Chasing Cars, first of the last

Spent New Year in Thailand. As part of the combat to protect their own, they had a really large road safety campaign. Fail yet again. In Bangkok everyone sticks to the rules but outside it's as if no rules exist. Many drunk driving and almost all motorcycles without helmets.

• There's quite a bit of news from Siem Reap.

  'The days of dodging potholes and clinging onto motos for dear life in Siem Reap may finally be a distant memory. The streets around town have improved drastically in the past few weeks after a decree from Hun Sen, the prime minister'.

  The Phnom Penh Post (25-12-09) is a bit mystified as to how the town first is turned into a quagmire with no future and then within 6 weeks achieves the unimaginable:

  'it’s unclear who exactly is in charge of the rapid roadwork, but — as per usual in Cambodia — when Hun Sen gives an order it gets done fast'.

  Then going full circle Hun Sen claims that flooding in Siem Reap is due to hotels constructing roads. And there I was thinking it was water that's the cause of flooding.

• Hun Sen also has something against a bridge from his namesake's park to the other side of the river:

  'Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday he would cancel a major bridge contract and slammed senior officials for negligence in the awarding of build-operate-transfer, or BOT, contracts'.

• On the Expat Advisory Services forum a discussion of a daily occurrence on Phnom Penh's street:

  'The passenger feigned shooting at me-wow was i shitting-NOT'.

  The advice part:

  'Unless you are in a Humvee adn well equipped , you do not want to get caught on the streets after midnight with all the drunk rich kids and bodyguards behind the wheel'.

• For those of you concerned with driving up Bokor:

  'it turns out bokor opened for a day and a half at new year. a quarter of it has already been widened but not tar mac finished. the rest is still fairly rough. great fun on a dirt bike'.

  That said the road to Kampot (at the foot of Bokor) is also worth a miss as the tarmac has disappeared and huge amounts of dirt are being dunked at random.

• Airline news: the Sydney Morning Herald manages to announce Cambodia Angkor Air's demise, coming shortly after their opening party:
  

  'just 14 have gone bust in the last year – including Queensland's SkyAirWorld, Fiji Air and Cambodia's Angkor Airway'.

  Odd that, seeing it was no news here and they were still flying yesterday ... The same source has a report on how the industry is not always as clear-cut as you would have thought. Jetstar invests in Vietnamese carrier. It makes huge losses. Management get arrested. Doubt whether the Cambodian authorities would have the same leverage over their Vietnamese managers in Cambodia Angkor Airways ...

• Anyway with possible links to I believe Kuwait and Oman on the cards, who knows an airlink to Russia is also in the pipeline.

  'Direct lights between Russia and Cambodia are set to begin next year or 2011 at the latest, a Russian embassy official said Friday'.

  It's a wonder actually how poorly Cambodia is served by long distance carriers for Europe. Going to North America, one can book with Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese carriers so with 1 stop you can get where you want. Going to Europe one needs to take a short hop first before flying long distance. With the Arab nations vying for customers it's a wonder that neither Qatar, Emirates or Etihad have opened shop here. The first would have the market for itself ...

• Those flying can tack heart from the fact that Cambodian control over the air traffic control has been returned to the Thai management.

• Then again there are less of us flying to Siem Reap.

• Handicap International Belgium commend themselves for getting helmets on.

  'Latest figures from the Road Crash and Victim Information System show that the helmet wearing increase has led to a nationwide 3% drop in motorcycle crash fatalities due to head injuries'.

  A three percent drop? Can this be significant? Especially as the system of recording this seems highly flexible. Elsewhere the same press communique seems a bit confusing:

  'The law was strictly enforced, resulting in the current helmet rate of 85%'.

  Strict enforcement means 15% still get away with violating the law? O sorry, this is Cambodia.

• Another Cambodia curiosity. Apparently authorities have let a company build a terminal for people leaving overland to Thailand. Unfortunately it's 5 k's from the border and you actually need to pay to get in. Tales of Asia has more comments and future predictions.

• A slightly older link. Solar power driven bicycle fails to find market. Local supplier spends 5 years developing bicycle and is amazed that it doesn't sell. Despite that

  'it can help save energy'

  (how does that work with a bicycle?) it's expensive and difficult to use ...

• The Christian Science Monitor (8-1-10) looks at the disppearing act of cyclo's:

  'In Cambodia a decade ago, some 10,000 cyclo drivers – as rickshaws are called here – wheeled along Phnom Penh streets. Today there are fewer than 1,500'.

• Under the heading

  'Road safety'

  the police have proudly declared that they have apprehended more than 200,000 vehicles last year. 95% of those were motorcycles, 95% of the car drivers were apprehended for not wearing seat belts. Major causes for accidents in Cambodia: drunk driving and poor driving. 60 were cited for failing to adhere to traffic signs, none for drunk driving ... Anyway that's the official statistics.

