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<\/p>\nCambodia promises a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences to the intrepid traveller. Your heart will race at Angkor Wat, one of the world’s greatest achievements, only to haltingly derail when faced with the impact of humankind’s darkest moments. After two decades of war and…<\/p>\n
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A vibrant culture, charming people, jaw-dropping sights…Cambodia is kicking!You’ve trusted your eyes your whole life, but visit Cambodia and you just may start doubting them.<\/p>\n
How else to explain the unthinkable splendour of the 9th- to 13th-century Khmer temples, the tropical islands with barely a beach hut in sight and the untold adventures lurking in northern forests?<\/p>\n
Cambodia promises a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences to the intrepid traveller. Your heart will race at Angkor Wat, one of the world’s greatest achievements, only to haltingly derail when faced with the impact of humankind’s darkest moments. After two decades of war and isolation, only now is Cambodia truly starting to recover from the Khmer Rouge’s genocidal 1975-79 rule.<\/p>\n
Cambodia: When to Go<\/p>\n
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\u00b0C (104\u00b0F). Come May and June, the southwestern monsoon brings rain and high humidity, cooking up a sweat for all but the hardiest of visitors.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Weather<\/p>\n
From December to April the climate in Cambodia is at its driest with abundant sunshine and temperatures often reaching 40\u00baC (104\u00baF) in April, the hottest month. The humid southwestern monsoon from May to October sees rain fall mostly in the afternoon, accounting for 70-80% of annual rainfall. The highest temperatures around this time average just above the 30\u00baC mark (around 88\u00baF).<\/p>\n
Cambodia: Events<\/p>\n
Chaul Chnam Chen (Lunar New Year) is celebrated by ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese in late January or early February. The Chaul Chnam (Khmer New Year) celebrations bring the country to a standstill for three days in mid-April – a fair amount of water and talcum powder gets thrown around at this time, so it’s a lively but noncontemplative time to visit. Chat Preah Nengkal, the Royal Ploughing Festival, takes place near the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh in early May. The Khmer calendar’s most important festival is Bon Om Tuk in early November, celebrating Jayavarman VII’s great naval victory over the Chams in 1181 and the end of the wet season – it’s a very busy time to visit Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Banks, ministries and embassies are closed during all public holidays and festivals.<\/p>\n
Public Holidays:January 1 – New Year’s DayJanuary 7 – Victory Over the GenocideMarch 8 – Women’s DayApril 13 – Khmer New YearMay 1 – Labour DayMay 1 – International Children’s Day13-15 May – King Sihamoni’s BirthdaySeptember 24 – Constitution DayOctober 23 – Paris Peace AccordsOctober 30 – King’s BirthdayNovember 9 – Independence DayDecember 10 – Human Rights Day<\/p>\n
Cambodia: Sights<\/p>\n
Bokor National Park
\nAddress Kampot Transport motorcycle
\ncar Keyword national park, forest, waterfall, ruin One of Cambodia’s premier protected areas, Bokor National Park clings to the southern tip of the Elephant Mountains. Besides a refreshingly cool climate, the park possesses secluded waterfalls, commanding ocean views, an abandoned and eerie French hill station (elevation 1080m\/3543ft) and exceedingly elusive animals like tigers and elephants.<\/p>\n
At great financial and human expense (many indentured labourers perished in the process), the French forged a road into the area in the first quarter of the 20th century. A small community was created and soon the grand colonial hotel, known as Bokor Palace, was inaugurated in 1925. The hill station was twice abandoned: first in the late 1940s when the Vietnamese and Khmer Issarak (Free Khmer) forces overran it while fighting for independence against the French, and again in the early 1970s when it was left to the invading Khmer Rouge. It now has a genuine ghost-town feel, especially when thick mists envelope the skeletons of the original structures.<\/p>\n
Killing Fields of Choeung Ek
\nAddress Phnom Penh Transport motorcycle taxi
