Khmer New Year in Lao country

Water fall in Passe Province

Neighbor country of Cambodia is Lao, we spent a hold day from Phnom Penh to Stoeng Streng Province by car and across Kandal, Kompong Cham, Kratie and then Stoeng Streng Province.
ChampaSak is the one of provinces in Lao about 300 km from Stoeng Streng Province and across the border.

The similar culture Lao and Cambodian in New Year, Water Fall in ChampaSak province most of Cambodian and Lao are celebrations in New Year.

Message from your friend on Khmer New Year

Khmer New Year is coming soon, but my place job is not attend to absent that it is my stress in working condition, Many works and so hard working,,,,,,Ok never mind because this is my idea to change my position and work place.

For good relation with old friend I really inform all of my friend on the web, please invite me too if you having the New Year Celebration.

I wish all of you to get a happiness, healthy....

5 killed, 1 seriously injured by electric shock in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and one was seriously injured by an electric shock caused by short circuit on Friday morning in Phnom Penh, police from Phnom Penh authority said.

The incident occurred on Friday morning, at about 6:30 o'clock local time, in a family who's old father, 67-years-old, was first found died at the door, and other four people were killed and one was seriously injured when they wanted to support the old man, according to a policeman who asked not to be named.

Police said the incident was caused by short circuit because the family's house was in a low-lying place and had water standing due to raining for several days. Four were died instantly, and another one was seriously injured. They all killed by short circuit because their house was built mostly by used iron sheets.

Note: Every Year nearly Water festival are flooded by raining, ToulsangKeo
Commune , Russey Keo District, Phnom Penh

Flooding season in ToulsangKeo Area

Mototaxi drives on the flood raining

She is on the tire board, going to the Market

The child went to buy something on the shop

One month a go in flood season,,,,,What is the authorities responses? Toulsangeo area is located in Capital city in Khan Russey Keo district, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Every day I was sleep on the bed with the flood raining is underground, and walked across the water and spend half hours to work.

Ms Phon, house wife, every time goes to the market, she drives on the tire board.

Please help us... dont see like this in the raining season

Travel in Vietnams

We are the team in Government Officials, this place is Hochiminh City's park.

Cambodia- Vietnams border, we spend haftday from Phnom Penh to Cabodia-Vietnams Border.

Me and My wife visited in Vietnams, This place is Garden Park, Dalate City, In Vietnams,,, we spent one day for travel from Saigon City to Dalate City.

In Pchom Ben Season, for instruction letter from National Police in Cambodia

Climate Change

Cambodia announces plan to build country's biggest prison

Phnom Penh - The government has approved a plan to build Cambodia's largest prison, capable of holding 2,500 inmates, national media reported Thursday.

Cambodia currently has 24 prisons with a combined capacity of 12,500 prisoners. Many jails are overcrowded.

Heng Hak, the general director at the Ministry of the Interior's prisons department, told the Cambodia Daily that inmates would learn skills such as farming and animal husbandry.
'One of the most important functions in government prison reform is to make a big change in prisons from a place of punishment to a place of education and vocational training centres for prisoners,' he told the Cambodia Daily newspaper.

Heng Hak said the grounds of the new centre, called Correctional Centre 4, or CC4, will cover 846 hectares in Pursat province.

'It will be the biggest prison [in Cambodia],' he said. 'We expect that CC4 will be a key tool in resolving the matter of overcrowding.'

Australia is providing support for CC4 through its government aid programme. The project's corrections adviser, Cheryl Clay, told the Cambodia Daily that the new prison would have five sections capable of holding 500 inmates each.

Clay said the vocational training programmes would help to cut violence and aggression.

'This is a way for providing some meaningful skill development and meaningful activity, and is an accepted way of creating an avenue for more income for the prison,' she said.

Japan provides loans to develop Cambodian Sihanoukville port

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Thursday provided 72 million U.S. dollars in concession loans to develop Cambodia's Sihanoukville port to expand its capacity.

