Cambodia is a South East Asian country of around 12 million inhabitants and is most probably best known for the tyrannical exploits of the Khmer Rouge led by the now deceased Pol Pot and subject of the film "The Killing FIelds". Thankfully, those days are in the past and Cambodia is very slowly beginning to emerge as a tourist destination primarily because of the ancient temple complex of Ankor Wat.

In keeping with many of the other South East Asian countries, the Khmers are generally an open and friendly people as a visit to the capital city Phnom Penh confirms. Naturally, in a country where the vast majority of the population are extremely poor, sensible precautions to protect property and person should be taken, although there is no sense of the threat that can be experienced in some other places around the world.

As with all predominantly Buddhist nations, the many temples provide an aesthetic, photogenic backdrop to the city as does the stunning King's Palace. As a former French colony, Phnom Penh like its neighbour Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, has a wealth of fine, historical French colonial buildings, some of which have been renovated and restored to their former magnificence. Others sit sombrely and patiently, awaiting their return to glory. The buildings mingle well with the temples and the old and new examples of traditional Khmer architecture.

Geographically, Phnom Penh sits on the confluence of the Tonle Sap and the hugely impressive Mekong rivers. The breadth of the water where these two rivers meet is quite amazing as it is more akin to an inland sea than a river. One of the more interesting natural phenomenons of the region is that so much water hurtles down the river Mekong at certain times of the year during the rainy season that the flow of the Tonle Sap is reversed. This results in the swelling of a lake upstream by hundreds of square kilometres to 3 times its normal size, trapping many fish and providing a bountiful fishing area. The locals take advantage by putting out nets which trap the fish when the waters eventually recede. Boat cruises run from Phnom Penh up the Tonle Sap to the Ankor Wat World Heritage site.

Of course, no visit to Phnom Penh is complete without visiting the infamous Killing Field situated a few kilometres out of the city and the equally famous Toul Sleng Prison, a former school turned into a prison by the Khmer Rouge where many thousands of people were tortured before being put to their deaths. The photographs of the victims now on display are an eerie reminder of the grim events of that period in the 1970's when up to 25 percent of the population were murdered. At the site of the Killing Field, a stupa filled with skulls and bones sits amongst the excavated shallow graves as a permanent memorial to those who died at the hands of this most cruel of regimes.

The two most important markets are the Russian market for souvenirs and counterfeit goods such as DVDs and CDs and the Central market which is housed in a magnificent if somewhat fading Art Deco style building in the centre of the city. Here you can buy almost anything from food to clothing to jewellery at very reasonable prices with a bit of bartering.

Khmer food is similar to Thai food but without the chillies and, as befitting a former French colony, there is still the odd French chef plying his trade in some restaurants, no doubt to the satisfaction of the many French tourists that visit. Tourists are increasingly well catered for with many restaurants and bars, including the famous Foreign Correspondents Club which incidentally is open to all, lining the quayside of the Tonle Sap River.

On Saturday evenings, the promenade area is full of people crammed into cars, trucks, bicycles, motor bikes and on foot all wanting to see and to be seen. It seems as though the whole population suddenly takes to the street.

We were in Phnom Penh for just a weekend and, as with so many other places we have visited, it is back on the list for a revisit when time and opportunity permit. A visit is recommended.

Visit my web site for photographs.

Kevin Hellon
http://kevinhellon.googlepages.com/home