W; West Baray

West Mebon Baray – a vast man-made lake

As we were staying a few days in Siem Reap we took a trip to see the West Baray reservoir.  This is one of the largest man-made lakes in Cambodia. It looks extremely natural and measures 8 by 2.1 kilometres. It was constructed east-westerly and is close to Angkor Thom. It's water is contained by high wide dyke's and  both the baray/ reservoir and the island were built by the Khmer soldiers and on it stands the West Mebon Hindu Temple.

The French believed that the West Baray was built to hold large tanks of water with irrigation pipes to feed the rice fields. After careful architectural research it was found that on the base of the lake, walls, steps and pottery objects were found with an inscription on them with 713 AD showing signs of early day settlements.

The east dyke runs down and around the Angkor Thom the capital city of King Yasavarman with the Bethang temple at its centre. There were some places submerged beneath the water. The south dyke partially covered a brick section of the A K Tung temple.

The water is clean and the local people visit to swim  and sail the boats. 

V: Vulture - Bird of Prey

Vultures Birds of Prey

Here we have our favourite bird of all time. The Scavengers of the Jungle. 

Vultures found within the province of Stung Treng in Cambodia are between 70-85 cm high. This is classed as medium size. Their heads are darkish with a pinkish grey colouring with silver beaks. They have quite large round eyes and their necks are thick and short, with a white collar around the bottom, a dark black plumage covers the top down to the rump  lower feather which are a silver colour..

The main threat to these birds of prey is caused by lack of sustainable food. With the continual hunting and poaching of buffalo over the years there has been a decline on numbers of vultures in areas of china and Eastern Asia. This was partially caused by a drug used on domestic farm animals to reduce inflammation.  Unfortunately the drug residue remains in carcasses and the vultures were poisoned when consuming the meat.

Apparently the drug is absent in Cambodia and a group of supporting  farmers have set up vulture restaurants to help feed these critically endangered birds. There are two restaurants one in Stung Treng province and the other Siempang and Seasan. These restaurants have been set up by local agricultural farmers by dropping off cows that have not been treated with the drug dichlofenic. Rangers are monitoring and supervising each  restaurant. It has been noted since 1980 that 171  vultures were counted at vulture restaurants.

U: Ursus thybetinus

Cambodia Black Bear

There are eight species of bears throughout the world but Cambodian has the black and Sun brown  bears. These are beautiful animals with large bodies and thick sturdy legs. Their heads are broad between the ears with a long snout and smallish eyes. They have flat padded paws with five sharp non-retractable claws.

With an acute sense of smell, it helps them to find berries and other tasty snacks which is their main diet. They have a quick athletic build and are excellent swimmers and climbers. They make their homes in burrows and caves and some do hibernate in the wild. They are naturally very unsociable but have been seen in small groups. This is generally mother bears with their cubs.Ursidae (The Family)

They are nocturnal but some can be crepuscular becoming active (Dawn and Dusk) or diurnal active during (daylight hours).

These beautiful animals are taken as cubs, put in cages and basically tortured and starved only to entertain tourists and travellers or used for medicine. Some are kept tied up and their body parts are removed when still alive and are used for soups, medicine and other awful cruel painful extremes. These beautiful animals are being hunted and butchered as we speak.

Keeping or poaching bears is illegal in Cambodia and despite recent efforts to increase penalties both hunting and killing of the Sun bear and Asiatic black bear continues.

There are many ways to help save these lovely creatures -  at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre.

T: Tonle Sap

Tonle Sap Sunsets

Tonle Sap is a large freshwater lake situated  not far away from Seim Reap and the Angkor City. 

During the wet season the Tonle Sap lake becomes swollen and  the people who live there during the wet season move back to the flood plain. Their homes are made of wood and sit upon stilts. Tonle Sap is the largest fresh water lake in the whole of Asia.

In the dry season the lake is 2500km wide and one metre deep but during the wet season  the lake expands to a massive  12000 km and three times the depth at least.. The home of the villagers  is 16km South East of Seim Reap and the lake is surrounded by mangrove forests. This whole area is the home to a large variety of crab eating birds.

Ang Trapeng Thmor is a Reserve for the Sarus Crane.of which  there are 300 of this species and 200 of other wild bird species.

Prey Taol is the Wild birds Sanctuary, it is the home of many of Cambodia's large wild birds and is the perfect home for bird watchers. The best time to see these birds is in the dry season, when the birds arrive to breed. The local people rely on the fish and shrimps which are harvested.

S: Sihanoukville

Sihanoukville

The history of Sihanoukville goes back only as far as 1955 when the area was then known as kampong Saom. In August of that year a group of construction workers made camp in an area of the jungle which they decided was unoccupied. This was to be the base camp for the building of the new port of Kampong Saon.   1954, Indochina,  Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were one unit within French authority. It was during this time that Cambodia continued to  maintain control of the international sea trade on the Mekong river. The dissolution of the French Indochina in 1954, meant that the Mekong Delta could revert back to the control of the Vietnam. The Vietnam administered support to access the ocean by putting into action the construction and building of the port. They decided on Kampong Saon because of its depth of water and because it was more accessible.

