The Kingdom of Cambodia formerly known as Kampuchea
is a country in South East Asia with a population of
over 13 million people.
The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh.
Cambodia is the successor state of the once powerful
Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire, which ruled most of
the Indochinese Peninsula between the eleventh and fourteenth
centuries.
Cambodia is a place which conjures up images of a glorious
and mysterious past.A land of treasures it boasts it
boasts ancient temples still buried in the jungle ,hill
tribes settled in remote areas, colured pagodas, elegent
French –colonial,milesof empty pristine beaches
homes and its people are welcoming,friendly and gentle.
The country borders Thailand to its west and northwest,
Laos to its northeast, and Vietnam to its east and southeast.
In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand. The geography
of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong river Khmer:and
the Tonlé Sap an important source of fish.
Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer
empire, has distinctive styles of dance, architecture
and sculpture, which have strongly influenced neighbouring
Laos and Thailand.
The tourism industry is the country's second-greatest
source of hard currency after the textile industry.
50% of visitor arrivals are to Angkor, and most of the
remainder to Phnom Penh. Other tourist destinations
include Sihanoukville in the southeast which has several
popular beaches, and the nearby area around Kampot including
the Bokor Hill Station
Angkor Wat is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture
from the Angkorian era and hundreds of other temples
have been discovered in and around the region. The Tuol
Sleng Genocide Museum, the infamous prison of the Khmer
Rouge, and Choeung Ek, one of the main Killing Fields
are other important historic sites.
Bonn Om Teuk (Festival of Boat Racing), the annual
boat rowing contest, is the most attended Cambodian
national festival. Held at the end of the rainy season
when the Mekong river begins to sink back to its normal
levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow,
approximately 10% of Cambodia's population attends this
event each year to play games, give thanks to the moon,
watch fireworks, and attend the boat race in a carnival-type
atmosphere. Popular games include cockfighting, soccer,
and kicking a sey, which is similar to a footbag. Recent
artistic figures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and
Ros Sereysothea (and later Meng Keo Pichenda), who introduced
new musical styles to the country.
Rice, as in other Southeast Asian countries, is the
staple grain, while fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap
also form an important part of the diet. The Cambodian
per capita supply of fish and fish products for food
and trade in 2000 was 20 kilograms of fish per year
or 2 ounces per day per person.[38] Some of the
fish can be made into prahok for longer storage. Overall,
the cuisine of Cambodia is similar to that of its Southeast
Asian neighbours. The cuisine is relatively unknown
to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand
and Vietnam.
Most international visitors to Cambodia arrive by air
at either Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. An increasing number
of airlines are operating into Cambodia .
Bangkok is the easiest place to pick up a flight to
Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Flights to the capital also
fly out of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Ho Chi
Minh City, Vientiane and Guangzhou.
The major airport is 7km (4mi) west of Phnom Penh.
Air travel, bus, train, boat and taxi are all modes
of transport available to tourists in Cambodia
Cambodia's temperatures range from 10° to 38 °C
(50° to 100 °F) and experiences tropical monsoons.
Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture-laden
winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from
May to October. The northeast monsoon ushers in the
dry season, which lasts from November to March. The
country experiences the heaviest precipitation from
September to October with the driest period occurring
from January to February.
The ideal months to be in Cambodia are December and
January, when humidity is bearable, temperatures are
cooler and it's unlikely to rain. From early February
temperatures start to rise until the killer month, April,
when temperatures often exceed 40°C (104°F).
Come May and June, the southwestern monsoon brings rain
and high humidity, cooking up a sweat for all but the
hardiest of visitors.
The wet season (May-Oct), though very soggy, can be
a good time to visit Angkor, as the moats will be full
and the foliage lush - but steer clear of the northeast
regions during those months, as the going gets pretty
tough when the tracks are waterlogged.
The country's biggest festival, Bon Om Tuk, is held
in early November, and is well worth catching. Others
you might like to plan around include the water festival
in Phnom Penh, or Khmer New Year.
Cambodia Tours
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