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Where "Cambodia E-Visa" Is
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Cambodia E-Visa Campaign, Sihanouk Ville
We have completed 3 days Cambodia E-Visa campaign at Sihanouk Ville, Kompong Som province.
We met many tourists using it all the time when they plan to visit the Kingdom of Cambodia.
We are really proud of it.
And currently we are also trying to push Cambodia E-Visa to approach to you and all people around the world.
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From: Cambodia E-Visa
We met many tourists using it all the time when they plan to visit the Kingdom of Cambodia.
We are really proud of it.
And currently we are also trying to push Cambodia E-Visa to approach to you and all people around the world.
This is what they were showing us.
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Cambodia E-Visa Question & Answer
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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013
Best Wishes to you and your family for a very Prosperous, Successful, Healthy and Happiness in the year 2013.
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Cambodian History
No one knows for certain how long people have lived in what is now Cambodia, as studies of its prehistory are undeveloped. A carbon-l4 dating from a cave in northwestern Cambodia suggests that people using stone tools lived in the cave as early as 4000 bc, and rice has been grown on Cambodian soil since well before the 1st century ad. The first Cambodians likely arrived long before either of these dates. They probably migrated from the north, although nothing is known about their language or their way of life.
Angkor Era
Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom The giant faces carved on the Bayon temple at the Angkor Thum complex in northwestern Cambodia represent both the Buddha and King Jayavarman VII (ruled about 1130-1219). Although a Buddhist temple, Angkor Thum was modeled after the great Hindu temple complex of Angkor Wat.
In the early 9th century a Khmer (ethnic Cambodian) prince returned to Cambodia from abroad. He probably arrived from nearby Java or Sumatra, where he may have been held hostage by island kings who had asserted control over portions of the Southeast Asian mainland.
In a series of ceremonies at different sites, the prince declared himself ruler of a new independent kingdom, which unified several local principalities. His kingdom eventually came to be centered near present-day Siemreab in northwestern Cambodia. The prince, known to his successors as Jayavarman II, inaugurated a cult honoring the Hindu god Shiva as a devaraja (Sanskrit term meaning "god-king"). The cult, which legitimized the king's rule by linking him with Shiva, persisted at the Cambodian court for more than two hundred years.
Between the early 9th century and the early 15th century, 26 monarchs ruled successively over the Khmer kingdom (known as Angkor, the modern name for its capital city).
The successors of Jayavarman II built the great temples for which Angkor is famous.
Historians have dated more than a thousand temple sites and over a thousand stone inscriptions (most of them on temple walls) to this era.
Notable among the Khmer builder-kings were Suyavarman II, who built the temple known as Angkor Wat in the mid-12th century, and Jayavarman VII, who built the Bayon temple at Angkor Thum and several other large Buddhist temples half a century later. Jayavarman VII, a fervent Buddhist, also built hospitals and rest houses along the roads that crisscrossed the kingdom. Most of the monarchs, however, seem to have been more concerned with displaying and increasing their power than with the welfare of their subjects.
Ancient City of Angkor This map shows the layout of the ancient city of Angkor, capital of the Cambodian Khmer kingdom from the 9th century to the 15th century. The city's huge stone temples were both civic centers and religious symbols of the Hindu cosmos. Historians believe that Angkor's network of canals and barays (reservoirs) were used for irrigation.
At its greatest extent, in the 12th century, the Khmer kingdom encompassed (in addition to present-day Cambodia) parts of present-day Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), and the Malay Peninsula. Thailand and Laos still contain Khmer ruins and inscriptions.
The kings at Angkor received tribute from smaller kingdoms to the north, east, and west, and conducted trade with China. The capital city was the center of an impressive network of reservoirs and canals, which historians theorize supplied water for irrigation. Many historians believe that the abundant harvests made possible by irrigation supported a large population whose labor could be drawn on to construct the kings' temples and to fight their wars. The massive temples, extensive roads and waterworks, and confident inscriptions give an illusion of stability that is undermined by the fact that many Khmer kings gained the throne by conquering their predecessors. Inscriptions indicate that the kingdom frequently suffered from rebellions and foreign invasions.
Historians have not been able to fully explain the decline of the Khmer kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries. However, it was probably associated with the rise of powerful Thai kingdoms that had once paid tribute to Angkor, and to population losses following a series of wars with these kingdoms. Another factor may have been the introduction of Theravada Buddhism, which taught that anyone could achieve enlightenment through meritorious conduct and meditation.
These egalitarian ideas undermined the hierarchical structure of Cambodian society and the power of prominent Hindu families. After a Thai invasion in 1431, what remained of the Cambodian elite shifted southeastward to the vicinity of Phnom Penh.
Cambodia Dark Age
This map of Southeast Asia in the mid-16th century shows the major centers of power in the region prior to the arrival of Europeans. During this period, these kingdoms were constantly at war. Eventually the Kingdom of Ayutthaya (modern Thailand) expanded to the north and east, absorbing much of Lan Na and Lan Xang (modern Laos). Dai Viet (modern Vietnam) expanded to the south, taking over the remaining territory of the Kingdom of Champa and the southern tip of the Kingdom of Lovek (modern Cambodia). Toungoo evolved into modern Myanmar.
The four centuries of Cambodian history following the abandonment of Angkor are poorly recorded, and therefore historians know little about them beyond the bare outlines. Cambodia retained its language and its cultural identity despite frequent invasions by the powerful Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya and incursions by Vietnamese forces. Indeed, for much of this period, Cambodia was a relatively prosperous trading kingdom with its capital at Lovek, near present-day Phnom Penh. European visitors wrote of the Buddhist piety of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Lovek. During this period, Cambodians composed the country's most important work of literature, the Reamker (based on the Indian myth of the Ramayana).
In the late 18th century, a civil war in Vietnam and disorder following a Burmese invasion of Ayutthaya spilled over into Cambodia and devastated the area. In the early 19th century, newly established dynasties in Vietnam and Thailand competed for control over the Cambodian court. The warfare that ensued, beginning in the l830s, came close to destroying Cambodia.
French Rule
Phnom Penh, as planned by the French, came to resemble a town in provincial France. By the second half of the 19th century, France had begun to expand its colonial penetration of Indochina (the peninsula between India and China). In 1863 France accepted the Cambodian king's invitation to impose a protectorate over his severely weakened kingdom, halting the country's dismemberment by Thailand and Vietnam. For the next 90 years, France ruled Cambodia. In theory, French administration was indirect, but in practice the word of French officials was final on all major subjects-including the selection of Cambodia's kings. The French left Cambodian institutions, including the monarchy, in place, and gradually developed a Cambodian civil service, organized along French lines. The French administration neglected education but built roads, port facilities, and other public works. Phnom Penh, as planned by the French, came to resemble a town in provincial France.
The French invested relatively little in Cambodia's economy compared to that of Vietnam, which was also under French control. However, they developed rubber plantations in eastern Cambodia, and the kingdom exported sizable amounts of rice under their rule. The French also restored the Angkor temple complex and deciphered Angkorean inscriptions, which gave Cambodians a clear idea of their medieval heritage and kindled their pride in Cambodia's past.
Because France left the monarchy, Buddhism, and the rhythms of rural life undisturbed, anti-French feeling was slow to develop.
King Sihanouk, through skillful maneuvering, managed to gain Cambodia's independence peacefully in 1953. During World War II (1939-1945), Japanese forces entered French Indochina but left the compliant French administration in place.
On the verge of defeat in 1945, the Japanese removed their French collaborators and installed a nominally independent Cambodian government under the recently crowned young king, Norodom Sihanouk. France reimposed its protectorate in early 1946 but allowed the Cambodians to draft a constitution and to form political parties.
Soon afterward, fighting erupted throughout Indochina as nationalist groups, some with Communist ideologies, struggled to win independence from France. Most of the fighting took place in Vietnam, in a conflict known as the First Indochina War (1946-1954). In Cambodia, Communist guerrilla forces allied with Vietnamese Communists gained control of much of the country. However, King Sihanouk, through skillful maneuvering, managed to gain Cambodia's independence peacefully in 1953, a few months earlier than Vietnam. The Geneva Accords of 1954, which marked the end of the First Indochina War, acknowledged Sihanouk's government as the sole legitimate authority in Cambodia.
Modern State
Sihanouk's campaign for independence sharpened his political skills and increased his ambitions. In 1955 he abdicated the throne in favor of his father to pursue a full-time political career, free of the constitutional constraints of the monarchy. In a move aimed at dismantling Cambodia's fledgling political parties, Sihanouk inaugurated a national political movement known as the Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People's Socialist Community), whose members were not permitted to belong to any other political group. The Sangkum won all the seats in the national elections of 1955, benefiting from Sihanouk's popularity and from police brutality at many polling stations. Sihanouk served as prime minister of Cambodia until 1960, when his father died and he was named head of state. Sihanouk remained widely popular among the people but was brutal to his opponents.