Sihanoukville has since become a resort which is offering a wide scale of activities and top class holiday accommodation. It is five minutes away from Sokha beach and is about a kilometre long. it is well kept and  and open to the public.

Siamese  crocodiles

Wildlife National Park

Siamese crocodiles have been in decline for a number of years. According to experts, they say there are only 250 Siamese crocodiles left that are roaming wild in Cambodia. Some have spread themselves over a wider area than what was originally thought. The area now cover includes Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam and possibly Thailand.

It was recently noted, that a nest of 22 eggs had been found, out in the Cardamom mountains in Cambodia. The nest was found in the jungle by a researcher who had been on the look out  for crocodile eggs... Fifteen of the eggs were removed from the nest and taken to safety. They were then placed in a compost heap incubation area to stay until they hatched. The others were left behind as the researcher thought they might not hatch at all. A camera  trap had been set up to keep an eye on the eggs in the nest in case of predators.

Shortly afterwards the fifteen eggs began to hatch naturally, and  it showed that the other seven were hatching also. Only a small amount of these crocodiles will survive and it will take up to fifteen years for each one to reach maturity.

Due to the decline in numbers these crocodiles have been listed critically endangered reptiles. The Chouerng people believe that the crocodiles are forest spirits and should not be harmed in anyway. Hopefully the young Siamese crocodiles will be taken care of until they are a year old. They will be allowed to return to a wild but somewhere where they will hopefully be protected. The harsh world of hunters are out there who love their soft skin, also the breeders who stock them to cross with larger crocodiles. This will weaken their species and the fear is that they may become through time extinct.

The operation to protect and hatch the eggs was mounted by United Kingdom-based Fauna and Flora International, for whom conservation of this once-abundant species is a key program.

R: Ratanakiri

Ratanakiri's  History

From the Stone Age to the /Bronze Age in the 4th century, the towns and regions of the highlander people were invaded by armies of Annamites, Chams, Khmer and Thai during the early years. Between 13th - 18th centuries, Highlands and villages were raided and prisoners were taken as slaves by the kings slave traders.

The French arrived 1893 and incorporated French Indochina area with a communal rule replacing slavery. Rubber plantations were built and the local people where forced to work.They did not like communal rule to begin with but later became weak and accepted it. Ratanakiri province was created 1959, the land in and around it had originally been Shing Treng Province and the name Ratanakiri was made up from the word Ratana = "Gem"  and Kiri "Mountain" both from Sanskrit giri) two features for which Ratanakiri is known.

1950-1960 Khmer campaigned in north-east Cambodia to bring the villagers under government rule.  They were put to work on roads and the rubber plantations. The working  conditions were horrendous and the people forced to work.  If they didn't cooperate the Khmer burnt the villages and killing hundreds of people.

In 1969 - 1970 The United States moved in and bombed the region, forcing Khmer  people out of the town to forage for food as they ran to escape the Khmer. 1970 Central government withdrew their troops leaving Khmer Rouge regime to pick up the pieces. These were harsh times but then  life became much worse. Khmer Lao were not allowed to speak in their native tongue nor practise their religious faith, schools were closed, which were believed incompatible with the communists.

In 1979 the Vietnamese defeated the Khmer. after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, its rebels remained in the forests of Ratanakiri.

Female Baby Elephant

Ratanakiri Wildlife National Park

Ratanakiri with its monsoon climate, lowland tropical forest and it mountainous hilly forestry make it the ideal home for some of their wild animals within the asian mainland. There are two provinces, Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri where its been recorded that there are over 40 species of mammals, which include Asian elephants, gaur and monkey's. 76 species of birds, and  9 reptile species. Within the Virachey National Park alone there are 30 species of ants, 19 Katydid species, 37 species of fish, 35 species of reptile, 26 species of amphibian numerous others which not been observed enough yet.. Areas have been placed within the park for the different species including the endangered species of birds, giant ibis. The floral ground cover of around 320 types of ground cover and 189 tree species including young saplings. Almost half of Ratanakiri has been put out to endangered species to protect them, these areas include Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary. and the Virachey National park.

Q: Queen

There have only been two Queens that have been documented during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, from the year 1181 AD and during that time were recognised as very good years. He was a great king leaving his stamp on Cambodian history.

King Jayavarman VII and his two Queens created a wonderful Khmer Empire. His first Queen Jayarajadevi was his first wife with incredible talent in architecture but later died and he married her sister Queen Indradevi, both sisters and devout Buddhists. The second queen was also an architect, they both advised in the structure and designs of  the temples. They nurtured social changes for the people of Cambodia helping in the organisation of religious education for the future generation. The king built different functions and memorials for his parents. They were great war leaders as a triad. Together with the King not only did  he cover architecture but places of education, hospitals and rest places for weary travellers. Wherever the king went his queen's were close behind him.

In 1989 the World Monument Fund spent a great deal of time and money doing such good work  to maintain this beautiful temple Preah Khan. They classified these two Queen's were apsaras or deities.  This allowed the locals to deface these queens, so that they could worship them. Hence the statues have lipstick, powder and incense around them. These were the only sculptures to have precious stones encrusted in their crown, and other areas of their bodies as well as golden hoops in their ears. All of which have been stolen or lobes hacked off.  It is believed that these two statues were indeed queens and not apsaras after all.