T
hehumidityis risingonthejungle
floor,andsois theadrenaline.What
startedasexcitementat thebaseof
a towerthrustingintothecanopy
teetersnow,at thetop,towardsfear.
Themostanticipatednewresort
inAsiainthepastyearhasa check-inprocedurelike
noother.Toenterthejungle-campfantasyofShinta
ManiWild,a travellerfliestotheCambodiancapital
ofPhnomPenh,drivesthreehours,thenjumpson
a war-eraJeepfora shorttransitintothesouth-west
wilderness.Hiddeninthejungleis theaforementioned
tower– climbit,throwonhelmetandharness,andrun
rightoffthatedge.Myfirstexperienceofzip-liningis
inthisgreenvoid,hurtlingalonga 380-metreline.The
treetopsseemclose;theriverfarbelow.There’sa giddy
pauseonthepenultimateplatform,thenI takethe
plungeagain,hurlingmyselfovera waterfallandtowards
thebar,aptlynamedtheLandingZone,andintothe
armsofthecamp’sgeneralmanager,SangjayChoegyal,
whounzipshisguestsfromthezip-lineandhandsthem
a drink.There’sa moreconventionalwaytocheckin,
ofcourse,buttheslugoftequilainthepineappleand
bay-leafsodaonarrivalwon’tseemsoindispensable.
Fromaerialarrivaltoanti-poachingpatrols
withrangers,orchid-huntingtofly-fishingwith
gibbons,BensleyCollection– ShintaManiWildis
builtforadventureandextravagantfun,butalsowith
uncommonpurpose.Thestorybeginsin 2010 whenthe
prolificresortdesigner,BillBensley,andhisCambodian
businesspartner,SokounChanpreda,bidat government
auctionandboughta 350-hectareloggingconcession
surroundedbythreenationalparksinsouth-west
Cambodia,a highlyvulnerableplotdeepwithinthe
lastrelativelyintactwildernessareainSoutheastAsia.
Bensleydescribesit asa “buy-first-think-latermoment”.
“Wehadnointentionsofdestroyingit,”hesays,“but
withouta clearvisionofwhattodowithit.”
Onfrequentexpeditionsinthenextfewyearsthey
discoveredtheextentofillegallogging,miningand
heavypoachingontheirplotandinthesurrounding
Kirirom,BokorandCardamomparks.Thewildidea
ofbuildinga remote“high-yield,low-impact”camp
tookshape,withtheprimaryaimoffundingthe
protectionandconservationoftheforest.
BensleyandChanpredahavebeenat thevanguard
ofsustainabletourisminCambodiasincetheearly
2000s,whenChanpredaopeneda hospitalityschool
inthegroundsofhisShintaManiAngkorhotelin
SiemReap.ThatschoolgrewintotheShintaMani
Foundation,nowwithprogramsspanningeducation,
micro-financeandhealthcare.Thefoundation’s
runningcostsarecoveredbytheownersandtheirfour
ShintaManihotels,andbydonationsfromguests.
AtShintaMani’slatestproject,thejunglecamp
funds a ranger station on the property, managedby➤ShintaManiWildtent
interiors.Clockwise
fromtopright:an
outdoorbathtub;
antiquemirrorand
vintageluggage,all
atShintaManiWild.
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