In the late 1950s the Cold War (period of tension between the United States and its allies and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, and its allies) intensified in Asia. In this climate, foreign powers, including the United States, the USSR, and China, courted Sihanouk. Cambodia's importance to these countries stemmed from events in neighboring Vietnam, where tension had begun to mount between a Communist regime in the north and a pro-Western regime in the south. The USSR supported the Vietnamese Communists, while the United States opposed them, and China wanted to contain Vietnam for security reasons. Each of the foreign powers hoped that Cambodian support would bolster its position in the region. Sihanouk pursued a policy of neutrality that drew substantial economic aid from the competing countries.
In 1965, however, Sihanouk broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. At the same time, he allowed North Vietnamese Communists, then fighting the Vietnam War against the United States and the South Vietnamese in southern Vietnam, to set up bases on Cambodian soil. As warfare intensified in Vietnam, domestic opposition to Sihanouk from both radical and conservative elements increased. The Cambodian Communist organization, known as the Workers Party of Kampuchea (later renamed the Communist Party of Kampuchea, or CPK), had gone underground after failing to win any concessions at the Geneva Accords, but now they took up arms once again. As the economy became unstable, Cambodia became difficult to govern single-handedly. In need of economic and military aid, Sihanouk renewed diplomatic relations with the United States. Shortly thereafter, in 1969, U.S. president Richard Nixon authorized a bombing campaign against Cambodia in an effort to destroy Vietnamese Communist sanctuaries there.
Khmer Republic
In March 1970 Cambodia's legislature, the National Assembly, deposed Sihanouk while he was abroad. The conservative forces behind the coup were pro-Western and anti-Vietnamese. General Lon Nol, the country's prime minister, assumed power and sent his poorly equipped army to fight the North Vietnamese Communist forces encamped in border areas. Lon Nol hoped that U.S. aid would allow him to defeat his enemies, but American support was always geared to events in Vietnam. In April U.S. and South Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia, searching for North Vietnamese, who moved deeper into Cambodia. Over the next year, North Vietnamese troops destroyed the offensive capacity of Lon Nol's army.
In October 1970 Lon Nol inaugurated the Khmer Republic. Sihanouk, who had sought asylum in China, was condemned to death despite his absence. By that time, Chinese and North Vietnamese leaders had persuaded the prince to establish a government in exile, allied with North Vietnam and dominated by the CPK, whom Sihanouk referred to as the Khmer Rouge (French for "Red Khmers").
In 1975, despite massive infusions of U.S. aid, the Khmer Republic collapsed, and Khmer Rouge forces occupied Phnom Penh.
The United States continued bombing Cambodia until the Congress of the United States halted the campaign in 1973. By that time, Lon Nol's forces were fighting not only the Vietnamese but also the Khmer Rouge. The general lost control over most of the Cambodian countryside, which had been devastated by U.S. bombing. The fighting severely damaged the nation's infrastructure and caused high numbers of casualties. Hundreds of thousands of refugees flooded into the cities. In 1975, despite massive infusions of U.S. aid, the Khmer Republic collapsed, and Khmer Rouge forces occupied Phnom Penh. Three weeks later, North Vietnamese forces achieved victory in South Vietnam.
Democratic Kampuchea
Pol Pot Pol Pot is a pseudonym for the Cambodian guerrilla commander Saloth Sar, who organized the Communist guerrilla force known as the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge ousted General Lon Nol in 1975, establishing a brutal Communist regime that ruled until 1979.
Immediately after occupying Cambodia's towns, the Khmer Rouge ordered all city dwellers into the countryside to take up agricultural tasks. The move reflected both the Khmer Rouge's contempt for urban dwellers, whom they saw as enemies, and their utopian vision of Cambodia as a nation of busy, productive peasants. The leader of the regime, who remained concealed from the public, was Saloth Sar, who used the pseudonym Pol Pot. The government, which called itself Democratic Kampuchea (DK), claimed to be seeking total independence from foreign powers but accepted economic and military aid from its major allies, China and North Korea.
Khmer Rouge Carnage The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, killed close to 1.7 million people in the mid- to late 1970s. In this photo, human bones and skulls fill a museum in Cambodia that had been used as a prison and torture center during Pol Pot's reign, Sygma.
Without identifying themselves as Communists, the Khmer Rouge quickly introduced a series of far-reaching and often painful socialist programs. The people given the most power in the new government were the largely illiterate rural Cambodians who had fought alongside the Khmer Rouge in the civil war. DK leaders severely restricted freedom of speech, movement, and association, and forbade all religious practices. The regime controlled all communications along with access to food and information. Former city dwellers, now called "new people," were particularly badly treated. The Khmer Rouge killed intellectuals, merchants, bureaucrats, members of religious groups, and any people suspected of disagreeing with the party. Millions of other Cambodians were forcibly relocated, deprived of food, tortured, or sent into forced labor.
While in power, the Khmer Rouge murdered, worked to death, or killed by starvation close to 1.7 million Cambodians.
The Khmer Rouge also attacked neighboring countries in an attempt to reclaim territories lost by Cambodia many centuries before. After fighting broke out with Vietnam (then united under the Communists) in 1977, DK's ideology became openly racist. Ethnic minorities in Cambodia, including ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese, were hunted down and expelled or massacred. Purges of party members accused of treason became widespread. People in eastern Cambodia, suspected of cooperating with Vietnam, suffered severely, and hundreds of thousands of them were killed. While in power, the Khmer Rouge murdered, worked to death, or killed by starvation close to 1.7 million Cambodians-more than one-fifth of the country's population.
Recent Development
In October 1991 Cambodia's warring factions, the UN, and a number of interested foreign nations signed an agreement in Paris intended to end the conflict in Cambodia. The agreement provided for a temporary power-sharing arrangement between a United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and a Supreme National Council (SNC) made up of delegates from the various Cambodian factions. Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the former king and prime minister of Cambodia, served as president of the SNC.
The Paris accords and the UN protectorate pushed Cambodia out of its isolation and introduced competitive politics, dormant since the early 1950s. UNTAC sponsored elections for a national assembly in May 1993, and for the first time in Cambodian history a majority of voters rejected an armed, incumbent regime. A royalist party, known by its French acronym FUNCINPEC, won the most seats in the election, followed by the CPP, led by Hun Sen. Reluctant to give up power, Hun Sen threatened to upset the election results. Under a compromise arrangement, a three-party coalition formed a government headed by two prime ministers; FUNCINPEC's Prince Norodom Ranariddh, one of Sihanouk's sons, became first prime minister, while Hun Sen became second prime minister.
In September 1993 the government ratified a new constitution restoring the monarchy and establishing the Kingdom of Cambodia. Sihanouk became king for the second time. After the 1993 elections, no foreign countries continued to recognize the DK as Cambodia's legal government. The DK lost its UN seat as well as most of its sources of international aid.
The unrealistic power-sharing relationship between Ranariddh and Hun Sen worked surprisingly well for the next three years, but relations between the parties were never smooth. The CPP's control over the army and the police gave the party effective control of the country, and it dominated the coalition government. In July 1997 Hun Sen staged a violent coup against FUNCINPEC and replaced Prince Ranariddh, who was overseas at the time, with Ung Huot, a more pliable FUNCINPEC figure. Hun Sen's action shocked foreign nations and delayed Cambodia's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). By the end of 1997, Cambodia was the only nation in the region that was not a member.
Despite the coup, elections scheduled for July 1998 proceeded as planned. Hundreds of foreign observers who monitored the elections affirmed that voting was relatively free and fair; however, the CPP harassed opposition candidates and party workers before and after the elections, when dozens were imprisoned and several were killed. The election gave the CPP a plurality of votes, but results, especially in towns, where voting could not be dictated by local authorities, indicated that the party did not enjoy widespread popular support. Prince Ranariddh and another opposition candidate, Sam Rainsy, took refuge abroad and contested the outcome of the election. In November the CPP and FUNCINPEC reached an agreement whereby Hun Sen became sole prime minister and Ranariddh became president of the National Assembly. The parties formed a coalition government, dividing control over the various cabinet ministries. In early 1999 the constitution was amended to create a Senate, called for in the 1998 agreement.
These signs that Cambodia's political situation was stabilizing encouraged ASEAN to admit Cambodia to its membership a short time later.
Pol Pot died in 1998, and by early 1999 most of the remaining Khmer Rouge troops and leaders had surrendered. Rebel troops were integrated into the Cambodian army. In 1999 two Khmer Rouge leaders were arrested and charged with genocide for their part in the atrocities.
Since the Paris Accords of 1991, Cambodia's economic growth has depended on millions of dollars of foreign aid. Foreign interest in Cambodia has decreased, however, and the country has received diminishing economic assistance. This development, along with the continued lack of openness in Cambodian politics, has made Cambodia's prospects for democratization dim, as well as its chances for sustained economic growth.
By the beginning of the 1st century ad, Chinese traders began to report the existence of inland and coastal kingdoms in Cambodia. These kingdoms already owed much to Indian culture, which provided alphabets, art forms, architectural styles, religions (Hinduism and Buddhism), and a stratified class system. Local beliefs that stressed the importance of ancestral spirits coexisted with the Indian religions and remain powerful today.
