Free Thai Tourist Visas between June 25, 2009 and March 2010

BANGKOK (thaivisa.com): -- Continuing its efforts to expedite the revival of the Thai travel and tourism industry, the Royal Thai government has agreed to exempt the fee for tourist visa applications, effective 25 June 2009 to March 2010.

All foreigners who apply for Tourist Visa at the Royal Thai Embassies and the Royal Thai Consulates-General worldwide will be exempted from tourist visa fee from 25 June 2009 to March B.E.2553 (2010).

Such arrangement is for Tourist Visa single entry only.

-- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok 2009-06-24

source: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Free-Tourist-Visas-June-25-2009-t275547.html

Amazing Thailand Hosts Successfully TTM+ 2009

Some 410 sellers’ companies and 360 quality buyers from around the world met during this year’s Thailand Travel Mart 2009 Plus (TTM+) Amazing Gateway to the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) on June 3-7 in Bangkok. In the wake of Thailand’s internal political problems and the ongoing global financial crisis, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) could successfully hold the status quo by presenting “Amazing Thailand” as a great value destination.

As an added bonus, TTM+ buyers could also enjoy a wide range of complimentary post-mart tours, which showcased the Kingdom’s renowned natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. The annual mart - first organised in 2001 - also promoted the tourism and service industry in Thailand and its GMS counterparts, namely Kingdom of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Union of Myanmar, and Viet Nam. Actually, the Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces of China were surprisingly absent.

For the year 2009, a briefing for buyers and sellers was scheduled on the opening day at the new centrally located Centera Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld. The last four days of the event took place as usual at the Challenger Halls, Muang Thong Thani Impact Arena Exhibition & Convention Centre, including the Thailand Travel Festival. June 4 and 5 were declared as trade days, while June 6 and 7 has been the consumer days for the general public.

On June 4, there was a welcome speech for the registered media delegates by the Deputy Governor of Bangkok, Mrs. Taya Teepsuvarn, on behalf of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, stressing that Bangkok is still one of the best places in the world, when it comes to value for money. A visit to the Grand Palace, cruising on the Menam Chao Phraya, dining and shopping, golfing, medical care, and night entertainment are difficult to find elsewhere. In the next few months, the new Airport Rail Link and two extensions of the popular Sky Train will be operational. And most of all – Bangkok is a safe city.

Furthermore, TAT distributed media kits containing recent press releases deigned to provide an updated overview of the Thai travel and tourism industry as well as some recent developments, just as “Thailand projects about two million visitors for medical services” and “Thailand steps up a green tourism drive.” There was an evening “Thank You Party” on June 5 for all the participants at TTM+ to show a continued support in promoting Thailand.

By strolling around the booths for a while (some 75% were representing hotels and resorts), I came across the following new exciting tourism products among others (in alphabetical order):

1. Andaman Princess Resort & Spa on Koh Kho Khao Island, Takuapa, Phang Nga (www.andamanprincessresort.com)
2. Baan Talay Dao Resort in Hua Hin (www.baantalaydao.com)
3. Bana Hills Mountain Resort in Danang, Viet Nam (www.banahills.com.vn)
4. Boleeven International Travel, Pakse, Lao PDR (e-mail: boleeven@hotmail.com)
5. Chatrium Hotel Yangon, Myanmar (www.chatriumygn.net.mm)
6. E-Travel Blackboard in Sydney/Australia (www.etravelblackboard.com)
7. Educational Travel Center with Eco & Adventure in Bangkok (www.etc.co.th)
8. Kaomai Lanna Resort in Sanpatong, Chiang Mai (www.kaomailanna.com)
9. Khmer Village Homestay, Som Rong Village, Baray, Kampong Thom, Cambodia (www.khmerhomestay.com)
10. Koh Kong Resort in Koh Kong, Cambodia (www.kohkongresort.com)
11. Malikha Lodge in Putao, Myanmar (www.malikhalodge.com)
12. Mekong Tourism Office to promote GMS (www.mekongtourism.org)
13. Paradise Hotel Group, Inle, Nyaung Shwe, Shan State, Myanmar (www.inleparadise.com)
14. Ratilanna Riverside Spa Resort in Chiang Mai (www.ratilannachiangmai.com)
15. Savan Vegas Hotel & Casino in Savannakhet, Lao PDR (www.savanvegas.com)
16. Serenata Hotels & Resorts Group in Bangkok, offering 770 rooms in total (www.serenatahotels.com)
17. Tara Angkor Hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia (www.taraangkorhotel.com)
18. The Ambassador Hotel Bangkok (www.amtel.co.th)
19. The Sukhothai Bangkok (www.sukhothai.com)
20. Top Asia Travel in Bangkok (www.TopAsianTravel.com)

