March 2023

MARCH 2023

CONTENT

Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, a heritage landmark of Cambodia
Limestone and Wonders of Hin Namno National Park

RAFFLES GRAND HOTEL D'ANGKOR
A HERITAGE LANDMARK OF CAMBODIA

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Siem Riep is the grande dame of luxury hotels in Cambodia, emanating an old-world Cambodian grandeur imbued with the best of modern comforts.

Completed in 1932, the historic hotel’s construction was second only in prominence and size to the building of Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh, which opened in November 1929. The Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor originated in the mid-1920s with a proposal to construct five hotels throughout French Indochina, and visionary architect and town planner Ernest Hébrard inaugurated the Town Planning Service of Indochina in 1923. In Siem Reap, Hébrard’s proposal outlined the construction of a 40-room hotel that would replace the bungalows that were no longer suitable to accommodate the first wave of travelers attracted by the thrill of discovering the age-old lost Kingdom of Angkor.

Referred to as “La Grande Dame” of Angkor, the five-star hotel has welcomed personalities such as Charlie Chaplin, William Somerset Maugham, Jacqueline Kennedy, Charles de Gaulle, Roger Moore, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. After surviving the vagaries of recent Cambodian history, it reopened on 30 December 1997 after an extensive restoration and refurbishment program by Raffles International, and then was fully renovated in 2012.

Today, Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor boasts 119 rooms, approximately twice the number initially built. The hotel nestles within a 15-acre estate, with a beautifully landscaped garden complex that includes an area devoted to the lotus, the sacred Buddhist flower; river gardens; and Temple gardens along the bank of the Siem Reap River spanned by a 1928 Art Deco-style bridge. The hotel faces the Royal Gardens in the leafy French Quarter close to the Siem Reap River and is a 15-minute drive from Siem Reap International Airport, around the corner from Angkor National Museum and the Angkor Archaeological Park.

Regarded as “the last bastion of the golden age of travel in Cambodia,” the hotel reflects the understated elegance of colonial hotels in Asia. It combines French colonial and art deco style, blending dark wood floors, marble-floored hallways, extended corridors, beautiful 19th-century prints of Cambodian life, immaculate faux-antique furnishings, and even original wooden elevator.

This upscale hotel offers personalized and prompt services reflecting genuine Cambodian hospitality and Angkorian overtones. Visitors can enjoy excellent facilities featuring a newly restored 33m pool (one of Cambodia’s most prominent and modeled on the ancient bathing pools of Angkor itself), a well-equipped gym, and a top-of-the-range spa with energizing treatments. The hotel also offers bespoke service with two unique dining experiences: at the restaurant 1932, one of the best places in town to sample Khmer cuisine, or the more casual Cafe d’Angkor for a wide variety of Asian and Western dishes. The Conservatory is the perfect place for a traditional afternoon tea, while the Elephant Bar overlooking the pool and the gardens offers an extensive wine list and cigars.

During an exquisite journey to this idyllic property, cruise the waterways of the magnificent Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest natural lake. Follow the spiritual path of the Angkor archeological complex’s sacred sites and glimpse Cambodian people’s kindness in the peacefulness of rural Cambodia. Sample the savory Cambodian cuisine, observe an early morning blessing ceremony by monks, or meet highly skilled artisans who preserve traditional Khmer heritage while encapsulating the magic of Cambodia, a country with a complicated past that shines once again

LIMESTONE AND WONDERS

OF HIN NAMNO NATIONAL PARK

In this edition, we return to the distant borders of our beloved Indochinese peninsula: Hin Namno National Park in central Laos. The tormented limestone massif of Hin Namno is a western extension of Vietnam’s famous Ke Bang–Phong Nha National Park. Since 2020, the two parks have been merged into a new proposed UNESCO World Heritage site. The new combined park is a unique large-scale transboundary project that forms the largest karst area in Southeast Asia, and probably the world.