\nbicycle Hours 07:00 – 17:30 Keyword monument, cemetery Rising amid 129 mass graves (43 of which remain untouched) is a blinding white stupa memorialising the approximately 17,000 people executed here by the Khmer Rouge between mid-1975 and December 1978. Displayed on shelves behind the stupa’s glass panels are over 8000 skulls found during excavations here in 1980 – a moving reminder of Cambodia’s dark past.<\/p>\n
Some of the skulls still bear witness to the fact that their owners were bludgeoned to death for the sake of saving precious bullets. Certainly, wandering to sounds of joyful children playing at a nearby school and spotting human bone and clothing poking from the churned ground startlingly brings home the striking contrast of Cambodia today to the dark abyss of its recent past.<\/p>\n
Kirirom National Park
\nAddress Phnom Penh Phone tel: (023) 214409 (info) Transport car
\nmotorcycle Email mlup@online.com.kh Keyword national park Set amid elevated pine forests, Kirirom National Park offers some small waterfalls and decent walking trails. Hook up with a ranger for a 2hr hike up to Phnom Dat Chivit (End of the World Mountain) where an abrupt cliff-face offers an unbroken view of the western mountain ranges.<\/p>\n
It’s one of the few national parks to have a community tourism programme and proceeds from its educational walks are pumped back into the community.<\/p>\n
Phnom Sontuk
\nAddress Kompong Thom Transport car
\nmotorcycle taxi Keyword religious\/spiritual, religious\/spiritual, mountain Phnom Sontuk is the most important holy mountain in Cambodia’s northwest and the hillside is decorated with images of Buddha and a series of pagodas. It’s set high above the surrounding countryside, meaning there are a lot of stairs to climb – 980 in fact. They wind their way up through a forest and emerge at a colourful pagoda with many small shrines.<\/p>\n
There are a number of interesting sandstone boulders balanced around the wat (temple), into which images of Buddha have been carved. Just beneath the southern summit of the mountain are several large reclining Buddhas – some modern incarnations cast in cement, others carved into the mountain itself centuries ago. There is an active wat on the mountain and the local monks are always interested in receiving foreign tourists.<\/p>\n
Temples of Angkor
\nAddress Siem Reap Transport car
\nbicycle
\nwater taxi
\nmini-bus Keyword religious\/spiritual, religious\/spiritual, forest, architectural highlight Prepare for divine inspiration! The temples of Angkor, capital of Cambodia’s ancient Khmer empire, are a perfect fusion of creative ambition and spiritual devotion. The Cambodian god-kings of old each strove to top their ancestors in size, scale and symmetry, culminating in the world’s largest religious building, Angkor Wat, and one of its weirdest, the Bayon.<\/p>\n
The hundreds of temples surviving today are the sacred skeleton of the vast political, religious and social centre of an empire that stretched from Burma to Vietnam and which, at its zenith, boasted a population of one million.<\/p>\n
The temples of Angkor are the heart and soul of the Kingdom of Cambodia, a source of inspiration and national pride to all Khmers as they struggle to rebuild their lives after years of terror and trauma. Today, they are a point of pilgrimage for all Cambodians, and no traveller to the region will want to miss their extravagant beauty.<\/p>\n
Cambodia: Money & Costs<\/p>\n
Cambodia’s currency is the riel. Its second currency (some would say its first) is the US dollar, which is accepted everywhere and by everyone, though change may arrive in riel. Dollar bills with a small tear are unlikely to be accepted by Cambodians, so it’s worth scrutinising the change you’re given to make sure you don’t have bad bills. In the west of the country, the Thai baht (B) is also commonplace. If three currencies seems a little excessive, perhaps it’s because the Cambodians are making up for lost time: during the Pol Pot era, the country had no currency. The Khmer Rouge abolished money and blew up the National Bank building in Phnom Penh.<\/p>\n
It can be difficult to change travellers’ cheques outside Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Battambang and Kompong Cham. Cash advances on credit cards are available in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and Battambang, but charges are high. Otherwise, there are now ATMs in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and Battambang.<\/p>\n
Tipping is not expected in Cambodia, but salaries are very low and any gratuities for good service will be gratefully accepted. Bargaining is the rule in markets, when hiring vehicles and sometimes even when taking a room, but you won’t need to be as forceful as you would in Thailand or Vietnam.
