http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPtPa5_cLlg
Showing posts with label Colonial vestige. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colonial vestige. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, June 07, 2010
‘Old Building’ - Photo exhibition by Chhin Taingchhea, opening Friday 11 June 2010 at 6:00pm
Dear friends and art lovers,Sa Sa Art Gallery is pleased to invite you to the opening of photo exhibition ‘Old Buildings’ by Chhin Taingchhea’ this Friday, 11 June 2010 at 6pm at Sa Sa Art Gallery #7, St 360.
Many thanks,
Lyno
Vuth Lyno
Manager
Sa Sa Art Gallery
www.sasaart.info
Cambodia's colonial architecture faces modern threat
Hotel Le Royal, a landmark French colonial building in central Phnom Penh that was beautifully restored by the Raffles hotel group. [Robert Carmichael]
The remains of the Ecole Professionale in Phnom Penh, a former warehouse and then training school built in 1908. It is rumoured to be replaced with a shopping centre and a hotel. [Robert Carmichael]Monday, June 07, 2010
Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh
ABC Radio Australia
Experts are warning not enough is being done to protect what remains of Cambodia's French architectural heritage.
Much of the French colonial architecture in Phnom Penh and some provincial capitals has been destroyed, with some experts reckoning that 40 per cent of perhaps three hundred colonial era buildings have been demolished in the past 20 years.
Michel Verrot, the head of the French-funded Mission du Patrimonie, which works to assess and sometimes helps to restore the capital's shrinking pool of colonial buildings, says the government is keen to preserve buildings in the tourist town of Siem Reap.
But he says interest does not extend to Phnom Penh, which is seen as the business and economic hub of the country, and not a tourist zone.
"Phnom Penh must be a very modern town, an economical town," he said.
"And the heritage is in Siem Reap, and the tourism must be on the sea and in Siem Reap. But not in Phnom Penh. It's wrong. It's clearly wrong, but it is [how it is]."
Samraing Kimsan, a deputy minister at the Cambodian Ministry of Culture, says a lack of funding is one of the major problems in protecting the country's older buildings.
"This is the problem - I do believe this is the problem," he said.
"It depends on the plan - how to preserve the building, how to get money to preserve. But if we have no money to preserve, so we cannot stop the development of the modern building."
But Michel Verrot says demolishing an existing building and putting up something new actually costs more, because modern buildings use more imported materials and make less use of Cambodia's cheap labour.
He also says the demolition of colonial buildings is costing Cambodia tourism dollars.
But Samraing Kimsan says there is also the attitude of many Cambodians towards old buildings - in a land where modern and new are desired, old has limited appeal.
"They do not understand or do not love the traditional and old style of building," he said.
"They do not understand."
Much of the French colonial architecture in Phnom Penh and some provincial capitals has been destroyed, with some experts reckoning that 40 per cent of perhaps three hundred colonial era buildings have been demolished in the past 20 years.
Michel Verrot, the head of the French-funded Mission du Patrimonie, which works to assess and sometimes helps to restore the capital's shrinking pool of colonial buildings, says the government is keen to preserve buildings in the tourist town of Siem Reap.
But he says interest does not extend to Phnom Penh, which is seen as the business and economic hub of the country, and not a tourist zone.
"Phnom Penh must be a very modern town, an economical town," he said.
"And the heritage is in Siem Reap, and the tourism must be on the sea and in Siem Reap. But not in Phnom Penh. It's wrong. It's clearly wrong, but it is [how it is]."
Samraing Kimsan, a deputy minister at the Cambodian Ministry of Culture, says a lack of funding is one of the major problems in protecting the country's older buildings.
"This is the problem - I do believe this is the problem," he said.
"It depends on the plan - how to preserve the building, how to get money to preserve. But if we have no money to preserve, so we cannot stop the development of the modern building."
But Michel Verrot says demolishing an existing building and putting up something new actually costs more, because modern buildings use more imported materials and make less use of Cambodia's cheap labour.
He also says the demolition of colonial buildings is costing Cambodia tourism dollars.
But Samraing Kimsan says there is also the attitude of many Cambodians towards old buildings - in a land where modern and new are desired, old has limited appeal.
