For the first time there has to be a doubt as to the validity of one of the revamped Footprint Handbooks’ titles. Previously published as part of Thailand, Indochina and Bunna Handbook, this stand‐alone Cambodia Handbook has one‐fifth of its pages taken up with a guide to Bangkok, condensed from the Thailand Handbook, on the grounds that many people visiting Cambodia pass through Bangkok en route, that it has the greatest concentration of companies offering tours to that country, and is the best place to obtain a visa. In addition, the introductory section more or less states that were it not for the ruins at Angkor, the ancient capital of the powerful Khmer Empire, precious few visitors would enter Cambodia.
Furthermore, a tinted box section in the chapter on Phnom Penh, headed “Mean streets and how to avoid them”, is not exactly likely to encourage potential tourists. “From April 1996 the night time streets of Phnom Penh were once more dangerous places for foreigners to go. A spate of armed hold‐ups in which money and jewellery were stolen had the effect of a dusk to dawn curfew and only those with cars (there being no taxis) were able to venture out with any degree of confidence”. Kidnapping is described as a major growth industry. Tourists are advised to avoid walking alone at night, to carry bags in a secure manner to prevent grab and runs, to be alert and aware of the surroundings, not to travel with passports or large amounts of money, to divide and conceal money, not to carry addresses in a bag likely to carry house keys, to travel in the company of friends, and to keep a wary eye on motor drivers. Should this disheartening agenda fail to deter visitors, the state of medical services away from Phnom Penh should give pause for further thought. Even in the capital “health services were completely dismantled during the Pol Pot regime: two decades on, hospitals are still few and far between, medical facilities are poor and medicines are in short supply. Patients are often expected to buy their own medicines on the black market. Many of the pharmacies sell drugs which are well past their sell‐by date or ‘hot’ pharmaceuticals ‐ stolen from aid agencies. If you need emergency treatment, take the first plane to Bangkok”. All but the most intrepid (or foolhardy) travellers will surely ask themselves “are a few ruins worth it?”
Having said all that, this Handbook, as it stands, fully measures up to any of its stable companions in its coverage of what to see, where to stay, and where to go. The introduction and hints, the coverage of Cambodia’s history, art, and architecture, are as comprehensive as we have come to expect. Besides Angkor and Phnom Penh the editors contrive to compile detailed information on the areas to the north and south of Phnom Penh, with travel hints, information on accommodation, where to eat, entertainment guidance, communications, and excursions and site information. Finally there are the customary two summary chapters: “Information for travellers”, and “Rounding up” (books and maps, the Internet, short wave radio, useful addresses, words and phrases). From a reference point of view the Cambodia Handbook is up there with the best of them.
