SHINTA MANI PHOTO CONTEST

Keen snappers could win a three-night stay at Shinta Mani Club, $500 worth of camera vouchers and various other goodies thanks to the Imagine Cambodia photo competition, running until November 15.

The competition is the brainchild of Shinta Mani general manager Christian de Boer who told reporter Miranda Glasser, “The goal is really quite simple. It’s about creating an interest in Cambodia, the magic of the kingdom, through photography. All kinds of angles, all kinds of things that together make Cambodia – all those pictures will collectively help to set Cambodia on the map as being a tourist destination. Still, too often, people are nervous about coming here. Through pictures we can change that and show a different side of Cambodia.”

Anyone can enter the competition, whether they live in Cambodia or not. Submitted photos are uploaded to Shinta Mani’s Facebook page and the photograph with the most ‘likes’ wins.

“There are some really, really stunning pictures up there already,” says De Boer. “There’s one which is a very close-up shot of a face that is beautiful. An elderly lady in a traditional kroma, really close-up on her wrinkles, you can see the smile in her eyes.”

The most popular photo wins a three-night stay at Shinta Mani Club, dinner for two at AHA restaurant, a massage at Shinta Mani Spa and $500 worth of vouchers for camera equipment, while the top ten pictures will be exhibited at the Ninth Angkor Photo Festival in late November. The festival is supporting the competition and De Boer says, “Now we’ve teamed up with the photo festival so it’s a professional jury and the top ten pictures will get exposure at the festival. So it’s quite a feat to be up there.”

Photos can be emailed to: [email protected].

TEDDY BEAR PUSH

The Le Méridien Angkor hotel continues last year’s successful Teddy Bear fundraiser for Kantha Bopha Foundation's Jayavarman VII Children's Hospital. From now until January 6 next year, guests and the public can buy a cute teddy bear for $15 at the hotel gift shop. Buyers will be given a card to write best wishes and have a choice whether to keep or to give the teddy bear to the children. Le Méridien will present the money raised and teddy bears to the hospital at the end of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Le Meridien Angkor was voted as Cambodia's Leading Spa Resort in the 2013 World Travel Awards winner announced at the Anantara Dubai T Palm Resort and Spa on October 1. Cambodia’s three winners all came from Siem Reap. Prince D'Angkor Hotel and Spa came in as Cambodia’s Leading Hotel, and Angkor Century Resort and Spa was declared Cambodia’s Leading Resort – a rather unusual result given the magnificence of several other resorts in town.

SHORTS

Beaut Blues Bloke: Legendary Aussie blue and root guitarist Phil Manning is visiting the Kingdom for the fourth time this month. And the really good news is that he’ll be performing at FCC Siem Reap on Saturday evening October 19.

Sala Bai Bulletin: The new communications manager of Sala Bai, Mayell Barbier, advises that the organisation will open its training hotel and restaurant for a new training year on October 14. The restaurant will be open from Monday to Friday for breakfast and lunch.

CharityNight Success: According to reports from the recent il Forno charity night, “The fundraising was fantastic, the auctioneer spectacular and almost$7, 000 was raised.” The success of the night was deemed, “beyond expectation.”

Taipei Flights: TransAsia Airways will stop running its three-times-a-week flights from Taipei to Siem Reap. Instead, from October 31 onwards, it will fly the route every four days.