of the post-Angkorian works of art.

31

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201432

The Angkor National Museum is the most important museum dedicated to the Angkor civilization in Cambodia and Asia. It is located in Siem Riep City, in the exclusive Charles de Gaulle Avenue, at the north of the National Road.

Its collection, exhibited in eight galleries (the Exclusive Gallery and the other ones identified from A to G), numbers several masterpieces of theAngkor temples and it is the most complete representation of the culture, history and archeology of the Golden Age of Cambodia.

The Charles de Gaulle Avenue is not far from the temples itself (about two kilometers from downtown). The facade keeps the harmony of the Angkorian unique architecture.

Comparable to any modern museum in the world, it has a fast ticketing service system (and it is possible to book online), a Guide Map and Audio Tour Set (personal translation device) with eight languages (Khmer, English, German, Korean, Japanese, French, Chinese and Thai.)

It is a highly recommended place to complete visits to the temples. The combination of modern technologies with its multimedia presentations is ready to introduce the visitor into the magic of the Angkor world.

The Museum is placed in 20 thousand square meters (65,616 sq. feet) surrounded with the Cambodian traditional gardens and the exclusivity of the northern area of Siem Riep City.

The Museum is the product of a joint effort of the Royal Ministry of Culture and Fine Art, the APSARA Authority and the Museum Co., Ltd. on a 30 year concession period. No doubt, it is a world class museum dedicated to the preservation of the Khmer artifacts, collections and restorations of the fascinating Angkor Civilization.

The Angkor National Museum is unique in Cambodia. It has its own style and its full inspiration in the ancient glorious time of the Khmer Empire, just at the doors of the temples.

by A. Rodas

Angkor National MuseumThe Legend Revealed

The Museum

Gallery 6 : Ancient Costume

LintelStyle: Banteay SreiDate : 10th CenturyDisplay in Gallery C

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 33

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201434

DON’S OCEAN ADVENTURE

It was a Saturday on one of those nice summer weekends and four of us

were scuba diving on an artifi-cial reef off of the Rockaways on New York’s Long Island. It was sunny and clear with a gentle breeze topside and good visibil-ity down under.

The reef, which is composed of a sunken Army barge, lots of tires, a culvert, and even an ice-cream truck, sits in 90 feet of wa-ter with the temperature in the 50’s. This, of course, requires a full wet suit with gloves, boots, and a hood.

We had just finished our first dive and were feeling pret-ty good, so we decided to take

our second dive off of the Jones Beach Inlet on a sunken Brit-ish freighter, the Acara, which is known to us locals as the Tea Wreck, as it was carrying Chinese tea at the time. It ran aground and sunk duriing a massive storm on March 1st, 1902.

Now it sits in about 30 feet of water, 500 or 600 yards off-shore and was about 45 min-utes away. This was perfect for us as we had to remain top-side for about 2 hours to get the nitrogen

out of our systems to prevent getting the bends.

We hauled anchor and headed for Jones Beach. As we pased the Jones Beach Jetty, a fisher-man spotted us in our wet suits and started waving and shout-

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 35

ing while pointing to his anchor line off the bow of his boat.

I looked at my watch to check our time frame and said we had plenty of time so let’s see what this guy wants. We figured his anchor was stuck and he needed help getting it loose.

The wind had picked up and was against us, so we couldn’t hear what he was shouting.

We approached his boat and saw a large grayish white object near his anchor line. It looked like an upside down sunken row boat. I put my fins on and was ready to jump into the wa-ter when the “rowboat” moved. I stopped and quickly put the boat into forward gear and fol-lowed it around the area.

We couldn’t figure out what we were looking at. It was large and grayish white and was in shallow water, about 15 feet. It wasn’t a sea turtle or any kind of large fish by its shape and defi-nitely not a row boat.

After following it around for about 10 minutes, it suddenly came up to the surface. I couldn’t

believe my eyes. It was a Beluga whale! The Beluga was about

12 feet long and not more than 20 feet from my boat. What was it doing here in New York? These crea-tures lived in the Arctic and upper Cana-da, not here.

I quickly donned my mask, snorkel, and fins and jumped into

the water as close as I could to the whale. The Beluga, which was curious, approached me and came within 3 feet. It circled around me about 3 times, being very cautious.

Meanwhile, other people in boats and on the jetty were yell-ing warnings that it was a shark, and I was in big trouble. My friends shouted back that it was okay, it’s not a shark.

Then the Beluga got tired of looking me over and headed out to sea. I got out of the water be-ing somewhat exhilarated, and we headed to the Tea Wreck to finish our days diving.

After calling everyone I knew to tell them about this once in a lifetime expe-rience, I decid-ed to go back the next day with my un-derwater cam-era in the off

chance I could find the Beluga again. I took some other friends with me and we searched the area.