"The fund is to improve the capacity of Sihanoukville port, the only international deep sea port in Cambodia, by constructing multipurpose terminals including a bulk terminal and oil supply base, and developing infrastructure related to the terminal at the port," Hor Namhong, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation told reporters.

The minister signed the exchange note with Shinohara Katsuhiro, Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia, with the presence of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

It will also help contribute to industrial development and economic growth in Cambodia. And it is the third time that Japan has helped Sihanoukville port since 1999 aimed at improving handling capacity of containerized cargos, Hor said.

Japan also provided about 10 million U.S. dollars non-project grant aid for promotion of economic and social development efforts in Cambodia, Hor said, adding that since 1993, under the type of grant aid, Japan has extended to Cambodia a total amount of 187 million U.S. dollars.

Cambodia launches new air carrier to expand tourism

PHNOM PENH, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Monday launched a new national carrier Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA) with two ATR 72 planes for the first step, aimed at promoting the nation's tourism and government revenue.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the launching ceremony "the company will actively contribute to the improvement in the areas of transportation, trade and tourism as well as directly contributing to the job creation, which is the basis for socio-economic development in Cambodia."

Hun Sen also urged the leadership of the company "to be wise, professional and highly experienced," especially to be honest with high responsibility and commitment, teamwork and mutual understanding.

CAA is a joint venture with 51 percent owned by the government and 49 percent by Vietnam Airlines through 100 million U.S. dollars investment.

"We launched the new air carrier today with two ATR 72 planes for first step and near future we will use Airbus planes," Sok An, deputy prime minister and minister of the Council of Ministers said at the launching ceremony presided over by Prime Hun Sen and Visiting Vietnamese Deputy prime minister Truong Vinh Trong.

Cambodian side will provide the facilities including office buildings and other infrastructure for the new national airline, Sok An said, adding that Cambodia will not be responsible for any loss and debt.

The new aviation will fly with local and regional service including Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap, the gateway to the world famous Angkor Wat temple, as well as to Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok, according to Sok An.

Tourism sector contributed 12 percent of GDP of the country last year, Hun Sen said, adding that the Cambodian government will support and encourage everything for the new aviation to process smoothly and to compete with other airlines. The safety for all travelers is necessary in the air service, he added.

As the symbol of launching ceremony, the Visiting Vietnamese DPM Truong Vinh Trong flew with Cambodian DPM Sok An to Siem Reap province. And another flight flew to costal province of Sihanoukville.

Cambodia's national airline Royal Air Cambodge, a joint venture with Malaysia Helicopter Services, closed down in 2001, after it lost about 20 million U.S. dollars since it began operations in 1994.

Over the past few years, Cambodia has been seeking foreign partners to re-establish its own new national airline, but was unsuccessful.

Vietnam invests into Cambodia in banking and airline

By Dieu Thuy

Nhan Dan Online- The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) will start its operation in Cambodia from July 26. In the meantime, Vietnam Airlines will also announce its co-operation in establishing Cambodia Ankor Airlines.

Speaking at a press conference held in Hanoi on July 23, Chairman of the BIDV’s Boards of Directors, Tran Bac Ha said BIDV has invested to establish the Investment and Development Company (IDCC), Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC), the Cambodia – Vietnam Insurance Company and BIDV representative office in Cambodia.

With an initial capital of US $100 million, the company’s activities cover the banking and finance, trade and insurance sectors.

IDCC is finishing all procedure for the purchase of the Prosperity Investment Bank, a private bank of Cambodia as well as for the establishment of Cambodia – Vietnam Insurance company.

The bank, after being purchased will be renamed the Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia. “Cambodia now has only 24 commercial banks with not many services, so this is an opportunity for Vietnam to penetrate the market. Around 400 Vietnamese businesses which are now investing in Cambodia are the potential customers of BIDC,” said Ha.