Chasing Cars, Cambo style, 10 December 2008

Much to mention so to see, but in reality?

• The stuff dreams are made of. Elevated rail. Elevated roadways. That's the answer of growing traffic congestion according to the government. We could have these be as early as eight years from now,

  'but project lacks money [yours for 300 million $] and must look to donors, private sector for funds'.

  And they are not forthcoming. That sucks.
  But is it a real answer? The opposition think not:

  '"I think the sky train project is not a priority. The government should focus on rural infrastructure," said Mu Sochua, deputy secretary general of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party'.

  There's some value in that. Even high ranking officials are skeptical:
  

  "If [it] materialises, it could make only a small change in congestion due to the fact that are more vehicles on the roads and there is ignorance of traffic laws," said Phnom Penh Traffic Police Chief Tin Prasoeur'.

  Growth of vehicles according citations in this Phnom Penh Post article has been phenomenal, a tripling in the last few years.
  Indeed a single rail link won't change much. And in the meantime there still is a lot of growth to deal with. So maybe what's required is a multi-track approach.
  Gridlock in Phnom Penh is partially due to non-adherence to traffic rules: driving the wrong way down one-way streets, ignoring traffic lights, haphazard parking, poor awareness of users to proper way of driving (taking left lane and then turning right is one that springs to mind). At the same time those concerned with enforcing the rules are not at all interested.
  Then there is poor planning. For instance north-south routes are lacking and one of these (Monivong) is currently being dug up. The alternative for this road (Street 63) is now also out of bounds as the great traffic roundabout that is the Central Market, is being used for market enhancements. That means that from south to north there is gridlock during rush hour.
  Furthermore there is no intermediate planning. Especially the Russian Boulevard could profit from fly-overs, thereby easing east-west traffic and forming less of barrier to North-South traffic. Other enhancements could be where Monireth crosses the Ring Road and where the (northern and eastern) bridges enter the city basically dropping all mayhem on the roundabouts at the foot of the bridges. Real city buses is also an idea, excluding certain vehicles from the city center.
  But could we expect a real plan?

• More dreams, the PM still wants a national airline.
  But didn't Cambodia just sign all kinds of agreements with an Indonesian company to do so? What happened to the deal? Has it been shelved (as was expected).
  Wanting something doesn't always mean you gone get it. The future of airlines seems to be one with over-capacity, much to the delight of passengers. Now (as was 6 months ago) the wrong time to spread your wings.
  Possibly the government should focus it's air policy elsewhere, having no national airline means that other airlines may wish to start up new routes, if only to off-set poor loading factors and getting a one-up on the competition. The Lao for instance are inviting all and sun-dry to set up a route from Hong Kong to Vietiane.
  The authorities could also focus on the air safety regulations which with the recent Siem Reap Airways flop could encourage outsiders to fly within Cambodia.

• The air industry in Cambodia is set to be enhanced, not by the PM but by the owner of Cambodia's main airports (SCA). A long interview with the prez of the company in Ka-set. On Sihanoukville:

  'We just have to attract airline companies, now ....
  If airline companies think there is a market there, they will come with their planes. The critical part is to build up the image of Sihanoukville, promote the destination and turn it into a more attractive place, particularly with the development of hotel infrastructures.'

  Don't hold your breath.

• Had an accident? Just call 119, which connects you with Phnom Penh's least worst government hospital Calmette. This article on KI Media (originally from VOA) gives you some insight in Cambodia's new decrees concerning picking up traffic victims. The reasoning behind the new regulations:

  'For the safety of victims and avoiding the anarchic activities of grabbing customers, the ministry banned private clinics from sending their ambulances to take victims of accidents'.
  ...
  'The majority [of the clinics] have abided the directive'

  
  Which seems somehow of a reassurance. But the original decree referred to

  'promote a public ambulance service'

  But what is a public service? This comment on aforementioned link:

  'This directive creates more problem for the public because Calmet's ambulance staff are all corrupt. I am one of the victims of 119. Let me tell you the story. One of my foreign customer had heart attack in my shop. she fell down on the floor. Then, I call 119 of Calmet's hospital. They arrived 5 minutes later. However, what surprised me, you guess? They asked me (the owner of the shop) for $50 without negotiation. I had no choice because the condition of the patient is very critical. Unfortunately, her husband told me that she was dead on the way to hospital'.
  

• More dreams:

  'The Ministry of Public Works and Transport said that so far, the restoration and repair of the two railroad lines from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and from Phnom Penh to the Poipet border crossing with Thailand, ‘has not achieved any noticeable results, and the action is very slow.’

