Balance B

Symmetry enough

Buddha shrine within vihear of the pagoda next to the ruins of Bakong, Roluos Group, Siem Reap, Cambodia 

Apsara I

Wat Bo: Scenes of daily life

Wall painting of ordinary life scene in the vihear of Wat Bo, Siem Reap

Vihear (temple), Wat Bo, Siem Reap, Cambodia

I'm fascinated by the occasional representation of ordinary life that can be found in old Khmer art. Unlike the usual depictions of deities, royalty and religious tales, images of daily life (e.g. bas-reliefs of a market scene on the Angkorian-era Bayon) provide revealing glimpses into common Cambodia, the life that most people of the time knew, but was only rarely recorded for posterity. Though much more recent than the 12th century carvings on Bayon, several scenes of turn-of-the-century French colonial Cambodia are tucked amongst the century-old wall paintings of Siem Reap's Wat Bo pagoda, including the amazing tableau pictured above. Sometimes called the 'market scene,' it portrays several shops and dozens of people, many of them foreigners, involved in activities ranging from hauling water and selling silks to meeting friends and getting stoned.

Panels depicting the Reamker

Wat Bo is one of Siem Reap town's earlier pagodas, likely founded in the 18th century. (Wat Preah Prom Rath, reputedly Siem Reap's oldest, was founded in the 16th century.) The vihear of Wat Bo (the main temple building) is at least a century old, constructed with an old-style segmented roof. Like many Cambodian vihears the interior walls are adorned with paintings, but Wat Bo's paintings are quite uncommon. Instead of the usual scenes from Buddhist lore, the wall paintings of Wat Bo depict the Reamker, the Cambodian version of the classic Hindu epic the Ramayana. It is one of the few Cambodian pagodas to do so, (another being the Silver Pagoda at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.) (Harris, 2005, 'Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice', pg 90-91.) Even the presentation of the paintings is unique, displayed in quilt-like patchwork, possibly inspired by a shadow puppet presentation of the epic (Giteau, 1975, Iconographie du Cambodge post Angkorien, EFEO.) Unfortunately many of the lower panels have been damaged or even whitewashed over. Scenes of ordinary life including foreign soldiers and French officers at a traditional dance performance are primarily located along the bottom edge of the surviving paintings. The painting of the 'market scene' is placed prominently in the center of the front (east) wall, between the entrance doors, at about eye level.

Monks at Wat Bo estimate the painting to be about a hundred years old, which corresponds well with the costumes depicted. It's about a meter wide and a half-meter tall. Though sometimes referred to as the 'market scene,' it looks more like a street scene to me. The compartments in the upper half are not shaped like market stalls but like shophouses (combined shop and home) that are longer than wide. And though the presence of wares seems to indicate that they are shops, the proprietors also seem to be engaged in homey activities including grooming and smoking. The painting would appear to be a representation of a row of shophouses with proprietors (upper register,) and people passing in the street in front of the shophouses (lower register).

French soldiers from panel on east wall.

The scene appears to be set sometime between 1890 and 1920 and contains at least 34 people (more may have been painted over at the edges.) Each individual is unique and displays characteristics (dress, facial features, activity...) indicative of a particular ethnicity, profession, gender, status, etc. In an effort to understand these individual characters I met with the head monk of Wat Bo pagoda last week, Ven. Chou Lim Leang, who graciously granted me almost two hours of his time to discuss the painting. Though he didn't know the complete story, he was able to identify several characters as well as point out some of the cultural cues and indicators, (e.g. neck scarf and sampot chang kben on males indicating Khmer ethnicity,) allowing some informed speculation.

