Andrew Booth awarded an O.B.E. in the New Year Honours list for supporting children’s education through tourism

Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II used her Christmas broadcast this year to highlight the inspiration drawn from ordinary people doing extraordinary things.  A decade ago with little prior knowledge of Southeast Asia and none of the travel industry Andrew dedicated himself to bringing the benefits of international tourism to the neediest local communities. He set about raising touring standards and putting profits he generated into local educational projects.  Today these extend to over 100 schools and benefit many tens of thousands of children.

Andrew thanks Her Majesty for this incredible recognition that he dedicates to his family and friends for their unwavering support, to the extraordinary people past and present of ABOUTAsia and most importantly to you, his customers for daring to share a dream.  Thank you all.

Living and working just 3 miles from Angkor Wat Andy’s team of travel advisors at ABOUTAsia is now recognized by many as the finest available for discovering the extraordinary treasures of Southeast Asia and especially experiencing the temples of Angkor Wat without the tourist crowds. Starting with simply excellent vacations they aim for nothing less than to provide those rare moments in a busy life for each guest to reflect on humanity and their own unique place in this world.

A decade ago, Andrew’s asked himself a simple question, once which is just as relevant today: Why simply spend money on a vacation, when you could instead put it to work for your own and others’ lasting benefit.

As we close the door on the last decade of ABOUTAsia Travel, and look ahead to the next 10 years, we are grateful — thankful  for the amazing Cambodian people, whose warmth and kindness makes  it all possible; for our gracious guests, who have each contributed in their own way to our cause by traveling with us; to our expatriate staff, who in many cases have forgone higher salaries back home for a chance to be part of something special; and for our great guides and top-notch drivers, who are so integral to ABOUTAsia’s success.

The Early Days

Back in 2005, Andy Booth had a crazy idea that tourism in a developing country could be a force for good, rather than simply something exploitative. He moved to Siem Reap, and started running tours from the cafe of Hotel De La Paix (now the Park Hyatt). He called it Sage Insights, and back then it was just Andy— Travel Advisor, Operations Manager, and guide, all in one!

The ABOUTAsia Team, circa 2008. Savonn, Sopheak, and Somaang in the front row are in senior positions in various company departments, 8 years later.

 An early version of the ABOUTAsia/Sage Insights website promised ‘Cambodia Travel with a heart,’ set in an unfortunately dated font which was so common in the early 2000s (We’re glad the web has moved beyond those days).

Doing business in Cambodia at the time was not without challenges. After his director ran off with the business (the vehicles, guides and client base)  and the Cambodian court system would do nothing without a bribe, Andy started over. This never-give-up attitude permeates the culture at ABOUTAsia to this day. “Some people might call it a character flaw,” Andy told a Bloomberg reporter in 2013, “but when it comes to stick-with-it-ness, I am Olympic class.”

The philanthropic side of ABOUTAsia was built with the help of friends Dave Chase and Chris Smith. They took IAM Cambodia (now ABOUTAsia Schools) from a tiny start-up, built relationships with government officials, gained 501c3 status in the U.S., and started pumping money into the local school system with targeted donations.

Experiential = People

Andy realized on his first trip  that while the magnificent temples of Cambodia certainly drew visitors, what caused people to fall in love with Cambodia, was the Cambodian people themselves. Reminiscing about his first trip to Cambodia, he said: “The people we met were incredibly resilient, kind, humble, and giving. When you consider the incredible suffering and difficulty they had been through in the ’70s and ’80s, I still saw real warmth, hospitality and resilience.”  That people are Cambodia’s greatest resource would become central to ABOUTAsia’s experiential travel philosophy.

Andy believed in understated  luxury with a people-oriented bent, rooted in the belief that personalities shape experience. As a result, ABOUTAsia has always been all about people —  Cambodian guides, hosts, and drivers. Each has brought his or her  warmth, charisma and magnetism, and this, combined with a great mix of archaeologists, specialists, and adventurers, comes together to shape each traveller’s experience.

Prey-Chrouk School – ABOUTAsia Schools first project – circa 2008.