After about a half hour of search-ing, we figured that the Beluga was long gone. All of a sudden the Beluga flew out of the wa-ter about 40 feet from my boat. I couldn’t believe my good for-tune. I quickly put my gear on and stepped into the water. The Beluga came over to me and cir-cled around me and then went underneath me and was jump-ing out of the water appearing to be having a good time. I was snapping picture after picture as the whale stayed with me for a good hour.

To see a beluga whale two days in a row was unbelievable. As this was not its natural habitat, we assumed that it had escaped from some aquarium.

The next day I went to the li-brary to see what I could find about this magnificent creature. I found that it was a young fe-male, about one and a half years old. The older they get the whit-er their coloration is.

The next day, my wife Kitty called all the aquariums from Boston to Washington to see if anyone had lost a beluga. We figured if someone was cleaning

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201436

out a Beluga’s area, they would put the whale in a big cage in the ocean while they were work-ing. If the cage door somehow opened, that’s where this whale came from.

After all the calls, no one was missing a Beluga. They did however give her the name of the federal government man in charge of marine creatures.

We finally made contact and told him of our experiences. He was surprised that the whale was still in the area as he had contact the year before in Fire Island when the whale was only about 8 feet long. He tried to capture it to bring it back to the herd, but the whale was too clever and stayed away when he had a noose showing.

He advised me of the anti-ha-rassment laws and I explained that I was familiar with the law and that the whale came to me and initiated contact. He had no idea where the Beluga came from or why it was in these wa-ters.

The next 7 weekends were spent playing and photographing my new friend. She got to know the sound of my outboard and would come right down the in-let to meet me at my boat. When I arrived, she would make click-ing and chirping sounds until I got into the water to play with her.

Over time, I threw my ski tow line over her stern. She picked it up and put it on her nose as to mimic being towed or water skiing.

Her favorite game was tag. She would bump me and head away very slowly. I’d catch up to her

and tap her head and swim away. She would come after me and bump me again and head away until I would catch up to her and tap her again. This would go on until I was too tired to continue.

At times, she would nudge me until I got the idea to hold on to her. Then she would take me for a ride. She often would jump straight up into the air showing me that she was having fun.

This continued until November until it finally came time to pull up the boat for the season. She seemed to know that it was time to leave as she headed out to sea after our last get together.

It was a once in a lifetime expe-rience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have all my pictures to remind me of my en-counter and have won several awards for my photographs.

Written and experienced by Don Finck

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 37

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

Cambodians like to snack throughout the day, so it’s no surprise their capitol is

teeming with street - food choices.

Depending on what time it is, you’ll find scores of different types of street cuisine being sold by roving vendors or at stationary street stalls that cook on small charcoal grills.

Cambodia’s 10 greatest street foods

The local markets are also a good source of Khmer snacks, particularly Central, Kandal and Orussei, as well as the streets around the city’s many schools and universities.

Breakfast time and early evenings are particularly busy, as hungry students flood the streets, looking for fried noodles, Cambodian sandwiches and sweet treats.

1. Num pang

Baguettes are a lasting legacy of the French col-onization of Cambodia - as in Vietnam, they are used for street-side sandwiches that are filled with a mixture of Eastern and Western ingredients.

In Phnom Penh the sandwiches are filled with pate, butter or homemade mayonnaise, spicy red chili paste, crunchy pickled green papa-ya and carrot and a type of pork bologna and served with soy sauce and fish sauce on the side.

Try it at : Outside Kandal Market, Street 5, Phnom Penh

38

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

2. Nom banh chokThis popular breakfast food is often called the Cambodian national dish. It’s usually sold by women carrying the ingredients in baskets hanging from a pole balanced on their shoulders.

The noodles are made from fermented rice and topped with aromatic green fish curry gravy, flavored with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric root. Fresh herbs, bean sprouts, banana flower and cucumber are added for a pleasant, refreshing crunch.

Try it at : Russian Market, Street 440, Phnom Penh

3. Num plae aiThese yummy small, round rice dumplings are filled with liquid caramelized palm sugar and topped with fresh coconut shavings. They’re sometimes called nom somlap pdey, or “dessert that kills your husband,” because the smooth, chewy texture makes num plae ai easy to choke on if you eat them too fast!

Try it at: Top of street 258 and Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh

4. Bai sach chroukBai sach chrouk, or grilled pork with rice, is a simple and delicious breakfast food sold by numerous Phnom Penh street vendors, who usually sell out by 8:30 every morning.

Thinly sliced pork that’s been marinated in coconut milk or garlic is grilled slowly over warm coals. It’s served over steamed rice, sometimes with a fried egg, a side of freshly pickled daikon radish and cucumber, and a dab of spicy chili paste.