"They do not understand or do not love the traditional and old style of building," he said.
"They do not understand."
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Cometh the hour, cometh the man with the wrecking ball
Wed, 02 Jun 2010
By Robert Carmichael
DPA
By Robert Carmichael
DPA
Phnom Penh - A blue sheet-metal fence around an old building in Phnom Penh is a bad omen for those keen on Cambodia's dwindling stock of colonial architecture.
"The presence of these fences is a worrying sign," says one architectural historian, "because when these fences go up it normally means the buildings are going to come down."
The historian, who has lived in Cambodia for 16 years but does not want his name used, says the pace of destruction has accelerated in recent years.
"It is speeding up, and it has almost gone past the point of no return," he says. "I would think that more than half of the buildings I can remember as being important have now gone in 16 years."
The latest building to be screened off is the venerable Renakse Hotel adjacent to the Royal Palace near the riverfront. Earlier this year the Renakse was the focus of a squabble between the leaseholder and the country's ruling party, which owns the building. The case went to court; the party won.
Should the hotel be demolished, which seems likely, it will be the fourth colonial-era building of merit to be knocked down this year alone, says French architect Michel Verrot, who has lived in Cambodia for 11 years.
By his count, 40 per cent of the capital's several hundred colonial buildings has been swept away in two decades.
Verrot runs the French-funded Mission du Patrimonie that assesses what is left of Phnom Penh's architectural heritage.
It also helps with restoration efforts on some colonial buildings, the oldest of which were constructed between 1885 and 1892.
"They are the first places in Phnom Penh where the new architecture was built which became the colonial architecture in Phnom Penh," says Verrot.
When it comes to architectural heritage, Cambodia is defined by Angkor Wat, the magnificent ancient temples around the town of Siem Reap in the north-west.
Verrot says the domination of Angkor Wat blinds the government to the value of other heritage buildings, whether of colonial architecture or the 1950s and 1960s designs of Vann Molyvann, the country's foremost living architect.
Regarding the capital, Verrot says the biggest problem is not preserving architectural heritage, substantial though it is.
He bemoans the lack of attention paid to its urban heritage: the concept of a town with well laid-out gardens, wide avenues and unobstructed views between iconic buildings.
"Now all the views are becoming very disturbed without any global idea of town development," Verrot says of the mushrooming of tower blocks and glass skyscrapers. "There is no vision."
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts oversees the country's heritage, but secretary of state Samraing Kamsan says it has limited authority to preserve the buildings. A key challenge is that Cambodians prefer modern buildings.
"They do not understand or love the traditional and the old-style building," he says. "You need to teach them to understand the value."
There are other difficulties too. Some old buildings have numerous poor families living in them. One chapel, for example, contains more than 20 families, but they are in no position to pay for repairs.
Samraing Kamsan says colonial buildings in provincial capitals are also in trouble - years of strife and poverty meant preservation was not a priority. And there is the rocketing value of land.
"I do believe this is a problem," he says, before adding a lack of cash to the queue. "If we have no money to preserve, we cannot stop the development of the modern building."
Verrot says the government's desire to see Phnom Penh emulate Bangkok and Singapore is undoing what is left of the city's colonial architecture.
"(The government's view is that) the heritage is in Siem Reap, and tourism must be at the seaside and in Siem Reap, but not in Phnom Penh," he says. "It's wrong, it's clearly wrong, but it is (the view)."
The architectural historian cited earlier believes the government, which wants tourists to remain in-country longer than the usual three days spent seeing the temples, is missing a trick. After all, Phnom Penh is not going to compete with shopping cities such as Singapore.
"When you look at Phnom Penh, all the things tourists come to see are almost all architectural. There's not really anything else," he says. "How are they going to attract people to stay in Cambodia - Phnom Penh in particular - if there isn't architecture to look at?"
"The presence of these fences is a worrying sign," says one architectural historian, "because when these fences go up it normally means the buildings are going to come down."
The historian, who has lived in Cambodia for 16 years but does not want his name used, says the pace of destruction has accelerated in recent years.