  The article continues to highlight all the features of Cambodia's rail upgrade, which has been contracted to take part in under two years.

• License plate news:

  'The National Assembly issued a notice to the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mr. Tram Iv Tek, on 4 December 2008, saying that the National Assembly allows the Ministry of Public work and Transport to take action to monitor and to seize number plates of private vehicles that use police and RCAF number plates'.

  Funny that, an article in the Cambodia Daily in February this year states that

  'Ministry of Public Works and Transport has now ordered all state, police and army license plates on private vehicles to be replaced with civilian plates by March 1'.

  So now the parliament is (belatedly) ordering the ministry around to do something which obviously they not so good in.
  
  Relevance?

  'Police and RCAF number plates are often put on luxurious cars belonging to private individuals, and they are being driven everywhere and against many regulations, and with no respect for the law'.

• Finally more on the road to Bokor. Here's Andy fuming:

  'We got it for $30 each, but it's still a rip-off! The Toyota wagon had 11 tourists on board, a driver and a guide. Nine of us held on tightly on the back of the pick-up for one of the most uncomfortable rides of my life, and I've had a few in Cambodia over the years. The road is being repaired, renovated, call it what you will but so far the Sokha Group, who have taken over the mountain as their own private playground for the foreseeable future, have done lots of preparatory work but practically none of the 30-odd kms up the mountain is anywhere near finished. I reckon it'll be years before it is. They've widened the road in places and it bodes well for the future, but that's a long way off and today, its a bumpy, rutted, pot-holed mess'.

After the waterfestival: is there more traffic news? a.: Chasing Cars

With the Water festival now behind us, it's might pay to look into the headlines in traffic related news in Cambodia. But ..., nothing has changed. Nothing ever changes, that's the main problem with traffic in Cambodia. It was a chaotic & anarchic. It still is.
What about the smaller changes? What about them:

• Possibly the biggest headline is the fact that a Cambodian company has been officially recognized by the EU. Siem Reap Airways has been blacklisted! No more flights to Europe for them.
  But what do they care? They only fly between Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Bangkok and Hong Kong. So why worry indeed?

  ' "Siem Reap does not fly to Europe. Probably the [EC] was giving a warning beforehand, in case Siem Reap Airways planned to open service to Europe," said Him Sarun, chief of Cabinet for the Civil Aviation State Secretariat'.

  Probably. What this official forgets is that the EC (of the EU) doesn't draw up the list for the fun of it. Besides using legislation to prevent the companies on the list from entering the EU, it also signals to EU citizens (and to most world citizens) that the companies black-listed are to be avoided. Thanx for the info, EC.
  More worrying is that the EC mentions:

  ' ... the carrier [Siem Reap Airways] "does not operate in compliance" with Cambodian safety regulations'.

  So in spite of the reassurement by Cambodian officials, Cambodia is made a laughing stock. If the only company operating domestic flights can't even meet it's own guidelines! What are the officials going to do? Look into the matter or hand over more dough to CNN to launch another advertising campaign stressing how irresistible Angkor Wat is?

• The law? A son of a general believed he could cause an accident and flee. For once he was unlucky:

  'However, because the accident he caused led to injuries to other people, the police officers did not worry about his threat, and they proceeded to arrest the driver as well as confiscating his car to send to the police headquarters immediately'.

  Did he pay the victim?

• Car 'capsizing' during Water festival:

  '11 injured men sent one after another on Tuesday afternoon after their car had capsized on the national route number six A'.

• What's it like to travel in Phnom Penh during the Water festival. SunSan on Khmer440 forum:

  'I made the mistake of driving into Sothearos from Mao Tse Tung last night... Arrived there at 7pm, left at just after 10pm. Without even passing the Russian embassy. Never again!'

• The response of Phnom Penh's citizens to avoid this is to 'flee' the city:

  ' "We didn't want to stay in Phnom Penh because it gets so crowded with traffic everywhere," ... '
  

  is just one comment in this Phnom Penh Post article.

• Andy Brouwer agrees:

  'We had a taste of the traffic chaos expected during the water festival's 3-day horror-show next week, when the traffic lights failed on the city's main thoroughfares around 5pm tonight and every road including all the side roads around BKK1 were snarled up with traffic jams. It was complete madness and much like what I experienced during last year's water festival period. This year I won't be around as I'm off to the south coast on Saturday for a week's break'.

