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CAMBODIA
Capital | Phnom Penh
FLAG DESCRIPTION: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band; red and blue are traditional Cambodian colors *note: only national flag to incorporate an actual building in its design
Population | 14,753,320
Area | 181,040 SQ KM
Official Language | Khmer
Holidays | Independence Day, 9 November (1953)
Currency | riels (KHR)
Time Zone | UMT +7
Best Time to Visit | November to January
Connecting with the Culture | Gliding down the Mekong River past houseboats and villages. Joining in on the Water Festival in Phnom Penh. Hiking through Bokor National Park and swimming in its waterfall. Visiting the wondrous temples in Angkor.
Read | The River of Time, by John Swain – a journalistic memoir of the Khmer Rouge and the tragedy of people who find themselves in situations beyond their control
Watch | The Killing Fields – an account of the reign of the Khmer Rouge, and of ordinary Cambodians caught up in the madness
Eat | sticky banana – a baked banana wrapped in rice; fish amok – a coconut fish curry, served in a coconut
Drink | soda and fresh lime – a very effective thirst quencher in the heat
In a Word | Niak teuv naa (where are you going?)
Characteristics | Monks in saffron robes with yellow umbrellas; beautiful silks; the Mekong; trucks crowded with people from the provinces; rice paddies; the smell of jasmine
Surprises | Cambodia is not as inexpensive as other destinations in the region; the sun goes down between 5 and 6pm regardless of the time of year; luxury items such as French wines are available in supermarkets.
NEWS ABOUT CAMBODIA:
ASEAN Summit Opens in Cambodia
(PHOTO: ASEAN Leaders/ASEAN)(HN, 4/3/12) - Leaders of ASEAN, the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations which includes the countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam - comprising a population of 600 million people - opened their 2 day summit in the capital of Phnom Penh, Cambodia today. The meeting is expected to deal with a maritime dispute taking place between China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia & Brunei all which claim parts of the potentially resource-rich South China Sea; China, for its part claims all of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer waterway. Also on the agenda, an upcoming North Korean rocket launch; recent democratic developments in Myanmar & economic issues which were highlighted by Cambodia's President Hun Sen in his opening speech. He urged ASEAN countries to work to narrow the gap between the region's richest & poorest countries; a sentiment echoed at last week's BRICS meeting in New Delhi, India. The leaders are working towards a plan which addresses ASEAN's goal of developing a European-style single market by 2015 - which allows the free flow of people & trade, but not a single-currency. (Read more from HN HERE)
Bulldozing stopped, for now in Cambodia
(PHOTO: Jing Zhong Ri Cambodia Co Ltd has been granted a 70-year lease for a rubber plantation on villagers land in Lumphat, Cambodia/PHNOMPENPOST)(HN, 2/22/12) - In Cambodia ethnic minority Tumpoun villagers yesterday delivered a thumb-printed petition to commune, district & provincial authorities in Ratanakkiri requesting a moratorium on Jing Zhong Ri Cambodia’s razing of what villagers claim is their farmland until a solution can be reached in a Lumphat district land dispute after villagers held five rubber plantation company employees hostage on Tuesday as 300 villagers attacked JZR company property & tore apart a bulldozer & a car before capturing the company’s environmental officer & 4 security guards. Villagers detained the men for attempting to clear their land. The 5 JZR employees were tied up with rope & held hostage in the local commune hall for 2 hours until an agreement was reached for the company to temporarily cease bulldozing. (READ MORE AT PHNOM PEN POST)