“In the future, BIDC will open its branch in Ho Chi Minh City and later in Hanoi,” Ha added.

The BIDV chairman also revealed that BIDV has got the agreement from the Cambodia National Bank on opening BIDV representative office in Phnom Penh. The representative office is expected to officially open early next month with the aim of providing information for Vietnamese businesses which desire to invest in Cambodia.

Also in the press conference, Vietnam Airlines announced its co-operation in setting up the Cambodia Ankor Airlines.

Vietnam Airlines General Director Vu Ngoc Minh said Cambodia Ankor Airlines will have the initial capital of US $ 100 million. Cambodia Ankor Airlines will launch its inauguration on July 27.

Reaction with Thai website is ilovekhmer website

This webisite is no pushing nationalism or complex for all the people, it is providing for all the people in the world to supporting in confuse idea and reaction with thai website.

According to ilovekhmer website: Important Notice: This is Not here to stir up nationlist tension or cause porblems of any kind. It is simply intended to provide internationally accepted facts to counter the provably false accusation initially made on the website http://www.ilovethailand.org/

If this site results in inappropriate behaviour or is used as an excuse for violence or tourble-making of any kind, the entire website will immediately be removed. We also remove this website if requested to do so by Cambodian authorites.

Chinese mobiles finding favor in Cambodian market

PHNOM PENH, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Distributors here have said that the number of Chinese-sourced mobile phones being sold in Cambodia each month is climbing rapidly, local newspaper the PhnomPenh Post reported on Tuesday.

Not only are they cheaper than leading brands, but some have features including the ability to use two SIM cards, built-in radio and TV receivers and MP3 and MP4 players, it said.

The Ky Hout company said that it imports between 6,000 and 8,000 phones monthly for distribution in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang. The sales manager, who asked not to be named, said customers liked the fact that the phones were substantially cheaper than the competition.

She said sales were up ten-fold since the start of the year. "Previously we imported only 300 t0 600 of these phones each month that sell for between 35 U.S. dollars and 100 U.S. dollars each," she said, adding, "Our sales of Nokia phones have dropped by 80 percent."

Srey Touch, the owner of another importer, the 03 Company, agreed that sales of Chinese-made phones were up sharply. "We import new model phones two or three times a month, with up to 500phones each time," he said, adding, "The phones sell especially well during the big national holidays such as Khmer New Year, Pchum Ben and the Water Festival."

But representatives of Nokia and Sony Ericsson said their market share was not being hit by the cheaper competition. "Sales are stable," said Yoeun Makara, a retail sales manager who imports Nokia phones. "Moreover, 80 percent of our customers choose to buy Nokia because it is strong and robust, and they like the new touch screen models."

Chea Mony, the head of marketing at Sony Ericsson in Cambodia, is also bullish. He said sales were up at least 10 percent this year. "The influx of Chinese cell-phones creates opportunities for many users, but it is not an obstacle for Sony Ericsson because competition goes beyond price, and Sony Ericsson offers many different prices including low, medium and high," he said.

So Khun, minister of posts and telecommunications, said in May that 4.23 million of the country's 13.4 million citizens have mobile phones, and that the nation has just 42,000 landlines.

Nine mobile phones companies operate in Cambodia: Beeline, Excell, Hello, MFone, Metfone, Mobitel, qb, Smart and Star-Cell.

Visiting in Korea,,,

Subway in Korea

Beer and Fishing soup at Korea

Dinner with Fishing soup at Korea

Dinner with Fishing soup at Korea

Mid night at Korea

In fact,,,,Good cooperation between Cambodia wih Korea,,,, Approximately 6 hours on the fligh with Korean or Asiana Airlines from Cambodia to Korea.

Rocket blast injures soldiers near Cambodia PM's home

PHNOM PEHN (Reuters) - Rockets exploded on Sunday at a Cambodian military base near the prime minister's residence, state-run television said, and military officials said the incident was an accident.

