The Best of Cambodia & Laos

cater to travelers with disabilities, but the
bigger and more established ones will. In any
case, it is a good idea to check in advance. In
Angkor Wat, some parts of the temples are
inaccessible to wheelchair-bound visitors
because of the irregular paving and simply
the nature of the temples. Plenty of it is
accessible, however. In the towns and cities,
what sidewalks there are usually heavily potholed
and irregular. Newer buildings such as
the airport and top-end hotels will have
ramps for wheelchair access, but that is about
as far as it goes.
The fundamental key to a successful rip
to Cambodia if you are disabled is a lot of
planning in advance. Useful organizations
include Mobility International USA
(& 541/343-1284; www.miusa.org);
Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation
(& 020-7250 3222; radar.org.
uk); and Society for Accessible Travel &
Hospitality (SATH; & 212/447-7284;
www.sath.org).
STUDENT TRAVEL
Cambodia is very firmly on the backpacker’s
Asia circuit. They were coming to
Cambodia years ago, when the war was
still raging and better-heeled tourists
stayed away. As a result there is a plethora
of guesthouses, restaurants, bars, and
travel agents catering specifically to this
market. Now with so many open borders
across what was the Bamboo Curtain, the
enterprising budget traveler can wander at
will all across Southeast Asia in pretty
much any direction. Siem Reap and
Phnom Penh both have a thriving backpacker
scene, and Sihanoukville is fast
catching up as it begins to rival the
beaches of Thailand as a beach for chilling
out. Kampot is the kind of relaxed hammock-swinging
venue beloved of the budget
traveler and Battambang is in the
throes of being discovered. While traveling
on a budget in Cambodia, you will inevitably
run into many like-minded souls.
8 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Sustainable tourism means taking responsibility
for your own actions and the
impact they might have on the environment
as you travel. It means paying attention
to the environments you find yourself
in and respecting the communities you
visit. The International Ecotourism
Society (TIES) defines eco-tourism as
responsible travel to natural areas that
conserves the environment and improves
the well-being of local people. One thing
you will notice in Cambodia is that respect
for locales is low. Rubbish and plastic bags
are simply thrown out onto the street.
Heavily polluting vehicles often create a
thick haze over towns and cities. You don’t
have to join in. Dispose of your own
waste, don’t use detergents or shampoo in
lakes and rivers, and don’t use electricity
wastefully.
The environment in Cambodia has
taken a real beating over the years. It is
considered one of the most vulnerable
countries in Asia by environmental activists
and experts. High-canopy rainforest
that once covered much of the country has
been decimated by legal and illegal logging.
To give you an idea of the scale of
this, in 1970 Cambodia was 70% primary
rainforest. By 2007, it was 3.1% primary
rainforest. The soil erosion resulting from
the mass deforestation is also a long-term
problem. What hasn’t been achieved by
active plunder has been achieved by population
growth in a country where subsistence-level
living is the norm and resources
are not used in a sustainable or renewable
way.
A lot of the wildlife has also been
poached or trafficked. Three-fourths of
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PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO CAMBODIA 3
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM