Cambodia 3: Siem Reap

By road to Siem Reap; Khmer Apsara dance and the APOPO Rats detecting landmines in Cambodia

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In today’s article on my continuing journey in Cambodia, I have made a conscious decision to focus on a selection of decidedly different and more uplifting experiences and activities in and around Siem Reap.

Introduction:

We drove by road from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. It was a five hour journey - but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It gave me an opportunity to recharge my batteries and let my mind drift and wander, after witnessing the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge genocide atrocities the previous day.

I alternated between avidly looking out the window and reading my current novel In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner. Snoozing was not an option - there was just too much to see and learn.

I grazed on local roasted cashew nuts and quite addictive sweet, sour and salty tamarind, purchased from a roadside stall.

Photos: author, Roasted Cashew Nuts (above) and Tamarind (below)

I was able to view the passing Cambodian landscape of bright green rice paddy fields;

Photo: author, farmer working in rice paddy field

Photo: author, rice paddy field & Coconut Palm trees

coconut palm trees; mango trees dripping with luscious, ripe tropical fruit;

Photo: author, a Mango tree

numerous pools of colour popping pink lotus flowers; grazing and bathing buffalo;

Photo: author, pools of low lying Lotus flowers

Photo: author, Buffolo

houses built on stilts with small family stupas and harvested rice grain drying in the foreground, whilst farmers worked in

Photo: author, typical house on stilts, with family stupa

Photo: author, typical house on stilts and drying rice crop on the ground

the rice fields, kramas roughly rolled into hats, protecting their heads from the fierce mid thirty degree heat from the sun.

En route, we stopped at the Preah Toeus Bridge in Kampong Kdei, dating from the Angkorian period, Bayon style (1181 - 1220 A.D.) and built during the reign of Jayavarman VII.

Photo: author, Spean Preaht Toeus, Kampong Kdei

The bridge (spean) is named Preah Toeus, which means an important cardinal point (facing eastwards). About 500m southeast of this bridge, there is an old pagoda temple named Preah Toeus that today is officially named Boptoeusaram pagoda.

The bridge is located on an ancient road (National Road 6) that connected the then capital city Angkor to Phnom Penh, crossing the Chi Kraeng River, a major tributary of the Tonlé Sap river. It is depicted on the local 5,000 riel banknote.

Photo: author, 5000 riel bank note with the bridge

This bridge is the longest among the original 22 bridges on this route (only 11 bridges remain: others were destroyed by later road construction) with a length of 86m, 16m in width and 10m in height from the river bed. This ancient bridge has 21 corbel arches, supported on 20 columns.

The four retaining bridge walls have different lengths. The bridge is made of laterite and decorated with a nine headed Naga serpent balustrade and four stone posts in sandstone. Of the two stone posts at the western section of the bridge approach, one shows a carved image of Asura, whilst the other has an image of Deva, similar to sculptures of temple guardians in the Bayon style at Angkor.

This gave me my first taste of the wonders of Angkorian architecture to be discovered in the coming week.

Khmer Apsara dancing:

I briefly mentioned Khmer Apsara dancing, when writing about the Preah Thineag Chan Chaya pavilion (the Moonlight pavilion) in the Royal Palace in a previous article, which you can read here:

The unique Khmer Apsara dancing is known for its beautiful costumes and captivating hand movements. Originally, this dance was once only performed for the royal family and their special guests.

Video: author, Khmer Apsara dancing, 27 sec

In recent decades, it has gained worldwide recognition as a symbol of Khmer culture. In 2003, UNESCO recognized the Royal Ballet of Cambodia as an 'Intangible Cultural Heritage' due to its significance.

Photo: author

On the evening I arrived in Siem Reap, I enjoyed an elegant Cambodian meal and was treated to a traditional dance performance at our beautifully appointed Borei Angkor Resort & Spa Hotel.

Photo: Antonia, tour guide

There were five cultural dance performances, thoughtfully selected and interspersed between the different food courses, in the delightfully lit outdoor tropical garden.

กยียกณา PHUM BORAN

Khmer Set Menu

STARTER: LOTUS SALAD

Blue prawn, Lotus Root, Lotus Stem, Fresh Herbs, Khmer Dressing

Photo: author, Lotus Salad

MOROKOT COCONUT SOUP:

Four hour stewed free range Chicken in Coconut cream, with Tropical Vegetables and herbs

HOMEMADE SORBET:

Passion Fruit Sorbet on Ice Carving

MAIN COURSE:

Traditional Fish Amok, Lemongrass Beef skewer, Holy Basil sauce, garden Vegetables , white and organic brown Rice

DESSERT:

Glazed Fruit Sushi rolls, Pandan sauce and fresh Tropical Fruit

Five women dressed in traditional formal Khmer costume, replete with gold headpieces, ornate fans and resplendent dresses, performed five traditional dances.