Like others, the head monk estimated the painting to be about 100 years old. He asserted that it was not a representation of some particular market or street of the time, but was rendered in the spirit, style and even time of the Reamker (or Angkor) with contemporary characters that the artist had seen in his daily life inserted into the scene. Further, that the characters were signifiers of peoples present in Cambodia at the time - Chinese, Indians, Khmer and ethnic minorities. I tend to disagree. The costumes and accoutrements (e.g. umbrellas, guns, clock) are contemporary with the artist. The architecture is not inconsistent with the artist's time. And the presence of Europeans would seem to contradict the notion that these are signifiers from a millennium ago. This is a contemporary scene.

The following descriptions of the various characters from the painting are not definitive but amount more to notes from the meeting with the head monk, talks with other monks and guides over the years, and my own speculation. I have not been able to find any significant writings on this painting but I figure there must be something on it somewhere, most likely in French. If you know of any existing papers or articles, please let me know.


Upper Register

The upper register appears to consist of a row of seven shophouses, each displaying products for sale (mostly silks/textiles), and each shop with its proprietor lounging, presumably waiting for customers and often engaged in some personal activity. Each shophouse is much longer than it is wide (like classic Southeast Asian shophouses) with tile roofs and stairs at the front leading up from the street level to the shop area. Below this register is the street scene in front of the shop houses. Above this register is a completely separate painting, part of the Ramayana story.

A: Female with fan. Selling silks/textiles. Basket or bowl on table. She is most likely Khmer or Chinese..

B: Khmer female with mirror and comb, in the act of combing her hair and gazing into mirror. Selling silks. Both finished silks and silk thread (on hook) on display. Two traditional Cambodian bowls on table. (Bowls of this design are common and can still be found in Cambodian homes.) Regarding her ethnicity, the neck scarf suggests she is Khmer.

C: Chinese male sitting and smoking opium pipe. Selling silks/textiles. The head monk suggested that there are  non-Cambodian patterns on the display silks. Oil lamp (mong son) on table. Octagonal wall clock on wall (note the face of the clock is incorrect) possibly indicating that this is a wealthy man.

D: Indian male sitting and smoking pipe. In 'Siem Reap Pagodas' (2000), Zepp suggested that this individual may be Turkish, based in part on the style of pipe. But the head monk posited that he is Indian, citing eastern dress, facial characteristics (facial hair, "sharp nose") and the presence of Indian traders in Cambodia at the time. Note the similarity between this guy and #4 in the lower register, seemingly of the same ethnicity/nationality. Selling silks/textiles. Two jars on table possibly containing other sales items and/or what ever it is he is smoking.

E: Female sitting. Hair knotted back. Ethnicity uncertain, due in part to the damage to the painting. Selling silks and possibly perfumes/fragrances. Finished silks on display. The monk noted of the patterns on the silks, suggesting Angkor-style flower-in-diamond (p'ka-chan) pattern. Two sets of two bottles each on the table, fluted and ornate design, possibly containing perfume/fragrance.

F: Male sitting and smoking pipe. Ethnicity uncertain. Eastern/Chinese shirt, smoking a southern Chinese, hilltribe or perhaps Burmese pipe (opium, tobacco, ganja?). Facial feature suggesting a possible non-Asian ethnicity. Chinese? Birman? Shan (Khmer-kola)? European? A barang 'gone native'? Selling silks/textiles. Finished silks/textiles on display.

G: Khmer female gazing into hand mirror. Selling silks. Both finished silks and silk thread (on hook) on display. Oil lamp (mong son) and bottle on table. Regarding her ethnicity, the scarf suggests Khmer ethnicity.


Lower Register

The lower register appears to be a street scene consisting of at least 27 people engaged in various activities. Several foreigners are amongst the characters including at least 3 Europeans. Many of the characters are depicted in pairs, walking, working, talking together. In some cases the characters seem placed in contrast to each other, e.g. a pair of fancy city folk next to a pair of hilltribesmen. At least one character at the edge (#1) has been painted over.

1: Khmer (?) male (?). Note what appears to be a sampot chang kben, suggesting Khmer ethnicity. Image almost totally obliterated.
2: Khmer male. Wearing a neck scarf and a sampot, suggesting Khmer ethnicity. Image is badly damaged.

