A new eight-metre-tall statue of a seahorse in Cambodia has gained popularity amongst locals and tourists alike for its resemblance to Singapore’s famous Merlion statue.
The statue overlooks and spews water into the Kampong Bay stream, just like how the Merlion spews water into the Singapore River.
Source: Amber Kampot on Facebook
Additionally, it even earned the nickname of “Singapot” — a portmanteau of “Singapore” and “Kampot”, the latter being the province the statue is in.
The statue’s inauguration took place on 10 April, ahead of the Cambodian New Year from 13 to 16 April.
According to the Khmer Times, authorities chose a seahorse for the monument as it represents the diverse biodiversity of the Kampot waters, and signifies peace and happiness.
Standing at an imposing eight metres tall, the statue overlooks the Kampong Bay river basin in the Kampot municipality, in front of the old provincial hall.
Source: @divirak on Instagram
Though the seahorse looks nothing like a half-lion-half-fish creature, there are certain aspects reminiscent of the popular Singaporean symbol.
For instance, both statues are around the same size — with the Merlion standing at 8.6 metres.
More obviously though, is the fact that both statues spew out a fountain of water.
On top of that, visitors are already posing with the statue just like tourists would in Singapore.
Source: Department of Kampot Tourism via Khmer Times and Pintrest
As it turns out, the seahorse statue comes as part of an effort to boost tourism to Kampot.
During an inspection of the statue on 9 April, the governor of the Kampot province, Mao Thonin, noted how Kampot is a vital tourist destination.
It has the potential to draw visitors from the rest of Cambodia and overseas alike.
Source: Kampot Travel Guide, for illustration purposes only.
He said that natural resources that support the tourism sector are abundant in the province.
Therefore, there must be more improvements to draw tourists which would, in turn, help the economy.
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Featured image adapted from ASEAN Urbanist on Facebook.
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