\nCurrency
\nName Riel
\nSymbol CR Sample Price Guide
\nhotel room with air-con US$ 8.00-20.00 restaurant meal US$ 2.00-6.00 newspaper CR 1200 Angkor temples entrance fee US$ 20.00 Internet access per minute US$ 0.50-1.50 Krama (scarf) CR 3000 litre of petrol CR 3000 litre of water CR 500-2000 large bottle of Angkor beer US$ 1.50-2.50 noodle soup CR 2000-4000 souvenir t-shirt US$ 2.00 Average Room Prices
\nLow Mid High
\nUS$2-15 US$10-25 US$25+
\nAverage Meal Prices
\nLow Mid High
\nUS$2-3 US$3-5 US$5+<\/p>\n
Cambodia: Getting there & around<\/p>\n
Getting There
\nBangkok 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. There are also budget airlines connecting Cambodia with Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The major airport is 7km (4mi) west of Phnom Penh. You can catch a taxi to the centre relatively cheaply, and the even cheaper motos charge per passenger. Be prepared to pay a departure tax when you leave. The land route will be vastly improved when the road linking Phnom Penh with the Thai border at Poipet is upgraded, but there are no firm plans to improve the diabolical road to Siem Reap. A combination of boats and buses will eventually ferry you from Thailand’s Trat Province to the coastal town of Krong Koh Kong. Buses and shared taxis will get you to Vietnam’s entry point at Moc Bai. The land border with Laos opened briefly but has since closed.<\/p>\n
Getting Around
\nFlying is the quickest (and of course most expensive) way of getting to places like Angkor and Ratanakiri. Road travel is safer than it’s been for years, and most of the main roads are now in pretty good shape thanks to international assistance. Train travel is just about possible if you negotiate a space on a cargo service – but the journey will take much longer than by bus. With some 1900km (1180mi) of navigable waterways to utilise, boats play a major role in getting around. The most popular services operate between the capital and Siem Reap – the express service cuts the journey time down to a mere five hours. An effective local bus network makes travel to sights around Phnom Penh much easier than driving, particularly as cars can only be hired with a driver – and when you look at some of the country’s highways from hell, perhaps that’s all for the best. Taxis are more common in the cities these days, and cyclos and motos (small motorcycles) can be flagged down for short hops.<\/p>\n
Cambodia: History<\/p>\n
Pre-20th-Century History
\nVery little is known about prehistoric Cambodia, although archeological evidence has established that prior to 1000 BC Cambodians subsisted on a diet of fish and rice and lived in houses on stilts, as they still do today. From the 1st to the 6th centuries, much of Cambodia belonged to the southeast Asian kingdom of Funan, which played a vital role in developing the political institutions, culture and art of later Khmer states. However, it was the Angkorian era, beginning in 802, that really transformed the kingdom into a political, cultural and spiritual powerhouse.<\/p>\n
Forces of the Thai kingdom of Ayudhya sacked Angkor in 1431, leaving the Khmers plagued by dynastic rivalries and continual warfare with the Thais for a century and a half. The Spanish and Portuguese, who had recently become active in the region, also played a part in these wars until resentment of their power led to the massacre of the Spanish garrison at Phnom Penh in 1599. A series of weak kings ruled from 1600 until the French arrived in 1863. After some gunboat diplomacy and the signing of a treaty of protectorate in 1863, the French went on to force King Norodom to sign another treaty, this time turning his country into a virtual colony in 1884.<\/p>\n
Modern History
\nFollowing the arrival of the French, a relatively peaceful period followed (even the peasant uprising of 1916 was considered peaceful). In 1941 the French installed 19-year-old Prince Norodom Sihanouk on the Cambodian throne, on the assumption that he would prove suitably pliable. This turned out to be a major miscalculation as the years after 1945 were strife-torn, with the waning of French colonial power aided by the proximity of the Franco-Viet Minh War that raged in Vietnam and Laos. Cambodian independence was eventually proclaimed in 1953, the enigmatic King Sihanouk going on to dominate national politics for the next 15 years before being overthrown by the army.<\/p>\n
