| Highlights |
Recovering from decades of civil war, Cambodia is enjoying something of a cultural renaissance, with an exploding economy that has helped it become one of the highlights of South East Asia. Spectacular Khmer architecture, fine arts, temples and pagodas are just some of the highlights, along with learning about the fascinating, if harrowing, recent history of the country under the Khmer Rouge regime. You can encounter awe inspiring historical remains at the world famous Angkor Wat, take an elephant ride, laze on deserted tropical islands in the south, eat exotic, never-before-seen fruits and drink fresh coconut juice.
Since the ousting of the Pol Pot regime, many aspects of Khmer cultural life have revived. The famed National Ballet has been recreated, Buddhist temples have re-opened. The interrogation centre of the Pol Pot regime in Phnom Penh is now the chilling Toul Sleng Museum of Genocide. Other attractions in the capital are the Royal Palace, with its famous Silver Pavilion, and the National Museum of Khmer Art. River cruises operate on the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers near the capital. Angkor Wat, built to honour the Hindu god Vishnu, is often hailed as one of the most extraordinary architectural creations ever built, with its intricate bas relieves, strange acoustics and magnificent soaring towers. Don't miss nearby riverside Siem Reap. Oudong, 30 km (19 miles) from Phnom Penh, is located on a hill overlooking vast plains and is famous for the burial chides of the Khmer kings. Tonle Bati has interesting ruins and makes an excellent picnic spot. The Municipal Theatre in Phnom Penh stages performances, and classical Cambodian music and dance, performed by students, can be seen at the Fine Arts School in Phnom Penh. Antiques, woodcarvings, papier mache masks, brass figurines, Kramas (checked scarves), material for sarongs and hols, and items and jewellery made of gold, silver and precious stones are Cambodia's best buys. The Central Market, Tuol Tom Pong Market, Old Market and the Bijouterie D'Etat (State Jewellery Shop) are the best places for buying jewellery.
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| History |
Little is known of the early history of Cambodia, although there is evidence of habitation in parts of the country as far back as 4000BC. It is also known that Chinese and Indian traders exchanged goods with people living on the coasts of present-day Cambodia and Vietnam in the early AD centuries.
According to Chinese chroniclers, a kingdom known as 'Funan' flourished between AD300 and AD600. A dynasty founded by the prince Jayavarman, possibly descended from the rulers of Funan, ruled from settlements in the eastern part of the country between around AD790 and the 11th century. Cambodian power spread westwards during this period into parts of Thailand.
The golden era of the Khmer dynasty, from the 9th to the 15th centuries, made the kingdom of Kambuja (from where modern-day Cambodia gets its name) one of the most powerful in Asia. A long period of decline followed, before the country fell under French colonial clutches in the 1800s. Whilst Khmer is the main language today, French was spoken until the arrival of the Pol Pot regime and is still used by those of the older generation now.
Independence was finally achieved in 1953, after which Norodom Sihanouk was appointed king. His first reign lasted until the 1970s, when a coup d'etat and the Khmer Rouge led to years of repression and the execution of tens of thousands.
The Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot implemented one of the most radical and brutal restructurings of a society ever attempted; its goal was to transform Cambodia into a peasant-dominated agrarian cooperative. Within days of coming to power the entire population of Phnom Penh and provincial towns, including the sick, elderly and infirm, was forced to march into the countryside and work as slaves for 12 to 15 hours a day. Hundreds of thousands of people were executed, while hundreds of thousands more died of famine and disease. Meals consisted of little more than watery rice porridge twice a day. Disobedience of any sort often brought immediate execution. The advent of Khmer Rouge rule was proclaimed Year Zero. Currency was abolished and postal services were halted. The country cut itself off from the outside world.
On 25 December 1978 Vietnam launched a full-scale invasion of Cambodia, toppling the Pol Pot government two weeks later. Following a period of Vietnamese occupation, Cambodia reemerged several years later within a socialistic sphere of influence as the People's Republic of Kampuchea until 1993 when, after years of isolation, the war-ravaged nation was reunited under the monarchy, with Sihanouk as King.
His son, the current monarch, took over following his father's abdication in 2004. In recent years, reconstruction efforts have progressed and led to some political stability in the form of a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.
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| Geography |
Cambodia shares borders in the north with Laos and Thailand, in the east with Vietnam and in the Southwest with the Gulf of Thailand. The landscape comprises tropical rainforest and fertile cultivated land traversed by many rivers. In the Northeast there are highlands. The capital is located at the junction of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. The latter flows from a large inland lake, also called Tonle Sap, situated in the centre of the country. There are also numerous offshore islands along the Southwest coast.
Cambodia has a typical monsoon climate and the monsoon season is from May to October. In the north winters can be colder, while throughout most of the country temperatures remain fairly constant.
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