Finally, there were airlines’ representatives of Bangkok Airways, Lao Airlines, Myanmar Airways International, PB Air, Thai Airways International and Yangon Airways. PB Air’s Director of CEO Office, Mr. Heribert Gaksch, told me that PB Air just introduced a new flight to Mae Sot in Northern Thailand (www.pbair.com).

Another new emerging airline will fly soon in Cambodia. Furthermore, the representatives of the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia confirmed that this year’s AITEX in Siem Reap – scheduled for early December - has to be postponed, because there are now so many travel marts around. In this context, it is important to know that there will be the World Eco-Tourism Conference in Vientiane/Lao PDR on July 15-17, 2009 (www.weco2009laos.com).

By: GMS Media Travel Consultant Reinhard Hohler

Airasia Abolishes Admin Fee To Further Stimulate Travel

With the aim of further stimulating travel and tourism in Malaysia and the region, AirAsia is abolishing the administration fee from its fare structure. This presents further real savings to AirAsia guests as they now only have to fork out the seat fare and airport tax.

'No Admin Fee' as it is aptly called, will come into effect for bookings made for all AirAsia and AirAsia X flights from 24th June 2009. From this date, AirAsia.com will display All-In Fares (fare + airport tax) throughout the booking process. This ensures transparency from the advertised price to selecting your flight and paying for it on AirAsia.com

In conjunction with the 'No Admin Fee' announcement, AirAsia is launching a regional promo-fare campaign. Many of the promo fares are even cheaper than the airport tax! The promo-fare seats are open for booking from 24 June until 28 June 2009 for travel between 1 October 2009 and 30 April 2010. The promotion is offered exclusively online via AirAsia.com

Promo-fare seats are limited and available on first-come, first-serve basis.

Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes, AiAsia Group CEO, said: “At AirAsia, we are continuously ramping up our efforts to give the best to our guests. This will distinguish us from our competitors as we are going the extra mile to live-up to our brand promise to have the lowest fares in the market. Our recent Q1 result showed that there was a surge of over 21% in our passenger growth compared to last year, which goes to prove that people appreciate the true value we offer especially in these difficult times. We will continue our commitment to provide more affordable and transparent air fares for business and leisure travelers. We were the first airline to abolish our fuel surcharge and we are proud to lead again in removing our admin fee.”

"With 'No Admin Fee' more people will travel with AirAsia, especially in view of the current economic uncertainties and travel worries. AirAsia as the pioneer of low fares in Asia is always committed to delivering low fares to the people and at the same time ensuring that they enjoy only the best quality service from us. The World's Best Low Cost Airline award from Skytrax speaks volume of our quality and efficiency," added Fernandes.

Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial, AirAsia Berhad commented “The airline which brought you original low fares is taking yet another bold step to excite the demand to travel. The economies of scale are accomplished through our ever increasing route network, fleet and ancillary income and it is further supported by our operational efficiencies. The aviation industry is highly competitive and to remain as a leader in this industry, we have to be constantly creative, bold and dare to take risks. As the low-cost concept matures, we will continue innovating our products and services to travel. With the abolition of the admin fee, our booking engine on AirAsia.com will be simplified for the benefit and convenience of our guests.”

With the launch of AirAsia’s 'No Admin Fee' initiative today, AirAsia’s published all-in fares will only include the low fare and airport tax only. This will provide guests simple, transparent and low fares only available at www.airasia.com.

A trip to Myanmar’s Eastern Shan State

Most of the foreign tourists who visit the border town of Mae Sai in Northern Thailand come for a visa run. Since decades, it is a normal procedure to reach the scenic bridge over the small Mae Sai River to cross over to Myanmar’s Tachileik, do some shopping on the busy border market and return to Thailand on the same day with a new visa entry stamp. After the newest visa regulations of the Thai Immigration Bureau in 2009, foreign tourists can do this every 15 days.