Science Applied: Crowd Avoidance

Around the time ABOUTAsia set up shop in Siem Reap, a massive influx of tourists began arriving, drawn by the amazing sights and new-found political stability. The downside of course; the crowds were getting out of hand. The traditional sunset spot at the top of Phnom Bakheng (which offers scenic views over Angkor Wat) was overrun by hordes of tourists, elbowing to get the perfect photo spot. Most guides followed the standard routes by rote, without much thought to the traveler’s experience.

Graph of footfall counts at Ta Prohm Temple

Andy put his scientific mind to work on the problem. He systematized  research,  employing students for data collection and running footfall counts at key temple sites to measure and chart the movement of crowds. Andy still remembers inputting the first footfall counts, and seeing for the first time the plot of footfalls—he immediately  restructured all routings accordingly. He created a combination of data and  art,  letting the analysis drive the itineraries to heighten the experience in the traveler. This insightful application of statistics led to today’s crowd-avoidance excursions.

The next 10 years…

Today, our  team—nearly 60 strong, spread across 3 countries— has ten years under its belt. We’ve expanded, and now offer our immersive experiences through  Laos and Vietnam, bringing the ‘ABOUTAsia way’  to more than just Cambodia.

We remain firmly entrenched in an experiential, people-oriented, culture-rich travel philosophy. Most importantly, we are still  committed to the next generation of Cambodians, those still in school, who we work to support every day. And of course, we still offer the ‘road less traveled’ to our guests, along with unique dining, great wines, and just the right pick of luxury accommodation.   And, of course, great people. Because that’s what sets any journey apart.

The road less traveled has never been better. We’re looking ahead to the next ten years.

ABOUT the Author

With a childhood involving Hawaii, Northeast Cambodia, and the Southeastern United States, Business Development Director Ethan Crowley has yet to sate his wanderlust. He shares his passion for the best of Indochina with prose and pictures.

The open-air market is teeming with early-morning life. It’s a photographer’s paradise—vibrant  colors, morning light and shadow, exotic foodstuffs, interesting people, as far as the eye can see. Fish swim circles in metal tubs, and chickens, a soup-pot in their future, cluck loudly as women  push past me with heavy bags of groceries for the day. Vendors ladle steaming bowls of noodles in beef broth for breakfast. Every few minutes a small delivery motorcycle passes down the narrow aisle, the rear seat piled high with fresh produce. It is sensory overload—there is something unique, interesting in every direction for my camera lens.

I’m  here with  of one of the best native Cambodian photographers in the country, Sang Kimleng. A few months earlier, I had stumbled across his work. He organizes small-scale photowalks through Cambodian villages and markets around Siem Reap, and I was intrigued. Curiosity reigned, and my friend Eric and I arranged to spend a morning with Kimleng wandering about the countryside and markets.

I love Kimleng’s backstory. A self taught photographer, he has been a tuk tuk driver for years, shuttling tourists to the temples of Angkor. As he developed an interest in photography, he realized that travelers come and go and never truly see local life. He began combining his photographic passion with his work—taking travelers through local villages for a few hours to document real Cambodian life.

His knowledge of photographic technique is good, but the real value lies in his kind, disarming personality. You can’t help but like Kimleng and his  great ability to document local life as an insider. I couldn’t wait to join a photowalk with him.

Photowalks are becoming more and more commonplace around the world. My  social media feed routinely displays news about groups of amateur and professional photographers doing a two- or three-hour walk in Hong Kong, Venice, Bangkok, New York, or Sydney. As a traveler, I love photowalks, as they combine two things I enjoy most—discovering a new destination on foot, and capturing moments, memories and places with my camera. What’s  not to love? Walking through an exciting new locale with like-minded photo enthusiasts, snapping photos along the way, is a perfect collaborative environment to learn, to be inspired, and to sharpen one’s skills.

We meet at  6:30 a.m. at Kimleng’s recommendation. “The markets are the best in the morning,” he told me the day before. He pulls up in a tuk tuk, his camera bag swinging from a hook at the front. I am struck by his humble attitude and presence.

While we sip cool water and ready our cameras, Kimleng produces a large Nikon DSLR with a case battered from a few years of daily professional use—a patina which truly demonstrates his passion for the craft. He also has a fantastically nice 70-300 f2.8 Nikkor lens, the kind that looks professional because of its sheer size. I am jealous, and so he lets me borrow it to try on my own Nikon.