3: Malay male. (Re ethnicity: note the style of hat and a male wearing a sarong.) Carrying a shoulder bag, a large umbrella with an bamboo handle and a ring of objects in the other hand, perhaps bells of keys.

4: Indian male with umbrella. Note similarities to 'D' in the upper register - dress, facial hair/features, pipe. Also see note on ethnicity in 'D' above.

5-6: Pair of Khmer males. Note neck scarf and sampot chang kben, both suggestive of Khmer ethnicity. The monk posited that the umbrellas were a indicator that they are Khmer-Kola (Shan), an ethnic minority group formerly present in western Cambodia.

7: A caucasian foreigner of some sort, likely European. Blond with facial hair. Wearing what appears to be a military uniform, but quite different from the French uniforms which are well represented in Wat Bo wall paintings (see photo of French soldiers above.) The monk suggested the red coat indicated that he is British.

8: Chinese male with shoulder stick and baskets. Note style of shirt and hat.

9: Pair of males. Ethnicity uncertain. The monk noted that the sarongs indicated that they were perhaps Malay or Cham. This pair seems unique. Though most of pairs are touching each another in some way, this is by far the closest, the most intimate embrace of them all. They are turned toward each other and may even be gazing at each other. Could this be a gay couple? Or perhaps the market "catamites" noted in Zhou Daguan's 13th century account of Angkor, 'The Customs of Cambodia'?

11-12: Pair of foreigners greeting one another. Note blond hair and mustache on #11. The monk suggests that #11 is in fact a Khmer official and that the hair color is a deterioration of the paint. I disagree. He looks clearly European to me.

13-14-15: This is either a group of three or a pair (the center and right) and a stand alone individual (the left.) The hats and style of clothing would seem to link them. It has been variously suggested that they are Europeans (based on the bowler hats), French provincial governors, and a group of Chinese men. The first time I saw this painting about 15 years ago, a young monk there specifically said that the left-hand character "is not Charlie Chaplin." I'm not sure why he said that, but once mentioned I couldn't stop noticing the resemblance - the hat, the umbrella, the pants, shoes and dark coat, the seeming little mustache. Chaplin (known as 'Cha-Lo' in Cambodia) was very popular in Cambodia and it is easy to see how someone might come to suggest this is Chaplin, or perhaps even how Chaplin's image could come to be painted on a pagoda wall amongst early 20th century characters.

16-17: Pair of French (?) soldiers, unarmed, carrying walking sticks. Though this painting is in rough shape, there are several good examples of French soldiers on the northern wall, wearing similar but not identical uniforms. (See photo of French soliers above.)

18: Uncertain. Male (?) with shoulder bag, machete (?), and walking stick.

19: Khmer (?) female with water jug (?).

20-21: Pair of hilltribesmen (ethnic minority people) with shoulder stick, carrying wild boar.

22-23: Pair of Khmer males. Note neck scarf and sampot chang kben, indicating Khmer ethicity. The monk suggests that from their dress they appear to be rich and/or city folk, in contrast to the hilltribesmen on either side of them.

24-25: Pair of hilltribesmen (ethnic minority people.) Which tribe might be identifiable by headgear and dress. One carrying a fluted bottle.

26: Uncertain. Male (or female?) carrying umbrella (and fish?). Similar hat and facial structure to 'F' in upper register?

27: Male with shoulder stick, hauling water.

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.

Window Bo

Wat Bo, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Cambodia: Flooding 2012 (not...yet)

Getting lots of hits on my 2011 flooding posts and starting to get e-mails from travelers asking about current flooding – ‘Is there flooding in Cambodia?’ ‘Is Phnom Penh flooded?’ ‘Will there be flooding this year?’The disastrous 2011 floods in Cambodia and Thailand have left many wondering if there will be a repeat performance this year.

