Expatriate Takes on Challenge of Compiling Road Atlas

In some countries, compiling a road atlas is a simple matter—per­haps as simple as sending an e-mail to public works offices  across the country to ask for up­dates on computerized maps.

But this is Cambodia, and the wilderness and rough terrain that make bold people want to jump on big motorcycles and venture down jungle trails also turns such a project into a major, if not unrealistic, task.

Nonetheless, Cambodge Nou­veau has published just this month a road atlas that not only contains maps, but also describes the state of Cambodia’s roads and explains what drivers can expect along the way. The text is in French and English, with landmarks on maps written in Khmer script as well as in romanized Khmer. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start, editor in chief Alain Gascuel said.

The atlas—which has nothing to do with the economy and fin­ance newsletter he has been publishing twice a month in French since 1994—came out of Gas­cuel’s wishing he had a good map when he travels.

“I have a nice, old Jeep that I man­age to keep running, in be­tween breakdowns, with which I like to ride around the country,” he explained.

Gascuel, who served as a war correspondent for French newspapers in Vietnam and Cambodia in the early 1970s, thought of two groups of people who would ap­preciate a road atlas as much as he would: Tourists who want to venture outside of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville during their stay, and expatriates living in Cambodia who want to ex­plore remote areas of the country.

He first contacted the Ministry of Public Works and Trans­por­tation, where he was given ac­cess to maps on file.

“The Road Directorate has a vast collection, which includes military maps from the French administration era, and maps produced by various countries over the last 30 years,” he said. “They are updated on a regular basis by the ministry’s cartographers.”

From these, Gascuel and Ste­phane Masse, a computer-graphic artist from Art Studio in Phnom Penh, compiled a map. Then, the field work began. Gascuel en­rolled friends and colleagues throughout the country to help him check the state of roads.

“They were tested between Oc­tob­er and mid-December 2002,” he said.

This led to surprises. For ex­ample, on maps National Route 76a clearly extends north of Ta­veng in Rata­nakkiri province. In fact, the road past Taveng “is a car­to­grapher’s wish on paper,” and nothing but jungle in reality, Gas­cuel said. On the other hand, the road between Koh Kong province and Veal Veng district in Pursat prov­ince did not appear on maps, he said. Checking roads at the end of the rainy season led to some inaccuracies, Gascuel said. The atlas de­scribes the road between Siem Reap and Sisophon as being ex­cellent for the first 28 km outside of Siem Reap, but becoming al­most impassable in wet season.

This is illustrated with a photo of vehicles stuck in the mud that was taken last October. The atlas says that it can take 10 hours to cover the distance by car and four hours by motorcycle.

The road was repaired toward the end of the year and now takes just two hours to cover the distance, Gascuel said. This is why he intends to publish an updated version next year.

“The road system is changing very fast in the country,” he said.

On the credit page of the atlas, he is asking people to let him know of any changes on new or existing roads.

Since the 45-page book came out, Gascuel has received so many phone calls from people wanting the latest road information that he has started printing updates in Cambodge Nouveau.

The Cambodia Road Atlas 2003 was printed on thick, glossy paper that can sustain dirt and an occasional downpour incurred during a motorcycle ride, he said.

 

 

 

 

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