We duck into the market, which at this early hour is teeming with life. I remember that I missed breakfast, and stop to buy some coconut waffles. They are warm, sweet, and perfectly coconutty.

A host of exotic edibles greet us as we move towards the back of the market—hot spicy peppers, great bundles of leafy spinach, a ubiquitous selection of pig organs and intestines, a bag full of red ants just waiting to flavour soup. A woman at the dessert table is ladling bowls of steaming rice and bean desserts. In Southeast Asian culture, beans—aside from green beans—are exclusively desserts, and the idea of eating savoury beans as regular food is puzzling. I’m reminded yet again about how poles apart cultures can be.

Red Ants

We depart the dimness of the market, leave the main road, and head into a small village. Kimleng points out various vegetables growing among the houses, and picks some sour astringent fruit for us to try. “Very good with chili-pepper salt,” he tells us.

Everyone in the village seems to know and love Kimleng. Elderly grandmothers greet him cheerfully, grateful for a respite from their daily chores, and he chats about the weather, the state of the harvest this year, and general small talk.

He exchanges scuttlebut with a neighborhood bike mechanic. We learn that he buys old bicycles for five dollars, makes them look new, and sells them for $25. I am impressed, as always, by Cambodians’ resourcefulness  and creativity. This recycling (upcycling) is as environmentally friendly as it comes.

Kimleng explains interesting local tidbits— for instance, how local cow owners ‘rent out’ their herds to farmers on a monthly basis. For a hefty monthly fee, the cows will spend the night on the farmer’s land, gracefully depositing natural fertilizer throughout the night. In exchange, the farmer gets rich and fertile soil. Everyone is happy.

We stop to chat with a Yeay, the respectful term for grandmother,  who is winnowing poppy seeds by hand. She lifts small handfuls of pounded poppy, and  the wind blows away the chaff, exposing the tiny black seeds. “You should talk to my granddaughter, she speaks great English,” granny says. Her granddaughter arrives, but is too shy to practice her language, beyond a few pleasantries.

As we walk past the edge of the village, rice paddies stretch out before us in every direction. It’s beautiful. The breeze picks up . Nearby a bean farmer staggers under the weight of two watering cans suspended from a pole over his shoulder. The rains won’t come for three months, Kimleng tells me, and until then the farmer must water by hand each day.

“The Mechanical Cow”

A cart rumbles by, pulled by some diesel contraption and piled high with hay, putt-putting it’s way out across the paddies. This setup is called, in Khmer, a Mechanical Cow. Just ten years ago this cart would have probably been pulled by a pair of oxen, but now the 21st century is upon us, bringing with it mechanization. I’m struck by the contrasts of this country. It is split between two worlds. On one end a centuries-old, Angkorian way of life vies for control, while a new world, dominated by ipads, cell phones, high speed internet and Mechanical Cows, shoulders its way into the landscape. I feel privileged to be here at the crossroads.

When booking your trip to Cambodia with ABOUTAsia Travel, please ask for Kimleng’s photowalk tour.

ABOUT the Author

With a childhood involving Hawaii, Northeast Cambodia, and the Southeastern United States, Business Development Director Ethan Crowley has yet to satiate his wanderlust. He shares his passion for the best of Cambodia with prose and pictures.

Pre Rup

Floating Village on Tonle Sap

Above Angkor Park

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

I’ve been privileged to enjoy a host of unique adventures and cool experiences while living in Cambodia. One item, however, has remained stubbornly on my bucket list—in all my years here, I had yet to see Angkor from the air. Invariably, every time I fly out of Siem Reap, my seat is on the wrong side of the plane, and I find myself staring across endless rice paddies instead of photographing ancient monuments like my lucky fellow passengers across the aisle.

All that changed in April– I managed to land a spot aboard a Helistar chopper along with a couple of friendly Australians. They were well-armed with multiple cameras to document their adventure, and I sported a GoPro and my trusty, battered Nikon.

I chatted with the pilot, Marcel, on the tarmac. He had that kind, off-beat confidence that pilots I’ve met tend to exude. He also wore cool sunglasses, which in my experience is a prerequisite to piloting an aircraft.