Cambodia's modem-day culture has its roots in the 1st to 6th centuries in a state referred to as Funan, known as the oldest Indianized state in Southeast Asia. It is from this period that evolved Cambodia's language, part of the Mon-Khmer family, which contains elements of Sanskrit, its ancient religion of Hinduism and Buddhism. Historians have noted, for example, that Cambodians can be distinguished from their neighbors by their clothing - checkered scarves known as Kramas are worn instead of straw hats.Funan gave way to the Angkor Empire with the rise to power of King Jayavarman II in 802. The following 600 years saw powerful Khmer kings dominate much of present day Southeast Asia, from the borders of Myanmar east to the South China Sea and north to Laos. It was during this period that Khmer kings built the most extensive concentration of religious temples in the world - the Angkor temple complex. The most successful of Angkor's kings, Jayavarman II, Indravarman I, Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII, also devised a masterpiece of ancient engineering: a sophisticated irrigation system that includes barays (gigantic man-made lakes) and canals that ensured as many as three rice crops a year. Part of this system is still in use today.
The Khmer Kingdom (Funan)
Early Chinese writers referred to a kingdom in Cambodia that they called Funan. Modern-day archaeological findings provide evidence of a commercial society centered on the Mekong Delta that flourished from the 1st century to the 6th century. Among these findings are excavations of a port city from the 1st century, located in the region of Oc-Eo in what is now southern Vietnam. Served by a network of canals, the city was an important trade link between India and China.
Ongoing excavations in southern Cambodia have revealed the existence of another important city near the present-day village of Angkor Borei.
Ongoing excavations in southern Cambodia have revealed the existence of another important city near the present-day village of Angkor Borei.
A group of inland kingdoms, known collectively to the Chinese as Zhenla, flourished in the 6th and 7th centuries from southern Cambodia to southern Laos. The first stone inscriptions in the Khmer language and the first brick and stone Hindu temples in Cambodia date from the Zhenla period.
In the early 9th century a Khmer (ethnic Cambodian) prince returned to Cambodia from abroad. He probably arrived from nearby Java or Sumatra, where he may have been held hostage by island kings who had asserted control over portions of the Southeast Asian mainland.
In a series of ceremonies at different sites, the prince declared himself ruler of a new independent kingdom, which unified several local principalities. His kingdom eventually came to be centered near present-day Siemreab in northwestern Cambodia. The prince, known to his successors as Jayavarman II, inaugurated a cult honoring the Hindu god Shiva as a devaraja (Sanskrit term meaning "god-king"). The cult, which legitimized the king's rule by linking him with Shiva, persisted at the Cambodian court for more than two hundred years.
Between the early 9th century and the early 15th century, 26 monarchs ruled successively over the Khmer kingdom (known as Angkor, the modern name for its capital city).
The successors of Jayavarman II built the great temples for which Angkor is famous.
Historians have dated more than a thousand temple sites and over a thousand stone inscriptions (most of them on temple walls) to this era.
Notable among the Khmer builder-kings were Suyavarman II, who built the temple known as Angkor Wat in the mid-12th century, and Jayavarman VII, who built the Bayon temple at Angkor Thum and several other large Buddhist temples half a century later. Jayavarman VII, a fervent Buddhist, also built hospitals and rest houses along the roads that crisscrossed the kingdom. Most of the monarchs, however, seem to have been more concerned with displaying and increasing their power than with the welfare of their subjects.
Ancient City of Angkor This map shows the layout of the ancient city of Angkor, capital of the Cambodian Khmer kingdom from the 9th century to the 15th century. The city's huge stone temples were both civic centers and religious symbols of the Hindu cosmos. Historians believe that Angkor's network of canals and barays (reservoirs) were used for irrigation.
At its greatest extent, in the 12th century, the Khmer kingdom encompassed (in addition to present-day Cambodia) parts of present-day Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), and the Malay Peninsula. Thailand and Laos still contain Khmer ruins and inscriptions.
The kings at Angkor received tribute from smaller kingdoms to the north, east, and west, and conducted trade with China. The capital city was the center of an impressive network of reservoirs and canals, which historians theorize supplied water for irrigation. Many historians believe that the abundant harvests made possible by irrigation supported a large population whose labor could be drawn on to construct the kings' temples and to fight their wars. The massive temples, extensive roads and waterworks, and confident inscriptions give an illusion of stability that is undermined by the fact that many Khmer kings gained the throne by conquering their predecessors. Inscriptions indicate that the kingdom frequently suffered from rebellions and foreign invasions.
Historians have not been able to fully explain the decline of the Khmer kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries. However, it was probably associated with the rise of powerful Thai kingdoms that had once paid tribute to Angkor, and to population losses following a series of wars with these kingdoms. Another factor may have been the introduction of Theravada Buddhism, which taught that anyone could achieve enlightenment through meritorious conduct and meditation.
These egalitarian ideas undermined the hierarchical structure of Cambodian society and the power of prominent Hindu families. After a Thai invasion in 1431, what remained of the Cambodian elite shifted southeastward to the vicinity of Phnom Penh.
Cambodia Dark Age
This map of Southeast Asia in the mid-16th century shows the major centers of power in the region prior to the arrival of Europeans. During this period, these kingdoms were constantly at war. Eventually the Kingdom of Ayutthaya (modern Thailand) expanded to the north and east, absorbing much of Lan Na and Lan Xang (modern Laos). Dai Viet (modern Vietnam) expanded to the south, taking over the remaining territory of the Kingdom of Champa and the southern tip of the Kingdom of Lovek (modern Cambodia). Toungoo evolved into modern Myanmar.
The four centuries of Cambodian history following the abandonment of Angkor are poorly recorded, and therefore historians know little about them beyond the bare outlines. Cambodia retained its language and its cultural identity despite frequent invasions by the powerful Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya and incursions by Vietnamese forces. Indeed, for much of this period, Cambodia was a relatively prosperous trading kingdom with its capital at Lovek, near present-day Phnom Penh. European visitors wrote of the Buddhist piety of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Lovek. During this period, Cambodians composed the country's most important work of literature, the Reamker (based on the Indian myth of the Ramayana).
In the late 18th century, a civil war in Vietnam and disorder following a Burmese invasion of Ayutthaya spilled over into Cambodia and devastated the area. In the early 19th century, newly established dynasties in Vietnam and Thailand competed for control over the Cambodian court. The warfare that ensued, beginning in the l830s, came close to destroying Cambodia.
French Rule
Phnom Penh, as planned by the French, came to resemble a town in provincial France. By the second half of the 19th century, France had begun to expand its colonial penetration of Indochina (the peninsula between India and China). In 1863 France accepted the Cambodian king's invitation to impose a protectorate over his severely weakened kingdom, halting the country's dismemberment by Thailand and Vietnam. For the next 90 years, France ruled Cambodia. In theory, French administration was indirect, but in practice the word of French officials was final on all major subjects-including the selection of Cambodia's kings. The French left Cambodian institutions, including the monarchy, in place, and gradually developed a Cambodian civil service, organized along French lines. The French administration neglected education but built roads, port facilities, and other public works. Phnom Penh, as planned by the French, came to resemble a town in provincial France.
The French invested relatively little in Cambodia's economy compared to that of Vietnam, which was also under French control. However, they developed rubber plantations in eastern Cambodia, and the kingdom exported sizable amounts of rice under their rule. The French also restored the Angkor temple complex and deciphered Angkorean inscriptions, which gave Cambodians a clear idea of their medieval heritage and kindled their pride in Cambodia's past.
Because France left the monarchy, Buddhism, and the rhythms of rural life undisturbed, anti-French feeling was slow to develop.
King Sihanouk, through skillful maneuvering, managed to gain Cambodia's independence peacefully in 1953. During World War II (1939-1945), Japanese forces entered French Indochina but left the compliant French administration in place.
On the verge of defeat in 1945, the Japanese removed their French collaborators and installed a nominally independent Cambodian government under the recently crowned young king, Norodom Sihanouk. France reimposed its protectorate in early 1946 but allowed the Cambodians to draft a constitution and to form political parties.
Soon afterward, fighting erupted throughout Indochina as nationalist groups, some with Communist ideologies, struggled to win independence from France. Most of the fighting took place in Vietnam, in a conflict known as the First Indochina War (1946-1954). In Cambodia, Communist guerrilla forces allied with Vietnamese Communists gained control of much of the country. However, King Sihanouk, through skillful maneuvering, managed to gain Cambodia's independence peacefully in 1953, a few months earlier than Vietnam. The Geneva Accords of 1954, which marked the end of the First Indochina War, acknowledged Sihanouk's government as the sole legitimate authority in Cambodia.
