Road link between Thailand and Cambodia will open in Si Sa Ket at the end of 2015

[webfact]

Road link between Thailand and Cambodia will open in Si Sa Ket at the end of 2015

SI SA KET, 12 January 2014 (NNT) - The construction of a road linking Thailand and Cambodia in Si Sa Ket province is expected to be finished in November and ready for tourism in the AEC era.

According to Deputy Minister of Transport Akom Termpittayapaisit, the 7.5 kilometer road, which is located in Phusing district, will connect the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket with Siem Reap of Cambodia.

Its main purpose is to promote tourism between the two nations once ASEAN nations are integrated into a single market late this year. The construction has begun since June 10th last year and is scheduled for completion by November 1st, 2015.

The Ministry of Transport is also planning to open a bus service on the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket-Siem Reap route to facilitate visits between the two peoples.


-- NNT 2015-01-12

[DILLIGAD]

What 2 people's?

[banglassie]

Somchai and tran srey pov I guess...

Edited January 12, 2015 by banglassie

[khwaibah]

This is a no brainers as the highway 2341 is a death trap for large lorry's or buses. With out building a new by pass you have a new billion baht custom house before the crossing that is un used..BTW that NEW custom house just in back of the original SiSaket Immigration office. And you may ask where are the lorry's coming from ? Laos and Vietnam if and when ASEAN gets going. As for tourist

Edited January 12, 2015 by khwaibah

[SantiSuk]

Presumably that new 7.5 km road is to replace the crappy bits of the existing road between Highway 24 and the hills close to the Camby border, which arelike a quarry bottom in parts.

That leaves the question as to what to do about the two villages that the existing road goes through. One (at the southern end before the road climbs up into the hills) is presumably part of the 7.5km improvements and is already being improved to a certain extent. I wonder about the longer and larger village at the northern end near 24.

Are they really going to put international lorries through two Isaan villages where the road width available cant be more than 15 metres?!

Edited January 12, 2015 by SantiSuk

[SantiSuk]

This is a no brainers as the highway 2341 is a death trap for large lorry's or buses. With out building a new by pass you have a new billion baht custom house before the crossing that is un used..BTW that NEW custom house just in back of the original SiSaket Immigration office. And you may ask where are the lorry's coming from ? Laos and Vietnam if and when ASEAN gets going. As for tourist

Loads of tourists already Kwaibah - not going for the historical culture of Siem Reap; not going to revile the memory of one of the world's greatest genocidal butchers; not going to appreciate the cuisine of Cambodia (Thais ... appreciate someone else's food?).

They are all going to the casino on the border of course! Mostly pretty cheap tourists in minbuses from throughout this part of Lower Isaan, from what I've seen on a quick pass through the gilded gambling halls (to go to the toilets!). Vegas this is not.

OK - maybe not strictly tourists then, but tourist authorities will count anyone (twice)

[plachon]

This is a no brainers as the highway 2341 is a death trap for large lorry's or buses. With out building a new by pass you have a new billion baht custom house before the crossing that is un used..BTW that NEW custom house just in back of the original SiSaket Immigration office. And you may ask where are the lorry's coming from ? Laos and Vietnam if and when ASEAN gets going. As for tourist

Loads of tourists already Kwaibah - not going for the historical culture of Siem Reap; not going to revile the memory of one of the world's greatest genocidal butchers; not going to appreciate the cuisine of Cambodia (Thais ... appreciate someone else's food?).

They are all going to the casino on the border of course! Mostly pretty cheap tourists in minbuses from throughout this part of Lower Isaan, from what I've seen on a quick pass through the gilded gambling halls (to go to the toilets!). Vegas this is not.

OK - maybe not strictly tourists then, but tourist authorities will count anyone (twice)

You mean they are not going down the hill a mile or two to put a garland round and say a prayer for good luck at Uncle Mok's shrine and Pol Pot's grave before having a flutter in the casino? What an opportunity lost by TAT and their Cambo counterparts for Rouge shirted tourism!

[KhunBENQ]

The Ministry of Transport is also planning to open a bus service on the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket-Siem Reap route to facilitate visits between the two peoples.

Bla bla about peoples understanding while playing childish war games out in the sticks on the other side.

[SantiSuk]

You mean they are not going down the hill a mile or two to put a garland round and say a prayer for good luck at Uncle Mok's shrine and Pol Pot's grave before having a flutter in the casino? What an opportunity lost by TAT and their Cambo counterparts for Rouge shirted tourism!

Lest your post should misdirect anyone, the grave of Pol Pot is from memory only a few hundred meters down the hill from the casino which itself is very close to the Laos border post. PP's grave is on the other side of the road from the casino (left side as you go down the hill) and then turn left for 50 metres down a short dirt road, next to a 3 or 4 storey guest house (the only higher building in that area). There is a makeshift notice that I saw coming from the Cambodia side but it would be easy to miss - hence my level of detail.

Not a great deal to see, but given the impact of Pol Pot on humanity it's well-worth the couple of dollars that some old guy next to a makeshift barrier might charge you. He let my Thai wife and my local taxi driver in for free.

[TW had been typically unmoved by my attempts to get her interested in some of the most important regional modern history when we went to Tol Sleung (the killing jail) in Phnom Penh. Then she went on Facebook to say where she was and got a hail of emotion back from those of her mates that are of Khmen origin. She got rapidly interested then!]