Hin Namno (Hin Mam No) national park is located in Khammouane Province. To the east, the park borders Vietnam and Phong Nha National Park; its northern side abuts the Nakai Nam Theun National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA); and its western and southern boundaries run along the Xe Bang Fai and Nam Xe Neua axis valleys. Hin Namno’s main peaks are Phu Etva (1,492m, north), Phu Phac Kut (791m), Phu Pa Dang (708m), and Phu Ayen (978m).

The lost karst plateau of Phu Louang (1,397m) looms over the southwestern part of the park, with dramatic cliffs that plunge into Nam Phanang valley. The border area north of Phu Pa Dang is particularly impenetrable and almost unknown thanks to limestone bars and faults that entangle the area into inextricable chaos.

Hin Namno reserve was created in 1993, and the area obtains its national park status in 2020 when it merged with Phong Nha National Park in Vietnam. Its headquarters is located in Muang Boualapha, where, in 1996, the Americans established a research center for service members Missing in Action (MIA). Hin Namno has seven habitat types of forest: evergreen, mixed deciduous, deciduous, secondary, shifting cultivation, bamboo, and forest on limestone. Due to the chaotic terrain, especially along the border area, some forest areas are almost inaccessible, forming endemic ecosystems on limestone.

The complex interlayers of shale, sandstone and granite combined with the limestone cover influence soil types, including thickness, texture, acidity, and humus content, which in turn impact the composition and richness of the overlying vegetation. This diversity results in a multitude of ecological niches provided by complex terrain, such as fissured cliffs, caves, and forested ravines. During the Vietnam War, the Hin Namno region was heavily bombed, and unexploded ordnances (UXO) are still found there; some bomb craters have become micro-habitats for fish and reptiles.

Hin Namno has 45 confirmed or tentatively identified species of mammal, and ten of them are listed as globally threatened or near threatened. Nine species of primates are thought to inhabit the area, including the Douc’s langur (Pygathrix nemaeus), Francois’ langur (Semnopithecus francoisi), Assam macaque (Macaca assamensis), and giant muntjac (Megamuntiacus vuquangensis). There are also likely various species of felines in the deepest part of the park, in the area near the Vietnam border.

The park also has 217 species of birds, of which four are listed as globally threatened and nine as globally near threatened. Four species of hornbills have been confirmed in the woods: the crowned hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus), the brown hornbill (Ptilolaemus tickelli), the eastern hornbill (Anthraceros albirostris), and the great hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros). A total of 25 species of bats have been identified, including three new records for Lao PDR: Horsfield's fruit bat (Cynopterus horfieldii), harlequin bat (Scotomanes ornatus), and the great evening bat (Ia io).

One hundred and thirty species of fish have been recorded in the Xe Bang Fai River, 25 of them upstream in the center of the park; at least two species may be endemic to the river. The park is also home to various reptiles and amphibians, including six keystone species of turtle, among them the Asian soft-shelled turtle (Amyda carilaginea), the yellow-headed turtle (Hieremys annadlaei), the Asian leaf turtle (Cyclmys dentata), the soft-shelled box turtle (Pyxidea mouhotii), and the elongated turtle (Indotestudo elongata).

Hin Namno is home to indigenous peoples, whose villages lie along the edge of the park. They are of Austroasiatic descent and speak Katouic languages, including Bru, Tri, Piou, and Diao. The Tai-Kadai, Lao, Kaleung, Yooy, and Phou Thay (including the Katak subgroup) live in the plains of Hin Namno, while some sources suggest that the nomadic group known as the Ruc also live in its forests.

Hin Namno is just opening to travelers. There a few exciting modules, such as the Xe Ban Phai cave, which is one of the largest river caves in the world with passages 120m high and 200 wide. There are also other caves to visit, including Tham Nam Ork, Tham Pak Tham, Tham Long (the coffin cave), and Tham Bing. The rangers organize various forest programs, notably along the Houay Hok path and at Pha Koud Mountain (Nong Sen), where the Assam macaques roam. Most of these programs are on the periphery of the national park. With Secret Indochina, however, it is possible to access to the heart of the park at the Vietnamese border, a memorable expedition into unknown lands …

© Photo credit: Ryan Deboodt

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