But there are other foreign travellers arriving in Mae Sai by bus, car or motorcycle who really come to see and experience some part of the Union of Myanmar, which is hidden, mysterious and not easy to reach from inside Myanmar with its new capital in Nay Pyi Taw. Thus, these foreigners or some Thai domestic travellers use the touring route from Mae Sai to Kyaing Tong or progress even farther to the Myanmar-China border town of Mong La. On April 29, I arrived in Mae Sai with a friend from Germany and his Cambodian wife at Mae Sai in the evening in order to do just that.

We had left Chiang Mai in the morning at 11.00 not to forget to bring along some brand-new passport photos and all our personal belongings for the planned one-week trip. Also, I was riding in my old Land Rover, which I needed to take across the border to travel independently on my own.

The road to Mae Sai led us out of town on National Highway no.118, passing Doi Saket and up on the winding road to Doi Nang Kaeo, which is the important watershed between the Ping River in the west and the Mekong River system in the east. Reaching the high mountain pass, there is the old spirit house for Nang Kaeo, also marking the provincial border between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

Further on, we passed the headquarters of Khun Chae National Park and stopped at the famous Hot Spring Spa of Mae Kachan for a first break. We continued to Wiang Pa Pao and Mae Suai, where we had an apple pie and local coffee at the Charin Garden Resort. After that, we soon hit the National Highway no.1 at Mae Lao to reach the town of Chiang Rai, which we bypassed to continue to Mae Chan and Mae Sai. We arrived at the border at 17.30, our final destination, after a 245km ride.

Mae Sai is the northernmost spot of the Kingdom of Thailand and the large 891km marker stone is counting from Bangkok in the south. There is an attractive border market around Wat Phra That Doi Wao. Chinese shops and temples abound.

Accommodations in Mae Sai are reasonable-priced and start from the fancy Wang Thong Hotel (700Baht per room) to cheap guesthouses along the Mae Sai River for 250Baht. After having spent one night at Mae Sai, we passed the Thai Immigration border post at 8.00 in the morning. To cross with your own vehicle, you have to show your blue car registration book for the Thai Customs and leave them a copy of it. Important is that your own full name is mentioned in the registration book.

On the Myanmar side of the border, you have to pay your entry permit fee of 10USD per person. All the other needed formalities to continue from Tachileik to Kyaing Tong and Mong La will be handled by the friendly staff of Myanmar Travels & Tours, who are located just beside the Myanmar Immigration. There you hand over three passport photos, your passport and your car registration book. For the Land Rover, I had to pay a car entry fee of 50USD and 1,400Baht for a local insurance.

Another 100Baht come for the paper work. In return, you receive your “Entry Permit” from the Immigration Department along with the car entry permit, which is a paper that you have to fix at the front of your car window. Also, you need the original of a road permit from Tachileik to Kyaing Tong with some copies for the military checkpoints along the way.

Furthermore, make sure that you have the right pocket money for the trip from Tachileik to Kyaing Tong and Mong La. Actually, you need local money to pay at the road toll gates on the way (6.000Kyat=6USD for one way). In Tachileik and Kyaing Tong, you can pay your bills in Thai currency (1000Baht=30,000Kyat), while you need Chinese Yuan (1USD=6Yuan) for Mong La. The best way to change high-valued dollar notes is at stalls of moneychangers at Kyaing Tong Market, because there are no banks to use in the whole region.

For the tank of your car, make sure it is filled before leaving Tachileik. It seems that gasoline is a little bit cheaper in Myanmar than in Thailand. We left Tachileik for Kyaing Tong (102 miles) at 11.00 and drove up to Talay by having passed the first military checkpoint at Mae Yang (Out), where we had a local lunch at a restaurant. From Talay, we continued to Mong Phayak, where is the next military checkpoint.

The scenery along the way (Asian Highway no. 2) is stunning with beautiful views in villages, valleys and on mountain passes. Shortly before reaching Kyaing Tong, there is another military checkpoint at a place called Hot Spa.

Passing the Kyaing Tong Golf Course, you roll into a town, which is similar to Chiang Mai some 50 years ago. It was 16.30, when we reached Kyaing Tong New Hotel in the middle of the town, where a room for foreigners costs 15USD single and18USD for a double room, including breakfast.