• K.K. experiences how traffic is regulated during the Water festival:'

  'While I was thinking highly of the authority, suddenly I spotted a temporary road barrier placed at the side road on my left hand side, where several military police were guarding. Not only this one, but each side road had its own. The message was clear; no motorbikes or cars were allowed in. But I saw a few bikes passing through and I was wondering how they could do. The answer was obvious. Money!
  ...
  It was unreasonable to spend one dollar just to travel on a public road the government has to build for their own citizens. And if they really were ordered to keep public order by banning all vehicles inside, several other vehicles that had gone should not have been let in!!! I would listen if they had been doing their job'.

  Will these attitudes ever change?
  

• This car also passed the barriers apparently.
  

• Rainy season over? Not yet:

  'Nine kilometres of road works from Preah Vihear's Kou village to Ta Moan Thom temple have been postponed due to flooding and rain, officials said Sunday.
  
  "We can't build the road due to the ongoing rain. We have postponed it until the rain stops," said military engineer Kvan Siem'.

  It only exemplifies the logic of starting a road works project at all, if the rainy season is still underway.
  

• Petrol prices not dropping in Cambodia. In Lao they're luckier:

  'The price of fuel will drop below 8,000 kip this week in Vientiane in line with lower prices on the global oil market, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced'.

  See what a communist country can do for you!
  

• Once out of town Andy brings us up to date with road to Bokor:

  'It was horrendous, well the road was. Yes its been widened but it ain't finished and looks like it'll be years before it is. Maybe the Sokimex company have bitten off more than they can chew with this one. I am black and blue from riding in the back of the pick-up truck as we bounced over every hole, bump and crevice in the unfinished road'.

• More news from travelling to the provinces on the Khmer 440 site by scoffer:

  'The touts at Battambang are a bit of a rip off
  ...
  Got to Siem Reap, most buses stop at a compound several km’s outside of town, upon arrival the bus company I booked with, locked the gate behind the bus to keep the touts out and I was approached by a guy claiming to be a representative of the bus company wanting to know if I had booked accommodation and knew where I was going as he could arrange transport that would take me into town – my initial response was “Piss Off” all you will do is rip me off and sell me to a guest house, he smiled and walked away only to come back after I’d finished my smoke and settled a bit. He again showed me his ID and said he could arrange transport, I was still suspicious but let him talk, end result was I nominated a land mark in town I wanted to be dropped off at, no tour of possible guest houses required. He spoke to a driver outside and I was dropped off at the nominated area without any hassle and for a better price than the touts wanted. All without a tour of guest houses that paid commission to the drivers. Nice Touch !' His final comment: 'And finally there is a degree of comfort in being able to stand up and move about that you don’t find when you are sardine number 11 in a mini van carrying 16 people, two motor bikes, 3 screaming children, 14 ducks, 170 kilos of rice in assorted bags 7 and an old man that smells as if he has been dead for 3 weeks.'

  !
  

Chasing Cars, 6 September, 2008

Is there much to mention? Not really.

For those of you paying attention to your fellow road users, you may have noticed this week how wearing a helmet and having mirrors on your moto has suddenly become popular. Earlier in the week, helmet wearing percentages were roughly 10 - 20%, by yesterday these have shot up to 40-50%. The same applies for mirrors, from a hardly noticeable 5-10%, yesterdays numbers were 40-50%. At the same time, police razzia's haven't increased much, so possibly our fellow-moto's know something we ignorants don't?

Then again in the past we've seen these percentages spike, only to drop a few weeks later, when the police are up to something more interesting.

• The previously mentioned taxi service is getting off to a good start, so writes Cambodge Soir (16 August, where has CC been?):

  'The Sino-Khmer joint venture is transporting between 200 and 300 customers a day'.

  For just 12 cars, that means 15-25 customers per day, certainly encouraging. Luckily the article also clarifies what a taxi service is:
  

  'This taxi company is a Sino-Khmer joint venture. Its particularity: each vehicle is equipped with a taxi meter'.

  And then a free philosophical questions as final statement:

  'It is now the question whether this company will succeed. Six months ago, a Vietnamese company offering a similar service closed down. A few years ago, the public bus service launched by the government ended as a total failure. A sign of how difficult it is for the Cambodians to change their transportation habits. Indeed, how can one compete against the string of motodops and tuk-tuks which are available at every street corner?'

• Khmer 440 is always on top of everything topical: servicing waterlogged moto's

  'I went home and street 13 was so flooded my bike got submerged'.

  A sign of the times?

• As if Thailand isn't falling apart already some sneaky figures have been carting off some of Thailand's best moto's to .... Cambodia! Hardly newsworthy, but Thai police with nothing else to do have been putting a halt to this. Tough luck Cambodia.