Maybe Uncle Mok's shrine is a mile or two down the hill - I haven't seen that

Edited January 13, 2015 by SantiSuk

[plachon]

You mean they are not going down the hill a mile or two to put a garland round and say a prayer for good luck at Uncle Mok's shrine and Pol Pot's grave before having a flutter in the casino? What an opportunity lost by TAT and their Cambo counterparts for Rouge shirted tourism!

Lest your post should misdirect anyone, the grave of Pol Pot is from memory only a few hundred meters down the hill from the casino which itself is very close to the Laos border post. PP's grave is on the other side of the road from the casino (left side as you go down the hill) and then turn left for 50 metres down a short dirt road, next to a 3 or 4 storey guest house (the only higher building in that area). There is a makeshift notice that I saw coming from the Cambodia side but it would be easy to miss - hence my level of detail.

Not a great deal to see, but given the impact of Pol Pot on humanity it's well-worth the couple of dollars that some old guy next to a makeshift barrier might charge you. He let my Thai wife and my local taxi driver in for free.

[TW had been typically unmoved by my attempts to get her interested in some of the most important regional modern history when we went to Tol Sleung (the killing jail) in Phnom Penh. Then she went on Facebook to say where she was and got a hail of emotion back from those of her mates that are of Khmen origin. She got rapidly interested then!]

Maybe Uncle Mok's shrine is a mile or two down the hill - I haven't seen that

Thanks for the finer directions to PP's grave, which turns out to be just a stone's throw from the casino. Even better then to turn it into a site of pilgrimage and luck charms for the gambling hordes who turn up in their minibuses each w/end. After all, he was a Thai "good guy" for quite a while for his anti-Vietnam resistance (the Thai military even allowed him houses in Trat and Pattaya for a bit of R&R away from the pressures of being a despot, so the rumours go) and did quite a bit of business in logging with the generals for many years, keeping Thais in cheap construction wood and fancy furniture, so a lot of people unwittingly sit on Pol Pot-sourced chairs on a daily basis. And given his love of Khmer magic, I am sure someone could rustle up a good line in Pol Pot lucky charms to sell to the punters, once the potential of his grave is realised. Perhaps Ong-guliman-type thumbs or Tuol Sleng skulls on a necklace perhaps? Would be a variation on the linga-theme, currently so popular.

I think Ta Mok's grave is a bit closer to the town of Anlong Veng, as he was after all known as the "Butcher of Anlong Veng" in his heyday and no doubt remains a bit of a local hero for his antics. Do post a site visit report of what's there if ever you're back there, as would be interested to hear how he is viewed or venerated in death?

Like you, I am always rather mystified how disinterested most Thais are in the inter-linked and fascinating history of their nextdoor neighbours. But then as Thai history (as taught in schools) seems to stop in its tracks about 50 years ago and anything more modern didn't exist at all, as it is not in the textbooks or talked about on TV, I guess it is not that surprising. That Lao, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Malay and Burmese students seem to understand not only their own history but that of Thailand also, far better than the average student of an equivalent age in Thailand seems to be of little concern to anyone in Thailand, least of all the phu yai who run the show.

[khwaibah]

You mean they are not going down the hill a mile or two to put a garland round and say a prayer for good luck at Uncle Mok's shrine and Pol Pot's grave before having a flutter in the casino? What an opportunity lost by TAT and their Cambo counterparts for Rouge shirted tourism!

Lest your post should misdirect anyone, the grave of Pol Pot is from memory only a few hundred meters down the hill from the casino which itself is very close to the Laos border post. PP's grave is on the other side of the road from the casino (left side as you go down the hill) and then turn left for 50 metres down a short dirt road, next to a 3 or 4 storey guest house (the only higher building in that area). There is a makeshift notice that I saw coming from the Cambodia side but it would be easy to miss - hence my level of detail.

Not a great deal to see, but given the impact of Pol Pot on humanity it's well-worth the couple of dollars that some old guy next to a makeshift barrier might charge you. He let my Thai wife and my local taxi driver in for free.

[TW had been typically unmoved by my attempts to get her interested in some of the most important regional modern history when we went to Tol Sleung (the killing jail) in Phnom Penh. Then she went on Facebook to say where she was and got a hail of emotion back from those of her mates that are of Khmen origin. She got rapidly interested then!]

Maybe Uncle Mok's shrine is a mile or two down the hill - I haven't seen that

"Lest your post should misdirect anyone, the grave of Pol Pot is from memory only a few hundred meters down the hill from the casino which itself is very close to the Laos border post."

Since when is Pol Pot grave sit close to Laos?

[khwaibah]

GPS 14.341243, 104.059448 (Pol Pot's grave)

[SantiSuk]

"....Thai military even allowed him houses in Trat and Pattaya for a bit of R&R away from the pressures of being a despot, so the rumours go) and did quite a bit of business in logging with the generals for many years, keeping Thais in cheap construction wood and fancy furniture, so a lot of people unwittingly sit on Pol Pot-sourced chairs on a daily basis...."

He lived in Ubon somewhere in later life. His R&R was at an 'establishment of soap' that still operates ("Long Beach" underneath Pathumrat Hotel). Some would say that his favoured girls are still plying their trade there .

[DILLIGAD]

Also used to book out a whole floor of the Thong Tarin, Surin

[khwaibah]

Also used to book out a whole floor of the Thong Tarin, Surin

Right on top of Soi Kola. He knew where the action is.

Edited January 14, 2015 by khwaibah