Military and police officials said the explosion was caused by a fire started accidentally by a mechanic working on a truck at the base on the southern outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh.

"A truck driver and his assistant were wounded, one of them seriously," TVK television said in a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
At least nine trucks were damaged in the fire.

"A number of rockets were accidentally fired from the truck," a military security guard told Reuters.

Government seeks for reported of WWF's explanation about the Mekong River Dophine

According, Ki-media, DPA
Phnom Penh - A Cambodian official Wednesday threatened to suspend the operations of an international wildlife group after it released a report claiming an endangered dolphin species was at risk of extinction due to pollution in the Mekong River.

Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Cambodia's Commission for Conversation and Development of the Mekong River Dolphins Eco-Tourism Zone, said World Wildlife Foundation (WFF) investigators faced suspension unless they met with him to discuss their report.

The WFF report released last week said 88 dolphins had died since 2003 and researchers had found toxic levels of pesticides and environmental contaminants in their analysis of Irrawaddy dolphin calves. 'This report simply is not true,' Touch Seang Tana told a press conference.

'These findings were reported without consultation with me, so I sent a letter to the WFF to come and meet with me to clarify these points.'

He denied that dolphin deaths were caused by pollution and said the report put Cambodia's burgeoning eco-tourism sector at risk.

'A few deaths have been caused by dolphins becoming trapped in fishing nets in the Mekong River, but it was not due to pollution,' he said.

'I wrote to the WFF to clarify this and if they do not wish to meet with me to discuss this, then their operations in the area could be suspended.'

The report estimated that between 64 and 76 dolphins remained in the 160-kilometre stretch of the Mekong that runs through Laos and Cambodia.

It said 60 per cent of the 88 deaths had occurred in dolphin calves less than two weeks old.

Left from homeland and Visiting

Prey Veng Provinces has the borders with Svay Rieng, Kandal, Kompong Cham Provinces and Other side near Vietnam’s border.

We go to Vey Vet Village, the new natonal road 8th are under constructed by Cambodian Government and sponsored from Chinese friendship about, approximately 50 km from Phnom Penh, located in Pearaing District, Prey Veng Province.

Along times ago lives in USA, the black shadow was created by Khmer Rough in 1975, It was the bad situation in Cambodia, Mr Soth Sophal, he is 57 years old and escaped from homeland to lives in USA, the third times to visits in Cambodia and now he and his family in USA and Cambodia are making birth Day, Thankfulness and Teaching ceremony.

As seeing that, birth day, thankfulness and teaching ceremony is the Khmer Culture for remind parents, ancestors memory whom gave a birth, knowledges..... this ceremony is making the food for eating and giving to the monks.

Mekong River dolphins at risk of extinction, WWF says

(CNN) -- Pollution in the Mekong River in Southeast Asia has pushed the local population of Irrawaddy dolphins to the brink of extinction, the World Wildlife Fund warned Wednesday.
The small freshwater dolphins, distinguished by their round heads and short dorsal fins, are already listed as a threatened species, the WWF said in a report.

But analysis of recent dolphin deaths shows their immune systems are suffering because of contaminants in the river, which flows through Cambodia and into southern Laos.

"These pollutants are widely distributed in the environment and so the source of this pollution may involve several countries through which the Mekong River flows," said Verne Dove, a veterinarian with WWF Cambodia who authored the report. "WWF Cambodia is currently investigating the source of the environmental contaminants."

The Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin population inhabits a 190-kilometer (118-mile) stretch of the Mekong River between Cambodia and Laos, the WWF said.

Since 2003, the population has suffered 88 deaths, more than 60 percent of which were calves less than 2 weeks old, the WWF said.

Only an estimated 64 to 76 dolphins are in the river, the group said."Necropsy analysis identified a bacterial disease as the cause of the calf deaths," Dove said. "This disease would not be fatal unless the dolphins' immune systems were suppressed, as they were in these cases, by environmental contaminants."

