About Cambodia

Geography
Cambodia is located in south-east Asia bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand and Vietnam. It occupies a total area of 181,040 sq km of which 176,520 sq km is on land. The country has a 2,572 km long land boundary and 443 km of coastline. Cambodia has a tropical climate - rainy, monsoon season from May to October and dry season from December to March. The terrain is mostly low, flat plains with mountains in the south-west and north. Natural resources include timber, gemstones, manganese, phosphates and hydropower potential.

People
Cambodia has a total population of 9,898,900 (July 1993 est.). Nationals of Cambodia are known as Cambodian(s). The primary ethnic group is Khmer (90%) and the predominant religion is Theravada Buddhism (95%). Khmer (official) and French are spoken.

Government
Cambodia is administered by the Royal Government of Cambodia after an internationally supervised election in 1993. Independence was gained on 9 November 1953, which is the national holiday. The capital is Phnom Penh.

The Supreme National Council's flag has a blue background with white map of Cambodia in middle.

Economy
Cambodia remains a desperately poor country whose economic recovery is held hostage to continued political unrest and factional hostilities. The country's immediate economic challenge is an acute financial crisis that is undermining monetary stability and preventing disbursement of foreign development assistance. Cambodia is still recovering from an abrupt shift in 1990 to free-market economic mechanisms and a cutoff in aid from former Soviet bloc countries; these changes have severely impacted on public sector revenues and performance. The country's infrastructure of roads, bridges, and power plants has been severely degraded, now having only 40-50% of prewar capacity. The economy remains essentially rural, with 90% of the population living in the countryside and dependent mainly on subsistence agriculture. Statistical data on the economy continue to be sparse and unreliable.

Communications
Cambodia has 612 km of railroads, 13,351 km of highways and 3,700 km of inland waterways. The ports are in Kampong Saom and Phnom Penh. There are 9 usable airports. Telecommunication services are barely adequate for government requirements and virtually nonexistent for the general public. International service is limited to Vietnam and other adjacent countries.

Cambodia My View

I have travelled to Cambodia on a number of occasions and each time it gets better, Cambodia is not for everyone, it can be an extremely dangerous place unless you use a lot of common sense, assuming you use common sense then it can be a stunning journey. Because of the fragile security situation that still exists, I have limited my travels to the well beaten paths of Phnom Penh and Seam Reap.

It is possible to get to both place overland from Thailand, however my days of 15 hour journeys on the back of pickups are well gone. Flights are regular from Bangkok to both destinations. Visa is on arrival and costs $20. You should note that the local currency is hardly ever used and everything is priced in US$. Change is rarely available so make sure that you take sufficient quantities of $1 and $5 notes, especially the $1 as almost everything that is on sale costs $1.

Phnom Penh

Most of Phnom Penh's major sights are along the pleasant Tonle Riverside. In a large traffic circle north of the city centre is Wat Phnom, which sits on a hill that gave the city its name. The temple had its beginnings in the fourteenth century, but has been rebuilt so many times that nothing remains of the original shrine. At the centre of the city near the river is the Royal Palace, which also holds the magnificent Silver Pagoda. Next to the Royal Palace is the beautiful National Museum.

Aside from the Wats and palace, which are certainly not the best in Asia, must see's are mostly to do with the terrible recent past. The most striking of these is Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) it formally was a school converted into Cambodia's most important prison in 1975. More than 14,000 people were tortured here before being killed at the Killing Fields south of Phnom Penh; only 8 prisoners made it out alive. The museum is easily accessible and a must-see for everyone interested in Cambodia's horrific recent past. The infamous "skull map" has been dismantled, although there are still skulls stacked in cabinets, implements of torture and disturbing photographs. A walk through this "museum" is a chilling affair as most of the cells are still in the same state as they were left when the Khmer Rouge collapsed. It is well worth a visit to understand what happened during the brutal time of the KR. It is a little disturbing as you get the feeling that you are intruding on private grief. If this trip was not depressing enough the logical next step is to:

The Killing Fields of Cheung Ek is situated 15 kilometres south-west of Phnom Penh and made famous by the film of the same name "Killing Field". it was a place where more than 17,000 civilians were killed and buried in mass graves; many of them transported here after detention and torture in Toul Sleng. This place is a chilling reminder of the brutalities of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. In the centre of the area is a 17 story glass stupa which houses 8000 skulls exhumed from mass graves.

Recognisable bones are still to be seen in the excavated depressions that held the bodies.Both Tuol Sleng and Cheung Ek are not recommended for anyone who is of a delicate disposition, they are scenes of terrible war crimes and should be respected as such. They do however give you an insight into the tortured past of the Cambodian people. It is truly amazing that they are so hospitable after all that they have gone through. Once you have paid your respects and hopefully left a donation to assist in the upkeep of these monuments there are some more uplifting sides to Phnom Penh.

