Pulling the plug

Bousra waterfall in Mondulkiri - regarded by many as the country's best

As the police crackdown on riverside restaurants and their outdoor seating in Phnom Penh - there's always something for the police to crackdown on, crime might be a good one to begin with rather than removing pot-plants and the odd chair and table - there's news that the company who were developing/ruining Mondulkiri's best tourist feature, Bousra waterfall, are pulling the plug on the $6million ecotourism project (that included hotels, restaurants and shops surrounding the attraction) due to lack of funds. Maybe someone will stop cutting down all the trees now. Fat chance. Talking of ecotourism projects, I'm off on a fam trip jolly next week, courtesy of Cambodia MSME and USAid. It's for tour operators to have a good look at a few community-based projects, namely Chambok, Anlung Rath, Peam Krasaop in Koh Kong, Tatai Krom and Chi Phat, with the desire that we will offer up our professional advice and promote these projects to our clients. This is a follow-up from the Hidden Treasures Cambodia contest that was run last year and which included these and many more community-based initiatives.