We took off from a quiet private corner of the airfield, just to the west of Angkor Wat. I could see a herd of sundrenched cows foraging below, just meters from the runway, as we winged our way towards Angkor. To the north I could see the West Baray, a vast ancient man made reservoir, stretching away from me–the largest man-made lake in history, and all dug by hand nearly 1000 years ago.

 Angkor is Huge

First off, the sheer size of the ancient city is mind-blowing. I’ve seen Angkor from the ground countless times, but from the air I could see, for the first time, simply how vast and sprawling the ancient city is. The current city of Siem Reap is nearly 180,000 strong, but from the air it’s Lilliputian compared to the monuments, walls and moats of the ancient civilization.

The flat landscape was a grid of roads and canals, stretching as far as the eye can see in every direction, with the two mountains of Phnom Bok and Phnom Bakheng jutting up from the patchwork of rice paddies. I could even see an ancient road cutting diagonally through the rice paddies, leading from the old capital of Roluos to the ‘newer’ city of Angkor. Those kind of visible historic details get me excited (I will admit to being a nerd)

We then struck out over the Tonle Sap Lake, circling above a floating fisherman’s village óccupied by  people who spend their entire lives—cradle to grave—on the water. Marcel mentioned how during low water season the village moves out to open water, while during high water they hug the coast and small estuaries. “Also, if you don’t like your neighbors…not a problem,” he quips with his dry Swiss humor. “You just paddle your house to find a more suitable place.”

Marcel told me that he’s in the middle of prepping for a new session of Lidar mapping, in a similar vein to the project which made world headlines in 2013 with the discovery of the ‘Lost City.’ This time, however, his archaeological colleagues will be mapping Northern Cambodia, looking for yet undiscovered cities and monuments. These are true modern-day explorers who have given up a horse, elephant or Land Rover for the freedom of a flying machine.

A few personal suggestions

I would highly recommend that you schedule an Angkor from the Air experience for your last day in Siem Reap. By then you will be familiar with the temples from the ground, and with a good guide you will have learned several interesting bits of the history.  From the air you will be able to assemble the puzzle pieces of each temple, and form a complete view of the civilization.

A final thought: While the 20 minute flight is sufficient to get a general view of Angkor, I highly recommend the more extensive 48 minute flight, which will display everything from the Kulen Plateau (site of the ‘Lost City” of Mahendraparvata and the birthplace of the Khmer Empire) to the floating villages of the Tonle Sap– definitely worth the extra dollars.  Speak to your ABOUTAsia travel advisor about including a helicopter flight in your travel plans.

ABOUT the Author

With a childhood involving Hawaii, Northeast Cambodia, and the Southeastern United States, Business Development Director Ethan Crowley has yet to satiate his wanderlust. He shares his passion for the best of Cambodia with prose and pictures.

The Angkor Guidebook, from ABOUTAsia Travel is the “must have” guide for visitors to the Angkor Temples.

The Angkor Guidebook

That’s because The Angkor Guidebook is more than just another field guide. With visual reconstructions of the temples by artist Bruno Levy, text that reflects the latest academic findings and insights, historical photos from the archives of EFEO (École Française d’Extrême-Orient) and a guide to the local flora and fauna to be found around the temples, The Angkor Guidebook is an indispensable resource. Designed primarily for the first time visitor to the Angkor complex, the book is lightweight and opens flat for easy use.

Transparency overlays show the temples as they were.

There are three primary features which set this book apart:

Artistic recreations, in the form of transparent overlays, show what the temples would have looked like 1000 years ago in their heyday. The recreations in the book are the fruit of an extensive collaboration between leading academics and artists to help the visitor visualize the temples as they originally appeared.

Concise, accessible content on each temple appears alongside historical and contemporary photographs, or visual reconstructions providing the reader with easily digestible and contextual information about the temples. There are other good temple guidebooks available but they are often dense with historical and archaeological details that overwhelm the average traveler. The Angkor Guidebook aims to inform, engage and captivate the reader.

Baphuon temple in 1923 – EFEO

The book profits support children’s education. ABOUTAsia Travel’s sister organization, ABOUTAsia Schools, supports the education of over 50,000 students at 108 schools in Siem Reap province.

The Angkor Guidebook is on sale at hotels, restaurants and retail outlets in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. It can also be purchased on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

For more information contact info@angkorguidebook.com

Useful fold-out map