Is there flooding in Cambodia ? In short, no, there is no flooding or threat of imminent flooding in Cambodia. In fact, so far this year the monsoon rains have been rather sparse and the rivers are at normal, even slightly below normal levels. The river level at the Phnom Penh Port is currently at 6 meters, well below even warning level and on the low side of normal for mid-August.

Phnom Penh riverfront, August 10, 2012. Water level 3.5 meters below warning level and 5 meters below flood level.

Water level chart for the Phnom Penh Port on the Tonle Sap River, August 12, 2012. Note that the current observed water level is below previous flood years, (though that could certainly change.) MRC website.

Will there be floods this year? Depends on what is meant by ‘floods.’

Parts of Cambodia flood every year. During the monsoon season (June-November) the great Tonle Sap Lake in the center of the country ordinarily swells to cover as much as 5 times its dry season surface area, flooding vast mangrove forests and beyond. Villages along the lake build their houses on 9 meter stilts to stay above the water. This flooding is part of a normal annual cycle that helps replenish the land and irrigate the rice fields. The flood of 2011 was different. The water was much deeper, the flood area more extensive and the duration of the flooding much longer than a normal year. The rivers repeatedly crested their banks in some cities such as Siem Reap (but not Phnom Penh,) flooding the cities for days, even weeks at a time.

Tonle Sap Lake and floodplain.

There will also be a certain amount of flooding in Phnom Penh this year, as there is every year, every rainy season, after heavy downpours. After a typical afternoon monsoon, certain streets and parts of town will flood ankle to knee deep on average and then will drain off within a couple/few hours of the end of the storm. It’s been that way in Phnom Penh for the 19 years that I have been here and is as predictable as clockwork. Someday the city may sort out its drainage problems, but until then, brief flooding with heavy rains is the norm and to be expected.

Street flooding in Phnom Penh (Street 178), May 8, 2012. This flooding drained off within a couple of hours.

Street flooding in Phnom Penh (Sothearos Blvd at the corner of Street 184), May 8, 2012. This flooding drained off within a couple of hours.

But if asking ‘will there be destructive floods of the same sort as 2011, perhaps even in Phnom Penh’ the answer is 'nobody knows.'

While there are several factors, the extent of this year’s flooding will depend largely on the amount of rain Cambodia and the countries along the Mekong River receive in the coming months, which is an unknown. There have been some long term forecasts for the region but such predictions are tentative at best.

That said, after last year’s disaster, people in Cambodia are understandably a bit on the sensitive side regarding the possibility of flooding this year. There is something of an air of anticipation.

Some locals (including some of the Khmer and Vietnamese I work with) predict that there will be severe flooding again this year, noting with ominous tone that 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, specifically a Water Dragon, which is associated with rain and flood.. They also point out that the last big flood prior to 2011, and the last time the river in Phnom Penh crested its banks and flooded the city, was in 2000, also a Year of the Dragon, suggesting that flooding will follow the same cycle.

And the media has been playing it up a bit as well, looking for new angles (e.g. climate change and landgrabbing,) intermittently rehashing the story and generating more flood talk. Three weeks ago a local paper managed to get a foreboding but dubious quote from a UN guy, “The Tonle Sap lake is already filled to the brim, and satellite pictures indicate that we are actually preparing for [another] flooding disaster.” (Really? Where is “the brim” of the Tonle Sap Lake? Is it already filled to its maximum extent, 2 months early? If accurate, that should have been a story in itself.)

Offering a more prudent assessment, the National Committee for Disaster Management’s Pey Sopheap said “for the estimation, we cannot say anything” regarding the potential for flooding this year. We will have to wait and see.

