Cambodia Travel Information

History
The history of Cambodia began in the first century A.D with the establishment of a State called Funan. Funan is still renowned as being the oldest Indianized State in the whole of Southeast Asia. Modern day Khmer customs and language evolved from this period in time. Sanskrit, which is part of the Mon Khmer family dialect, was the written and spoken language of that time. The officially known religion began with Hinduism, which over the years evolved into Buddhism. Distinct characteristics of that period still remain today. These features can be recognized in ancient buildings, and ancient farming methods, as well as country clothing.

Area
181,035 km2. It is bordered to the North by Thailand and Laos, to the East and the South by Vietnam, and to the South and the West by the Gulf of Thailand.

Capital City
Phnom Penh (Population approx 2 Million, 290 square kilometers). It is considered the center of Industry, Administration, Commerce, and Tourism.

Food and Drink Rice and fish are the basic foods enjoyed by Cambodians. Delicious noodle soups are available at cafes. Fresh seafood is plentiful at Sihanouk Ville. In major cities a wide range of culinary fare is on offer including; Chinese, Thai, French, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Vietnamese and Middle Eastern.

Geography Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia in the southern part of Indochina, covers an area of 181,035 square kilometers and has a population of 13,124764 million (2003 est.). The country's shape is an almost-square polygon, with Kampong Thom Province as its central point. The country extends 440 kilometers from north to south and 560 kilometers from west to east. This shape makes Cambodia easy for tourists to navigate and poses no difficulties for the development of tourism.

Boundaries of the Country
The borders of Cambodia encompass 2,600 kilometers of which five-sixths are land and one-sixth is costal border.

Plain Area
This area covers 25,069 square kilometers. The total population of the plain area is 5,898,305 or about 51.6 percent of the entire population, and the population density is 235 persons per square kilometer, according to the 1998 census. This area consists of 63 districts, 700 communes and 6,414 villages. The capital city of Phnom Penh, as well as Kandal, Kampong Cham, Svay Riend, Prey Veng and Takeo provinces are located in this area. The plain area is the most crowded inhabited by many races of people including Khmer, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cham, Thai, Lao and Westerners. Minority groups including Kuoy and Steang also live in the Krek and Memut distric in Kompong Cham province.

Coastal Area
Cambodia's coastal area covers 17,237 square kilometers. The total population living in the coastal area is about 845,000 people, or about 49 persons per square kilometer, according to the 1998 census. It consists of 21 districts, 152 communes and 705 villages. The area includes Sihanoukville, Kampot and Koh Kong provinces, and Kep city. All lie along Cambodia's southwestern coast, which is 440 kms. long. Sihanoukville is the mid point of the coastal area. It is 232 kms. from Phnom Penh.

Plateau and Mountainous Area
This area covers 68,061 square kilometers. The total population of mountainous and plateau region is 1,189,042 or about 10.3 percent of the country's entire population, and the population density is 17 persons per square kilometer, according to the 1998 census. It consists of 39 districts, 283 communes and 2,246 villages.

Climate
Cambodia has a temperature range from 21 to 35 °C (69.8 to 95 °F) and experiences tropical monsoons. Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May to October. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season, which lasts from November to March. The country experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest period occurring from January to February.