dsquared37

Do to a 'spate' of foreigners supposedly 'posing naked' in the temples the government has released a new dress code which is now in effect.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...ew-dress-code/

Actually most people didn't care and the government took offense even for an apsara like artistic photo.

Meanwhile all the photos shown of inappropriate clothing are women.


http://www.phnompenhpost.com/nationa...new-dress-code

In the local papers the code is a bit more explicit:

But this last part really solidifies the notion that this is aimed toward women more than anything.

Finally, the coup de grace:

Goldorak

Thank you for posting
In fact this code of conduct was already in place since last winter, but was really enforced only in Angkor Wat (and may be more or less depending on the mood of the pass controllers at the entrances ). And the message was given to guides and hotels because I noticed that many people were wearing long trousers and no shorts and more women had shoulders covered. So it seems they want to enforce it everywhere. The other new thing is that it they will enforce it already at the time of pass purchase.
It will create new business opportunities for the vendors at the temple. They will sell or rent "decent" clothes to visitors

dsquared37

If indeed knee length shorts are no longer acceptable then I'll be content to have been inside the complex 15+ times and will bid the place adieu. There's no way I'm spending a day traipsing around with backpack/camera gear in pants; having lived in Asia for some time I know that just doesn't work for me.

My take is this is but one part of the CPP's mission to reclaim seats lost in 2013 by positioning themselves as standing up to foreigners aiming to destroy local culture (ironic considering it was these same people who are, almost to an individual, ex Khmer Rouge cadres). There's an election in 2018 and they're still hurting over the loss of seats to Sam Rainsy's CNRP party (in fact CPP probably lost the election but were able to 'hold' enough seats to maintain control) who have played a xenophobic card in one way or another for the past 15 years increasingly successfully.

The CPP is likely just trying to preempt the CNRP from walking down that path alone.

RTW1

Just wear a skirt and bra and you will be fine :-).

dsquared37

Somehow I think that getup will not be so endearing.

RTW1

It will make for interesting pictures though....

dsquared37

No, be afraid, be very afraid.

Goldorak

Don't worry, they do accept people wearing shorts (and I had no problem entering A. Wat or all other temples wearing one), but I believe they don't want the "very short" ones

Loren Pechtel

And what does this have to do with nude photography? They certainly weren't nude when they bought their pass, they can still take their clothes off in the temple complex.

yrs

I do think tourists ought to be sensitive to the rules and sentiments in the countries they are visiting. Most of the Asian countries do tend to be more conservative than the west.

Nudity, in public, is not permitted in the west either, AFAIK.

dsquared37

It's not a foregone conclusion that the government's claims align with the definition of the word (notwithstanding the statement about adhering to rules in Cambodia).

dsquared37

Thanks for the clarification. In this case the announced rules might well have been written directly for women.

Actually there are many public places where nudity is allowed in the west.

I do agree that tourists need to be sensitive to culture, but this is nothing more than a political positioning lark. I anticipate more to come.

downinit

Kind of ironic that the 'shameless westerners' are disgracing these complexes, given that the entire concept of body shame was imported from the west by overbearing missionaries from the very same western countries. Back when Angkor Thom was an actual city, both the men and the women wore nothing more than a strap of cloth over the genitals (with the chest exposed for males and females), as reported by Zhou Daguan, a Chinese diplomat who provided the best account of what life was like during the Khmer Empire. Much like the rest of tropical areas around the world, the concept of covering up was neither normal nor customary until the Europeans came and imposed their own beliefs. Never mind that covering up in Europe was originally made compulsory by weather, not common decency.

I am all for following local customs and traditions, but we should never ignore the real history in the name of the imposed ideology. As for me, I avoid the sun like the plague, so I am all for covering up...as a choice, not a mandate. I even purchased a stinger suit for going to the beach, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a birkini.

I was at the royal palace in Phnom Penh in 2013, and a friend of mine who was wearing a tank top with a krama (scarf) that was completely covering her shoulders was not allowed to enter. She purchase a regular t-shirt from a vendor outside and was allowed in.

MSPeconomist

How are the ticket sellers going to check whether every woman is wearing a bra or not? That seems more indecent and disrespectful than the clothes tourists wear.

BTW, my notion of a T shirt includes short sleeves (normally a few inches above the elbow) and definitely covers the upper body, although not the neck and not lower arms.

adampenrith

would you go to St Pauls, Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame, or the Vatican in what you would wear to a beach.

NO

So yes its as hot as hell in Siem Reap

BUT cover up with light fabrics and show some respect please to the local culture

In Indonesia you must wear a sarong into a temple,

Something similar is fine as long as you cover up

Surely its not that hard a thing to do.

If you want to swan around showing everyone your privates do it at a place which is acceptable like a night club or a beach