A few notes on flood watching: Severe flooding, if there is any, tends to start later in the season, often in September/October (see river level chart above)... Last year the river level in many places rose quite quickly, often in a matter of days. In Phnom Penh the Tonle Sap rose 2 meters in less than a week... Expect brief flooding (1-4 hours) after heavy rains in Phnom Penh and other cities and also occasional brief flooding over parts of the National Roads. This happens every year. Do not confuse reports of rain-related street flooding with the sort of disastrous flooding that occurred in 2011... The Mekong River Commission online daily river level reports are an excellent resource... Last year Twitter was also an good source of on-the-spot flood reports... The monsoon season is, IMO, the best time of year to visit Cambodia - the Angkor ruins are at their most picturesque, the countryside is alive with activity, the rice paddies are full and green, the tourists are at their thinnest...

Resources:

Mekong River Commission, river levels, Southeast Asia
Mekong River Commission, river levels, Cambodia page
Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology - Flood Bulletin (Khmer)
Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology - Flood Warnings (Khmer)
Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology - Hydrographs

Riverfront Scammers and the Filipino Blackjack Con

It’s the beginning of the high tourism season in Cambodia. The tourists are back, and so are the scammers that prey on them, especially in tourist zones like the riverfront in Phnom Penh. Actually, the scammers never left, but in my forays up the riverfront these last couple of weeks they seem to be out in numbers and working hard, chasing the fresh crop of newbies in Cambodia. Day before yesterday in front of the Royal Palace I almost got a photo of three different scammers in the same shot, but they saw me raise my camera and scattered.

There are of course the professional beggars that pester tourists as they try to have a meal on the riverfront, but they are more of an annoyance than scammer. There are also more insidious forms of this, such as the women (and sometime children) that carry around rented and drugged infants as sympathy props and child beggars that have been put on the street to work. All this is fairly well known.

Then there are the foreign scammers. ‘Wild Turkey Man’ (a.k.a. the Australian beggar) is probably the best known and longest ‘working’ of the group. He and at least one or two other foreigners are running the same scam on the riverfront, a rather old one in fact, often used on the traveler’s trail. He approaches you and spins a tale about how he’s a tourist who has lost or had his passport and money stolen, the embassy requires him to pay for a new one, or is making him wait, leaving him penniless and on the street, or he needs a bus ticket to Siem Reap to pick it up, etc., etc. The tale ends predictably, with a plea for financial help, “just a dollar, maybe a few…” Leaving aside issues of honesty and such, the biggest problem I have with these sorts of foreign ne’er-do-wells is that while they are scamming tourists for beer money they are also competing with poverty-stricken third-worlders for the limited pity dollars that flow in the tourist areas.  

But it wasn’t the usual suspects that inspired this post. It was the appearance of a comparatively new and potentially much more dangerous group of tourist scammers in Cambodia – what’s become known as the ‘Filipino Mafia’ or ‘Filipino Blackjack Con.’ One of these guys tried to work me the other day in front of the National Museum, and it wasn’t an hour later that a tuk-tuk driver was complaining to me (unprompted) that a tourist couple he had been ferrying around had to cut their Cambodia holiday short for having fallen prey to “Filipino sharks.” He claims that there are several of these scammers working in Phnom Penh and that he and other tuk-tuks have complained to the police, who have as yet done nothing about it.

The Filipino scammers have been running this con for years in Vietnam and their doings in Ho Chi Minh City have been well documented by Adam Bray on his website Fish Egg Tree. Even the well-experienced Vagabond Traveler was taken for a ride by these guys in Saigon.

I first noticed them here in Phnom Penh about a year ago. While walking past the Royal Palace I was approached by a friendly Asian couple – a man in his 50s and a woman in her 30s in casual dress. They began by complimenting my hat and asked where I got it. This led to more friendly conversation, and more praise and interest in my knowledge, appearance and country. They claimed to be Malaysians living in Australia. When they found out that I was a long-term expat they ended the conversation politely but quickly. I was immediately suspicious. It may sound cynical, but while somebody may stop to ask directions or perhaps try to sell you something, nobody starts extended conversations with passing strangers for no particular reason. I didn’t know what the game was at the time, but something was definitely fishy.