"It is speeding up, and it has almost gone past the point of no return," he says. "I would think that more than half of the buildings I can remember as being important have now gone in 16 years."
The latest building to be screened off is the venerable Renakse Hotel adjacent to the Royal Palace near the riverfront. Earlier this year the Renakse was the focus of a squabble between the leaseholder and the country's ruling party, which owns the building. The case went to court; the party won.
Should the hotel be demolished, which seems likely, it will be the fourth colonial-era building of merit to be knocked down this year alone, says French architect Michel Verrot, who has lived in Cambodia for 11 years.
By his count, 40 per cent of the capital's several hundred colonial buildings has been swept away in two decades.
Verrot runs the French-funded Mission du Patrimonie that assesses what is left of Phnom Penh's architectural heritage.
It also helps with restoration efforts on some colonial buildings, the oldest of which were constructed between 1885 and 1892.
"They are the first places in Phnom Penh where the new architecture was built which became the colonial architecture in Phnom Penh," says Verrot.
When it comes to architectural heritage, Cambodia is defined by Angkor Wat, the magnificent ancient temples around the town of Siem Reap in the north-west.
Verrot says the domination of Angkor Wat blinds the government to the value of other heritage buildings, whether of colonial architecture or the 1950s and 1960s designs of Vann Molyvann, the country's foremost living architect.
Regarding the capital, Verrot says the biggest problem is not preserving architectural heritage, substantial though it is.
He bemoans the lack of attention paid to its urban heritage: the concept of a town with well laid-out gardens, wide avenues and unobstructed views between iconic buildings.
"Now all the views are becoming very disturbed without any global idea of town development," Verrot says of the mushrooming of tower blocks and glass skyscrapers. "There is no vision."
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts oversees the country's heritage, but secretary of state Samraing Kamsan says it has limited authority to preserve the buildings. A key challenge is that Cambodians prefer modern buildings.
"They do not understand or love the traditional and the old-style building," he says. "You need to teach them to understand the value."
There are other difficulties too. Some old buildings have numerous poor families living in them. One chapel, for example, contains more than 20 families, but they are in no position to pay for repairs.
Samraing Kamsan says colonial buildings in provincial capitals are also in trouble - years of strife and poverty meant preservation was not a priority. And there is the rocketing value of land.
"I do believe this is a problem," he says, before adding a lack of cash to the queue. "If we have no money to preserve, we cannot stop the development of the modern building."
Verrot says the government's desire to see Phnom Penh emulate Bangkok and Singapore is undoing what is left of the city's colonial architecture.
"(The government's view is that) the heritage is in Siem Reap, and tourism must be at the seaside and in Siem Reap, but not in Phnom Penh," he says. "It's wrong, it's clearly wrong, but it is (the view)."
The architectural historian cited earlier believes the government, which wants tourists to remain in-country longer than the usual three days spent seeing the temples, is missing a trick. After all, Phnom Penh is not going to compete with shopping cities such as Singapore.
"When you look at Phnom Penh, all the things tourists come to see are almost all architectural. There's not really anything else," he says. "How are they going to attract people to stay in Cambodia - Phnom Penh in particular - if there isn't architecture to look at?"
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
When locals get the barter of you
Serene times ... (from left) farmers load watermelons; an abandoned building at Bokor Hill Station; fishermen at Kampot. Photo: Lonely Planet Images, AFPJuly 5, 2009
The Age (Australia)
Kampot's colonial beauty may have paled but its inhabitants are worth meeting, writes Don Townshend.
The moment we walked onto the patio for breakfast a waiting tuk-tuk driver waved and called: "You want go to Kep, sir, I give very good price. I waiting for you, sir?"
Like most travellers to picturesque Kampot, south-east of Phnom Penh, we intended to visit the seaside town of Kep, renowned for fine seafood and pepper crab. The pepper is locally grown. I asked the hotel waiter how much we should pay by tuk-tuk. Maybe $US15 ($18.60), he said, depending on how we bargained. Negotiations began immediately after breakfast. The tuk-tuk driver introduced himself as Wadi, and gave us a special price of $US40 to go to Kep, have lunch and come back.
