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The South East Asian kingdom of Cambodia has as rich and as ancient a cultural heritage as its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam and it’s time travellers discovered destinations other than Pattaya, Phuket and Bali in South East Asia. Cambodia has some truly spectacular sights to see - the capital,

Phnom Penh with an old-world French colonial charm to it; and the spectacular temple complex of Angkor Wat, easily the grandest one even in this part of the world with its sprinkling of temple complexes. Cambodia has many treasures that you must come and discover for yourself!

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Cambodia is home to the spectacular temple complex Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat covers a distance of 400 sq km (including the surrounding forest) and is considered the largest pyramid structure in the entire Asian continent. Be careful about what you wear- leave skimpy clothing for the beaches; and

be doubly sure not to wear shorts, tank tops or the like when visiting shrines or temples of any kind. One last word of advice: when talking to Cambodians, don’t discuss any political issues- it’s a very sensitive topic and could ruffle some feathers.

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Historically Speaking

The highly advanced Indianised Khmer (Cambodian) culture and civilisation developed sometime between the 1st and the 6th centuries, when the country was a part of the Funan Empire, a South East Asian kingdom that dominated the region. The Khmer Empire that followed the Funan Empire lasted till the

15th century, and was Cambodia’s Golden Age- the era when the famous Angkor Wat was built, and the country became a cultural and religious power. This era ended with the Thai invasion in 1431 an event that led to 150 years of bloodshed on both sides. In the interim, European powers like the Dutch, the Spanish and the Portuguese arrived in the area, with France not far behind. By 1863, French influence grew in the area, largely due to ineffectual Cambodia rulers. Within 21 years, the French had pushed the country into a treaty whereby it became a virtual colony of France. Cambodia saw some years of unrest during the period the French were masters. After independence that came in 1953, things took a turn for the worse. Political instability eventually resulted in an army coup that ousted King Sihanouk in 1968; a year later, the country was bombed by the USA thus dragging Cambodia into the US-Vietnam war. That was the beginning of Cambodia’s bad times- 20 years of genocide, civil war and incessant strife were to follow under the regime of the communist Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge regime was the most brutal of attempts to radically transform a society. Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians were forced into hard labour, the entire educated class was liquidated; the mass slaughter reached its apex in 1978 -79 by which time, over a million Cambodians were dead. Their reign of terror continued till a breakaway faction allied with the Vietnamese to fight it out for control of the country. The ensuing civil war continued till 1993, when the Paris Peace Treaty and the subsequent UN-sponsored elections helped bring a semblance of peace to the country. It heralded the beginning of the end for the Khmer Rouge and by 1998, the Khmer Rouge had lost the little hold it had left, especially after Pol Pot’s death the same year.

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Climate

Cambodia’s climate is typically tropical- hot and humid almost all the year through. Two monsoons, the southwest and the northeast monsoons dominate the climate. The southwest monsoons bring heavy rains between May and October, while the northeast monsoons cause rain between November and March.

Broadly speaking, the northern 2/3 of the country has a longer dry season than the rest of Cambodia. Mean temperatures in much of the country- especially in the area around the Tonlé Sap basin- range between 22º C and 28º C; rainfall ranges between 100 and 190 cm annually and increases with altitude- the mountains are the wettest.

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Habitat

Cambodia has a total land area of 181,035 sq km, and very varied topography indeed. It has 354 km of coastline, much of it lined with silver beaches. Amongst the country’s most prominent feature is its water bodies- the Bassac River System, the Mekong (Cambodia’s largest river), and the Tonlé Sap

(Great Lake), which virtually sits in the middle of the country. Three quarters of Cambodia consist of the Central Plains, which are surrounded by the highlands: the thickly forested areas of the Elephant Mountains, the Cardamom Mountains and the Dangrek Mountains. Towards the northeast lie the Eastern Mountains. The country is a picturesque one with its paddy fields, dense hardwood forests, lakes and river deltas and pretty rural villages of thatched huts and palm trees. Despite deforestation, a large portion of the land is still covered by dense tropical jungles; along the coastal areas are mangrove swamps hosting an impressive array of wildlife. Major environmental problems facing Cambodia include deforestation; destruction of the habitat due to gem mining; destruction of the mangrove swamps; and soil erosion.

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