After a scenic sunset over the nearby Naung Tong Lake, we walked to the Kyaing Tong Market and had a Chinese dinner at the Lotus Restaurant nearby. The daily Kyaing Tong Market is the economic soul of the city. We visited early next morning and experienced a conglomerate of different tribes and peoples not easy to describe. Besides the town population of Shan (Tai Khoen), Indians and Nepalis, we met some Silver-belt Palaung, Akha, Lahu and Wa living in the surrounding mountains. It was a shame that the market closes after midday, when many of the tribal people have to return to their respective villages.

Interesting to note is that we met the chairman of the local Chamber of Commerce, who was the owner of a gold shop. He reminded us that Myanmar is a very rich country and not dependent from the outside Western world that is partly boycotting the controversial Military Government of the Union of Myanmar. The reasons for such a boycott are unclear, when comparing Myanmar with other countries in the world. Furthermore, India and China as well as ASEAN countries like Thailand make business as usual with Myanmar and enormously profit out of that.

Kyaing Tong boasts other tourist attractions, such as the Temple of the Mahamyatmuni Buddha Image (Wat Pra Sao Loang). This highly venerated Buddha Image is a replica of the famous Mahamuni Buddha of the Arakan Pagoda in Mandalay, whose legendary history goes back to the time of the Buddha.

The Buddha Image of Kyaing Tong was cast in Mandalay in 1921 and consists of a mixture of pure gold, silver and copper. Its princely appearance is overwhelming and it has been transported with great difficulty from Mandalay to Kyaing Tong by crossing the mighty Salawin River, which divides Shan State into two parts. The capital of Shan State today is Taunggyi, but it is not possible for tourists to travel by road from Kyaing Tong further west because of security reasons.

After another quiet night in Kyaing Tong, we left early next morning to Mong La (54 miles) towards the Chinese borderland in the Northeast. For that, we had to require another road permit from the local immigration officer stationed at Kyaing Tong. The road (Asian Highway no. 3) went over high mountain passes, where in-between was the military checkpoint of Ta Pin. As we stopped there during lunchtime, we were invited for a real Burmese meal without paying anything.

Along the way, we went through Tai Khoen and Lahu mountain villages. As the engine of my Land Rover got overheated, we lost oil and water and had to refill. The last stretch of the road to the checkpoint of the Special Region 4, administered by the Wa ethnic group, was rocky and we received help from a Burmese bus driver, who pulled us through. At the Wa checkpoint, we had to pay 36 Chinese Yuan per person as entry fee.

It was shortly before nightfall and we needed a break. The whole action had been too much for the Land Rover (from 1974) and we had to rely on the service of a taxi driver (for 250Yuan). He pulled us more than an hour from the Wa checkpoint to our destination Mong La and dropped us near a local repair shop. We checked in at the nearby Ba Lai Hotel at 22.30 (for 70Yuan per room).

Mong La is in the centre of a special economic zone. Everything seems possible and there are a myriad of new hotels, restaurants, shopping centres, Internet facilities, casinos and discos. Chinese people dominate in an area, where Tai Lue villages abound. But the nearby border checkpoint of Daluo in Sipsongpanna, within China’s Yunnan Province, cannot be crossed by individual foreign tourists.

I spent the whole next morning to arrange the repair of the Land Rover, what swallowed another 200Yuan, but it was more than worth it. In the afternoon, we could already drive again and we visited the local Drugs and Gems Museums. On a hill just before the Myanmar-China border, there is the spectacular Dwaynagara Shwe Pagoda to learn more about Burmese Buddhism. Also, nearby is the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary, while mosques exist in all the visited places along the old caravan trail from Chiang Mai to China. Except from the Muslim restaurants, you can get Myanmar Beer everywhere, which has a good taste and quality.

Early in the morning of May 4, we left Mong La back to Kyaing Tong on the same way we had come before. After getting a new road permit from the local immigration officer for the Mong La-Kyaing Tong leg, we were greeted with outmost friendliness, everywhere the people were familiar with us.

We checked in again at the Kyaing Tong New Hotel for another night and witnessed a colourful parade of boys to become novices throughout the town. Young girls and elder women carried flowers and money trees along bamboo poles. Music created by gongs and drums was in the air.

When night fell in, a huge 22m high and new Standing Buddha Statue was illuminated - pointing to the centrally located lake. It was an atmosphere like paradise lost.