Try it at: Kandal Market, Street 5, Phnom Penh

39

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

5. Coconut waterVendors walk around Phnom Penh with carts piled high with young, green coconuts. They slice the tops off to order so customers can drink the coconut water with a straw.

Cambodians believe that coconut water is extremely healthy, and many locals try to drink a coconut every day. Once you’re finished, you can ask the vendor to slice the coconut open so you can access the flesh inside.

Try it at: Sihanouk Boulevard and Street 51, Phnom Penh

6. Fresh fruitOne of the simplest but most delicious street foods that Phnom Penh has to offer is fresh ripe fruit. Ambulatory vendors sell juicy pineapple, papaya, dragonfruit, watermelon, guava and green mango out of glass cases.

When you order, they’ll offer to cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces, which are eaten with a wooden skewer, and sprinkle it with entirely unnecessary MSG, sugar and chili.

Try it at: Top of street 258 and Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh

7. Mi charFried noodles are popular with students looking for an afternoon snack once school lets out. Most noodle sellers carry a few options in their cart - instant noodles from ramen packages, soft yellow egg noodles, or short, thick rice noodles.

They’re stir - fried in fish sauce and soy sauce with beef and greens, and usually a fried egg is added to the equation. Most Cambodians choose to eat mi char with mild, sweet chili sauce.

Try it at: Central Market, Street 53, Phnom Penh

40

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

8. Kuy teavYou’ll find similar noodle soups in Vietnam and Thailand, but kuy teav is believed to have originated with Chinese immigrants in Cambodia. Whatever its origins, the soup is a hearty breakfast made with pork or beef broth and thin rice noodles, and topped with fried shallots, green onions and crunchy bean sprouts. Sometimes the soup will also contain prawns, beef balls or pork liver and is served with red chili sauce with vinegar and sugar.

Try it at: Across from Pencil, Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh

9. Ngeav chamhoyCockles steamed with chilies, fragrant lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal are an enticing late - night snack sold street - side and by roving vendors pushing carts with portable steamers.

Ngeav is the Khmer word for a type of native clam known as the blood cockle due to its red color, caused by hemoglobin similar to that in human blood. Ngeav chamhoy taste best accompanied by a spicy chili sauce and washed down with a cold beer.

Try it at: Street 13, Phnom Penh

10. Num sang khya l’peouThis treat is as tasty as it is impressive. A pumpkin’s seeds are removed and then it’s filled with egg yolks, palm sugar and coconut milk. The top is put back on and the whole thing is steamed for half an hour. When it’s done, it’s sliced to best show off the contrasting orange pumpkin flesh filled with smooth, creamy custard.

Try it at: Orussei Market, Street 182, Phnom Penh

41

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201442

When diving off of New York’s Long Island, there are unexpect-ed surprises

One weekend, four of us had just finished a dive on the Black Warrior, a 225 foot steamship that ran aground off the Rocka-ways in 1859. She sits in about 35 feet of water and was rigged with sail and was flanked by two steam driven side wheels.

As we started to get out of our gear, one of the guys spotted a large dorsal fin cutting through the water and heading in our di-rection.

We figured it was a large shark and were excited with the sight-ing. As it got closer, it submerged but popped up again close to my 19 foot boat. We immediate-ly saw that it wasn’t a shark, but what was it? The creature was about 6 feet long, 4 feet high, and 2 feet wide. It looked like a raft with dorsal fins.

It was Bob Roth, a master in-structor for the YMCA since the early 60’s who identified it as

a Mola Mola, or giant Sunfish. He assured us it was harmless and jumped overboard for a closer look.

The creature let him go right up to it and didn’t sub-merge. He stayed with it for a bit, and then Bob shouted for me to jump in and have a look as he headed back to the boat.

I still had my wet suit on, so I put my neoprene gloves and fins back on and jumped into the water and caught up to it. I no-ticed that the skin had a rough look so I approached carefully. I started to pet it but my glove immediately started to shred.

That was some rough skin!

I observed the frontal area ap-peared to have a different tex-ture. I took a chance and re-moved one glove and stroked the soft looking area. To my surprise, it was soft as velvet. At this point the sunfish started to grunt softly, like a cat purring while being pet.

Another amazing feature was the eye color. It was a bright blue and closed like a camera lens. Then it let me hold onto it and took me for a little ride.

After a little while, I swam back to the boat and we were on our way to our next dive site.

After doing some research, I found that sunfish come to the surface to release natural oils because the oils make them buoyant and they can’t maneu-ver. They usually do this very early in the morning and that’s when fishermen see them.

It was unusual to find one in the early afternoon.

It was an exhilarating experi-ence that I will never forget.

Written and experienced By Don Finck

Another Diving Adventure

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 43

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014

Tourism on the rise

44

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 2014 45

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201446

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201445

47

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201446

48

Jul - sep, 2014 Jul - sep, 201447

49

50

51