Quick Facts of Combodia

Population: 13,382,000
Capital City: Phnom Pehn
Languages: Khmer (official), French
Currency: Riel
Religions: Buddhism
Best Time to Visit: Cambodia can be visited year-round, but what you’ll see and how you see it will vary from season to season.In the dry season, from November to April, Cambodia is the easiest to get around. Roads to distant temples, which are impassable in the wet season, are useable and your days are your own as long as you don’t mind a little dust

Stacking your Postcards

The National Museum
The National Museum is set inside a beautiful red traditional pavilion built in 1917-18. It is an annex to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and is exclusively dedicated to Khmer art. The museum is filled with many artifacts from the pre-Angkor as well as the Angkor period shown. One of the more interesting items is a statue of the great god-king Jayavarman VII, who ruled Angkor form 1181 to 1201 and was responsible for many of the architectural wonders.
One of the other interesting things about the museum area are the around 2 million bats that have claimed the museum home. So now, as an additional bonus to seeing the museum's exhibits, visitors can stay near the museum around dusk and watch the bats fill the skies as they set off on their nightly work -- or whatever bats do at night.

The Royal Palace

Cambodia's Royal Palace complex was begun by King Norodom (1834-1904) in 1886, when the capital was moved to Phnom Penh. Most buildings were completed before World War I, with involvement by French administrators and Thai designers and architects. French influence can be seen in the formal gardens which enhance the palace, and there are some European-style buildings on the grounds.

This is the principal attraction of the city and contains the best examples of 20th-century Khmer architecture. The Royal Palace is the official residence of King Norodom Sihanouk. Although off-limits to the public, several buildings within the gleaming yellow walls of the compound can be visited. Set among the perfectly maintained gardens is the exquisite Throne Hall, the Elephant Pavilion where the king’s elephants were kept, the Royal Treasury and the Chan Chaya Pavilion, made especially for performances of classical Cambodian dance. The highlight of the compound, the Silver Pagoda, takes its name from the floor of the temple, which is completely covered in silver tiles. The internal walls are decorated with frescoes depicting episodes of the Ramayana myth, painted in 1903 by 40 Khmer artists. Also called the Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha, the magnificent baccarat crystal image of the Emerald Buddha sits in the centre on a gilt pedestal. There are other intricately carved Buddha images on display, notably the life-size solid gold statue that stands in front of the pedestal, decorated with 9,584 diamonds.

Tuol Sleng Museum
Tuol Sleng Museum, known as the Museum of Genocidal Crimes it was used by the Khmer Rouge as a detention and torture center in the late 1970. Today the building houses exhibits, paintings and photographs of many of the victims. Visitors can see the crude cells built in the classrooms and the torture devices used to extract confessions in Stalinesque purges of the regime. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Choeung Ek
Choeung Ek was the extermination camp where the prisoners from S21 (now the Tuol Sleng Museum) were transported to and executed. Also known as the Killing Fields after the movie of the same name, about 17,000 people were buried here in mass graves. A tall Memorial Stupa was constructed to commemorate the dead and more than 8,000 skulls are displayed behind the glass. At the entrance, a handwritten sign in Khmer and English summarises the atrocities caused by the Khmer Rouge.

The Temples of Angkor
The biggest attraction for most visitors are the temple ruins at Angkor, just a few kilometers from the colonial city of Siem Reap. Well preserved stone temple ruins dating back about 1,000 years cover an area of 200 sq. kilometers. Visitors can easily spend several days exploring here, taking in the thousands of exquisite statues and bas relief carvings that adorn the walls of seemingly endless temple buildings and chedis (stone spires). A cruise on the Tonle Sap -- Asia's largest freshwater lake -- is also a memorable experience.

The Mekong River
The Mekong River transcends Cambodia from North to South. In Phnom Penh it offers stunning sunsets and river cruises and further north you’ll find the almost extinct Irrawaddy dolphins, which exist only here in Cambodia.

Destination Guide

Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh, was named at the colonial time " the pearl of the South Asia East ", French built it with large avenues and it was the most significant city of the basin of Mekong. It was partly destroyed by the " Red Khmers", in particular the religious buildings, and certain frontages still keep traces of the engagements. From a few years, Phnom Penh has left its long nightmare, this city reappears and much of streets are always with building sites of construction. Many hotels were built in Phnom Penh and the city is become again smiling and full with life.
Phnom Penh is the country's capital and it is renowned for its beauty. The area around and surrounding the Royal Palace where magnificent Khmer towers share the boulevard with colored French villas overlooking the banks of the Tonle Sap River should not be missed.

Angkor Wat
In the dense jungle of Cambodia, 200 miles north of the capital city Phnom Penh, and about four miles from the town of Siem Reap, lies the historic city of Angkor. It is a huge complex of more than 100 temples dating back to the 9th century AD, which served as the capital of the great Khmer Empire. Today it is hidden beneath a huge rainforest canopy, and the glorious temples of yesteryears that have been ravaged by wars, weather and looters. Angkor is one of the greatest archaeological and architectural wonders of the world. Once here, you can visit the 'temple mountain' monuments of Angkor which will take you to a different realm altogether. The complex spreads around an area of more than 400 sq km. One has to see to believe the mystery and beauty of the temples. The most famous is the huge and magnificent temple of Angkor Wat. Angkor is currently under the jurisdiction of the UNESCO, but these magnificent monuments are open for tourists to visit.

Siem Reap
There's one main reason the small town of Siem Reap has become a tourist destination.
Angkor Wat and the other temples are among the world's most magnificent historical monuments. Angkor Wat's archaeological significance and overall impact on the visitor puts it in a class with sites like the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal and Machu Pichu. Unlike so many other world class monuments, Angkor Wat, Bayon and the other ruins are as yet unspoiled by commercialism and over-development

Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville was developed from the jungle into the country’s first and only deepwater port in late 1950s. The original name of the city, Kampong Som, was changed to the present one in honor of the king

Situated 230 km southwest of Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville is surrounded by palm-fringed sandy beaches and pristine tropical islands off its south and west coast. Beaches here lies on the west contour of the city, from north to south, namely Victory Beach, Lamherkay Beach, Koh Pos Beach, Independence Beach, Sokha beach, Serendipity Beach and Occheuteal Beach. The most popular beaches are Occheuteal, Sokha, Independence and Victory. From here, you can go island hopping, diving, snorkeling and game fishing at the islands nearby (it is recommended that you use the tour service from a reliable shop). To spice up the flavor of the trip, visitors here should not miss a wide selection of seafood at any fine seaside or hill top restaurants while enjoying the scenic view of the sun setting from the horizon.