Friday, February 15, 2013

Cambodia, the world's friendliest country



Cambodia was named the friendliest country in the world, ahead of its ASEAN neighbors.

This is according to Rough Guides, a travel guidebook and reference publisher in the United Kingdom.

The Philippines and Laos came second and third respectively in the rankings. Meanwhile, Thailand was ranked the fifth.

Rough guides said Cambodia was by far the top answer in their polls and a popular choice among staff members and their twitter followers alike.

One of those who tweeted declared Cambodians have been through so much and still have a smile on their face.

Rough guides also included Phnom Bakheng in Siem Reap as one of the world’s best sunset spots.

At around 4pm a large and cheerful crowd begins to gather at the top of the Bakheng Mountain

They wait for the magical moment when the sun hits the top of the Tonle Sap Lake, sparkling and shimmering. 

story by Chea Makara, CNC/This Is Cambodia

Friday, February 8, 2013

Sidewalk-turned eatery



If you go out on the streets of Phnom Penh in the late afternoon or in the evening, you will see places like this.

Sidewalks along many streets have increasingly become eateries.

I have talked to a middle-aged lady who sells frying noodles, meat balls on a sidewalk near the ministry of rural development.

She asked me what I took this video for. She said she hoped that the video would not cause her to lose her business.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Wartime Journalists Remember Fallen Comrades

INTRO: More than three decades ago Cambodia endured civil war. And so did some of the western journalists that covered it.

H.E. Khieu Kanharith (front, left) leads a group of foreign
journalists to Wat Po, Kg. Speu province, Feb 5, 2013.
In fact more than 30 western journalists died covering the fighting here.

This week, some of the western journalists who survived paid tribute to their fallen comrades.

STORY: A pagoda in Po Ang-Krang commune, Borset district, Kampong Speu province.

It’s roughly 60 kilometers southwest of the capital Phnom Penh. It was the place where eight foreign journalists and a Cambodian colleague were killed while covering the war in the early 1970s.

A memorial stone is erected in Kg. Speu province
in memory of the fallen journalists.
More than thirty years on, their surviving friends came to visit them. Cambodia’s Information Minister Excellency Khieu Kanharith led a group of foreign journalists to the area to pay respects to their fallen colleagues.

 According to the minister, more than thirty local and foreign journalists were killed in the early 1970s while covering the war in Cambodia.

A western veteran journalist places an incense stick near the
memorial stone.
SOUNDBITE – H.E. Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Information: “During the war time from 1970 to 1975, 37 journalists were killed. We can say it was a war of a more ferocious nature if compared to that in Vietnam. During the Vietnam war from 1965 to 1975, the death toll of journalists was less than that for Cambodia.” 

In memory of all those fallen journalists, a stupa has been erected in the capital Phnom Penh. And all their names have been inscribed on that memorial stupa.

 
Source: The Cambodian News Channel (CNC) 

King Norodom Sihamony Advices Pardoned Prisoners



INTRO: The Royal Funeral began last Friday and will last until February 7. During the funeral, many religious rituals were held. And in addition to these, his majesty the king samdech preah borom neath Norodom Sihamony also granted a royal pardon to some four hundred prisoners in honor of the late king father.

STORY: His Majesty the King of Cambodia Samdech Preah Borom Neath Norodom Sihamony addressed some four hundred prisoners.

The prisoners including some thirty foreigners were released by a royal pardon in honor of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

His Majesty Samdech Preah Boromneath addressed the prisoners following the cremation of the King Father’s body.

Some prisoners broke into tears while the King was speaking.

His Majesty the King said, “Now you have the freedom and you can return to meet your families, your relatives, and your friends in your hometowns, please do good to become good citizens to contribute to the building of your own families as well as the society.”

During the televised speech, His Majesty the King also lauded Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen for helping secure the prisoners’ freedom on this occasion.

His Majesty the King also handed out donations to the prisoners as an act of prayers for the soul of the late King Father.