To make a long story short, we departed Kyaing Tong at 9.00 next morning after getting again the road permit from Kyaing Tong and Tachileik at the local immigration office. This time we had our local lunch at Mong Phayak and continued to Talay in the sunny afternoon. Arriving at Mae Yang (In) and then at Tachileik at 17.00, we checked in at the Dream Flower Guesthouse (for 400Baht per room). We even entered a new and modern Internet shop, which is the first in Tachileik and run by a Chinese businessman. Also, Tachileik is boasting a replica of the Golden Shwedagon Pagoda and - as the “City of the Golden Triangle” - is becoming more and more important.

When we left Myanmar next morning at 8.30 over the Mae Sai Bridge, everything went smoothly. We got back our passports and I received my car registration book. At the Thai Immigration, we got our passports stamped for a 15 days stay. This is actually the same period that we could have been staying in Shan-State with our special entry permit from Myanmar.

Finally, our way back to Chiang Mai led through the hilly landscapes of Mae Chan, Mae Ai (Tha Ton), Fang, Chiang Dao, Mae Taeng and Mae Rim. When we reached Chiang Mai at 18.30, we were glad to have made it and will remember the Union of Myanmar from one of its best sides.

Travel Experience By Reinhard Hohler, GMS Travel Consultant

Brunei Will Host ATF 2010

Go into the Heart of Green at ATF 2010

The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) is a cooperative regional effort to promote the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region as one tourist destination. This annual event involves all the tourism industry sectors of the 10 member nations of ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Each year, the hosting of ATF is rotated among the member countries. ATF 2010 marks the 29th anniversary of this event since its inauguration in Malaysia in 1981.

Brunei will host ATF 2010 which will be held Brunei Darrusalam from 21 - 28 January 2010.

Brunei looks forward to welcoming all participants and inviting them to come and discover this 'Abode of Peace'. Come and discover this rainforest covered gem of a country nestled on the northern shores of the island of Borneo. Brunei offers a richly diverse natural and cultural heritage, centuries old majestic Royal heritage and an exciting contemporary host of magnificent accommodation, premium golf, first class diving and modern and efficient infrastructure.

Welcome to Brunei, the Green Heart of Borneo ! See you in January!

For the second time since 2001, Brunei – at the Heart of Borneo –will play host to delegates attending ASEAN Tourism Forum, the region’s major travel and tourism event.

Brunei, a rainforest covered gem of a country nestled on the northern shores of the ecologically rich island of Borneo, will welcome thousands of ATF delegates from all over the world in January 2010.

Go into the Heart of Green. Share in ASEAN’s collective vision of Green Tourism - striking a balance of economic growth for present generation and environment conservation for future generations.

BRUNEI Tourism has appointed TTG Asia Media event organiser for Travex, the mart component of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2010 in Brunei. This will be the second time TTG organises Travex for Brunei; the first time was in 2001 when Brunei first hosted ATF. The event venue will be held at a brand new purpose-built exhibition centre located in Jerudong.

According to Brunei Tourism CEO, Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, Travex is expected to draw at least 450 buyers and media delegates.

In the lead up to ATF, the NTO has taken steps to prepare the destination, which include the ongoing training of tour guides. It is also increasing its publicity and public relations activities. There will also be city tours and post-show tours to showcase the country's new products.

For Further Details, Check http://www.atfbrunei.com

Brunei - Go into the Heart of Green

NEGARA BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

Brunei Darussalam, The Abode of Peace, is a land steeped in culture and traditions. Well-known for its multi-faceted beauty, the country is a rainforest-covered gem nestled on the northern shores of Borneo that offers a richly diverse natural and cultural heritage to visitors who appreciate a fusion of majestic opulence, traditional respect, rustic charm with unparalleled natural beauty.

Capital City: Bandar Seri Begawan
The commercial, economic and government centre of the Islamic nation, capital city Bandar Seri Begawan is also the heart of the country’s cultural landscape and home to the nation’s most revered landmarks. The breathtaking Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque dominates the cityscape, while Istana Nurul Iman, the lavish residence of the nation’s revered monarch, His Majesty The Sultan, forms a striking backdrop. In contrast, the truly Bruneian Kompang Ayer water village offers a glimpse of the nation’s quaint Asian charm that has prevailed for centuries.

Attractions Galore in Brunei
Brunei’s most distinctive advantage is that all its attractions are within easy reach of the contemporary luxuries of its capital city.

