A section of a road in Kampong Speu province was damaged by flood on July 31. VIE SAMNANG VIA FB
Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts spokesman Long Ponnasirivath said Cambodia is studying a hotel in Thailand which allegedly copied its style from the Bayon, Banteay Srei, and Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap province.
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The reaction came after photos of Le Palais Hotel were posted on social media, drawing criticism from Cambodians.
The Khmer-style hotel is in Ko Pha-ngan of Surat Thani province, Thailand.
Ponnasirivath told The Post on Sunday that Cambodia had set up a technical working group to study the matter before reaching out to Thailand through diplomatic means.
He said Cambodia welcomes all requests from countries around the world that intend to rebuild the cultural wealth of Cambodia, as long as it is in line with Unesco criteria.
Angkor was inscribed on Unesco’s World Heritage List in 1992.
Ponnasirivath said: “This matter is a joint task and experts will work on it in detail. We will do it stage-by-stage. We will resolve the case with diplomatic negotiations between the countries [Cambodia and Thailand].”
He said the hotel has its advantages and disadvantages. A good point is that it promotes Cambodia’s culture, but a bad point is the hotel owners didn’t notify or ask for permission from Cambodia.
Structures built at Le Palais Hotel in Thailand bear a striking resemblance to Angkor’s temples. Le Palais Hotel Facebook Page
Nou Niran, a Unesco officer in Cambodia, told The Post on Sunday that it is seeking information from the culture ministry, but could not comment further.
A Facebook page called “Amazing Sea Culture” with nearly 40,000 followers posted last Thursday that Le Palais Hotel in Thailand had created a temple based on the Angkor Wat, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site belonging to Cambodia.
The page, which has been shared nearly 4,000 times, says that through previous Cambodian governments, many countries in the world have been given the right to rebuild Cambodian temples, such as Spain and China.
The Facebook page said: “We expect the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and other relevant ministries to seek an explanation from the Thai hotel as to whether they requested permission from Cambodia to rebuild the ancient temple.
“We are happy on behalf of all countries in the world to give credit to Cambodia.”
According to Le Palais Hotel’s website, it is designed and inspired by the beautiful Angkor Wat temples located in Cambodia, and the decorations are hand-crafted to match what can be seen in Cambodia.