1. Robam Choun Por (Blessing dance):

   The blessing dance is performed to mark special holidays, with certain dances from the repertoire of Cambodian classical ballet. This dance features golden goblets and inside the goblets are flower blossoms. The blossoms are symbolic representations of blessing from the gods. As the dancers pluck the blossoms from the goblets and gently toss them forward towards the audience, the gesture symbolises the blessing of the gods, falling upon the audience.

   

   Photo: author, Blessing Dance

2. Robam Ne Sat (Fishing Dance):

   This lively folk dance depicts the daily life of Khmer farmers and fishermen, who dance with traditional bamboo fishing equipment, such as the Ang Rut (a braided bell like a bamboo trap) and Chneang, Troy and Lop (braided bamboo baskets). Traditionally, fishing quarters often served as a meeting place for young couples. A charming courting scene ends the piece with playful teasing amongst the young men and women.

   

   Photo: author, Fishing Dance

3. Robam Kuos Trolaok (Coconut Shell Dance):

   The Coconut Shell Dance is one of the most popular and well known Cambodian folk dances. The instrument carried by the dancers is called a “TROLORK เฏิเญา ณ GNI-CHHMOURI” or a Couple shell. Trolork represents the soil and water, which are the favourable conditions needed for agriculture and also the bond between adults, which is the prerequisite condition for morality in rural life. The rhythm of knocking the shells against each other is magnificent.

   

   Photo: author, Coconut Shell Dance

4. Robam Phok Phal (Harvest Dance):

   The Harvest dance originates from the ethnic group Pnorng, who live in the forest clad, hilly plateau of the Rattanak Kiri and Mundul Kiri provinces in Cambodia. The dancers perform this picturesque dance, which depicts a delightful episode of choosing which fields to sow the crops. The dance simply presents the idea of a productive harvest and expresses it through dance movements and gestures.

   

   Photo: author, Harvest Dance

5. Robam Apsara (Apsara Dance):

   Inscribed on UNESCO's representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2008, Apsara, in Sanskrit, translates as the celestial dancers. The Apsaras are featured in the ancient temples of Angkor. Apsaras are reputed to have a friendly and cheerful nature. They danced for the gods in order to encourage rain, good crops, prosperity and protection for the kingdom.

   

   Photo: author, Apsara Dance

This show will stay with me as one of the wonderful memories I hold of my time in Cambodia. A traditional and historical Cambodian dance in all its splendour.

The APOPO Rats detecting landmines:

Photo: Mark Hennon, author and Jordan, 3 years old, 1.4 kg, favourite foods: bananas and peanuts

APOPO (Anti-Persoonsmijnende Ontmijnende Product) or Anti-Personnel Landmine Removal Product Development in English, is a global humanitarian non-profit NGO, that seeks to help vulnerable groups in different countries, using its scent detection animals.

APOPO has developed and pioneered the use of African giant pouched rats to search for landmines, explosive remnants of war (ERW) and diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB).

Nearly a quarter of a century after most of the world signed a convention banning the use of landmines, the number of people being killed or maimed by these lethal weapons remains high and rising. The 2021 Landmine Monitor reported 7,073 casualties in 2020, including 2,492 people killed and 4,561 wounded.

This is a significant increase on the 5,554 people killed and wounded in 2019. Casualties were recorded in 54 countries.

Many of these people will have died or been maimed by a landmine that was laid decades ago. One of the worst things about landmines is that they are still inflicting pain and fear on a new generation in Cambodia.

Historically, military forces used anti-personnel mines (designed to explode in the proximity or contact of a person) to create defensive barriers or to deny access to specific areas or facilities. Military use requires areas to be marked as minefields - failure to mark out minefields is regarded as a war crime under the Geneva Convention.

Photo: author

For decades, Cambodians have lived in fear of the landmines left from the war, frightened for the safety of their children and unable to use the land to graze livestock or grow crops such as rice. In Cambodia, most of the landmines were laid sporadically by military and paramilitary groups, without any marking or a specific order.

According to a Cambodia Mine Action Authority [CMAA] report, regional and internal conflicts from the 1960s to late 1998 left Cambodia as one of the most landmine affected countries in the world.