Cambodian cuisine is a mixture of Chinese and French, there are still quite a few French ex pats living there, if you can try and book into a hotel that is run by French owners, they are normally safe and always have excellent restaurants. The riverside walk by the Tonle has some great and inexpensive restaurants; it also has some awful and inexpensive restaurants. Have a good look at the type of customers they get before sitting down; it is extremely rude to leave a restaurant without eating.

The nightlife is pretty severe, mainly revolving around Disco bars infested with pretty young things in black dresses. Only venture into these bars if you know what you are looking for and able to deal with it when you get it. Most of the girls are Vietnamese and they can be extremely aggressive in their approaches. I try not to recommend places as each individuals taste is different, however if you want to experience one of these bars in relative safety, try Martini's near to the Sofitel. It has a lot of pyt in black dresses but it also has an outdoor area with a large screen where you can enjoy a bottle of Anglo beer and watch a film. For the less adventurous and a pleasant place for ladies try the bars along the river walk. A very safe bet is the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) this is the meeting place for the ex pats and still a few journalists. Good draft beer and a huge pizza oven for when you tire of the local food.

Most of the reasonable priced hotels are near to the diplomatic area, outside all of them you will find taxi drivers who tout for business. I have always found them very reliable and inexpensive. If in doubt ask the hotel reception which of the drivers they recommend, most drivers attach themselves to a hotel so the chances are that they are going to be reliable and honest. Beware of taxis at the airport and on the street, you have no way of finding them again if anything goes wrong. I tend to negotiate a rate with a driver and book him for the entire duration that I am there. They will, normally sleep in the car if you book them for a few days so they are always available night and day. This is a great advantage as public transport is virtually nonexistent and night time taxis are a risk you should not take. Whatever their starting price, ensure that you firmly agree a daily rate in advance; they will be more than happy with $20 per day. If they provide a good service you can always give them a bit more when they drop you safely at the airport. Just one more word of warning, unfortunately Cambodia has little in the way of law and order, this tends to attract some pretty dubious characters.

If you are a male travelling on your own it is possible that drivers will try and take you to areas where poverty forces girls into the sex trade. Some of the girls are very young, apart from the moral aspects of this trade, it is important that you clearly explain to the drivers that this sort of thing does not interest you and you want him to take you to the real attractions of the city. The more people that firmly point this out, the less chance there is that we will all get tarred with the same brush as the animals that look for the children.

One last point or two. Mobile phones do not work in Cambodia and international calls can cost up to $5 per minute. There are no ATM's that work with foreign cards and changing money is fraught with difficulty. That said there is a thriving market for large denomination dollar bills. You will see vendors all over the place with piles of $1 in front of them; they are legit and useful, as I said before, everything costs a dollar and no one has change when you need it.

Seam Reap

The only reason to go to Seam Reap, and a very good reason, is to use it as a base to see Angkor Wat. The wat is a huge complex of temples, I will not try and explain all the aspects of it as it is covered in detail all over the web, look at http://www.angkorwat.org/ for all the information that you will need. Simply to say I am not a temple hound but this was stunning, take 2 or 3 days to enjoy it. Seam Reap is nothing special, it has restaurants and bars for the growing number of tourists, accommodations ranges from basic $3 a night fan rooms right the way up to newly built 5 star resorts. Again the best way to get around is to hire a taxi for the duration of your stay; same rules apply as Phnom Penh.

Two things to really watch out for, one if you are feeling hungry is the happy pizza company. There standard toppings have added extras, happy, very happy or extremely happy. The happiness is created by the addition of locally grown cannabis leaf. You can of course have the pizzas without happiness. As far as I am aware the police do not take an interest in this establishment (probably owned by police) If you feel the need to partake then do it here, if you are caught with drugs in Cambodia the penalties are severe. You have been warned! The other delicacy to tempt you is served in the open air bars found along the streets, order a beer and a little dish of nibbles is supplied free of charge. The nibbles in question are deep fried c***roaches. I have helped myself to the odd grass hopper or baloute with a beer but a cockroach was one step too far, if anyone has tried please let me know what you thought. If you enjoy life on the edge there are boats from Seam Reap to Phnom Penh, they take about 5 hours and are without doubt a terrifying way to travel, I did it the once, safety is not high on the agenda.

Cambodia can be a beautiful place and the Cambodian people friendly and hospitable, it can also be a dangerous place. Be aware at all times that the people are very poor and you will be seen as very rich. Common sense should keep you safe but it is not for the faint hearted or nervous disposition, it is also extremely difficult for children, so not recommended as a family holiday I hope this is of interest, please let me know if you have any specific questions or have any updated information. I will post my views on another Asian country in the near future.

If you enjoyed this article and wish to explore an amazing luxury travel opportunity, please visit my website at

http://www.gcl-travel.com/

Phil