Three weeks later the same couple approached me in the same spot in almost the same way, but this time it was my beard they liked. They had forgotten me from before. They claimed to be half-Khmer/half-Malaysian visiting family in Cambodia. Again, they showed glowing interest in my country, my travels, my family and my experiences as a tourist in Cambodia. All 'feel good' stuff, appealing to my vanity and sense of openness as a traveler. Again, they ended the conversation when they learned I was a long-termer. I still didn’t know what they were up to but it was clearly no-good. I saw them a few times after that, walking the same area, but they didn’t approach me again.

It was shortly thereafter I learned about the ‘Filipino Blackjack scam’ being run in Saigon and heard that the same scammers had been seen in Phnom Penh. I put 2 and 2 together.

About a month ago in front of the National Museum here in Phnom Penh another couple approached me in the same way – different people, same general description, same sort of conversation except this time they started by complimenting me on my handsome backpack. Like the others, they spoke English well and with a non-Khmer accent. Unlike previous encounters, I changed my story and said I was a tourist. The conversation ran much longer. They expressed great interest in learning more about my country and invited me to join them for an authentic Khmer meal, a cultural exchange of sorts. I already knew enough, begged off and walked away. Whatever was to happen next, it was going to be some sort of an attempt to lead me into a situation over which I had no control and then separate me from my money.

Over the last month I have spotted the male half of the couple several times working tourists on the Sothearos Blvd sidewalk in front of the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Twice in the last two weeks, apparently forgetting that they have already done this to me several times, he approached me with the same lame sort of compliment/question they use every time. Day before yesterday it was my sunglasses he liked. “Very nice sunglasses. Did you buy those here?…”

They have been seen in several places in Phnom Penh including other parts of the riverfront, at Sorya Mall, in the park next to Wat Botom and in front of the Central Market (Phsar Thmey.) There are also recent reports that they are working in Siem Reap as well.

No need to detail the rest of their scam – how they manipulate you into a compromised situation, how you get into a card game you never thought you’d enter, how you lose money you never thought you’d bet, how it can amount to hundreds or even thousands of dollars, how they pressure, threaten, even drug you afterwards. They are slick and they are professionals and if you start to walk down the rosy path with them, they will get you there. The details of the scam have already been well covered by Fish Egg Tree and Vagabond Traveler.

You only need to know that THE FILIPINO SCAMMERS ARE HERE IN CAMBODIA, that they are targeting tourists, and to follow the advice that your Mom gave you when you were young...

BEWARE of friendly strangers.

Brief Cambodia Flood Update

Phnom Penh riverfront, 10/29

Final UPDATE, October 29 - There is no flooding in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap city, Battambang city, Sihanoukville, Kampot city or Kep. There is no imminent threat of flooding in any of these cities. The river levels in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang continue to fall. Here in Phnom Penh, in my casual observation, it is falling at a rate of 10-15cm per day. The river level has dropped below alarm stage all along the Mekong River and Tonle Sap River in Cambodia and continues to fall. All National Routes are clear of water and buses and taxis are running normally. There is still some flooding lingering in the countryside but it is slowly subsiding. From what I read in the papers, parts of Thailand and Bangkok are facing significant flooding problems, but that is completely unrelated to the flooding situation in Cambodia. In my inexpert opinion, the flooding threat to all major Cambodian cities has passed for the season. Unless there is some change for the worse in the situation, this is my final update on the flooding in Cambodia.
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Phnom Penh riverfront, 10/26