Eco-tourism Haven
Nature lovers will be thoroughly spoiled by Brunei’s dazzling array of eco-tourism options: pristine rainforests painstakingly preserved by the government, unspoiled coral reefs, mangrove covered islands, extensive beaches and accessible nature reserves, to name a few.

Visitors can explore this untouched natural paradise in a walk in Temburong National Park which houses one of the world’s richest and most diverse ecosystems, a stroll along beautiful lakeside walkways of Tasek Merimbun in Tutong, a longboat ride down a winding jungle river surrounded by lush rainforests or relaxing on the lapping shores of Muara beach, basking in its tranquility.

Furthermore, with Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan nearby, nature enthusiasts can spend weeks uncovering Borneo’s magnificent gifts from Mother Nature, using Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan as the gateway.

With such a variety of natural, cultural and leisure activities available within easy each in this small sized Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures, Brunei promises wholesome fun and excitement for families, honeymooners or nature buffs. Visit Brunei for ATF in 2010 and discover a new world of tourism possibilities.

Cambodia Ministry Announces Tourism Blueprint

The Cambodia Ministry of Tourism said Wednesday that it had developed a plan to raise tourist numbers to fight the economic downturn.

Speaking at a forum in Siem Reap, ministry spokesman Toug Koun said the government would make a renewed marketing effort, increase transport efficiency, target neglected markets, reduce package-tour prices and improve the Cambodia tourism "product".

He also identified domestic tourism as an emerging market, adding that Cambodia should add focus to national events to attract crowds from the provinces. Development of Sihanoukville Airport would also help, Toug Koun added.

He said that reducing package-tour prices would foster growth in international travel; but Pascal Deyrolle, vice president of the Cambodian Hotel Association and general manager of Siem Reap's La Residence d'Angkor hotel, said that this alone would not be sufficient.

"There has been a drop of 20 to 30 percent in occupancy in Siem Reap hotels in the first five months of this year," Deyrolle said. "Our concern is that ... people are not flying in."

Deyrolle said the Hotel Association had been approached by airlines, which believed that more flights from more carriers would help growth. "If we could add two more flights daily from Bangkok to Siem Reap, we could potentially bring in an extra 89,000 tourists per year and US$59 million," he said, citing an International Finance Corporation survey.

Coaxing a Khmer Temple From the Jungle’s Embrace

Cambodia Heritage : Banteay Chhmar

To reach the temple of Banteay Chhmar from the Cambodian town of Sisophon in the dry season involves a two-hour drive through parched forests coated with brown dust. The temple is breathtaking. Bas-reliefs depict naval battles between ancient Khmers and their Cham rivals in remarkable detail. Giant sandstone faces loom over thick vegetation strewn with collapsed lintels and broken naga heads.

Visitors to Angkor Wat will have seen something like this. But the glory of Banteay Chhmar is its raw, unadulterated state. Sitting 100 kilometers, or about 60 miles, northwest of Siem Reap, this is Cambodia’s “forgotten” temple. You will probably find yourself alone, able to rekindle the experience of colonial French explorers as they first stumbled upon Khmer antiquity.

But the same isolation was not lost on those who vandalized Banteay Chhmar in the late 1990s. The Cambodian military not only mined the complex but made off with large sections of bas-relief destined for private homes in Bangkok and beyond. Local guides like Seng Samnang remembers the oxcarts loaded with artifacts being wheeled out of the temple. “There was nothing we could do,” he said. “If we had challenged these men we would have been killed.”

About 115 pieces, a truckload, have been recovered and they are sitting in the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Of the rest — there is allegedly much more — reports of Buddha heads appearing in Thai generals’ gardens have done little to ease longstanding tensions over Thai claims to Cambodia’s patrimony, an issue that resurfaced last year, and remains unresolved, at the northern temple of Preah Vihear.

Banteay Chhmar is returning to the spotlight, but now the news is good. In 2008 the Culture Ministry handed control of the temple to Global Heritage Fund, an organization in California that tries to safeguard the world’s most endangered sites. Established in 2002, the fund has a budget of $6 million and 44 employees to rehabilitate the temple, the eventual aim being its inclusion on Unesco’s World Heritage List.

John Sanday is leading the project. He is a British architect who first set foot in Cambodia in 1992 to work on the 12th-century Preah Khan, a temple famous for its outer wall of garudas, the mythic birds of Hindu legend. To help attract financing, the savvy Mr. Sanday, a former employee of the World Monument Fund, managed to persuade a number of private individuals to “adopt” a garuda for $30,000.

