via Phnom Penh Post, 02 September 2020: It looks like Bali’s Gates of Heaven, but its actually a foam reproduction of a Khmer temple split into two. All for the ‘gram I suppose.
The owner of the River Grass restaurant in Kampong Cham province has been asked to dismantle an artificial statue of the Nokor Bachey Temple’s tower that was made of foam and differed from the original design.
The request came from the provincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts and the owner did not object.
Culture and Fine Arts director Soeung Phearum told The Post on Wednesday his department, along with the provincial tourism department and the heritage police inspected the model before deciding it should be taken down.
Phearum said the artificial statue had a different shape from the original Khmer style and was divided into two parts.
For this reason, restaurant owner Peng Chhun was asked to cooperate to protect, preserve and promote the national cultural heritage. He was asked to completely dismantle the piece within three days.
As a foreign tourist now, and someone who has lived in that area for 6 years in the past, I think the outrage against the “reproduction” is mis-directed. I do understand that local people might be offended by this foam imitation, but it could also be an inspiration for tourists who 1) completely understand that it is an imitation (they’re not all stupid people, and would be explained by a paragraph of writing on the menu), and 2) that the sight inspires them to seek out the original and learn more about the indigenous history and culture, which would be a good thing, not something bad.