UPDATE, October 26 - A very quick update. The drying trend continues in the major cities. There is no flooding in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. The same goes for Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep. As of today, Siem Reap is drier than it was two days ago when I posted that almost all the flooding had receded from the city. All businesses are open. All Angkor temples are open. There is no flooding in Phnom Penh. The river level in Phnom Penh continues to fall and, in my casual observation, has dropped at least 20cm in the last two days. According to the MRC website, the river level at the Phnom Penh Port station is now below alarm level for the first time since September. All national routes throughout the country are clear of water and buses and taxis are running between all major cities as normal. Much of the countryside is still inundated, and as mentioned before, there has been major crop loss, loss of life and property damage. See below for some of the projects bringing relief to flood victims in the countryside. There seems to be a growing trend on internet over the last couple of days of posting and/or retweeting old information and sometimes downright misleading information about the flooding, presumably out of inattention, ignorance or a desire to jack up their web stats. When looking at information regarding the flooding in Cambodia, especially in the cities, make sure that it is up-to-date.
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Phnom Penh riverfront, 10/24

UPDATE, October 24 - There is no flooding left in Siem Reap town. Though there are some muddy roads and puddled areas, the town is, for most intents and purposes, dry. All businesses, restaurants, shops, bars, etc. are open. All Angkor temples are open. There is no flooding in Phnom Penh or threat of flooding in Phnom Penh. The river level (Tonle Sap) in Phnom Penh continues to fall. When I did my regular riverfront water level check this afternoon, that level had dropped low enough that I could see the third step for the first time in a month. The MRC website shows the water level of the Mekong River continuing to fall all along the river. The water level at the Phnom Penh Port has dropped to near MRC 'Alarm Level' for the first time since late September. The flooding in the countryside is still draining, albeit very slowly. In an informal conversation today, a government official told me that though there may be concerts, parties and such put on by businesses, there are no official Water Festival events scheduled for Phnom Penh this year.
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As of earlier this afternoon (Oct 22):

There is no flooding in Phnom Penh. Well, there is some lingering flooding at the northern and southern outskirts of the city, but none in Phnom Penh proper. In fact there hasn’t been any significant or unusual flooding in Phnom Penh at any point during the Cambodian flooding crisis. I check the river level at the Phnom Penh riverfront every day, looking at the exactly same spot to see if the water level has changed. In my casual, inexpert observation, give or take a few centimeters the river has been at about the same level for a few weeks now. Today the river was down 5-10cm from yesterday. That is the single largest 24-hour drop in the water level I have seen in weeks. The MRC website also shows either stable or falling water levels all along the Mekong in Cambodia.

Water Level depth chart for Phnom Penh Port

(near central Phnom Penh) from the MRC.

I called around to a few friends that live in Siem Reap today and all report the same – the flooding has largely receded from Siem Reap town. Most roads in town, including the Old Market area, Pub Street, all of the shopping areas and even the river road and traffic circle south of the Old Market area are flood-free. All shops, restaurants, bars and markets are open for business. And, to the best I have been able to determine, all of the Angkor temples are available to visit. There is still some water on the road from Siem Reap to the Lake and on High School Road, but both are reportedly passable. There has been damage to many of the roads, but all are passable. Travelfish posted an entry yesterday with up-to-date, first hand information on the state of flooding in Siem Reap.Travelfish has also posted an entry on some of the local organizations and projects helping to bring aid to the affected communities around Siem Reap.

According to taxi drivers and friends I spoke with today, all of the National Routes are free of flooding, including – from Phnom Penh - NR1 to Vietnam, NR 3 to Kampot/Kep, NR4 to Sihanoukville, NR5 to Battambang, NR6 to Siem Reap, Road48 (from NR4 to Koh Kong) and NR3 (Kampot to NR4). I don’t have any information about NR2 to Takeo or NR7 north. All the National Routes have suffered road damage to varying degrees, but all are passable.

I don’t have much information on the situation in the countryside beside what I see in the newspapers, but from what I've read it sounds like things have changed very little. Much of the countryside is still flooded and draining very slowly. There has been huge property damage and crop loss and many people are in a desperate way. See my October 18 post for more information and links.

Whether the flood waters return or continue to fall depends largely on the weather. But at the moment things look to be stable in the countryside and improving in the cities.