Like Preah Khan, Banteay Chhmar was built as a monastic complex by Jayavarman VII, the king who converted Cambodia to Buddhism. But the paucity of surviving inscriptions make it unclear exactly when and why. Writing in 1949, the historian Lawrence Palmer Briggs claimed the temple “rivaled Angkor Wat in size and magnificence.” It has four enclosures surrounded by a moat, a vast artificial lake, or baray, and could sustain a population of at least 100,000.

Romantic it may be, but much of Banteay Chhmar today consists of piles of lichen-stained rubble. Of 400 meters (1,300 feet) of bas-relief wall, only 25 percent still stands. Faced with collapsed or collapsing structure, Mr. Sanday and his team must decide what should be rebuilt or merely stabilized. Whether to replace the missing stones with newly quarried or recycled stone is another question.

A simple paradox lies at the heart of the restoration process: The less you notice, the better the job. Mr. Sanday sees overzealous rebuilding as compromising of a monument’s natural history, and much of its beauty. On the other hand, donors to projects such as these usually want to see tangible results, if not the revelation of some architectural marvel.

Mr. Sanday’s solution is to opt for a “presentation” of key areas of the temple, which in the future can serve as a model. Visitors will enter — as did the ancients — past the eastern gopura, along a causeway largely destroyed by 600 hundreds years of monsoons. Once that is rebuilt, they will advance toward the southeastern gallery of bas-reliefs and access the temple’s central areas along suspended wooden boards.

Under Predrag Gavrilovich, a Macedonian architect and colleague of Mr. Sanday’s, the fund is working on the southeastern gallery. Mr. Gavrilovich was responsible for rebuilding Preah Khan’s beautiful Dharamsala and Hall of Dancers almost entirely from scratch. His achievement was to completely disguise that fact by presenting something that seems utterly natural in its decay.

Can he do the same with Banteay Chhmar? His team has already reassembled the gallery’s square pillars and corbel vaulting. But the foundations need reinforcing before those parts can be lifted to their original position. “The building was not well constructed,” Mr. Gavrilovich said. “Maybe it was built in a hurry.”

For the “face towers,” Mr. Gavrilovich will have the benefit of new software developed by Hans Georg Bock at Heidelberg University in Germany. By scanning all the rubble and carefully analyzing each stone, it is possible to create a 3-D database for a virtual reconstruction of the entire monument.

The temple is only one part of Mr. Sanday’s project. His greater challenge is to turn a heavily mined former war zone with “finite” water supplies and massive scars on the landscape into a fertile and “zoned” area for responsible development as well as tourism.

So water has to come from somewhere. The reservoir the ancient Khmers built just north of the temple is heavily silted. Damming by villagers of the temple’s ornamental moat has resulted in flooding and wastage at monsoon time. With no evidence of an underground water table or any deep interventions, Mr. Sanday has invited James Goodman, a hydrologist in Geneva to research and map the course of the old waterways. Mr. Goodman has been looking both at images taken by the colonial École Française d’Extrême-Orient in 1945 and aerial photos used by the United States during the Indochinese war. The idea would be to rationalize water supplies and to create a well-drilling program.

For the project to work requires the support of the 12,000 or so villagers who might wonder what’s in it for them. Community Based Tourism, a French-inspired organization, aims at rewarding local people with 100 percent of tourist revenue. In 2007 and 2008, 512 visitors showed up. For $7 a night they were offered a tour, a room in a house with hot water and several hours of electricity.

Mr. Sanday is determined to prevent the kind of commercial pressures on temple sites that has dogged Angkor over many years. He said he thinks the authorities are behind him. “The ministry has set out clear zoning rules which dictate the position and size of new building and plans to create a new road that bypasses the temple,” he said.

The Culture Ministry’s heritage police will soon take charge of security. Only then might the return of the original bas-reliefs be possible under an agreement between the culture minister, the Global Heritage Fund and Unesco. That agency’s Teruo Jinnai, for one, welcomed the idea, provided “the security situation meets international requirements.”

It should happen. The return of these priceless bas-reliefs would demonstrate a new spirit of cooperation among those concerned with safeguarding Cambodian heritage. It could also send a clear message to those of ill intent to keep their hands off Banteay Chhmar.

Source: Mr. Robert Turnbull, The New York Times