• Last week we focused on an imaginative tale published in Thailand, this week's fairy tale comes from the US. Once upon a time there was ... Sihanoukville:

  Australian-owned guesthouses line its streets'

  Then Phnom Penh:

  'Muddy Toyota Land Cruisers with Croix Rouge [Red Cross] logos have morphed into Lexus SUVs. Thai-style tuk-tuks - three-wheeled open taxis - have invaded. Ambitious office buildings are being added to the skyline'.

  Office buildings? Where? Thai-style tuk-tuks? The PP tuk-tuks are inherently Cambo-bred.
  Going to Kep?

  'The route through Phnom Penh's dusty suburbs, past garment factories and swarms of Khmer schoolchildren in uniform, seemed to take forever. But we eventually wound south on two-lane National Route 3, traversing the monotone Cambodian plain. Only as the temperature dipped and we approached the coastal mountains did the scenery gain intrigue, just as the paved road ended for a bone-jarring 20-mile-drive to the outskirts of Kep'.
  

  As compared to

  'Bokor Hill Station, perched at an elevation of 3,500 feet at the end of a bone-jarring 26-mile ride'.
  

  Basically if you read this article, do you recognize it? Or has some editor brought in some 'finishing' touches?

Has anyone noticed that street 51 is disappearing before our eyes? Beware of the stick!(Near Elsewhere)

The place to be? 'The Place' a posh new fitness / Chinese restaurant / sky bar / dentist (the latter is just a rumour) has opened up just beyond Independence monument on Sihanouk Blvd. Despite claims that it's the place to be, the owners are either expecting tough times or are ignorant, as they have only 6 parking spots. Let's see how they tackle this.

Chasing Cars election style

• Yesterday's Mirror reports on the increase in traffic victims :

  'During the first six months of 2008, the total number of traffic accidents was 3,511 which killed 903 people; it increased 17%, compared to the same period of the first six month of 2007 ...
  “Major Suos Sokha, deputy director of the vehicle registration management office, and of the department for the registration of boats and ships of the Ministry of Interior, reported to Khmer Sthapana on 21 July 2008 the reasons that lead to the increase of traffic accidents in the first six months of 2008: these are driving in violation of traffic laws with 1,560 cases, riding motorcycles without helmets with 778 cases, not obeying priority traffic rights with 502 cases, driving while being drunk with 439 cases, speed racing with each other with 349 cases, and 261 cases of careless driving etc…'.

  This all seems a bit confusing, surely driving drunk also is in violation of the law, as is riding motorcycle without helmet. What would etc. entail?

• How does law enforcement work? In Lao:

  'Traffic police will crackdown on illegal and unregistered vehicles on Monday, fining motorists who do not comply with regulations. ... More than 700 officials will start to check out those illegal vehicles along various streets and main roads in Vientiane this Monday. ... The police will also inspect vehicles at government offices, organisations, factories, schools, restaurants and entertainment venues'.

  This was all to be read in the Vientiane Times of July 17, 2008. Possibly our Cambo friends can take an example from their northern neighbours? Ah drats, it's election time!
  

• Meanwhile, Vietnam has raised the price of petrol by 31%.Why?

  '"If prices had not been raised, fuel trading firms would suffer losses of between 67 trillion dong (3.98 billion dollars) and 72 trillion dong (4.28 billion dollars) [this year]," Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh was quoted as saying'.

  Compelling reason?
  Important for Cambodia is that the price difference with Cambodia will drop but still be nearly 0,20-0,25 US$ /liter.

• Wet season? Siem Reap - Thai border?

  'The road was still Mad-Maxian but they are working on it. A lot of grading and a lot of sewer pipe or drainage installation. ... The potholes however, were minimal until Poipet, which can only be described as the arsehole of Cambodia. Potholes 10-15 feet wide, filled with water and debris; bikes, trucks, cars, carts and stray dogs all trying to negotiate this maze. Its really beyond belief what a dunghole this international border town is! The last 400 yards took us 20 minutes!'

  Why not walk?
  The above was just from one report on the road Siem Reap - Thai border from the Tales of Asia overland site.
  More? A June entry:

  'Sure there are some unmade bits, little detours where they are building new bridges etc but it’s a breeze. The worst bit was in Poipet itself – what a dump!'

  Is there a ballot going on somewhere where we can vote on the best hell on earth?
  'Crossing Cambodia, may I have your votes: Poipet ten points, Poipet dix points!'

• The latest version of Asialife [note site hasn't been updated for quite sometime: you'll have to get a copy yourself!] has quite a few articles on traffic related issues in Cambodia.

