LTO Cambodia: Siem Reap 1995/2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Siem Reap 1995/2013

Filtering through old photos I took of at Angkor in the 90s I found a few of Siem Reap Town I took in 1995. Unfortunately the photos are not in great shape, but good enough for a couple of comparison shots. The April 2013 photos were taken today, standing in the approximately the same spots I did 18 years ago.

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Wat Bo Road, April 1995. At the time Wat Bo Road had several wooden guesthouses, catering primarily to budget travelers, but there were no hotels or restaurants along Wat Bo.

Wat Bo Road, April 2013.

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Corner of National Route #6 and Wat Bo Road, looking east down Route #6, April 1995. Route #6 at the time was in very poor shape. There were no buses or regularly schedule road transportation from Phnom Penh. It was possible to hire a taxi, but due to road conditions the trip could take 9-14 hours, there were dubious military checkpoints along the way and the KR was still about. Most travelers from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap took the river ferry or the plane. Even the trip from Siem Reap to the Roluos Group (only 13km) was a chore, that stretch of dirt road particularly trenched and pot-holed.

Corner of National Route #6 and Wat Bo Road, April 2013. It's a smooth, paved 5-6 hour drive to Phnom Penh. Buses rule. The river ferry only runs part year now. Roluos is an easy 15 minute drive.

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Garden House Guesthouse on Wat Bo Road. Fan, bed, net, shared bathroom, $4/night. April 1995.

Garden House Guesthouse on Wat Bo Road. April 2013.

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The Ya Tep Statue in the center of town, in the middle of National Route #6, near the Hotel Grand d'Angkor Park. April 1995. Ya Tep is a neak-ta (powerful spirit) local to Siem Reap and is said to help bring protection (and winning lottery numbers) to the faithful. At the time people told me that she likes "ugly things" and she always used to be surrounded by stinking chicken skins left by worshipers. I haven't checked thoroughly, but these days the offerings seem to consist mainly of incense, flowers and fruit.

The Ya Tep Statue in the center of town, April 2013.

23 comments:

iancochraneApril 3, 2013 at 9:25 AM
So interesting Casey. Thanks.
Nothing stays the same.
Cheers, ic
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ChrisApril 4, 2013 at 12:10 AM
What a coincidence, I've been browsing the internet all day yesterday on the hunt for some pictures of Siem Reap in the 90's and early 2000... The best I could find was 1 picture of Pub Street taken in 1999!

These pictures are truly breathtaking... If possible, I would love to see more from your archives!

Would you mind if I share them on my forum http://www.siemreap.net/forum/? (Of course with your credits and link back to this post.)

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Siem ReapApril 10, 2013 at 11:47 PM
Nice coincidence.So interesting Casey. Thanks.
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Siem ReapMay 15, 2013 at 4:39 PM
Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol !
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linksitusfun88November 1, 2018 at 1:02 AM
makasih gan buat infonya dan semoga bermanfaat
ReplyDelete
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livehktercepatNovember 1, 2018 at 1:05 AM
bagus bos artikelnya dan menarik
ReplyDelete
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togel4dNovember 1, 2018 at 1:07 AM
mantap sob infonya dan salam sukses selalu
ReplyDelete
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pokervitaNovember 1, 2018 at 1:12 AM
terimakasih mas buat infonya dan salam kenal
ReplyDelete
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JennyDecember 24, 2018 at 4:45 PM
How great to see these photos, as I am in Siem Reap right now - but my previous visit was in 1995! So I've been commitcom this modern town with paved Todd's to the distr village I remember from 23 years ago. Thank you for sharing these photos!
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JennyDecember 24, 2018 at 4:52 PM
Sorry, typos!

4:45 PM
How great to see these photos, as I am in Siem Reap right now - but my previous visit was in 1995! So I've been comparing this modern town with paved roads to the dusty village I remember from 23 years ago. Thank you for sharing these photos!
ReplyDelete
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majutotoSeptember 14, 2019 at 8:42 AM
sengangat terus ngeblognya mazz..
ReplyDelete
Replies
totojituSeptember 14, 2019 at 8:47 AM
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bioskop4dSeptember 14, 2019 at 8:49 AM
Mau mendapatkan pelayanan yang baik dan ramah???