Modern State
Sihanouk's campaign for independence sharpened his political skills and increased his ambitions. In 1955 he abdicated the throne in favor of his father to pursue a full-time political career, free of the constitutional constraints of the monarchy. In a move aimed at dismantling Cambodia's fledgling political parties, Sihanouk inaugurated a national political movement known as the Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People's Socialist Community), whose members were not permitted to belong to any other political group. The Sangkum won all the seats in the national elections of 1955, benefiting from Sihanouk's popularity and from police brutality at many polling stations. Sihanouk served as prime minister of Cambodia until 1960, when his father died and he was named head of state. Sihanouk remained widely popular among the people but was brutal to his opponents.
In the late 1950s the Cold War (period of tension between the United States and its allies and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, and its allies) intensified in Asia. In this climate, foreign powers, including the United States, the USSR, and China, courted Sihanouk. Cambodia's importance to these countries stemmed from events in neighboring Vietnam, where tension had begun to mount between a Communist regime in the north and a pro-Western regime in the south. The USSR supported the Vietnamese Communists, while the United States opposed them, and China wanted to contain Vietnam for security reasons. Each of the foreign powers hoped that Cambodian support would bolster its position in the region. Sihanouk pursued a policy of neutrality that drew substantial economic aid from the competing countries.
In 1965, however, Sihanouk broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. At the same time, he allowed North Vietnamese Communists, then fighting the Vietnam War against the United States and the South Vietnamese in southern Vietnam, to set up bases on Cambodian soil. As warfare intensified in Vietnam, domestic opposition to Sihanouk from both radical and conservative elements increased. The Cambodian Communist organization, known as the Workers Party of Kampuchea (later renamed the Communist Party of Kampuchea, or CPK), had gone underground after failing to win any concessions at the Geneva Accords, but now they took up arms once again. As the economy became unstable, Cambodia became difficult to govern single-handedly. In need of economic and military aid, Sihanouk renewed diplomatic relations with the United States. Shortly thereafter, in 1969, U.S. president Richard Nixon authorized a bombing campaign against Cambodia in an effort to destroy Vietnamese Communist sanctuaries there.
Khmer Republic
In March 1970 Cambodia's legislature, the National Assembly, deposed Sihanouk while he was abroad. The conservative forces behind the coup were pro-Western and anti-Vietnamese. General Lon Nol, the country's prime minister, assumed power and sent his poorly equipped army to fight the North Vietnamese Communist forces encamped in border areas. Lon Nol hoped that U.S. aid would allow him to defeat his enemies, but American support was always geared to events in Vietnam. In April U.S. and South Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia, searching for North Vietnamese, who moved deeper into Cambodia. Over the next year, North Vietnamese troops destroyed the offensive capacity of Lon Nol's army.
In October 1970 Lon Nol inaugurated the Khmer Republic. Sihanouk, who had sought asylum in China, was condemned to death despite his absence. By that time, Chinese and North Vietnamese leaders had persuaded the prince to establish a government in exile, allied with North Vietnam and dominated by the CPK, whom Sihanouk referred to as the Khmer Rouge (French for "Red Khmers").
In 1975, despite massive infusions of U.S. aid, the Khmer Republic collapsed, and Khmer Rouge forces occupied Phnom Penh.
The United States continued bombing Cambodia until the Congress of the United States halted the campaign in 1973. By that time, Lon Nol's forces were fighting not only the Vietnamese but also the Khmer Rouge. The general lost control over most of the Cambodian countryside, which had been devastated by U.S. bombing. The fighting severely damaged the nation's infrastructure and caused high numbers of casualties. Hundreds of thousands of refugees flooded into the cities. In 1975, despite massive infusions of U.S. aid, the Khmer Republic collapsed, and Khmer Rouge forces occupied Phnom Penh. Three weeks later, North Vietnamese forces achieved victory in South Vietnam.
Democratic Kampuchea
Pol Pot Pol Pot is a pseudonym for the Cambodian guerrilla commander Saloth Sar, who organized the Communist guerrilla force known as the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge ousted General Lon Nol in 1975, establishing a brutal Communist regime that ruled until 1979.
Immediately after occupying Cambodia's towns, the Khmer Rouge ordered all city dwellers into the countryside to take up agricultural tasks. The move reflected both the Khmer Rouge's contempt for urban dwellers, whom they saw as enemies, and their utopian vision of Cambodia as a nation of busy, productive peasants. The leader of the regime, who remained concealed from the public, was Saloth Sar, who used the pseudonym Pol Pot. The government, which called itself Democratic Kampuchea (DK), claimed to be seeking total independence from foreign powers but accepted economic and military aid from its major allies, China and North Korea.
Khmer Rouge Carnage The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, killed close to 1.7 million people in the mid- to late 1970s. In this photo, human bones and skulls fill a museum in Cambodia that had been used as a prison and torture center during Pol Pot's reign, Sygma.
Without identifying themselves as Communists, the Khmer Rouge quickly introduced a series of far-reaching and often painful socialist programs. The people given the most power in the new government were the largely illiterate rural Cambodians who had fought alongside the Khmer Rouge in the civil war. DK leaders severely restricted freedom of speech, movement, and association, and forbade all religious practices. The regime controlled all communications along with access to food and information. Former city dwellers, now called "new people," were particularly badly treated. The Khmer Rouge killed intellectuals, merchants, bureaucrats, members of religious groups, and any people suspected of disagreeing with the party. Millions of other Cambodians were forcibly relocated, deprived of food, tortured, or sent into forced labor.
While in power, the Khmer Rouge murdered, worked to death, or killed by starvation close to 1.7 million Cambodians.
The Khmer Rouge also attacked neighboring countries in an attempt to reclaim territories lost by Cambodia many centuries before. After fighting broke out with Vietnam (then united under the Communists) in 1977, DK's ideology became openly racist. Ethnic minorities in Cambodia, including ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese, were hunted down and expelled or massacred. Purges of party members accused of treason became widespread. People in eastern Cambodia, suspected of cooperating with Vietnam, suffered severely, and hundreds of thousands of them were killed. While in power, the Khmer Rouge murdered, worked to death, or killed by starvation close to 1.7 million Cambodians-more than one-fifth of the country's population.
Recent Development
In October 1991 Cambodia's warring factions, the UN, and a number of interested foreign nations signed an agreement in Paris intended to end the conflict in Cambodia. The agreement provided for a temporary power-sharing arrangement between a United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and a Supreme National Council (SNC) made up of delegates from the various Cambodian factions. Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the former king and prime minister of Cambodia, served as president of the SNC.
The Paris accords and the UN protectorate pushed Cambodia out of its isolation and introduced competitive politics, dormant since the early 1950s. UNTAC sponsored elections for a national assembly in May 1993, and for the first time in Cambodian history a majority of voters rejected an armed, incumbent regime. A royalist party, known by its French acronym FUNCINPEC, won the most seats in the election, followed by the CPP, led by Hun Sen. Reluctant to give up power, Hun Sen threatened to upset the election results. Under a compromise arrangement, a three-party coalition formed a government headed by two prime ministers; FUNCINPEC's Prince Norodom Ranariddh, one of Sihanouk's sons, became first prime minister, while Hun Sen became second prime minister.
In September 1993 the government ratified a new constitution restoring the monarchy and establishing the Kingdom of Cambodia. Sihanouk became king for the second time. After the 1993 elections, no foreign countries continued to recognize the DK as Cambodia's legal government. The DK lost its UN seat as well as most of its sources of international aid.
The unrealistic power-sharing relationship between Ranariddh and Hun Sen worked surprisingly well for the next three years, but relations between the parties were never smooth. The CPP's control over the army and the police gave the party effective control of the country, and it dominated the coalition government. In July 1997 Hun Sen staged a violent coup against FUNCINPEC and replaced Prince Ranariddh, who was overseas at the time, with Ung Huot, a more pliable FUNCINPEC figure. Hun Sen's action shocked foreign nations and delayed Cambodia's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). By the end of 1997, Cambodia was the only nation in the region that was not a member.
Despite the coup, elections scheduled for July 1998 proceeded as planned. Hundreds of foreign observers who monitored the elections affirmed that voting was relatively free and fair; however, the CPP harassed opposition candidates and party workers before and after the elections, when dozens were imprisoned and several were killed. The election gave the CPP a plurality of votes, but results, especially in towns, where voting could not be dictated by local authorities, indicated that the party did not enjoy widespread popular support. Prince Ranariddh and another opposition candidate, Sam Rainsy, took refuge abroad and contested the outcome of the election. In November the CPP and FUNCINPEC reached an agreement whereby Hun Sen became sole prime minister and Ranariddh became president of the National Assembly. The parties formed a coalition government, dividing control over the various cabinet ministries. In early 1999 the constitution was amended to create a Senate, called for in the 1998 agreement.
These signs that Cambodia's political situation was stabilizing encouraged ASEAN to admit Cambodia to its membership a short time later.
Pol Pot died in 1998, and by early 1999 most of the remaining Khmer Rouge troops and leaders had surrendered. Rebel troops were integrated into the Cambodian army. In 1999 two Khmer Rouge leaders were arrested and charged with genocide for their part in the atrocities.
