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Destination : CAMBODIA
The Kingdom of Cambodia is an independent country with a population of more than 7 million people. With a surface area of 181,035 sq. km and once a French colony, is the least known Indochinese country. Cambodia has a distinct geographical personality : it is a wide basin surrounded by highlands. In this basin the farmer has created a simple life - an original civilization and philosophy of mildness. After many years of war, people rediscovered the meaning of "PEACE". They started to rebuild and reconstruct in all fields. Cambodia is divided into 20 provinces and rich in resources, forests, rubber, gems, fish and has a big potential in tourism.
Following a five-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution or enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. A coalition government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces.
Khmers have called their country Kampuchea (usually rendered Kambuja), since the l6th century. The name is derived from the word kambu-ja, meaning those born of Kambu (a figure of Indian mythology), which was first used to refer to the people of Cambodia in the 10th century. The Portuguese Cambodia and French Cambodge from which the English name Cambodia is derived, are adaptations of " Kampuja".
Most of the people who live in Cambodia are ethnic Cambodian, averaging between 90-95% of the total population making Cambodia the most homogenous country in South-East Asia.Vietnamese make up the largest minority group with about five percent of the population and Chinese make up another one percent. With one of the highest population growth rates in Asia (2.5% per year), Cambodia had a population of a little over 11million in 1998. Due to the Khmer Rouge rule during which residents were forced to move out of the cities, most of the population lives in rural areas, with only about a tenth living in urban areas.
The country's capital Phnom Penh is renowned for its beauty, particularly the area surrounding the Royal Palace where magificent Khmer towers share the boulevard with coloured French villas overlooking the banks of the Tonle Sap river. The Mekong is one of the longest rivers in Asia, flowing through many countries. Within Cambodia, the Mekong meanders for 494 kilometres. Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, is a vibrant, bustling city nestled majestically on the banks where three mighty rivers, the Mekong, the Tonle Sap River and the Bassac converge and then split apart again.In Phnom Penh, there are many buildings and temples in the traditional Cambodian style . The French added a distinctive stamp to the city while overseeing the construction of several buildings in the classical Khmer style and several dozen grand residences for the French administrations, many of which are stiil standing.
It was the Khmer Rouge who insisted that the outside world use the name Kampuchea. Changing the country's official English name back to Cambodia (which has been used by the US State Department all along) was intended as a symbolic move to distance the present government in Phnom Penh from the bitter connotations of the name Kampuchea, which westerners and overseas Khmer alike associate with the murderous Khmer Rouge regime. As a result of the United Nations sponsored and enforced election in May, 1993, the Kingdom of Cambodia is now safe to travel and tourism has once again become possible. Indeed, the country and Phnom Penh in partucular is undergoing something of a renaissance. Often overshadowed by the traumatic events of its recent past, Cambodia as home of the Khmer culture remains one of the mostimportant and exotic countries in South East Asia.
The glorious and world-famous Angkor Wat situates in Siemreap Province and is just a few kilometers from the town. One can reach Siemreap by taking daily direct flight from Phnom Penh. Temples of Angkor were built between 7th and 11th century when Khmer civilazation was at its height of its extraordinary creativity. Angkor Wat is the cultural home of the Khmer people and one of the ancient wonders of the world. Its magnificent architecture was the evidence of the Khmer's strong belief in religions - Hinduism and Buddhism. First discovered by Western archeologists in the late 19th century, the lost city of Angkor is just re-opening to the exploration to the modern civilization.
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