I scoffed. He grinned. We negotiated. Ten minutes later I offered $US14 or no deal. He looked dejected but he accepted. My wife looked equally unhappy. "I hope you feel proud of yourself," she muttered. "Look how thin the poor boy is."
"But he tried to screw us," I protested.
"Scrooge," she snorted.
Soon we were heading away from the wide river, which flows through Kampot and is backdropped by the undulating Elephant Mountains. Once studded with stylish French-colonial mansions, Kampot incurred severe damage during the reign of Pol Pot and has remained rather dilapidated ever since. Fortunately, recent growth in regional tourism is pumping lifeblood back into the town.
During the French era Kampot flourished as a base for excursions to the now-derelict Bokor Hill Station, a once-glamorous mountain retreat comprising hotels, a casino, church and lavish residences. Located atop 1000-metre-high Bokor Mountain, it was built in the 1920s and became an exotic playground for French expats and the Cambodian elite.
Largely abandoned after World War II and later plundered by Pol Pot, it's now undergoing massive redevelopment. Lamentably, our plans to ascend the dicey road to the mountain-top were dashed by rain and landslides.
But reaching Kep was no problem. The road provided a serene window into rural Cambodia: abundant rice fields dotted by toiling workers and buffaloes chomping on succulent growth. Along the roadside, children waving nets trolled for fish in freshly swollen streams. It looked idyllic but we knew it wasn't, as many rural Cambodians live on less than one Australian dollar a day.
We stopped on the outskirts of Kep where Wadi pointed to a row of elegant street lamps. They used to illuminate the entrance to this once-ritzy seaside resort. Now they looked curiously out of place. Kep was once a beautiful town, explained Wadi, until Pol Pot smashed everything.
Although littered with decaying colonial buildings, Kep is pleasantly agreeable. Tiny and laid-back, it has exuberant jungle and superb vistas across the water.
By the time we reached the open-air crab market, it had shrunk to about a dozen women trying to flog small crabs lying exhausted in a couple of buckets. Even when the containers were shaken the crabs barely moved. In fact, they looked like they needed CPR.
We left the crabs and walked over to Wadi, who was parked beside a row of seafood shack-cum-restaurants. He was chatting to a girl who was barbecuing huge prawns. "My friend has beautiful pepper crab for you," said Wadi. "Go with her."
As we followed the girl into the simple eatery, my wife suddenly propped and said: "How can we stuff ourselves with seafood while that poor kid's out there with nothing?"
So Wadi joined us . After examining the menu, my wife ordered barbecued squid and I opted for king prawns. We shared a beer. Wadi was surprised. "Not eat pepper crab?" he said. "Maybe next time," lied my wife. She motioned to Wadi's menu. "What would you like?"
Unhesitatingly, Wadi ordered a large dish of pepper crabs for two the most expensive item on the menu at $US12 and a large bottle of beer. His order topped the cost of both our dishes. "Thank you, sir and madam," he said.
I fancied I detected a fleeting grin on his face. A hint of payback perhaps? Or was I oversensitive? I glanced at madam who was struggling to contain her laughter. "Even Steven, mate," she said.
TRIP NOTES
- GETTING THERE Daily buses from Phnom Penh to Kampot and Kep take about four hours and cost $8.
- STAYING THERE In Kampot, the moderately priced, Kiwi-owned Bokor Mountain Lodge is a renovated old French villa ideally sited on the river. Double rooms with river views start about $75. See bokorlodge.com. Kep has a variety of accommodation, ranging from basic guesthouses to stylish retreats costing up to $190.
- TOURING THERE Weather permitting, you can book tours from the lodge to Bokor Hill Station. For tuk-tuk excursions to Kep, drivers are ever-present outside the lodge.
- FURTHER INFORMATION For more details on all travel and accommodation options in Cambodia, see canbypublications.com.
The moment we walked onto the patio for breakfast a waiting tuk-tuk driver waved and called: "You want go to Kep, sir, I give very good price. I waiting for you, sir?"
