Mekong Travel - Newsletter August 2005

August 2005

Culture

Cambodia

Les Nuits d'Angkor" 2005 Dance and Sacred, Tradition and Future
As last year, "Les Nuits d'Angkor" will be held on the December 16, 17 and 18. Cambodian and French stars will light up Angkor's sky. The French Cultural Centre (CCF) and the French Embassy in Cambodia, together with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the APSARA Authority, will renew their common cultural initiative at the sixth annual "Les Nuits d'Angkor" over three evenings.
The Cambodian Royal Ballet is internationally renowned as one of UNESCO's designated "Oral and Intangible Heritage Masterpiece of the Humanity". The Jean-Claude Gallotta Company (The Grenoble National Choreography Centre) is also well known for its contribution to modern and multicultural choreography.
United under the same sky and in front of the breathtaking temple of Angkor Wat, the two companies will perform for your pleasure and delight.
Do not miss this fabulous event by booking your seats in advance.

Environment

Vietnam

Explorers find "world's best" cave
British explorers recently discovered a new cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, which they classified as the world's most magnificent cave, park officials said.
The cave was found in the core zone of the park, which was recognised as a world heritage site by UNESCO in July 2003. The cave has a width of nearly 200m and a ceiling height of around 100m. Its total length has not yet been determined.
Home to thousands of stalactites, the cave was named "Paradise" by the British explorers and the park.
Howt Bert, a member of the British explorers group and also a renowned speleologist, said no cave in the world could compare with "Paradise" in terms of its beauty.
The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is located to the north of the Truong Son mountain range. Home to abundant limestone formations, it is considered an ideal site for researchers and explorers of grottoes and caves.
The park covers 85,000 hectares, including the oldest limestone mountain range in Asia. It has a system of nearly 300 caves, including Phong Nha cave, and dozens of unexplored mountain peaks of more than 1,000 metres, such as Co Rilata (1,128m) and Co Preu (1,213m).
Vietnamese and British scientists have so far surveyed more than 20 grottoes and caves, of which 17 are in Phong Nha with the remaining three in Ke Bang.
The Phong Nha cave that lends its name to the entire system is probably the most beautiful with many fascinating rock formations carrying evocative names such as The Lion, the Fairy Caves, the Royal Court and Buddha.
Phong Nha also boasts long underground rivers, large caverns and passageways, wide pristine sand banks and astonishing rock formations.
The park's tropical forest is home to 36 of the more than 750 rare plant species and 89 animal species listed by the Vietnam Red Book as endangered or protected.
The area is also home to archaeological relics, such as the ancient hieroglyphic script of the Cham, and historical sites such as King Ham Nghi's base built for the war against French colonialists, the Xuan Son ferry station, the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Road 20 used during the American war.

Cambodia

BirdLife International and the Wildlife Conservation Society have announced a significant advance in the understanding and conservation of threatened vultures in Indochina.
Attempts to capture and study vultures in the dry forests landscape of northern Cambodia have proved challenging. Following a lengthy, concerted trapping effort in May 2005, WCS researchers were rewarded with the successful capture of five Critically Endangered vultures (three Slender-billed Vultures Gyps tenuirostris and two White-rumped Vultures Gyps bengalensis), as well as two near-threatened Red-headed Vultures Sarcogyps calvus. This trapping exercise was conducted while carrying out a "vulture restaurant" in Chhep District, Preah Vihear Province, northern Cambodia.
All birds were wing-tagged, leg-banded, and three birds (two Slender-billed and one White-rumped) were fitted with satellite transmitter units provided by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (BirdLife in the UK), before being released. Samples also were collected to determine the health status of the birds and their exposure to infectious disease.
Satellite tracking provides an accurate, up-to-date, landscape overview of vulture behaviour and ranging patterns. Maps of the three satellite tagged vultures from May 2005 show that all three birds left the trapping area soon after capture and settled quite close to each other approximately 80 km to east. The greatest distance was covered by the White-rumped Vulture which travelled considerably further than the others, drifting through five provinces. One of the Slender-billed Vultures travelled north at one point settling along the Mekong River in southern Laos.
Vultures are examples of what conservationists call "dispersed species" that range at low population densities over very large areas in search of food. Hunting of Cambodia's wild ungulates has greatly reduced the availability of food for the vultures, forcing them to forage over wider areas, and exposing them to risks beyond the confines of limited protected areas.
Three species of Asian vultures (White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis, Slender-billed Vulture Gyps tenuirostris, and Indian Vulture Gyps indicus) in South Asia have declined dramatically over the past decade and are now facing imminent extinction. Recorded population declines in India are over 97% since 1993 and 30-40% annually in Pakistan. Research has revealed that these declines are caused by veterinary use of the drug Diclofenac. All three of these vulture species are presently considered Critically Endangered. If the populations of these species in South Asia decline to extinction, only two small, disparate, wild populations of White-rumped and Slender-billed Vultures will remain; one in north-eastern Cambodia and southern Laos, and the other in Myanmar.