An estimated 4 to 6 million landmines and other munitions were left over from the three decades of conflicts. From 1979 to June 2021, landmines and other leftover explosives claimed 19,805 lives and maimed 45,141 others. As a result, Cambodia has the highest rate of amputees per capita.

APOPO’s rats offer a low-cost and efficient alternative to more traditional, slow and more expensive practices.

The story of APOPO began when Bart Weetjens, co-founder of the organisation with his school friend Christophe Cox, developed a special relationship for the rodents he kept as childhood pets in Belgium. Years later, this relationship would yield more than just friendship: it would offer the opportunity to help change a world where landmines pose a threat to life and progress in 60 countries and where tuberculosis affects millions of lives across the world every year. APOPO was officially established as a Belgian NGO in 1997.

In Cambodia, APOPO works in cooperation with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMA), the largest national demining operator in the country. Its clearance operations are carried out with authorisation from the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority. APOPO supports local communities, through employment and ensuring local procurement of supplies for the programme.

Following the success of the rats in Mozambique and Angola, APOPO sent the first group of rats to Cambodia in April 2015. In 2016, the rats were accredited by CMAA and deployed alongside CMAC manual deminers and machines to clear minefields in the Siem Reap province. Subsequently, APOPO has built additional animal teams and expanded its operations in several provinces in Cambodia, including Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Battambang.

At the APOPO visitor centre in Siem Reap, colleagues shared their experiences, gathered from working with animals on minefields in Cambodia. The global landmine problem was explained; what it takes to clear them and how animals are integrated into the APOPO work to speed up efforts. APOPO hopes to raise public awareness and to help bring Cambodia closer to achieving its goal of becoming a mine-free country.

The African giant pouched rat has an especially finely tuned sense of smell. Using positive reinforcement, clickers and food rewards, the rats are trained to sniff out and identify land mine explosives.

Photo: author, APOPO rat Ratana, getting ready to demonstrate his incredible scent detection skills to visitors

There are six stages involved in training these hero rats to scratch the ground when they find a buried capsule containing harmless traces of TNT.

1. SOCIALISATION to humans and habituation to various environments

   - this training begins when young rat pups first open their eyes around 4 weeks of age and continues well after they are weaned from their mother.

2. CLICKER TRAINING begins shortly after the pups are weaned from their mother at 10 weeks. This training establishes the sound (CLICK) of a handheld device as a signal that a tasty food reward is available.

3. INDICATION TRAINING teaches the rat that it can cause the 'CLICK' sound (and resulting food treat) by performing a particular behaviour. This behaviour will later allow the rat to communicate to its human handler when it has found a target scent.

4. TARGET SCENT TRAINING

   introduces the primary odour the rat will be tasked with finding throughout its career as a Hero Rat. For example, TNT or Trinitrotoluene (explosives).

5. DISCRIMINATION TRAINING

   teaches the rat subtle differences between the target odour and numerous other scents that might be present. The rat's indication response is only rewarded when it occurs in the presence of the target scent.

6. DEPLOYMENT SYSTEM TRAINING

   progressively prepares the rat for working in the operational environment of its career path. For a landmine detection rat, this involves learning to systematically search a designated area where it may encounter a variety of different (deactivated) landmines buried beneath the surface.

Video: author, Ratana, an African giant pouched rat, with his two trainers, demonstrating how he can sniff out and identify explosives, 2 min

The rats have to pass tests before permission is given to use them in the field. To date, no APOPO rat has been in lost in action.

Photo: author

Good News reported in the Sunday Times magazine on 23/03/25. Cambodia is on track to be landmine-free in just over a year. Clearance groups demined 273 sq km of land in 2024, destroying 17,853 antipersonnel mines and 228 antitank mines. A legacy of civil war and conflict during the second half of the 20th century, the landmines have claimed about 65,000 lives. Nearly 3,300 sq km of land has been cleared since 1992 - just 348 sq km remains to be cleared.

Reflections:

Whilst Cambodia has had a recent dark history during the Pol Pot dictatorship, it is so important to emphasise that this is a beautiful country. Cambodian people are warm and welcoming, with significant fortitude, despite all that has happened. The cuisine is mouth-watering and there is so much to see and do. By visiting, you are supporting the local communities and the economy.

In my next penultimate article on my journey through Cambodia, I would like to share with you the skilful acrobatics of the Phare Cambodian Circus (no animals involved); the tranquil beauty of the Tonlé Sap lake and the sensuous flavours of the artisanal Senteurs d’Angkor workshop.

I do hope that you will join me again.

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