A Schengen Visa for Asia

The team behind evisaasia.com are based in Malaysia. It all started when the team began developing an online visa system for the government of Cambodia 6 years ago. Eventually, it led to the creation of this project, which encompasses more than 20 countries in Asia and provides secure and reliable visa services for travelers worldwide.

The Sweetest Thing About Cambodia

By: Tommy Boukhris

Nothing says welcome quite like Cambodia does. From her friendly people, rich heritage and delicious food, to her fertile land and visually stunning landscapes that evoke comments of awe, Cambodia is a place of welcome and majesty that to this day inspires the imaginationof all who travel or live in the Kingdom of Wonder.

Fortunately for anyone who is interested in learning about Cambodia there is no shortage of good material to enrich the learning experience. Books about ancient Khmer history, Angkor Wat, Cambodian culture, the excitement of Phnom Penh, the incredibly beautiful land and peaceful beaches, how to plan a move to Cambodia, traditional Khmer dessert recipes… Khmer desserts? Yes, there is now a Khmer dessert cookbook thanks to an English expat who lives in Cambodia. Gabrielle (Gabi) Yetter (pictured) is a writer who authored the first and only Khmer dessert cookbook, published this month. At the same time, she produced an ebook, entitled The Definitive Guide to Moving to Cambodia, a comprehensive and entertaining resource for anyone thinking about or planning a move to Cambodia.

Cambodia Says Farewell to King Sihanouk

Text and photos: Ate Hoekstra

“That is the most beautiful firework I have ever seen!” a young Khmer yells. The management student watches the fireworks that light up the Cambodian sky in honor of the late king-father Norodom Sihanouk. Just a few minutes earlier the body of Sihanouk was cremated at Veal Mean, the cremation site next to the Royal Palace of Cambodia. It’s the end of a four day funeral ceremony for the ‘father of Cambodia’ and the end of an era lead by perhaps the last great king of Cambodia.

The ceremony started a few days earlier, on Friday, February 1. In the early morning tens of thousands of people gathered in the streets of Phnom Penh, all of them dressed in white shirts, Cambodia’s color of mourning. They sat on the sidewalks, burned incense and held photos of their beloved king-father.

Cleaning Up Landmines in Cambodia

By: Ate Hoekstra

More than twenty years after the peace agreement was signed, landmines and other unexploded devices are still a problem in parts of Cambodia. But thanks to hard working deminers that problem is getting smaller day by day.

Kuon Samraong is cleaning up landmines. The young Khmer man started the job at Halo Trust a few months ago, one of four organizations that are dedicated to remove all explosives left in the country after decades of war. And, like many other Khmer people in the north and northwest of Cambodia, Kuon grew up in an area that has been affected by landmines. An area where having a landmine in your backyard is not that unusual. That's what made him decide to become a deminer.

The Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia

Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment (ELIE) is a registered local non-government organization based in Mondulkiri, Cambodia. ELIE’s aim is to improve the health and welfare of the captive elephants in Mondulkiri Province, to work with the local people and the problems that face both people and elephant. The Elephant Valley Project (EVP) is an ecotourism project of ELIE that invites visitors to come and experience these wonderful creatures living in their natural habitat, while providing an alternative approach to elephant care, rehabilitation and conservation and providing employment for the local people.

Seametry, a Dream School for Village Children in Cambodia: Muoy You Comes Full Circle

By: Gabrielle Yetter

Forty years ago, Muoy You’s pursuit of a quality education in France saved her life. Today, she wants to give the same educational opportunity to young Cambodians.

In 1972, she received a scholarship to study overseas. She never dreamed it would be 31 years before she returned home to Cambodia.

Unbeknownst to the enthusiastic young woman at the time, her education probably saved her life. The journey to France took place while tables were turning in her home country and, exactly two years and five months after her departure, the Khmer Rouge marched into Cambodia, evacuating thousands and tearing the country apart. From her apartment in Paris, Muoy watched it on TV, powerless to connect with the family she’d left behind and unable to return to her home.

After decades of searching, waiting and reuniting with lost family members, Muoy returned in 2003 and opened Seametrey Children’s Village in Phnom Penh as a way of giving back to the country which, she felt, now needed her help.

Roasting and Steaming in Cambodia: Traditional Health Practices for Pregnant Women

By: Gabrielle Yetter

When Chan Moniroth delivered her first child this July, she wasn’t able to wash her hair for a month after the birth. She also had to inhale herbal vapors every day and was instructed by elderly female relatives to avoid the use of computers and televisions.

During her pregnancy, she was cautioned not to eat spicy foods, not to raise her hands above her head and not to take a bath in the evenings.

Such are traditional health practices in Cambodia among pregnant women where old wives tales are often more the norm than modern medical techniques and upward of 60% of the population practices traditional healing methods according to the National Centre of Traditional Medicine in Phnom Penh.

While younger women with university educations and modern urban lifestyles are slowly moving away from some of these traditions, they are finding it harder to break away from family pressures when it comes to starting a family of their own.

Independence Day Cambodia

November 9th marks a very special date for all Cambodians: Independence Day! Cambodia achieved independence from France in 1953. A carnival atmosphere takes over the country spreading joy to each and every city. After winning over its independence from France, the country was transformed into a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. The Cambodian government lost the Mekong Delta to Vietnam upon independence.

During the month of November leading up to the Independence Day special events and preperations take over daily life and there is an apparent buzz about the main territories and city areas of Cambodia.

My House

By: Thomas Weber Carlsen

Thomas Weber Carlsen is a Danish architect and industrial designer who has been living with his family in Siem Reap, Cambodia for more than ten years. My House is the last of three articles to appear on latitudes.nu. All articles are excerpts from chapters of his recently finished book Third World Man (Out of Denmark), which he is now looking to have published. You can read more about Thomas and his adventures on his website http://www.angkor.dk

There is something soothing in the air of this country which stimulates a desire for making art and other things aesthetically pleasing. S’aard means beautiful in Khmer, the Cambodian language, and that is one of the most frequently used and certainly most popular words here. These people are obsessed with the notion of s’aard to an extreme degree, and I believe that it has had a very significant influence on my ability to create good and visually impressive architecture.

I love to design buildings in this tropical climate with the use of the local hardwoods, which must be the most luxurious in the world. But also with the use of much more humble and prosaic materials such as bamboo, straw mats, concrete or iron. It is the combination of these materials and their correlation with the natural surroundings – the lush tropical flora – that produces truly magnificent results. When I see good architecture I wish I could eat it, and that surely must be the ultimate perversion.

Expelling The Wind: Traditional Cambodian Healing Practices

By: Gabrielle Yetter

Serekith uses it whenever he feels ill. Izzy swears it helps her with headaches. Finn tried it for his cold. And Heang won’t do it because it is too painful.

It’s the process called Koas kjol, literally translated as “catch the wind” (or “coining” as westerners call it) and it’s one of the traditional forms of healing among Cambodians. It involves rubbing oil or balm on the chest, back and shoulders then using a coin to vigorously scrape the area until red welts appear on the skin. Commonly used for headaches, fevers, dizziness or nausea, it’s a practice used by Cambodians and other Southeast Asian (in Indonesian and Malaysia this practice is referred to as kerokan) who turn to it as readily as westerners reach for a Tylenol.

“When I was at medical school and studying all night, I was often tired and couldn’t concentrate,” said Vatana Meng, RN, who works as a pharmacist at U-Care pharmacy in Phnom Penh. “It always made me feel better to have coining but it was very painful so I wasn’t able to do it too often.”