Cambodia
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Cambodia: History, Culture & Economy
July 31, 2010 by A'Keiba Burrell
The Kingdom of Cambodia, formerly known as Kampuchea, derived from the Indian language of Sanskrit Kambujadesa (कम्बोजदेश)), is a country in Southeast Asia that borders Thailand to the west and northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the south. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong River (or “the great river”) and the Tonlé Sap (“the fresh water lake”).
The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni as king who has reigned since 2004. Phnom Penh is the kingdom’s capital and largest city, and is the center of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities. Siem Reap, a city located near the famous ruins of Angkor Wat is the gateway to the Angkor region, and is Cambodia’s main destination for tourism. Battambang, the largest city in western Cambodia, is known for its rice production, and Sihanoukville, a coastal city, is the primary sea port and beach resort.
Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi) and a population of over 14 million ethnic Khmer. A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as “Cambodian” or “Khmer”, though they strictly refer to ethnic Khmers. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists, but the country also have a minority number o fMuslim Cham, as well as ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and small animist hill tribes.
Agriculture has long been the most…
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The Killing Fields: An Uneasy Feeling Cycling Cambodia
July 26, 2010 by Claire Rogers
After 35 years, the first Khmer Rouge mass murderer has been convicted in Cambodia. We’ve all heard of the killing fields of Cambodia, when the Khmer Rouge murdered between one and two million other Cambodians. It was one of the worst periods of mass murder in history. It was the Chinese Cultural Revolution gone crazy. The Khmer Rouge, in attempting to bring about an agrarian utopian society, sought out and murdered anyone with an education, and anyone associated with them.
I remember following news reports of the carnage in this far away land, and wondering how such a thing could happen in a society. After Claire and I bicycled the length of Cambodia near the end of our In Search of Shangri-la tour, I am even more puzzled, and not a little disconcerted.
While the Cambodians are not as laid back as Lao, or as industrious as Vietnamese, they were friendly. Though not as outwardly happy as the irrepressible Lao, they were reasonably outgoing. And yet, some of the older Cambodians we saw must surely have been murderers. The Khmer Rouge were peasants, and we traveled through the rural countryside at twelve miles per hour, bought food from them at…
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Photo of the Week – Cambodia
March 4, 2010 by Sherry Ott
Oodles of Noodles
Siem Reap, Cambodia
On the streets of Siem Reap, this mother gave a helping hand. The young girl would have rather been playing, but she had to eat lunch instead! I had a fun day exploring the city realizing that Angkor Wat is just one of many great things to photograph!
View more Siem Reap Photography
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Can geotourism go mainstream?
February 2, 2010 by Chris Gray Faust
“Geotourism” – defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place – has been a buzzword in the travel industry for several years now. It’s hard to know exactly what the term means, however, unless you see the companies that are putting such practices into action.
And that’s what National Geographic’s annual Geotourism Change Summit tries to accomplish.
The “Yum Yum Spider” Incident
January 31, 2010 by Linh Vien Thai
I thought it was something like a “Blooming Onion.” It wasn’t. I found out the hard way at a Cambodian rest stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere. All day long the rickety bus roared down the dusty roads. We passed beautiful farmland, small hamlets, and the occasional town. The driver drove like Mad Max.
I’m on holiday in Cambodia. We’ve been traveling overland from Vietnam and had crossed the border and made a brief stop in Phnom Phenh earlier in the day. Now I’m on my way to Siem Riep and I want to see the ruins of Angkor.I’ll write more about this road trip in another excerpt, but today It’s my “Yum Yum Spider Incident.”
Back to the bus. The screech jolted us to a full halt which then followed by the driver muttering indecipherable words, fingers to indicate numbers, and then a gesture to his watch. 15 to 20 minutes sounded like enough time to venture out of this death trap and off the endangered species list for just a little while longer.
I looked out the bus window and a tray of food walked passed me. It…
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Adventurous eater? Then you’ll love these unusual Cambodian delicacies!
June 19, 2009 by Erin Kiskis
Snake
Photo courtesy of flickr: silverroses69
You’ll often come across barbecued or grilled snake, often on a stick, in the markets of Cambodia. Apparently so many snakes are killed to either feed crocodiles or humans that many are endangered now.
Durian
Photo courtesy of flickr: Mayu;P
The flavour and odour of the Durian fruit is so strong it’s the kind of thing you either love or hate. I’m definitely in the latter category but you can’t deny the passion a lot of locals have for this fruit. Although it is even banned from transportation and some hotels in parts of southeast Asia because some find the odour offensive. It certainly permeates everything in the vicinity. It is native to Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei but found widely in Cambodia, and I even came across durian icecream in Phnom Penh.
Bamboo Rice
Photo courtesy of flickr: xispo
Sticky rice is common around Indochina and a really good snack for eating on a long bus journey or boat trip if you don’t want to try anything too exotic. It’s also pretty filling. In Cambodia it seems they cook…
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