BirdLife International in Indochina and The World Bank have signed a Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant agreement of US$ 973,000 to support a project in Vietnam's Central Highlands.
The project aims to conserve biodiversity in one of the country's highest priority protected areas. Chu Yang Sin National Park is an Important Bird Area (IBA), as well as being part of a larger Endemic Bird Area (EBA) containing seven restricted-range bird species. The park is also the only protected area known to support the Endangered Grey-crowned Crocias Crocias langbianis.
Unlike many other areas of Vietnam, the 60,000ha of mountain forest in the park are still in good condition. The project will help establish effective enforcement and forest protection to prevent encroachment and illegal exploitation of the park's natural resources. It will also increase scientific knowledge about the area and build awareness among local people of its importance for biodiversity.

Hotels & Restaurants

Vietnam

Five-star Park Hyatt opens in HCMC
The Park Hyatt Saigon opened in Ho Chi Minh City on July 15, becoming the ninth five-star hotel in the city.
Designed in ancient French architecture style, the luxury hotel has 259 rooms, two restaurants and several conference halls.

New international standard hotel opened in Danang
The Tourane My Khe hotel and villa area opened on July 9 during the celebration of the Danang Culture and Tourism Festival 2005.
Vice Chairman of Danang People's Committee, Tran Van Minh, cut the ribbon. The hotel, which has 70-plus international standard rooms, was upgraded at a total cost of VND35 billion.
The swimming pool, tennis court, 1,000-seat restaurant, bar and convention hall will make this a new destination for visitors to Danang.

New resort for Da Lat
Hoang Anh Da Lat in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat opened on July 10, and will discount on service charges for the first two months.
The resort, operated by the chain Hoang Anh Hotels & Resorts, is comprised of six villas with 100 rooms in total.
The resort covers five hectares, and is located in an area surrounded by Ky Con, Pho Duc Chinh, Nguyen Du and Quang Trung streets. The Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group has invested VND150 billion (nearly USD10 million) to remodel the villas, which used to be operated by Lam Dong Province's Dalat Tourist company.
For the first two months, the special Superior Room for two will cost USD38 per night, which is a steep cut from the normal rate of USD80.

Cambodia

New Hotel name in Siem Reap
The Sofitel Royal Angkor Resort, in January 2006, will open Cambodia's first truly international standard golf facility: Phokeethra Country Golf Club. The hotel name will then be changed to Sofitel Royal Angkor Golf & Spa Resort.

Opening of Hôtel de la Paix
The new 5-star hotel will finally open its doors on the July 25, 2005. The stylish property comes with 107 spacious rooms and is located in the centre of Siem Reap.

Swimming Pool at the Auberge Mont Royal
The boutique Auberge Mont Royal has added a swimming pool. Rooms and lobby are being renovated step by step.

Borei Angkor Hotel
A new extension wing with 100 Landmark rooms is under construction at the Borei Angkor Hotel. Half of the rooms will be finished by end of this year, the rest in October 2006.

New Boutique Hotel in Battambang
On the August 15, a new boutique hotel will enrich Battambang's accommodation options. La Villa is an old mansion and comes with six rooms only. It is owned by Line Bouvet and her husband Dimitri. French and Cambodian cuisine will be served in the garden restaurant.

Social

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