The Old Market (Phsar Chas) and the Old Market area are ‘must sees’ when visiting Siem Reap. Of the various traditional markets in the Siem Reap area, the Old Market is the most popular with tourists and visitors, offering the greatest selection of souvenirs and curios of any of the traditional markets. And the area around the Old Market is burgeoning with shops, galleries, restaurants, bars, massage and more. The Old Market is located on the river at the south end of the Old French Quarter. During the day and into the early evening the south side of the market near the river is alive with souvenir and silk vendors hawking a wide variety of Cambodian handicrafts, textiles, statues and curios. The Old Market is also a good place to pick up post cards, tee-shirts and other small items if you haven’t already bought them from the vendors at the temples. The north half of the market caters primarily to the locals, vending fruit, vegetables, meats, clothes, appliances and such. A number of inexpensive food stalls line the northern edge, serving local fare in interesting though sometimes hygienically challenged conditions. The Old Market closes at sunset, but many of the souvenir vendors in south section of the market stay open past 8PM. While the Old Market offers the greatest variety of souvenirs, the streets in the area around the market harbor several little galleries and boutiques, each with its own particular style, collection, art or specialty. The boutiques and galleries often offer higher quality, more select items, as well as more comfortable, often air-conditioned shopping venues. See page 55 for more information on boutiques and galleries. Other conveniences in the Old Market area include dozens of restaurants and pubs, especially along Pub Street, several travel agents and Internet shops, a couple of bookstores and several roving booksellers, convenience stores, banks and ATMs, and several reflexology/massage shops.      Pub Street After the sun goes down, the focus shifts a block or two east of the Old Market to ‘Pub Street,’ so named for the numerous and varied restaurants and pubs that line the street from one end to the other. You can always find Khmer, Thai, French, Vietnamese, Indian, Italian and a variety of other international foods on at the ‘Pub Street’ restaurants. Most of the bars are open all day but don’t really get going until around 5PM as people return from the temples and come to take advantage of the various happy hour deals. In the later evening the street is blocked to motor traffic, allowing pedestrians to stroll easily. It’s then that Pub Street really comes alive as the restaurants move their tables to the curbside and the bars crank up the music. The whole ‘Pub Street’ area is the center of nightlife in Siem Reap these days with most places staying open until at least midnight and few until near dawn. ‘Pub Street Alley,’ running parallel about a half of a block over, offers a somewhat different atmosphere - a quaint, shaded, tranquil retreat from the Pub Street crowds - a narrow lane lined with little galleries, shops, bars, cafés, Khmer restaurants and boutique guesthouses. And in a recent development, similar sorts of businesses are popping up in other alleys in the Pub Street area.

I am incensed that after 46 years of silence, now Thailand is protesting against Cambodia for the use of the French-Siamese Commission map made in 1907 that recognizes the demarcation of Cambodia’s frontier.
Why, after all these years, is Thailand objecting to Cambodia’s use of the joined commission map agreed by both France and Siam in 1907? This map was used at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on June 15, 1962.
As history has recorded, the ICJ sided with Cambodia and recognized that Preah Vihear was located within Cambodia. Thailand had accepted the ICJ decision.
The affair of Preah Vihear has flared up again because of Cambodia’s application to UNESCO to include the temple of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage List.
The initial Thai government reaction was swift and negative. They tried to block Cambodia’s application.  Finally, due to pressure from Thai academicians and diplomats all over the world, the Thai government relented and no longer opposed Cambodia’s application.
However, as cunning as ever, Thailand threw a wrench into the gears to stop everything in motion. Thailand says that she does recognize Preah Vihear belonging to Cambodia but not the demarcation of the frontier that she agreed by the ICJ in 1962. Thailand insisted on using her own map that had never been recognized by the ICJ.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee will meet on July 2, 2008 in Quebec. One of the subjects of discussion will be on the temple of Preah Vihear.
Thailand knows full well that this meeting is very important for Cambodia. She knows that UNESCO needs cooperation from Thailand before it can record the temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site.
Thailand really knows how to play this game. Cambodia should not fall into Thailand’s blackmail and should hold her accountable to the court of international laws.
It is time that Thailand stops bullying Cambodia and acting as if the latter is still her vassal state.
As for Cambodia, it is time for her to develop and complete the road to Preah Vihear that ex-Phnom Penh governor Chea Sophara had started.

Two accused conspirators in the so-called Angkor Empire Movement, an alleged plot to launch armed attacks on Thailand and Vietnam from Cambodian soil, were convicted and sentenced to prison on Tuesday by the Pursat Provincial Court.
In a short hearing, presiding judge Pol Yorn found Thab The and Chan Dara, also known as Veasna, guilty of the illegal use of armed force, sentencing them to six and five years in jail, respectively, while two other alleged plotters, Ny Kosal and Tul Mann, were acquitted for lack of evidence.
The verdicts arrived amidst accusations of secrecy and political meddling in the trial process, after Prime Minister Hun Sen remarked last month that the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) should be investigated for links to the plotters, according to information supplied by SRP defectors.
“I think there is political involvement with this trial,” said Ouk Vandeth, Chan Dara’s defence counsel. “The court felt threatened so they accused my client of creating a movement against the government. He’s not involved with this movement.”
Thab The’s son Chan Sothea said that he was “very disappointed with the court’s verdict” but that his father “was not involved with any armed forces or plots against the government.”
Am Sam Ath, a human rights monitor for local rights group Licadho, said that the independence of the court’s verdict was suspect.
“The court did not have enough evidence to find Chan Dara and Thab The guilty of the charges,” he said. “With [the case’s] links to the ruling party, the suspect always receives an unfair trial and pressure was clearly placed on the court by powerful officials.”
The case looks likely to resume after the July 27 polls, with Thab The and Chan Dara both planning to appeal and prosecutors promising further investigation into a figure known as Chan Muthara, said to be the ringleader of the shadowy movement and whose true identity and whereabouts remain unknown.
Thab The’s wife Chan Ream rejected the verdicts and said her husband would fight his case to the end.
“He is not guilty. He has no weapons, no military clothes and he has participated in no activities against the government,” she said. “The ruling party wants to make problems for my husband… I will appeal this verdict.”
San Soudalen, a Licadho lawyer representing Ny Kosal and Tul Mann, applauded the decision to acquit them, claiming that they were unaware of any illegal activities.
“I am happy today because my two clients were released. I think it has been a fair trial for my clients because they had no connections to the movement,” she said after the hearing.
The original trial of the four alleged plotters was suspended in April after judges decided more investigation was necessary.
Investigation recommenced in June following statements from SRP defector Lek Bunnhean, who implicated the opposition party in a number of anti-government plots, including the rocket attack on the prime minister in 1998 and the Angkor Empire Movement.
SRP president Sam Rainsy called the accusations “unbelievable,” claiming the government was trying to stem his party’s popularity in the run-up to this month’s national election.
The four suspects were arrested in May 2007 on suspicion of involvement with the Angkor Empire Movement which, authorities allege, planned to raise an army of 400 to seize the province of Surin from Thailand, as well as Kampuchea Krom and the old kingdom of Champa, both now in Vietnam. Authorities said no weapons were recovered from the conspirators.