Since the Paris Accords of 1991, Cambodia's economic growth has depended on millions of dollars of foreign aid. Foreign interest in Cambodia has decreased, however, and the country has received diminishing economic assistance. This development, along with the continued lack of openness in Cambodian politics, has made Cambodia's prospects for democratization dim, as well as its chances for sustained economic growth.
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WELCOME TO PHNOM PENH
WELCOME TO PHNOM PENH
A mixture of Asian exotica, the famous Cambodian hospitality awaits visitors to the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Situated at the confluence of three great rivers, the 'four arms' of the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac, form right in front of the Royal Palace.
Phnom Penh is the commercial, political and cultural hub of the Kingdom and home to over one million of the country's estimated 14 million people. It is also to gateway to an exotic land... the world heritage site, the largest religious complex in the world, the temples of Angkor in the west, the beaches of the southern coast and the ethnic minorities of the north-eastern provinces. The city offers several cultural and historical attractions including the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum. there are also a wide variety of services including five star hotels and budget guest houses, fine standard dining places, sidewalk noodle shops, neighborhood pubs, international discos and more.
Phnom Penh, like other Asian-city tourist destination, is in the midst of rapid changes. Over the past few year, the number of restaurants and hotels have grown considerably and now the big constructions of high building, are flouring in the heart of the town. Three overland border crossings were opened in 1998 and now there are daily direct flights from several Asian cities. Even travel within the country is easier road condition gradually improving, several airlines flying domestic routes, and regular bus service to major cities. Getting around Cambodia is no longer concern.
Phnom Penh International Airport
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The ferry port in Phnom Penh is on Sisowath Quay (the river front road) at Street 104, just north of the main riverfront park restaurant area. Getting to Phnom Penh by ferry is another option. This is less time consuming and relaxing. while you are arriving at Phnom Penh's Port, there are always motor taxis, Tuk-tuks and taxis waiting for fares. Motorcycle taxis ran about 2,000 Riel-4,000 Riel, car taxis about $3-5$ and tuk-tuks costs 2$-4$ to downtown hotels.
Bus
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One can reach the city through the border crossing by the regularly scheduled air-con buses operate between Poipet and Phnom Penh on National Road No.5 and 6, a border city of Thailand, from Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) to Phnom Penh on National Road No1 and on the National Road No7, from Pakse Province (Laos) to Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh International Airport
"Formerly named as" Pochentong International Airport the largest airport in Cambodia, located 7Km (3.8NM) west of Phnom Penh. The arrival of both international & domestic passengers in Phnom Peng by air at Phnom Penh international airport are around 486,443 since jan 2012-November 2012. Most of the flights to the country passing trough the airport of Phnom Penh are from Asia Pacific cities. Many international as well as regional airlines operate daily flight services. Visas are available at the airport. On the arrival at the airport, taxs and motorcycle taxis(Motordups) or tuk-tuks (Motorcycle trailers) can be hired just outside the arrival lobby. Taxis cost $7.00 for the 10-15 minute ride into the center of city. Cheaper, faster and less comfortable, motorcycle taxis can be hired for $3-$5 int town. Tuk-tuks costs $4-$6 for pleasant and comfortable ride to the heart of the city.
Port of Phnom Penh
Bus
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Welcome To Cambodia
Welcome To Cambodia
Modern-day Cambodia is the successor-state of the mighty Khmer empire, which during the Angkorian period (9th to 14th century) was the cultural heartland of South-East Asia. It ruled over many of what are now Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, and its legacy is one of the wonders of the world. The ruins of Angkor are in a category of their own there is no other historical site in South-East Asia that matches their grandeur of this Ancient Complex. The traveler's first glimpse leaves one bewildered. Angkor Wat, which represents the full flowering of Khmer genius, is a breathtaking experience, matched only by sights such as the place of Lhasa or the Forbidden City of Beijing. Cambodia is increasingly becoming the travel destination of choice, and increasing investments allow all of the dimensions of the travelers to be met in a fashion unique to this flourishing country.
The Land border with Thailand are now opened to foreigners and there are many direct flights between Siem Reap and original destinations. Cambodia is now well and truly back on the travel map of South-East Asia. With the serene and mystifying temples of Angkor, Cambodia has something to offer that none of its neighbors can rival. There are the unspoiled beaches, coral, reefs and seaside paradise with white sand beaches and the warm blue seas of the Gulf of Thailand and national parks that are just starting to see visitors. The meandering Mekong River lures and China.Its mighty waters also provide a habitat for some of the last remaining freshwater dolphins and mountainous landscapes, and the gateway to Cambodia's ethnic minorities and much of the country's diminishing wildlife and forest.
Despite a difficult history, we have cone through the experience with warm smiles and hospitality that are the unique charm of Khmer society. Cambodia's tourism industry is thriving and there is an atmosphere of genuine enthusiasm and warmth towards the foreign visitor. Nobody comes away from Cambodia without a measure of admiration and affection or the inhabitants of this beautiful country.
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How To Get To Cambodia
Cambodia, the Kingdom of wonder and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world welcomes all tourists visiting the Kingdom of Wonder by effort-fully opening the border entrances and launching some direct flights from neighbors and other countries in the world.
Visa and Entry Requirements
A passport validity of at least six months balance at the time of entry. One-month visas are available on arrival at the international airports in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, through Cambodian embassies and at many border crossings. A visa is required for most nationalities with one 4x6 photo for single entry only. Tourist
visa: US$20. Business visa: US$25. Diplomatic, Official, Courtesy, and special visas are issued free of charge. Tourist visas can be extended for one month, but only for one time. Business visas can be renewed indefinitely. Renewing visas through a travel agent or the immigration office located opposite the Phnom Penh International Airport. Furthermore E-visa has been launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to enable visa applying through http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/. E-visa: US$25 for 30 days visa
Visa and Entry Requirements
A passport validity of at least six months balance at the time of entry. One-month visas are available on arrival at the international airports in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, through Cambodian embassies and at many border crossings. A visa is required for most nationalities with one 4x6 photo for single entry only. Tourist
visa: US$20. Business visa: US$25. Diplomatic, Official, Courtesy, and special visas are issued free of charge. Tourist visas can be extended for one month, but only for one time. Business visas can be renewed indefinitely. Renewing visas through a travel agent or the immigration office located opposite the Phnom Penh International Airport. Furthermore E-visa has been launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to enable visa applying through http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/. E-visa: US$25 for 30 days visa
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Travel & Tour
The uniqueness of Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia is a traveler's paradise with traditional Khmer and French architectural patterns. Phnom Penh, fondly called the 'pearl city of Asia'is the cultural, political, economic and tourism hub. Travelers faced no difficulty in how to travel or touring in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh also offers a tour boat along the Mekong River.
Helicopter
The first and newest investment named Cambodia's Helicopter charter and scenic flight offers on-board-scale view over the Cambodian territory with professional pilots. You can capture some pictures and travel to the far tourist destinations and islands faster.Taxi
An air-conditioned transportation in town offers a safe, relaxed, reasonable price and on-call 24/7 taxi service. You can sometimes see some caps parking nearby hotels, restaurants and guesthouses waiting for passengers. 2,500 Riel per kilometer and drivers can speak some English.(Tuk-Tuk)
A new Cambodian transportation, two-stroke namesakes have become quite popular since 2000, offering a quieter and more and more pleasant ride by $1-$3 on the number of passengers and where you are picked up for short trip and $15-$20 for the whole day. Some of the tuk-tuk drivers can speak English, gathering at a popular tourist areas such as the riverfront and tourist hotels, waiting for passengers in calm, happy and friendly gesture with a good experience to protect your bags from being snatched when you are on board.Motorcycle Taxi
(Motordup)
A hand pointed up into the sky ins a sigh that being asked for a hire. A man who sometimes sits on or stands close by his motorcycle always ask walkers a gentle word "Motordup, sir ?" If you say yes, he will ask you where to go and tell you the price. Don't forget go negotiate the price and ask for a helmet due to the traffic law is getting stricter. The engine power of motorcycle is under 225cc, most common and fastest form of public transportation, but necessarily the safest. Motordups are available everywhere.Cyclo (Triple Trailer)
The most popular transportation during 1980s. This such kind of practical form of transportation offers slow, relaxed and romantic touring, sitting in the front providing a much better view of passing street scene. Visiting tourist destinations such as wat Phnom passing the Royal Palace, National Museum and Leng Ka Pagoda to the Beoung Keng Kang1 area should hire a cyclo for a drier and cooler ride. Now adays a group of non-smoking cyclo is popular for touring at the above tourist destinations. Touring along the riverside by cyclo is also encouraged.
For a half day trip to the Silk Weaving Island Tourist boats of varying size and quality wait at the Passenger Port near Street 104 and between street 94 and street 90. just look for the cluster of boats and advertising placards. From about 4pm -5:30pm you can get a sunset cruise for $4-5$/person on a shared tour boat. If you want a private boat, or arrive anytime other than the sunset hours, boats run about 10$-20$/hour for whole boat and offers a standard tour itinerary. Bring your friends and split the price. Prices go up for larger boats & season.↧
Where to go visit & Tour
Phnom Penh is the hub of tourist destinations between three main tourist zones in Kingdom of wonder. Phnom Penh, it's self, offers many attractive touristic places inside and outside the town.