In 1969 the United States carpet-bombed suspected communist base camps in Cambodia, killing thousands of civilians and dragging the country unwillingly into the US-Vietnam conflict. Sihanouk was overthrown in a military coup in March 1970 and his successor General Lon Nol moved closer to the Americans. Sihanouk forged an alliance with the Khmer Rouge communists and the small guerrilla force swelled to an army of thousands in a matter of weeks. American and south Vietnamese troops invaded the country to eradicate Vietnamese communist forces but were unsuccessful; they did manage, however, to push the Vietnamese and their Khmer Rouge allies further into the country’s interior. Savage fighting soon engulfed the entire country, with Phnom Penh falling to the Khmer Rouge in April 1975.<\/p>\n
Over the next four years the Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot’s leadership, systematically killed an estimated two million Cambodians (targeting the educated in particular) in a brutal bid to turn Cambodia into a Maoist, peasant-dominated agrarian cooperative. Currency was abolished, postal services were halted, the population became a work force of slave labourers and the country was almost entirely cut off from the outside world. Responding to recurring armed incursions into their border provinces, Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978, forcing the Khmer Rouge to flee to the relative sanctuary of the jungles along the Thai border. From there, they conducted a guerrilla war against the Vietnamese-backed government throughout the late 1970s and ’80s.<\/p>\n
In mid-1993, UN-administered elections led to a new constitution and the reinstatement of Norodom Sihanouk as king. The Khmer Rouge boycotted the elections, rejected peace talks and continued to buy large quantities of arms from the Cambodian military leadership. In the months following the election, a government-sponsored amnesty secured the first defections from Khmer ranks, with more defections occurring from 1994 when the Khmer Rouge was finally outlawed by the Cambodian government.<\/p>\n
The uneasy coalition of Prince Ranariddh’s Funcinpec and Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party fell violently apart in July 1997, and when the dust settled Hun Sen assumed sole leadership of Cambodia. Elections in mid-98 returned Hun Sen to this position, despite grumbling from opposition candidates about dodgy electoral practices. While his democratic credentials are far from impressive, the one-eyed strong man has proved to be something of a stabilising force for Cambodia.<\/p>\n
Pol Pot’s death in April 1998 from an apparent heart attack was greeted with anger (that he was never brought to trial) and scepticism (he has been reported dead many times before). The UN has pulled out of trials of other surviving top level Khmer Rouge leaders on war crimes charges because the independence of the tribunals is doubtful.<\/p>\n
Recent History
\nFuture stability is tied to improving the country’s long-suffering economy, eradicating the entrenched culture of corruption and impunity, reducing the size of the military and creating a democracy that is more than just a ballot.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party won elections in 2003, but political stalemate lasted until June 2004, when Hun Sen found a coalition partner and could resume his prime ministership. In October 2004, King Sihanouk announced his intention to abdicate on account of ill health and annoyance at the country’s political infighting. He was succeeded by his son King Sihamoni. Defamation was used as a political tool by the CPP government to clamp down on opposition activity during 2005. 2006 witnessed a turnaround and reconciliation of sorts between Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy, while the royalist party Funcinpec imploded with infighting. With elections coming up in 2008, it looks set to be a two-way fight between the CPP and Sam Rainsy.<\/p>\n