SIEM REAP: Chasing visitors around Cambodia’s Angkor temple ruins to offer his services, tour guide Bun Ratana says he has had little work since deadly clashes with Thailand broke out, despite it being high season.
The UNESCO heritage site lies in Siem Reap city, just a two-hour drive from the Thai border, which for more than two weeks has been roiled by military combat that has killed dozens.
Travel cancelations due to the conflict have left the centuries-old stone structures — Cambodia’s top tourist attraction — unusually quiet and businesses desperate.
With more than 10 canceled tours in December alone, Bun Ratana said his income has plunged by around 80 percent, to just $150, compared to the same month last year.
He blamed the renewed fighting, rooted in a border dispute dating to the colonial era.