  'Off road tours are bringing Cambodia's remote treasures within reach. ... Landmines, previously a major peril, are largely cleared, but travel down cambodia's cratered provincial roads remains arduous. Preah Vihear, for example, is gruelling five-day road trip from Phnom Penh. ...
  "there are many dangers on Cambodian roads - heat, dust poor visibility, and bad weather can make driving difficult," says Reiny [of Red Raid]. " But traffic is by far the most dangerous". ... "Phnom Penh is pretty nuts for the newly arrived ...." ... despite the hazards, Reiny claims that Cambodia's roads are comparatively safe
  "Driving in Cambodia is no more dangerous than any other country in Asia," he says" Driving in Europe has its dangers too." '

  So does eating an ice-cream.

• More in Asialife this time hiking up Bokor.

  'The hike takes between six - eight hours each way, so you must stay overnight. ... Arriving in the late afternoon means you have the complex free from daytrippers'.

  And 'Cruising the Tonle Sap'. Both the luxurious CFM and Jungle Journeys ('a former Mekong ferry!') cruising companies are highlighted.

• And finally another long article on the train to Battambang. The concept of 'slow transport'!

  "Why else would you subject yourself to the rain (holes inthe roof], wind, upright wooden benches and glacial pace for a minimum of 14 hours?"

  It's just 247 km! Despite all the great writing skills. it ends with:

  'The trip is only for the serious traveller'.

  Which means what? Clear off you hordes?
  

Chasing Cars, Back to work after Khmer New year

Yes, it's back to the organized chaos called Phnom Penh. Can chaos be organized? Time to get used to non-working traffic lights, absence of foot paths, inconsiderate drivers, anarchy, lazy traffic police, useless new plans to stem the adversity of growth, etc., etc. But what has happened in the meantime?

The Khmer New Year leads to some different types of traffic news, i.e. how many road deaths and how to get to ... / how is this or that road?

• Starting with the former, over at Khmer 440, a discussion on the road to Bokor mountain. On 17 April:

  'As an update, the road up Bokor remains closed except for group trips organized by local operators such as Sok Lim tours. As mentioned in other topics, the road was opened to all during Chinese New Year. I had hoped that the same would happen during Khmer New Year and I confirmed with a local source that this was indeed the case.
  However, when I visited on 2 separate days during Khmer New Year on a dirt bike, I was not allowed up. .... They said cars are allowed up during the holidays but not motorbikes or even bicycles. They also said they had orders from Phnom Penh and that this was due to people having accidents lately'.

  On the eighteenth:

  ' The road is now pretty good and I'd say wouldn't be too hard for a Camry'.

  Yes, well CC went up by Camry on Saturday, a breeze I would say. But we had to rent the Camry as a local tour operator insisted it was not allowed to drive in private cars, which was clearly not the case. Lots of other Camry's were there, with PP number plates. Maybe there are different rules for foreigners?
  

The first part of the road up Bokor is under construction, the rest is very easy going.

• Sure, the road to Bokor is unpaved but no potholes, this despite what is mentioned in this article in the Phnom Penh Post (April 18 - May1):

  'The road - currently a muddy, pot-holed nightmare - will be enlarged and sealed at a cost of some $20 million'.

  The authors of this piece probably never visited the place at least not - currently -.
  In all, the article is a nice piece of PR for the Sokimex / Sokha Hotels. Take for instance the sentences:

  'The French colonial buildings will be preserved'

  and

  ' "We will knock down the casino", the owner says'.

  No criticism. The Cambodia Daily for the last few weeks has been advertising for someone to come up with a 'master development plan', makes you wonder? They also mention Sokha projects in Kirirom, where there are none and give the floor to lamentations on Sihanoukville's airport: 'Sihanoukville is dead [?] because of the lack of airport development'. That seems a bit harsh especially to those tourists having problems finding rooms during December / January. The last thing you can call Sihanoukville, is that it's 'dead'. And international flights are coming Sihanoukville's way, Bangkok Airways not only states it will do so, but actually is in the process of buying aircraft for this purpose, at least according to the Bangkok Post on the eighteenth of April.
  And what to think of the sentence:

  'the new development can capitalize on the long standing reputation of Bokor as a high-end gambling retreat'.

  Is this tongue in cheek? The last 30 years has seen no gambling at all, what a long standing reputation! Well, as long as Phnom Penh Posts' pages are full. Let's hope when and if they become daily the quality standards will appreciate.

• The how to get there part. Khmer 440 again leading the way, this time on the best bus service:

  'We (the Mrs and I) find Mekong Express to be the least worst bus service',

  which seems to sum up this collection of bus horror stories. The small print of your ticket says that your onwards trip to the hotel is a sham. Other experiences:

  'We hopped on the [Sorya] bus in Snooky, the A/C wasn't working, they had to jump start the bus'.

  ...

  'I've blacklisted Capitol Bus after the last debacle [full story on the forum]'.

  ...

  'Also cross off Mekong Express and Paramount on the Siem Reap route anyway'.

