Cambodia |
Cambodia Tours & Cambodia Tour Packages |
This section covers many valuable resources on Cambodia such as the travel guides or tips to travelers. Some of the topics contain links to the other related sites of similar subjects. In certain topic, we include lists of useful contacting address for your information.
Cambodia Fact File:
Country Name: The Kingdom of Cambodia
Country Name in Khmer language: Kampuchea
Motto: Nation - Religion – King
Capital City: Phnom Penh
Language: Khmer (Cambodian). Some English, French.
Government: Multy-party democracy under a constitutional monarchy
Important/Major Cities: Siem Reap (Gateway to the temples of Angkor). Sihanoukville (port and beach town). Battambang, Kampong Cham.
Major Rivers/Lakes: Tonle Sap River, Mekong River, Bassac River, Tonle Sap Lake
Ethnic Groups: Khmer (90-95%), ethnic-Chinese, Cham, ethnic-Vietnamese, several ethnic-minorities in the northeast.
Boring Countries: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam
International Airports: Phnom Penh (PHN), Siem Reap (SEP)
Religion: Theravada Buddhism (95%), Islam, Christianity, Animism.
Population of Cambodia: 14.2 million (est.)
Land area of Cambodia: 181.035 km2
Land area of Siem Reap: 10.299 km2
Currency: Riel (US$1=4200R). US dollars are as commonly used as riel
Voltage: 220v/50Hz
Time: GMT +7 hours
Country Calling Code: 855
Internet LTD: kh
Business Hours: 7:30-11:30 / 2:00-5:00 Closed Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
NATIONAL MUSEUM
Located just north of the Royal Palace, the National Museum was recently rested to its former glory as one of the finest examples of Khmer architecture. On display there are more than 5,000 artifacts and objects of 'art from the 6th to the 13th centuries. They include sandstone sculptures, royal barges, palanquins and silk, intricately woven with silver and gold threads. There are also rare religious objects in gold, silver and bronze.
INDEPENDENT MONUMENT
At the intersection of Norodom and Preah Sihanouk Blvd; it was build in 1958.
It is now also a memorial to Cambodia’s war dead and is sometimes known as the Victory Monument. Wreaths are laid here on national holidays.
WAT PHNOM
Legend has it that after a major flood a wealthy Khmer widower named Daun Penh found a large tree on the bank of the Tonle Sap with four ancient statues of Buddha hidden inside. In 1434 she decided to erect a large hill and build a temple to house sacred relics. Today, Wat Phnom remains the highest artificial hill in Phnom Penh and the center of many forms of religious activities.
ROYAL PALACE
Built in 1866 by His Majesty Preah Bat Norodom, the Royal Palace is now home to his Majesty Preah Bat Nodom Shihanouk and Her majesty Preah Reach Akka-Mohesey Norodom.Most of the buildings inside the palace are closed to the public, except for special occasions. Also within the palace walls is the Silver Pagoda, which draws its name from the 5,000 silver tiles that pave its floor. Inside the pagoda there are hundreds of gifts to Cambodian king, including a solid-gold Buddha encrusted with 9,584 diamonds weighing 90 kilograms. For those who love shopping, there are several markets that offer handicraft, silk, silver ware, wood carving, precious stones from the country's famous mines, as well as antique furniture and paintings by local artists.
TOUL SLENG AND KILLING FIELD
When the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975 they converted a former high school in the suburbs of Phnom Penh into a detention and torture center known as Toul Sleng, or S-21. A genocide museum was established at Tulo Sleng after 1979 and today it remains as it looked when abandoned by the Khmer Rouge. Hundreds of faces of those tortured line the walls inside the old school. Most of the 17,000 people detained at Toul Sleng were eventually transported to Choeung Ek, a mass gravesite located 15 km outside Phnom Penh. Known to locals as the Killing Field, Choeung Ek serves as a memorial to those killed under the Khmer Rogue rule. These sites can be extremely distressing, but are and essential part of understanding Cambodia’s tragic past.