PREAH BOROM REACH VEANG CHAKTUMUK MONGKUL
THE ROYAL PALACE IN PHNOM PENH
The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh was contructed twice:
• The first construction took place in 1434. Then the royal family moved to Oudong, north of Phnom
Penh tin King Ponhea Vat's reign).
. The second palace was built in 1866 and stands to present day. Formerly the Royal Palace was
called Preah Borom Reach Vaeng Chaktomuk Mongkul. The name so given is due to its location
near the intersection of four rivers: The upper Mekong. the Tonle Sap. the lower Mekong and the
Tonle Bassac.
The Royal Palace compound is 435 meters long by 421 meters wide and a high wall, which is decorated with Seima-Shapes, surround the complex. It was constructed in 1866-70 during the reign of His Majesty King Norodom. Oknha Tep Nimith MAK - a leading Khmer architect constructed the PALACE following the conventions of traditional of Khmer architecture.
Most of the buildings include magnificent sculptures and are characterized by many tiered roofs and topped by towers which are symbols of prosperity. The previous buildings were wooden and then reconstructed in concrete, but their original forms have been preserved. The royal Palace is regarded as symbol of the whole nation and all the pavilions are adorned yellow and white, The yellow represents Buddhism and the white represents Brahmanism.
WAT PREAH KEO MOROKOT
(The Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha)
THE SILVER PAGODA
Wat Preah Keo Morokot was built between 1892 and 1902. The original temple was first constructed during the reign of His Majesty King NORODOM in wood and brick. And renovated in 1962 in the style of traditional Khmer architec-ture by His Majesty King NORODOM SIHANOUK .
Although monks did not reside here. It is also a site where the Royal Family the mandarins used to perform royal ceremonies throughout the years according to the traditions of Buddhism. The pagoda is located in the southern section of the Royal Palace compound, enclosed by high galleries. These galleries were used as temporary classrooms for Buddhist monks studying Pali before the school of Pali Language was established in Phnom Penh on 16th December 1930. On the walls of the galleries are murals painting (frescoes) illustrating the Khmer epic -Reamker", analogous with Indian "Ramayana" legend. from the beginning to the end. Famous Khmer artists under the direction of Oknha Tep Nimith Thcal: painted the fresco in 1903-1904. The legend begins in the southern part of the eastern gallery and stretches around 604 meters of wall, reaching a height of 3,65 meters. Today, the weather and microorganisms are gradually eroding parts of the paintings.
The temple is called "Temple of the Emerald Buddha" due to the face& that the main image housed inside is made of emerald. To westerners it is often known as the "Silver Pagoda", thus the silver floor. The floor is completely covered with 5329 silver tiles, each tile weighing 1.125 kilograms. Inside the temple are 1650 artifacts, most are Buddhist statues, made of a variety of precious metals such as gold. silver and bronze, into which diamonds, sapphires, rubies and other precious stones are inlaid.
In front of the immense Bossabok pavilion stands a statue of the Buddha Preah Srei Arya Metreya (the future Buddha) which is made of gold and weighs 90 kilograms including the pedestal and the parasol. The statue is adorned with 2,086 diamonds, the largest on the Bud-dha's crown weighing 25 carats, and a smaller one on the chest weighing 20 carats.
WAT PHNOM
Wat Phnom, the namesake and symbol of the capital city of Phnom Penh, sets prominently atop an ar-tificial 27 meter hill or 'Phnom' in the northeastern section of the city. Legend has it that Daun Penh. a wealthy widow, retrieved a large koki tree trunk from the river. She had hoped to use it tor a house, but inside a hollow of the trunk. she found four statues of the Buddha. She then ordered for a section of her property to be elevated for a small shrine to be erected to revere the statues. This became a sacred site and people started to settle around the hill: eventually, this became the city it now is. It is here that the city gets its name: 'Phnom' means hill m Khmer and 'Penh' is of course the name of the Lady. Later, King Ponhea Yat (1393-1463), built the sanctuary (Vihear) here when he moved his capital from Angkor to Phnom Penh in 1422. The prominent Zstupa immediately west of the sanctuary or vihara ihear) contains the ashes of the late king. The sane-wary itself has been renovated frequently. There are numerous other shrines and other activities on or at the base of the hill. There are gardens that the French iaid out in the late nineteenth century and shrines that reflect Taoist, Confucian, Hindu beliefs and one especially of Vietnamese interests reflected in the shrine Preah Chau.
NATIONAL MUSEUM
The National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh is the country's leading historical and archaeological museum. It was officially inauguratedby K ing Sisowat in 1920. The buildings are inspired by Khmer temple architecture and house more than 14.000 items The National Museum contains the world's largest collection of Khmer arts. including sculptures, ceramics, bronzes, and ethnographic objects dating from prehistoric times to periods before, during, and after the Khmer Empire. The Museum also serves a religious function. Its collection of important Buddhist and Hindu sculptures includes a Post-Angkorian Buddha supported by UNESCO.
TOUL SLENG
TUOI Sleng Genocide Mu- seum / Security Prison 21 (S-21). A ticket costs S2 for a foreigner - Open daily 8am-5pm. Closed for lunch time. Corner street 113 and 350 in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The site was a central torture chamber which was used as the notorious by the Khmer Rouge communist regime from it come to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. Tuol Sleng means "Hill ofthe Poisonous Trees" or "Strychnine Hill". Formerly the Chao Ponhea Yat High School, named after a Royal ancestor of King Norodom Sihanouk, the five buildings of the complex were converted in August 1975, four months after the Khmer Rouge won the civil war, into a prison and interrogation center. The Khmer Rouge renamed the complex "Security Prison 21" (S-21) and construction began to adapt the prison to the inmates: the buildings were enclosed in electrified barbed wire, the classrooms converted into tiny prison and torture chambers, and all windows were covered with iron bars and barbed wire to prevent escapes. From 1975 to 1979, an estimated 17,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng (some estimates suggest a number as high as 20,000, although the real number is unknown). At any one time, the prison held between 1.000-1,500 prisoners.
They were repeatedly tortured and coerced into naming family members and close associates, who were in turn arrested, tortured and killed. In the early months of S-2 l's existence, most of the victims were from the previous Lon Nol regime and included soldiers, govern-ment officials, as well as academics, doctors, teachers, students, factory workers, monks, engineers, etc. Later, the party leadership's paranoia turned on its own ranks and purges throughout the country saw thousands of party activists and their families brought to Tuol Sleng and murdered. Those arrested included some of the highest ranking communist politicians. Prisoners' families were often brought in masse to be interrogated and lat-er murdered at the Choeung Ek extermination center. Upon arrival at the prison, prisoners were photographed and required to give detailed autobiographies. begin-ning with their childhood and ending with their arrest. After that, they were forced to strip to their underwear, and their possessions were confiscated. The prisoners v. ere then taken to their cells. Those taken to the smaller cells were shackled to the walls or the concrete floor. Those who were held in the large mass cells were collectively shackled to long pieces of iron bar. The shackles were fixed to alternating bars; the prisoners slept with their heads in opposite directions. They slept on the floor without mats. mosquito nets, or blankets. The unhygienic living conditions in the prison caused skin diseases, lice, rashes, ringworm and other ailments with four small spoonfuls of rice porridge and watery soup of leaves twice a day. They were forbidden to talk to each other.
Prisoners were routinely beaten and tortured with elec-tric shocks, searing hot metal instruments and hanging, as well as through the use of other various devices. Some prisoners were cut with knives or suffocated with plastic bags. Other methods for generating confessions included pulling out fingernails while pouring alcohol on the wounds, holding prisoners' heads under water, and the use of the water boarding technique some-times forced to eat human feces and drink human urine.
Females were sometimes raped by the interrogators during torture, even though sexual abuse was against Democratic Kampuchea (DK) policy. The perpetrators who were found out were executed. Although many prisoners died from this kind of abuse, killing them out-right was discouraged. since the Khmer Rouge needed their confessions. Through the torture system. several prisoners managed to kill themselves, so the guards were very careful in checking the shackles, cells and hidden objects. Much has been left in the state it was in when the Khmer Rouge abandoned it in January 1979. The prison kept extensive records, leaving thousands of photos of their victims, many of which are on display. Paintings of torture at the prison by Mr. Vann Nath, a survivor of Toul Sleng, are also exhibited. The museum is open to the public, and receives an average of 500 visitors every day.