  That does not leave the traveler with much alternatives. Then again isn't that part of the lure of going to far off and exotic locations, bus trips from hell?

• The neverending story of getting to

  'the city of Solla Solllew,
  on the banks of the beautiful Wah-Hoo,
  where the never have troubles!
  At least very few'.

  [taken from Dr Suess' 'I had trouble getting to Solla Sollew'].
  
  But of course Crossing Cambodia means Siem Reap. There are encouraging sounds that the road is improving on the Siem Reap - border side, but the border rip offs remain:

  'Editor's Note: Although this traveler did not seem too fussed by the money exchange scam, or this pre-paid trip in general, I would point out that the fact remains he was 1.) ripped off by $22 on the exchange scam, 2.) Had he purchased a visa (I can only wonder what lies they told the other passengers) he would have been ripped off by another $20, and 3.) Although a taxi is indeed a better option, they did manage to extract another $6+ from him to ride in it. So the overcharge was $28+ and could have been nearly $50. This is I think, evidence enough of what I've been saying for years, that these pre-paid transport services should be avoided at all times'.

  Recent images of the road at danbrew.
  

Then the accidents:

• Khmer News.com mentions:

  'According to temporary report from authority and ground traffic officers, there are 14 people died and nearly 100 injured in traffic accidents during three days of Khmer New Year 2008 from April 13-15'.

  Phnom Penh Post (April 18-May 1, 2008) mentions :

  'Eight killed, 21 injured in Phnom Penh'. Substantially more people were killed on Phnom Penh roads this New Year, ...'.

  They also refer to RTAVIS statistics mentioning that last year the number of deaths were 74 in total, whereas Crossing Cambodia reported just 54, some difference. Thailand's Nation reports preliminary figures of 324 deaths (up), from Lao no news.
  Elsewhere a more detailed account of an accident, as a high profile singer was involved. Besides describing the accident and the number of deceased, the odd article ends on an upbeat 'note':

  'Sok Pisey has regained her conscience, and she now smiles to her visitors'.

  More from Khmernews.com:

  'The car’s driver drove like the wind from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap town. After arrive home from local pagoda during Khmer New Year, the victims gathered on the side road on the left. Then the car ran over and killed them [five people at 'least']'.

• Today's (April 21, 2008) Cambodia Daily keeps us up to date with the villagers vs. quarry battle:

  'Takeo provincial officials Friday asked [not ordered?] the quarrying company to pave a 6 km road in Bati district that villagers blocked for weeks to prevent company trucks from kicking up too much dust, an official said. ICB [the company] agreed to pave the road and then collect toll fees to cover the cost, Tnort commune chief Heng Hong said Sunday. However, ICB manager You Kheang said his company would not pave the road and that it was the provincial rural development department's responsibility to do so. "If it does not pave it, we will discuss it again," You Kheang said, adding that his company is now using a different road for its routes'.

  Well, the question rises what was decided at the meeting? And does the 'different road' now affect different villagers? A case study of ineffective governance.

• Furthermore in today's Cambodian Daily, another example of good governance:

  'Preah Vihear provincial police chief Mao Pov on Friday denied reports quoting him as saying that police shot at two men on April 13, killing one and missing the other when an altercation arose over how fast the victims were driving. Mao Pov said he had been misquoted and that the police did not shoot at the two men and were not responsible for the death'.

  The small article goes on about how the police know of nothing, which seems at complete opposite ends to the 'truth'. A provincial coordinator for human rights adds that police were implicated, they brought the victim to the hospital and had paid the deceased family $1,000 in compensation. But they are not involved!
  What happens if you run a red light in Preah Vihear? One way ticket to Baghdad? Wrong! The answer is nothing, they don't have traffic lights in the province, barely have anything that resembles a road come to think of it.

• Phnom Penh Post (April 18 - May 1, 2008) 'Police Blotter' selected entries:

  'April 3 Mom Phearom, 25, was arrested and the motorbike he was riding seized, after he and two associates [?] allegedly robbed a traveler of his motorbike, 10 minutes earlier'.

  'April 7: one of three young men accused of tying wire at head height across a street was arrested after police came across the wire intended to topple motorists by catching them by the neck. Motorbikes, once separated from their rider could then be taken'.

  'April 7: Two men suspected of involvement in the murder and robbery of a women on October 4, 2007 were captured by police in Battambang province. police said the woman had been killed for her motorbike, phone and jewellery. They arrested her boyfriend'.

  Well, fine boyfriend she had. Surprisingly, all above were arrested but not shot. Supposedly they were not speeding ....
  

