Phnom Penh has a bright future with new streetlights

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Photo by: Tracey Shelton
The Independence Monument lit up at night - as more attractions may soon be.
In an effort to make Phnom Penh more attractive at night, the municipality plans to spend US$1m to illuminate its streets
PHNOM Penh Municipality plans to spend US$1 million early next year to illuminate the city at night in order to give tourists a more beautiful view of the capital.
"We want Phnom Penh to become a tourist destination of the world," the capital's governor, Kep Chuktema, told the Post Wednesday after the inauguration of a new road.
"I think it is time for the municipality to show tourists Phnom Penh's nighttime charisma," he added.
Last month with France's help, the municipality finished a feasibility study on the project, and next week Kep Chuktema will visit France to discuss the finances of the plan. He said that the funding will come from France either in the form of aid or loans.
The project includes new streetlights and spotlights on main buildings and tourist attractions.

Tourist attraction

Both the Ministry of Tourism and city travel agents welcomed the prospect of a brighter Phnom Penh.
Ho Vandy, the president of Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, said that it could increase the number of tourists.
"I welcome this project and I believe that tourist arrivals to the city will increase between 10 to 15 percent when the project is finished," he said.
According to Ministry of Tourism statistics, 833,422 visitors passed through Phnom Penh in the first 10 months of this year - about half of the 1.7 million tourists who have travelled in Cambodia during the same period.
"This number will increase faster if the city is well-organised," said Kong Sopheareak, director of the Statistics and Tourism Information Department at the Tourism Ministry.

Nothing new

Independent tourism analyst Meoung Son doubted, however, that a few lights would bring more tourists to Phnom Penh.
He believes that tourists want to see things they do not already have in their own countries.
Meoung Son emphasised that during the 1960s, Phnom Penh had many tourists because of the city's old, unique buildings - not because of its lighting.
"I think the light installation is good, but I believe it won't last long, because the city is facing an electricity shortage," Meoung Son added.
But Victor Zona, director general of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, disagreed.

"I think this project will not be affected by the [current] shortage of electricity [in Phnom Penh] because the power supply from Vietnam will be ready," he said.

Thai Airway resume flight

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Taxis wait for passengers outside of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport December 4, 2008. Bringing hope to 230,000 stranded foreign tourists, Airports of Thailand said the $4 billion Suvarnabhumi airport, one of Asia's largest, would resume "full service" at 0400 GMT on Friday after a week-long shutdown by PAD protesters.REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (THAILAND)

Tourists from Greece pose as they exit an Thai Airways flight from Phuket, the first to land at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport December 3, 2008, after a week long anti-government protest paralyzed air travel.(Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)
Passengers wave towards cameras as they exit an Thai Airways flight from Phuket, the first to land at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport December 3, 2008, after a week long anti-government protest paralyzed air travel.(Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

HISTORY

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it appeared owing to the ancient Khmer rulers who strengthened unity between peoples with a good political doctrine and the development of an intelligent irrigation system who allowed to control water of the Mekong River for agricultures and so to work out its prosperity. Then it were slowly deteriorated during five century. Of this Khmer Civilization, it left some fabulous and exceptionals monuments (like Angkor Wat and Bayon Khmers temples), some numerous sculptures.



The word " Angkor " is derived Sanskrit (an ancient Indian language), of " Nagara " which means " City ". Angkor Wat literally means " City of Temple " and Angkor Thom " The Magnificent City ".



The ancient Khmers were great masters of stone carving and we can see the evidences of various Angkor temples who extended on the large plain of Siem Reap up to outside of Cambodian border to the Preah Vihear at Dangrek mountain, Phnomrung and Phimai in Thailand and Wat Phu in Laos. These temples were make up patiently during centuries by Khmer artisans. This expect a main energy to realize such efforts as a long time, in contradiction with the normal and easy life of the Khmer people and villagers of their time.



For historians and archaeologists, it is not easy to do the detailed study of Khmer civilization. Most of the writing, found after the excavation of Angkor, were carved in the stones, who became the best support against time wear. They are important evidences to understand the basic constituency of Khmer society and its chronology. They relate principally religious rituals, king's praise and literatue of Indian epics of " Ramayana " and " Mahabharata ". There is not much things on the subject of the ordinary life of the local people.



It is owing to a Chinese Ambassador, Zhou Daguan in the middle of 13th century during the Chinese dinasty Yuan, who traveled to Angkor, lived with peoples and explored the empire during one year, that we learn more things about Khmer civilization. He writed very clearly and vividly how people were live in the khmer society in this period.



Angkor Wat represent center of Khmer civilization. It is situated on the plain of Siem Reap province north of the Great Lake of Tonle Sap.



All along Khmer history, the throne were often desire, which involved some violent bloodshed. Differents successive kings build each one a different capital, alls in the Angkor Wat and Ruolos sector, with some names like Hariharata, Yasodharapura, Jayendanagari, Angkor Thom and a lot of others unknown names.



Much temples like Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom represent incontestably the relics of the past Khmer Civilization.



In the Khmer society, hierarchy include above the God-King, surrounded by brahmins tutors and the members of his royal family. The priests who live in the temples were also powerful and contoled their own lands and paddy fields.



The names of donors were written in the stone, on the temples and we learn that they were allowed noblemen or high dignitary responsible for the administrative and judiciary tasks, how that may be, all this wasn't very precise for historians, it is so difficult to drow up a complete list of the Angkor Empire hierarchy.



The Khmer Civilization economy was based principally on agriculture, the majority of people was farmers or peasants and some of the less wealthy of them was fastened to large landowners or of the temples.



The lowest hierarchy of the Khmer Civilization was reserved to slaves who beloyed at temples, which we found the majority of the names inscribed on the stone. Their names was keeped in a holy place, what who let think they could not have been the low class slaves as its word " slave " implied. For historians they were only temples servants and priests were " Gods slaves " and not to any human being. In fact, slaves were mostly captured in the neighboring countries, but Khmer people themselves could fall in the lowest status and being a " slave " if they failed to pay their rents or loans to the upper ruling class.