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They were repeatedly tortured and coerced into naming family members and close associates, who were in turn arrested, tortured and killed. In the early months of S-2 l's existence, most of the victims were from the previous Lon Nol regime and included soldiers, govern-ment officials, as well as academics, doctors, teachers, students, factory workers, monks, engineers, etc. Later, the party leadership's paranoia turned on its own ranks and purges throughout the country saw thousands of party activists and their families brought to Tuol Sleng and murdered. Those arrested included some of the highest ranking communist politicians. Prisoners' families were often brought in masse to be interrogated and lat-er murdered at the Choeung Ek extermination center. Upon arrival at the prison, prisoners were photographed and required to give detailed autobiographies. begin-ning with their childhood and ending with their arrest. After that, they were forced to strip to their underwear, and their possessions were confiscated. The prisoners v. ere then taken to their cells. Those taken to the smaller cells were shackled to the walls or the concrete floor. Those who were held in the large mass cells were collectively shackled to long pieces of iron bar. The shackles were fixed to alternating bars; the prisoners slept with their heads in opposite directions. They slept on the floor without mats. mosquito nets, or blankets. The unhygienic living conditions in the prison caused skin diseases, lice, rashes, ringworm and other ailments with four small spoonfuls of rice porridge and watery soup of leaves twice a day. They were forbidden to talk to each other.
Prisoners were routinely beaten and tortured with elec-tric shocks, searing hot metal instruments and hanging, as well as through the use of other various devices. Some prisoners were cut with knives or suffocated with plastic bags. Other methods for generating confessions included pulling out fingernails while pouring alcohol on the wounds, holding prisoners' heads under water, and the use of the water boarding technique some-times forced to eat human feces and drink human urine.
Females were sometimes raped by the interrogators during torture, even though sexual abuse was against Democratic Kampuchea (DK) policy. The perpetrators who were found out were executed. Although many prisoners died from this kind of abuse, killing them out-right was discouraged. since the Khmer Rouge needed their confessions. Through the torture system. several prisoners managed to kill themselves, so the guards were very careful in checking the shackles, cells and hidden objects. Much has been left in the state it was in when the Khmer Rouge abandoned it in January 1979. The prison kept extensive records, leaving thousands of photos of their victims, many of which are on display. Paintings of torture at the prison by Mr. Vann Nath, a survivor of Toul Sleng, are also exhibited. The museum is open to the public, and receives an average of 500 visitors every day.
CHOEUNG EK
The Killing Field
CHOEUNG EK The Killing Field About 15km southwest of Phnom Penhn. The easy way to get to the Killing Field-Motorcycle taxi (Motordup) costs $4-$7 (20-30 minutes.) Motorcycle trailers (Tuk-tuks) charges $8-$12 (30-40 minutes,) Car Taxi costs S12-$15 (20-30 minutes.) Normally all the streets in the town are busy at the evening time from 5:00pm till 7:00pm. You had better leave the killing field before 5:00pm.
What is the Choeung Ek?
It was once an orchard and a Chinese cemetery but became one of the infa-mous killing fields during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). There were more than 17,000 men, women and children exe-cuted at dumping grounds that could be found scattered across the field, most whom had first suffered through interrogation, torture and deprivation in the S-21, the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. When you approach the Choeung Ek front gate. you will see a 62 meters high-standing stupa. build in 1988 and designed by Mr. Lim Ourk, some parts designed in style of Royal Palace's architecture, standing as a memorial of the madness of the Khmer Rouge Regime, containing8,000 of skulls and long bones of the dead bodies that found 8,985 in 1980. Behind and around, there are dozen of mass graves which were fulfilled of dead bodies (1975-1979) but still be found some parts ofclothes and small bones so far. Audio guide is available at the ticket counter. A ticket costs $5 included audio guide for a foreigner, $2 excluded audio guide. There is also a small souvenir shop as well. Audio guide can guide exactly the amount of dead bodies in each hold.
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(20 km northwest of Phnom Penh — Take road No. 5 to Prek Phnao street). For the complitely differ-ence from Udong. At the bottom of Phnom Prasethi. a pagoda build by concrete, unduly ornate. semi-replica of Angkor Wat and not often used for a film capture of ancient time. local visitors have been mostly there for architectural building sight and donation. Tuk-tuks: $15-$20 for round trip.Motordup: $10-S15 for round trip. Taxi: $20-$30.
The Silk Weaving Island (Koh Dach)
For those who want to make a day trip to tourist places outside the town, the Silk Weaving Island should be the first place. A nearby village which dedciated to almost entirely silk weaving — the hand looms, other dying and spining weels made of bicycle parts will be seen under most of the houses with a glance while you are tripping past through the island, A 18 kilmeter half day trip from Phnom Penh to the Cambodian silks and silk weaving island by I -houre boat cruise up the Mekong river or on land triping. just across the Cambodian-Japanese Freindship Bridge foward on the road No. 6 about 12 kilometers you'll see a sign of The Mekong River crossing ferry dock on the right side. take the Mekong River crossing ferry then let try the dirt roat to the north of island or arrange a visit through a guesthouse, travel agent (for about $10/per-son) or arrange it yourself through one of the riverfront cruise boats along the Sisowath Quay near the street 136. It should be 20$, based on the tourist season, for a private round trip boat. Koh Okhna Tey (The Mekong Island) or weaving house may be the ported point while the boat approached island. Tuk-tuks: $15-$20 for round trip. Motordup: $10-$15 for round trip. Taxi: $20-$30 for round trip.
Udong
40 km west of Phnom Penh. just off roate No. 5 romanised as Oudong. U-Tong and Odong. the abandoned royal city of Udong Meanchey from 1618 until 1866 when capital was officially moved to Phnom Penh by King Norodom. Serveral old and new temples. stupas and other stnictures lay from the southwest to northeast. The hill is crowned will many stupas containing the remains of serveral Cambodian Kings including King Monivong and King Ang Duone.
Tuk-tuks: $18-$23 for round trip. Motordup: $13-$18 for round trip. Taxi: $25-$35 for round trip.
Tuk-tuks: $18-$23 for round trip. Motordup: $13-$18 for round trip. Taxi: $25-$35 for round trip.
Phnom Reap
Phnom Prasethi
If you are visiting Phnom Reap, do not miss this holy hill. The uper hill is a destina-tion for weekend holidayers from Phnom Penh, offering pinicking with the country-side view. Tuk-tuks: $15-$20 for round trip. Motordup: $10-$20 for round trip. Taxi: $20-$30 for round trip.
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Phnom Tamao/Prasat Tamao/Ta Khmau
Khmau 39 km southeast of Phnom Penh, just off route No. 2, 1000 riel entrane fee. A popular zoo include a huge area cover 80 hetares for elephants, tigers,lions, bears, birds and more. Furthermore there is an I I th century. Angkorian era temple ruin in very poor condition (Prasat Tamao) sits at the top of Phnom Tamao. Constructed under the King Surya-varman I in the entury before Angkor Wat. Tuk-tuks: $18-$23 for round trip. Motordup: $13-$18 for round trip. Taxi: $25-$35 for trip.
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A 133 m !light hill. 42 km south of Phnom Penh, just off route No. 2 An ancient Khmer temple ruin sits on the top of the hill. The temple was built in the 10th '1 1 th century of laterite and bricks with carved sandstone linels and pediments by King Suriyavarman I, dedicated to Hindu divinities Shiva and Vishnu. The 133 m hight hill must be climbed on foot by the 503 steps to the temple on the top of the hill for the quolity of the ruins and the amazing view of the countryside make the effort well worth it. Bus: $5 depart every houres from Phnom Penh. Tuk-tuks: S20-$25 for round trip. Motordup: $15-$20 for round trip. Taxi: $20-$40.
Tonle Batey Resort
35 km south of Phnom Penh. the capital ofCambodia. just off route No. 2 For swimming and fishing spot, Tonle Bali is a small lake and popular picnicky destination for the locals The two Angkrian era temples, Ta Phrohm and Yeay Peau - built under the Jayvarman VII in the late 12th century during the same period that Bayon and Angkor Thom in Siem Reap were constructed, are along on the road. Bus: $5 depart every houre t'orTakeo.Tuk-tuks: $20-$25 forround trip. Motordup: $15-$20 for round trip. Taxi: $20-$40 for round trip.
Phnom Chiso
Kirirom
112 km west of Phnom Penh, just off route No. 4 The Cambodian's first of-ficially designated national park and popular creation site for a weekend picnic with the view of forest, waterfalls, small lakes and animals, lying at 675 m (2,215 ft.) above sea level. The park extends oven the eastern part of the Cardamom Mountain. Van: $60-$80 for round trip.
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What to Buy
The charming city is the hub of tourist destinations and business operating. Phnom Penh is the cluster of local and imported products from other provinces and countries. One Village One Product, organized by the Government, is a concept to make local products with high quality by using existing local raw materials and skills selling at national and international markets in order to increase the income of rural families. One Village One Product is eager to promote and encourage people to have concept in creating one or more products with good quality. The tourism linked products such as handicrafts, souvenirs, carving, gem stones, ceramics, arts, fruit and vegetable and more...