Researchers found toxic levels of pesticides such as DDT and environmental contaminants such as PCBs in the dead dolphin calves. The pollutants also might endanger people along the Mekong who consume the same fish and water as the dolphins, the group said.

Researchers also found high levels of mercury in some of the dead dolphins. Mercury weakens the immune system, making the animals more susceptible to disease. The mercury might come from gold mining, the WWF said.

The group called for a cross-border preventive health program to manage the diseased animals and reduce their deaths.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the Irrawaddy dolphin on its Red List of Threatened Species since 2004.

Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphins are regarded as sacred by Khmer and Lao people, and are an important source of income and jobs for communities involved in ecotourism.

More than 60 million people in the lower Mekong basin depend on the river system for food, transport and other economic activity. The river is one of the largest inland fisheries in the world, producing an estimated 2.5 million tons of fish per year, according to the WWF.

In some parts of Asia, the dolphins are seen as competitors because they eat the same fish as humans, according to the University of Michigan's Museum of Zoology. The dolphins can also become entangled in fish nets and damage them.

But in other parts of Asia, Irrawaddy dolphins can help fishermen by driving fish into their nets, the university said.

The university cited a report of fishermen in Myanmar who attracted the dolphins by tapping the sides of their boats with oars. The dolphins then swam around the boats and forced fish into nets, the university said.

The fishermen shared their catch with the dolphins and considered them friends, the university said.

Unlike the more widely known bottlenose dolphins, the Irrawaddy dolphins have a large, round head with no beak. Their dorsal fin -- the fin on their back -- is smaller and more rounded than their better-known cousins.

Irrawaddy dolphins have large flippers, but they are not particularly active and do not leap as high as the bottlenose dolphins, the university said.

Australia's Toll to help revive Cambodian railway

PHNOM PENH, June 15 (Reuters) - Cambodia has awarded a 30-year contract to manage its railway system to a venture led by Australia's Toll Holdings (TOL.AX), which should boost trade and attract more tourists, company officials said on Monday.

The Southeast Asian country has two lines dating back to French colonial days in the 1930s running over 652 km (405 miles).

Toll is a leading provider of transport and logistics services in Asia. Eugene Cody, its general manager for Cambodia, said Toll would have a 55 percent stake in the venture, with 45 percent going to local partner Royal Group.

He and other officials would not reveal the investment planned nor give details on profit sharing with Cambodia's government, but they said the new system would be in place in 2011, complete with new imported locomotives.

The first line links the capital, Phnom Penh, to Poi Pet near the border with Thailand, while the second links Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville beach, the country's second-biggest tourist destination.

"Can you imagine being able to catch the train from Thailand to Cambodia, down through the rice fields before going to the beach. It's beautiful," said Australian Ray Yager, a spokesman for the Royal Group in Phnom Penh.

The rail infrastructure was badly damaged during the country's civil war in the 1970s but a service has continued for both freight and passengers.

The Asian Development Bank said in March it would provide a loan of $42 million to help renovate the railways. (Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Alan Raybould)

Thai PM to visit Cambodia Friday on 12-06-09

By: BangkokPost.com
Published: 11/06/2009 at 11:09 AM

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will make an official visit to Cambodia on Friday for bilateral talks, including discussions on the continuing border dispute near Preah Vihear temple and the sea border in the Gulf of Thailand.

It will be hisd first trip to Cambodia since taking office in December.

Mr Abhisit said on Thursday he had to cancel his planned visit to Cambodia on April 18 because of the anti-government riots in Bangkok.

He will meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss expansion of bilateral cooperation, such as the construction of roads connecting the two countries, the development of water resources, electricity sales and tourism promotion.Thailand will offer low-interest loans to Cambodia, and will return seven Khmer artifacts smuggled into Thailand by thieves about 10 years ago and later seized by police, he said.Mr Abhisit said he will also meet Thai businessmen in Phnom Penh to discuss their problems and try and help them if possible.