Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25038
Cambodia is one of the world's most densely landmined coun tries, and it is easy to see how these subterranean explosives not only affect individuals by creating vicious poverty traps (incapac itating breadwinners) but also make vast areas of arable land unfarmable. It is easy to forget that mine injuries kill or maim about 200 people a month in Cambodia. n response to the Ottawa ban, the Cambodian government passed a prohibiting the "use, production, holding, business, import and orr" of antipersonnel mines except in training. Leonard Kaminiski, roject coordinator of the demining agency the HALO Trust (Hazardous Areas Life-Support Organisation) doubts the effectiveness of such laws, pointing to Russia, China and Vietnam (which among them produce more than 95 percent of the mines HALO finds in Cambodia) all of whom have not signed the treaty. I stand on top of a tank and as I snap off frames a shell whistles and lands to my left. Stones and earth rain down on the tank. I jum off and head for the still heavily landmined area. I hear incomin artillery and start to run. A shell lands even nearer than the last 0 and I feel a thump on my back. I check my legs. They're still attached. My throat is dry with fear. I jump into a foxhole and the shells rai down around us. My friend is already in there with two Khmer sol � diers. "Pray we don't take a direct hit." The Thais believe that to voi your fear invites misfortun.e-I found out later in Phnom Penh this very foxhole took a direct hit the day I left Samrong. __ _ .-c �.WIႀ䊉 . No ave extinguished the truth of this shining red viSIOn; images from now could be pictures from then. for visitors. You can get a 30-day visa upon �amb o dia 32 Vis it i ng arrival at Phnom Penh's Pochentong International Airport or beforehand from the virtual Royal Embassy of Cambodia at www.embassy.org/cam bodia (there's a photo of a house. but no physical address listed). You can download the visa application from the site. Flights to Phnom Penh are available from Bangkok. Hong Kong. Singapore. Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City. You can also enter by car (hired taxi) from Vietnam. Visas are required beforehand. Guides and drivers can be hired in Siem Reap town for very reasonable prices. This is your best bet for visiting Angkor Wat. Ministry of Tourism: 3 Monivong Blvd. Phnom Penh, +855 2326107 Phnom Penh Tourism: 313 Sisowath Quay. Phnom Penh, +855 23 23949. 25349 : Do not travel on the roads after dark. • Avoid train travel. Service is unreliable and tracks are plagued by unexploded mines. Two "mine-clearing" flatbed cars are hooked up in front of train engines. People can ride on the flatbeds for a greatly reduced fee. • If you leave Phnom Penh for outlying areas. such as Siem Reap. the safest way is by plane or hired taxi (leav ing early in the morning). The roads are in bad shape. and often impassable in the rainy season. Roadblocks with armed men demanding payment from drivers is normal. • Beware of theft-hide your money in strategic places and don't carry a lot of stuff .• Always check for land mines-ask local people whether mines are a prob lem in the area before venturing out. Stick to known paths. Use a guide whenever possible .• Do not remove mine warning signs (incredibly. many tourists steal them for souvenirs!). • When all is said and done. Cambodia is a safe place to visit if you find out about conditions in specific areas before you head out.-OPF