Is known as a traditional existing raw material getting from mulberry trees, providing silkworm feed to silk dyeing and weaving. The luxurious touch of the silk and ranges of colors produced in Cambodia can be elegant, alluring and prized by silk collectors over the world. It is used for souvenirs, handicrafts and bed coverings such as quilts, pillow covers, cushions, duvets — available at the Me-kong Quilts located at house 49 street 240. Silk can be sewn and woven into many designs and patterns for interior designs in pillow cases, lounges, soft furnish-ings, draperies, lampshades, even silk flowers. Mainly twill weave, Cambodian silk in 2-ply, raw silk, and silk organza for elegant dresses and other clothing for men and women. Cambodian silks are available across the town and Russian Market or The one specializing in silk-maker is Angkor silk farm providing basic mulberry tree growing to silk weaving located in Puok District, Siem Reap Province
Statues & Carving
The University of Fine Art offers many skills including sculpture, the ancient heritage. It paves the way to the method of sculpting which entails carving or etching away the surface of a flat piece of stone, metal or wood as Buddha and various Hindu gods, personage imagesand various souvenirs. Cambodia's best-known stone carving adorns the temples of Anekor, which are "renowned for the scale, richness and detail of their sculpture". In modern times, however, the art of stone carving become rare, largely because older sculptures survived undamaged for centuries (eliminating the need for replacements) and because of the use of cement molds for modern temple architecture. By the 1970s and 1980s. the craft of stone carving was nearly lost. University of fine art located northwest of Royal palace and accompanied by a dozen of art gallery, painting, statue and carving shops. Furthermore, Artisans d'Angkor has been inheriting the ancient Khmer art and craft since 1998 by providing a quality education on art & craft to young Khmer coming from rural area through an entirely fee off charge and paid training. You are welcome to a free guided tour in Artisans d'Angkor workshop located in Puok District Siem Reap Province.
Silverwork
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Even the genocide regime almost terminated everything and all Cambodian lives but now all parts and fields are flourishing like the sun is shining including "Sil-verwork". Silverwork in Cambodia dates back centuries. The Royal Palace traditionally patronized silversmiths' workshops, and silversmiths remain concentrated at Kompong Luong, near the former royal capital of Oudong. Silver was made into a variety of items, including weaponry. coins, ceremonial objects used in funerary and religious rituals, and betel boxes. During cambodia's colonial period, artisans at the School of Fine Art produced celebrated silverwork, and by the late 1930s there were more than 600 silversmiths. Today, silver-work is traditional popular for boxes, jewelry, and souvenir items such as betel box also known as areca nut container, these are often adorned with fruit, fire, and Angkor-inspired motifs. Men produce most of the forms for such work, but women often complete the intricate filigree.
Silverwork
Even the genocide regime almost terminated everything and all Cambodian lives but now all parts and fields are flourishing like the sun is shining including "Sil-verwork". Silverwork in Cambodia dates back centuries. The Royal Palace traditionally patronized silversmiths' workshops, and silversmiths remain concentrated at Kompong Luong, near the former royal capital of Oudong. Silver was made into a variety of items, including weaponry. coins, ceremonial objects used in funerary and religious rituals, and betel boxes. During cambodia's colonial period, artisans at the School of Fine Art produced celebrated silverwork, and by the late 1930s there were more than 600 silversmiths. Today, silver-work is traditional popular for boxes, jewelry, and souvenir items such as betel box also known as areca nut container, these are often adorned with fruit, fire, and Angkor-inspired motifs. Men produce most of the forms for such work, but women often complete the intricate filigree.↧
Shopping in Phnom Penh
Many provinces have its own products and these products are available at each pro-vincial markets or houses, where these products are made, and transported to 1 Phnom Penh for more distributions.While all products are being transported and imported to Phnom Penh, a plenty of shops are under renovation, construction and flouring throughout the town. Phnom Penh offers a plenty of shopping opportunities, selling all kinds of traditional Cambodian souvenirs, arts, silks, handcrafts and curios include hand-loomed and hand-pounded silks, Buddhist themed carvings and statuary, colored gems and jewelry, basketry and traditional Cambodian checkered scarf (krama) - available at Rehab Craft Cambodia. Phnom Penh offers both traditional and night markets selling some what wider range and variety. Especially Russian Market (Phsar Toul Thom Pong) and Central Market (Phsar Thmey).
Phsar Thmey (Central Market)
Designed by a French archi-tect, the bustling art deco and unique colonial style with distinctive yellow dome and four wings extending in four different directions, symboli-zing the confluence of four rivers (Chaktomouk,) constructed without obstructing pillars and the huge beamless dome are very well ventilated by the high ceiling, located at was once a swamp area occupied by a lake known as Beng Decho. Central market is a famous city landmark and a must-see as a shopping destination opened in 1937 offering a wide range of goods including tourist souvenirs, fresh produces to cooked food, jewelry, watches, shoes, stationary, flowers, clothes including t-shirt and second hand jeans. The eastern entrance is the main walkway to welcome a bulky foreign visitors linked with the famous and official Boulevard (Norodom Boulevard) through a short connection of street 130. When you step off the bus/van, you will see the displays of flowers used for national and religious occasions, the souvenir vendors line the entrance walkway offering statuary, silverwork, handicrafts, silks and kramas, carvings, photocopy books, postcards and the largest selection of souvenir t-shirts, caps, towns and central dome displays jewelry and gems.
Phsar Toul Tom Poung (Russian Market)
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Became a foreigner's market during the 1980's when Rus-sians were gathering around this place. It is good for souvenir and antique collectors, offering the lamest selection of souve-nirs, curios and other interesting items. From the eastern entrance till the southern entrance, begins with a plenty of stalls, selling souvenirs, carvings, handcrafts, silks, fabrics, curios, postcards, t-shirts, second hand jeans, CDs and electronic products. Straight up to heart of market line up with the cells of inexpensive Khmer and Vietnamese food.
Phsar Toul Tom Poung (Russian Market)
Became a foreigner's market during the 1980's when Rus-sians were gathering around this place. It is good for souvenir and antique collectors, offering the lamest selection of souve-nirs, curios and other interesting items. From the eastern entrance till the southern entrance, begins with a plenty of stalls, selling souvenirs, carvings, handcrafts, silks, fabrics, curios, postcards, t-shirts, second hand jeans, CDs and electronic products. Straight up to heart of market line up with the cells of inexpensive Khmer and Vietnamese food.
Night Market (One Village One Product Market)
Is a new Phnom Penh Mein market, located in the park comer street 106 and 108 at the river front, opened 5:00pm to10:00pm. The market is aimed squarely at visitors and tourists offering a wide and varied selection of Cambodian handcrafts, silks, carvings, arts, curios and souvenirs. Opened every night in the high season and three nights per week in the low season. Until at least midnight open during the Cambodian holidays and festivals with a live con-cert or circus, held by street children or sonic NG0s.
Soriya Mall
A modern shopping center is conveniently located south of the central Market and just in Trsak Phaem Street 63, 100 meters for Central Market, on the block of the Phnom Penh market scene, the Soriya Mall daily opened from 8:00am to 9:00pm offers various fashion clothing, game center, children toys, gem stones, electronic products, furniture and cosmetic products. The top floor offers a big hall cinema.
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Bank and Money in Phnom Penh
The Cambodian currency is Riel that can fluctuate a little if it is compared with dollars. Riel denominations are 100,000. 50.000, 20,000. 10,000, 5,000. 2,000. 1.000. 500, 200. 100, and 50. Banknotes, which are printed in both Khmer and English. increase in size according to value and in different colors. Credit cards are only accepted in banks and hotels. Most businesses, especially hotels, restaurants, airlines, markets and souvenir shops set their prices in US dollars but it is given in Riel if change of less than one dollar. Foreign currencies can be easily changed at airports. hotels or markets, but American dollars are widely accepted and changed in Cambodia.This is in no way "Black Market or unofficial," Cambodian Tourist Visa payment and airport departure taxes must be paid in US dollars and cannot be settle in Rid. Money changers are around the markets and you can also exchange money at some stalls, selling goods on the streets, with just slightly cheaper exchange rate than banks and money changers. As at January, 2012 — October, 2012 it is between 4.000 and 4,200 Rid l per US$. ATMs are located across the town. See the Acleda Bank ATM locations on the city map. ACLEDA Bank accepts Visa. Gold Dots and ATMs. ANZ Royal Bank and Canadia Bank ATMs both accept Cirrus, Plus. Maestro. Visa and MasterCard. SBC Bank accepts Visa, MasterCard and ATMs. All ATMs dispenses. Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard (MC) and JCB cards are the most widely accepted credit cards in Cambodia. AMEX is coming into wider use, as well as the new ANZ Bluespot card. Diners Club ( DC) is accepted at very few places. Most businesses charge a 2% commission on credit card payment. Travelers checks are accepted at most banks, major hotels, restaurants and some money changer. Most banks will exchange Travelers Checks of most major currencies for withdrawal in US$. Generally commission is charged at 2% by the bank. AMEX in US dollars is the most widely accepted. Case Transfers "Money-Gram or Western Union" are the Bank service used to transfer cash instantly. Ordinary telegraphic transfers are available at all major banks. Banks are opened from 8:00am-3:00pm or 4:00pm, Monday to Friday. Some are opened tell Saturday morning 11:30am.
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