Modal Kecil bisa mendapatkan hasil yg luar biasa...
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Replies
kungfu4d2September 14, 2019 at 8:51 AM
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kebetulan lagi cara tentang hal ini.
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dingdongtogelSeptember 14, 2019 at 9:02 AM
ok mantap sob buat infonya dan salam kenal
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indowlatotoSeptember 14, 2019 at 9:04 AM
keren mas buat infonya dan salam sukses selalu
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Replies
istanaimpian2September 14, 2019 at 9:07 AM
bagus bos artikelnya dan menarik
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Replies
fun88September 14, 2019 at 9:08 AM
makasih gan buat infonya dan semoga bermanfaat
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togelgalaxyJuly 23, 2020 at 10:55 AM
artikelnya sangat bagus, terima kasih telah membagi informasi tersebut
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fun88loginJuly 23, 2020 at 10:57 AM
Yah begitulah, backlink dari google ini memang perlu untuk kita kejar dan kita dapatkan
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artistotoJuly 23, 2020 at 10:58 AM
Kabar Baik Untuk Para pencinta Game
Karena di Bulan januari ini Sudah keluar Game RPG Online Terpopuler Se-Asia
Penasarankan Game nya Seperti apa???
Kalian bisa dilihat game nya dari link di bawah yaaa
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buahtogelJuly 23, 2020 at 10:59 AM
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Cambodia

Cambodia is Srok Khmer, the 'Land of the Khmer,' the primary ethnic group in the area since at least the Neolithic and an Indian influenced civilization with origins near 2000 years old. Centered on the lower Mekong and tributaries the Khmer people have dominated the region for millennia. From 2nd century AD Khmer kingdoms rose and fell, culminating in unification and the 500 year reign of the Angkorian Empire, the builders of the temples of Angkor near Siem Reap. The Empire stretched from Burma to the ocean. But by the 1400s Cambodia fell to centuries of change and decline squeezed between the expanding Siam and Vietnam. Colonized and by the French in the 1860s, independence 90 years later in 1954, a brief post-colonial 'golden period' under Sihanouk, coup in 70, civil war, fall to the communist Khmer Rouge in 75, 3 years 8 months 20 days of madness, Vietnamese rescue in 1979, occupation, low level war and international sanctions in the 80s, the UN, ostensive democracy and an adventure party destination in the 90s and now mainstreaming, tourism, rapid development, rapacious capitalism and NGOs, missionaries and other international busybodies aplenty.

Southeast Asia

As the term implies, Southeast Asia encompasses the southeastern corner of the Asian continent, loosely speaking, the area between India, China and Australia. It is made up of two distinct regions: the mainland zone, a bulbous peninsula jutting into the Pacific Ocean, bounded by China to the north and India to the west; and the insular (island) zone in the Pacific Ocean. The name 'Southeast Asia' is a comparatively recent invention, first coming into use into the 20th century and still a bit indefinite in definition. Mainland Southeast Asia is generally considered to include Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and peninsular Malaysia. The mainland is sometimes referred to as Indo-China though Indochina (Indochine) also designates the 19th/20th century French colonial conglomerate of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Sitting south of the Tropic of Cancer, most of mainland Southeast Asia lies in the hot, humid tropics and sub-tropics with a climate dominated by a monsoon cycle which divides the year into two distinct seasons: a dry season and an extremely wet monsoon season. Much of the mainland is mountainous and thickly jungled, with large river systems and wide, low-lying, flood-prone plains, much of which is, in modern times, deforested and blanketed with geometrical rice paddies. Several major river valleys including the Mekong River, the Red, Ma and Ka rivers and the group of rivers draining to the Chao Praya Delta played host to the rise of early civilization in the area. The Mekong River is one of the world's greatest rivers, the seventh largest on the planet, and since pre-history has been closely associated with the land of the Khmer.