Like most travellers to picturesque Kampot, south-east of Phnom Penh, we intended to visit the seaside town of Kep, renowned for fine seafood and pepper crab. The pepper is locally grown. I asked the hotel waiter how much we should pay by tuk-tuk. Maybe $US15 ($18.60), he said, depending on how we bargained. Negotiations began immediately after breakfast. The tuk-tuk driver introduced himself as Wadi, and gave us a special price of $US40 to go to Kep, have lunch and come back.
I scoffed. He grinned. We negotiated. Ten minutes later I offered $US14 or no deal. He looked dejected but he accepted. My wife looked equally unhappy. "I hope you feel proud of yourself," she muttered. "Look how thin the poor boy is."
"But he tried to screw us," I protested.
"Scrooge," she snorted.
Soon we were heading away from the wide river, which flows through Kampot and is backdropped by the undulating Elephant Mountains. Once studded with stylish French-colonial mansions, Kampot incurred severe damage during the reign of Pol Pot and has remained rather dilapidated ever since. Fortunately, recent growth in regional tourism is pumping lifeblood back into the town.
During the French era Kampot flourished as a base for excursions to the now-derelict Bokor Hill Station, a once-glamorous mountain retreat comprising hotels, a casino, church and lavish residences. Located atop 1000-metre-high Bokor Mountain, it was built in the 1920s and became an exotic playground for French expats and the Cambodian elite.
Largely abandoned after World War II and later plundered by Pol Pot, it's now undergoing massive redevelopment. Lamentably, our plans to ascend the dicey road to the mountain-top were dashed by rain and landslides.
But reaching Kep was no problem. The road provided a serene window into rural Cambodia: abundant rice fields dotted by toiling workers and buffaloes chomping on succulent growth. Along the roadside, children waving nets trolled for fish in freshly swollen streams. It looked idyllic but we knew it wasn't, as many rural Cambodians live on less than one Australian dollar a day.
We stopped on the outskirts of Kep where Wadi pointed to a row of elegant street lamps. They used to illuminate the entrance to this once-ritzy seaside resort. Now they looked curiously out of place. Kep was once a beautiful town, explained Wadi, until Pol Pot smashed everything.
Although littered with decaying colonial buildings, Kep is pleasantly agreeable. Tiny and laid-back, it has exuberant jungle and superb vistas across the water.
By the time we reached the open-air crab market, it had shrunk to about a dozen women trying to flog small crabs lying exhausted in a couple of buckets. Even when the containers were shaken the crabs barely moved. In fact, they looked like they needed CPR.
We left the crabs and walked over to Wadi, who was parked beside a row of seafood shack-cum-restaurants. He was chatting to a girl who was barbecuing huge prawns. "My friend has beautiful pepper crab for you," said Wadi. "Go with her."
As we followed the girl into the simple eatery, my wife suddenly propped and said: "How can we stuff ourselves with seafood while that poor kid's out there with nothing?"
So Wadi joined us . After examining the menu, my wife ordered barbecued squid and I opted for king prawns. We shared a beer. Wadi was surprised. "Not eat pepper crab?" he said. "Maybe next time," lied my wife. She motioned to Wadi's menu. "What would you like?"
Unhesitatingly, Wadi ordered a large dish of pepper crabs for two the most expensive item on the menu at $US12 and a large bottle of beer. His order topped the cost of both our dishes. "Thank you, sir and madam," he said.
I fancied I detected a fleeting grin on his face. A hint of payback perhaps? Or was I oversensitive? I glanced at madam who was struggling to contain her laughter. "Even Steven, mate," she said.
TRIP NOTES
- GETTING THERE Daily buses from Phnom Penh to Kampot and Kep take about four hours and cost $8.
- STAYING THERE In Kampot, the moderately priced, Kiwi-owned Bokor Mountain Lodge is a renovated old French villa ideally sited on the river. Double rooms with river views start about $75. See bokorlodge.com. Kep has a variety of accommodation, ranging from basic guesthouses to stylish retreats costing up to $190.
- TOURING THERE Weather permitting, you can book tours from the lodge to Bokor Hill Station. For tuk-tuk excursions to Kep, drivers are ever-present outside the lodge.
- FURTHER INFORMATION For more details on all travel and accommodation options in Cambodia, see canbypublications.com.
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