Thai princess gets $40,000 toilet built for her 3-day visit to Cambodia

Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visits neighbouring Cambodia on Monday, but it's her new toilet that's making the news.

Over the weekend, Cambodian officials told local reporters that an outhouse overlooking the Yeak Lom Lake has been built for the royal visit, at a cost of over $40,000.

The princess is the second daughter of Thailand's reigning King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The average Cambodian factory worker earns about $140 a month, but in the rural province of Ratanakiri that the princess is visiting, income levels certainly dip below that.

It's not clear if Cambodia or Thailand is paying for the indulgence, but Cambodia Daily says the air-conditioned 8 square-metre toilet was built by Thai firm, Siam Cement Group, and that it was requested by the princess. The construction firm took 19 days to build the toilet, and flew in everything -- contractors, 10 labourers and materials -- from Thailand for it.

Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn  visits a museum in Peshawar on March 21 2012. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

And when the princess leaves Cambodia after three days, the toilet will go with her. A manager at SCG told The Guardian: "Normal people can't use a [royal] toilet."

"Normal people can't use a [royal] toilet."

The building will be converted into an office for Cambodian government workers to use once she's gone.

While it seems only Thai hands will touch the princess's toilet, the firm relied on Cambodian labourers for several of the other more modest toilets built for her delegation.

Over their three day visit, the princess and her party are to dine by the lake, and Pierre-Yves Clais, the French owner of a luxury resort lodge in the province, has been tasked with organising their banquet. Menu items include foie gras, French-style pancakes and fish cooked in butter sauce.

While the princess and her delegation will be treated to modern pleasures on their visit, people in Ratanakiri's rural community live a starkly contrasting life. According to the World Toilet Organization, 69% of Cambodians living in rural parts of the country still have to practice open defecation, because they don't have access to basic sanitation or toilets. This is the highest rate in East Asia and the Pacific.

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