Cambodia - Development Continues Unabated

Although the growth in tourists visiting Sihanoukville has stalled, the tourists continue to flock to Siem Reap in ever increasing numbers. That the economy as a whole grows at a high rate, which is evident in the increasing number of cars on the roads of Phnom Penh. The river bank has become a promenade while the road running along this promenade has become a traffic nightmare.

The luxury cars parked outside Phnom Penh’s fancy night clubs indicate the existence of a class of noveau riche with plenty of cash to spend.

That the Pizza Company (Thailand’s copy of Pizza Hut) has opened up in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville is an indication that the Cambodian middle class is expected to grow. The huge Olympia development a stone throw from the king’s palace is another example of that somebody is willing to bet big money on Cambodia’s future.

During my road trips around Sihanoukville, I ended up west of the refinery and oil terminal. Out there, they were putting the finishing touches on a new power station (co-financed by the Asian Development Bank) as power transformers from China were about to be installed at the substation. I also noticed that work is on-going to (re-) build rail road tracks from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and to Sihanoukville. So, Cambodia wants to become a “modern country”.

An aspect of this is the pursuit of development is the popularity of learning English. Since the government schools are of pretty low standards, people attend private schools in droves. This has resulted in a huge number of private schools or “academies”, which then has forced some ingenuity in terms of naming schools. For example, American Idol International School and Rockefeller School.   

All this makes me conclude: Anybody new to this region better hurry – visit Cambodia now before the good old days with laid back atmosphere and grand old architecture are gone.

Or skip the main tourist destinations and visit Kep or Kampot. 

Cambodia - Sihanoukville Revisited

A couple of years ago, when visiting Sihanoukville, I got the feeling it had become like a town in the wild west – money could buy you anything and opportunities abounded for investors flashing cash. Russian tourists and Russian money (of dubious origin) poured in. Big plans were hatched and entire islands were snapped up (e.g., www.morakotisland.com) by investors with deep pockets.

Now, the situation is quite different. Some of the Russian money men stepped on the wrong toes and their projects went nowhere. The bridge to Koh Phous (Morakot Island) was opened with great fanfare January 1, 2012, but then closed almost immediately thereafter.

Russian tourists no longer flock to the beaches around Sihanoukville, so several hotel projects have been put on hold. For a guy like me, that’s great because I don’t like crowds and the beaches near Sihanoukville are superb.

One side effect the “Russian boom” (although now bust) has had is that the Internet got filled with warnings that the Cambodian islands all were about to be turned into playgrounds for the ultra-rich. Among back-packers, this created a rush to visit these islands before they disappeared. To stay on one or more Cambodian islands became an almost mandatory activity for back-packers passing through Sihanoukville.

As a consequence, the few rustic resorts that were on the islands could not cope with the demand and they expanded capacity. Moreover, entrepreneurs rushed to sign lease agreements and build new resorts in order to meet the demand. Still today, occupancy rates on the islands remain high so more and more bungalows are being built on the islands.

In other words, the big bad Russian plans are no longer a threat to the Cambodian islands, but the demand created by back-packers is gradually resulting in that the Cambodian islands soon will be Paradise Lost just like Koh Samui and Koh Phangan and many other Thai islands are.

Anyway, if you are not a beach freak, there is also a quite nice waterfall to visit while in Sihanoukville. That is, if you can find the dusty road that will take you there. They could do a lot to improve road signage in Cambodia, but I get by with sign language to get directions.

However, some times this approach may result in mistakes and detours, which simply has to be taken as an added experience. In one instance it may take you to a rural village during rice harvest or it may take you through a slum where one gets a taste of what it really entails living on less than USD 2 per day. 

Chonburi - Laem Chabang

Laem Chabang is Thailand’s largest container port and I happened to spend an afternoon on one of the port’s tug boats. 

Laem Chabang is the primary exit point for the export of stuff manufactured in Thailand’s industrial heartland; namely the provinces of Chonburi, Rayong, and Chachoengsao. What is made in Thailand covers a wide spectrum. For example, Caterpillar and Komatsu make heavy earth moving equipment, Ducatti makes motorcycles, Titleist makes golf balls, STP&I assembles for the huge LNG facilities being built in Australia, and the list goes on.

One of the primary export items to move through Laem Chabang is vehicles. The before-mentioned provinces form “The Detroit of the East”. Mitsubishi, Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Isuzu, and Chevrolet all have their factories there – Toyota furthermore has its original plant in Samut Prakarn – and they all export large quantities of vehicles to ASEAN, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and even further away.

The picture above shows one of the car terminals with lots of Toyotas. The few vehicles pointing inland have just been off-loaded (imported from Indonesia) while the rest are ready to be driven onboard the car carrier. 

Tak - Hot Springs

You can get in hot water if you believe the answers you get when traveling around Thailand.

For example, before I follow signs that indicate the way to hot springs, I tend to ask locals whether it is possible to enjoy oneself in the springs. Apparently, this question – and even the more specific question of whether it is possible to immerse oneself into the hot water – is open to interpretation.

After receiving confirmatory answers, I showed up at Mae Kasa Hot Spring near Mae Sot (Tak) only to find out that the only activity possible was to boil eggs in the spring.

At Phra Ruang Hot Spring (Kamphangphet), it was indeed possible to get into the water, but barely up to the knees. This was explained (?) by that the spring's mineral water can heal some diseases. That was also why they had built small platforms for people to sit and dip their feet in the hot spring water with high mineral content.

Not what I have expected, but still an interesting place to spend a couple of hours. And the grounds / park around the springs are very nicely maintained.

I am actually only interested if one can fully immerse oneself into warm spring water like at Hin Dad (Kanchanaburi) and Namtok Ran (Krabi).