Public vs. private

The perpetual battle between private and public is coming back to the forefront. Roads are a classic example of a public space needed and required for everybody. However, Crossing Cambodia in the past few weeks has mentioned a road (to Bokor) being upgraded by private companies to stimulate private investment though it is unclear whether or not the previously public road will become private and if so what the fees might be. Discussed as well was the use of roads and sidewalks as parking space for successful companies' customers. Then there is the privatisation of the railways which again privatises a public investment with unknown returns. Yesterday's (Wednesday March 5, 2008) Cambodia Daily a Letter to the Editor harks forth on the same topic.

'Return public sidewalks to use for public. Provide the public with a smooth and peaceful walking area please!'

It refers to a TV programme which highlighted Phnom Penh traffic problems and how the government was dealing with this issue.

'However the program did not raise much about the issue of messy and disorderly sidewalks, which need to be addressed if we are to reduce traffic jams and beautify Phnom Penh. Homeowners, restaurants or hotels overtake most sidewalks.They try to own sidewalks. .... They park their vehicles on the sidewalk. ... Pedestrians always have to walk on the street to avoid stuff that has been placed or built on the sidewalk. Or walkers have to maneuver up and down the sidewalk in order to proceed. Why doesn't the Phnom Penh municipal authority do something to solve this problem? ... The municipal authority should push for public parking lots and no longer allow people to park arbitrarily, especially on narrow streets. ... Kimsan Chantara, Phnom Penh'

As if to compensate for that, 100 ramps to allow access for people in wheelchairs have been constructed on the west side of Norodom Boulevard. Note that Norodom is probably the road that has the least obstructions on the sidewalk as it's the alley for all dignitaries to parade themselves.
Paid by the businesses along Norodom? No (in Cambodia,it is customary for riparians to fund the construction of sidewalks) By the government then? No, but funding came from a 'semi-autonomous government body, the National Centre for Disabled Persons'.
A Handicap International spokespersons applauds the efforts:

'officials are on the right track. ... He added that as much as 8 percent of traffic accidents in 2006 involved pedestrians, highlighting the need for accessible sidewalks.'

Well, let's take a closer look at what they have done. Actually it's pretty amazing: at certain driveway's and side streets they have taken out the street stones and made ramps by applying cement. However, these ramps are sometimes quite steep, certainly not uniform. What's more, some side streets have them, others don't. Not very continuous. Crossing Cambodia included a couple of photo's:
The above example shows a ramp but after a couple of meters the sidewalk is blocked by cars, is it the World Bank that is using the sidewalk as a parking place? The next photo is even clearer, great ramp, but of no use!


Despite the sincerity of the project, one must ask the question why the heck initiate this if you can not ensure that the intended solution to the problem can not be obtained due to other reasons! All-in-all a good (i.e. bad) example of how the authorities muddle onwards trying to address the problems but never solving them!

Chasing Cars, Cambodian Style, February 2 2008

• Not much on internet the last week, however yesterday's (Feb.1, 2008) Cambodian Daily had a couple of traffic related articles. The big news is that highway 32, the road connecting Bokor Mountain (to be, but currently in ruins) Resort, is off-limits while it is being reconstructed (and privatized (?) in the process). Sokha Hotel Group

  'estimates it will take around 2,5 years to complete'.

  Reportedly trekking up the mountain is becoming all the rage.

• 'Traffic Injuries deaths up 45% in November'.

  A yell from again yesterday's Cambodian Daily. However the article then points to the fact that the 45% rise, is in comparison to October, the year to year rise was 18%, which seems very much in line with the growth in traffic overall. The article also reports

  'that the number of motorbike drivers reporting that they wear safety helmets increased from 3% to 7% from October to November'.

  A not so trueful statement, as it concerns victims of accidents. In general a look on today's roads (in Phnom Penh) would reveal that this percentage is 25-40%; it implies that helmet wearers are also safer drivers.

• Only if you are important, does an accident make the newspaper. An executive's car overtaking while a car is coming from the other side ...

• China will invest a packet (55 million $US) in a road to Ratanakiri; no strings attached?

• And now for something completly different:

  'Motor taxi driver injures a robber. ... The robber used a cleaver to rob the motor taxi driver. They scuffled each other. Meanwhile, the motorbike owner took the cleaver from the robber and attacked him back, police said. The victim known as Trei Sopheak, 35, got severe injured seven times in his neck, head and stomach. While both were fighting, police intervened on time and sent them to the hospital.'

• Motorcycle touring Cambodia? 'Don't look back in Angkor'. A pity the Chinese and private companies will ruin the future for these tourists. Which kind? The kind that like this:

  'The two boys and their bikes are totally covered in mud and I suspect, as I try to kick-start my Honda XR250, that I will be soon, given the road ahead is a barely passable series of potholed broken tracks'.