Visit Cambodia

Visit Cambodia

Cambodia ( Khmer: Kampuchea, IPA: ), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: Preah Réachéanachâk Kâmpuchéa,IPA: ) and once known as the Khmer Empire, is a country located in the southern portion of the IndochinaPeninsula in Southeast Asia. Its total landmass is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Co6qSlYTYk[/embed]


With a population of over 15 million, Cambodia is the 70th most populous country in the world. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCTpRJ5xC_U[/embed]

The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving non-royal leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.
Cambodia's ancient name is "Kambuja" (Sanskrit: ). In 802 AD,Jayavarman II declared himself "King" and marked the beginning of theKhmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to dominate much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor toAyutthaya in the 15th century, Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal between its neighbours.
Cambodia became a protectorate of France in 1863, and gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into Cambodia with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, theKhmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese backed People's Republic of Kampuchea in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Senand the Cambodian People's Party, who remains in power as of 2015.
The country faces numerous challenges and sociopolitical issues, including widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy." While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade.
Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region. 'The World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index, which is based on surveys with ordinary people and in-country experts, ranks countries based on eight key indicators including constraints on government powers, an absence of corruption, and regulatory enforcement.' 'In every factor measured, Cambodia scored the worst in the East Asia and Pacific region, where other ranked nations include Myanmar, Vietnam and Mongolia.' The report notes that “[w]here the rule of law is weak, medicines fail to reach health facilities, criminal violence goes unchecked, laws are applied unequally across societies, and foreign investments are held back.”
The "Kingdom of Cambodia" is the official English name of the country. The English "Cambodia" is an anglicization of the French "Cambodge", which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer Kampuchea. Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea . The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadesa , composed of desa ("land of" or "country of") and Kambujas, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom.
Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer (Khmer pronunciation: ), meaning "Khmer's Land", or the slightly more formal Prateh Kampuchea , literally "Country of Kampuchea". The name "Cambodia" is used most often in the Western world while "Kampuchea" is more widely used in the East.
Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi) and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometer (275 mi) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.Visit Cambodia
Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes theTonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 650 feet (200 meters) above sea level. Visit Cambodia
To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 200 miles (320 km) from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 600 to 1,800 feet (180 to 550 meters). This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.
Flowing south through the country's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains, form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand. Visit Cambodia
In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 5,949 feet (1,813 meters). The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands. Visit Cambodia
The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi) during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometres (9,500 sq mi) during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve. Visit Cambodia
The Khmer language is a member of the Mon–Khmer subfamily of the Austroasiatic language group. French, once the language of government in Indochina, is still spoken by many older Cambodians. French is also the language of instruction in some schools and universities that are funded by the government of France. Cambodian French, a remnant of the country's colonial past, is a dialect found in Cambodia and is sometimes used in government, particularly in court. However, the increasing number of tourists from around the world has resulted in the shift from French to English. Visit Cambodia
Rice is the staple grain, as in other Southeast Asian countries. Fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers is also an important part of the diet. The supply of fish and fish products for food and trade in 2000 was 20 kilograms per person or 2 ounces per day per person. Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage. Visit Cambodia

The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are (Num Banh chok), (Amok), (Ah Ping). The country also boasts various distinct local street foods, such as fried spiders. Visit Cambodia
French influence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teav, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions, green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam. Visit Cambodia
The tourism industry is the country's second-greatest source of hard currency after the textile industry. Between January and December 2007, visitor arrivals were 2.0 million, an increase of 18.5% over the same period in 2006. Most visitors (51%) arrived through Siem Reapwith the remainder (49%) through Phnom Penh and other destinations. Visit Cambodia
Other tourist destinations include Sihanoukville in the south west which has several popular beaches and the sleepy riverside town ofBattambang in the north west, both of which are a popular stop for backpackers who make up a large of portion of visitors to Cambodia. The area around Kampot and Kep including the Bokor Hill Station are also of interest to visitors. Tourism has increased steadily each year in the relatively stable period since the 1993 UNTACelections; in 1993 there were 118,183 international tourists, and in 2009 there were 2,161,577 international tourists. Visit Cambodia
Most of the tourists were Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Americans, South Koreans and French, said the report, adding that the industry earned some 1.4 billion US dollars in 2007, accounting for almost ten percent of the kingdom's gross national product. Chinese-language newspaper Jianhua Daily quoted industry officials as saying that Cambodia will have three million foreign tourist arrivals in 2010 and five million in 2015. Tourism has been one of Cambodia's triple pillar industries. The Angkor Wat historical park in Siem Reapprovince, the beaches in Sihanoukville and the capital city Phnom Penh are the main attractions for foreign tourists. Visit Cambodia
Cambodia's tourist souvenir industry employs a lot of people around the main places of interest. Obviously, the quantity of souvenirs that are produced is not sufficient to face the increasing number of tourists and a majority of products sold to the tourists on the markets are imported from China, Thailand and Vietnam. Some of the locally produced souvenirs include: Visit Cambodia
• Krama (traditional scarf)
• Ceramic works
• Soap, candle, spices
• Wood carving, lacquerware, silverplating
• Painted bottles containing infused rice wine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia