Cambodia

Quick Facts

- Capital city is Phnom Penh
- Current population is about  14,000,000 people
- Land area is 181,040 sq km (69,900 sq miles)
- Money is the Cambodian Rial, used alongside the US Dollar
- GDP per capita is about $ 2,800
- Time zone is GMT +7

 

About Cambodia

An amazing country, Cambodia is now changing rapidly as the horrors of the genocidal Pol Pot era fade slowly into history.

When the communist Khmer Rouge party took control in 1975, all city dwellers were forced to move to the countryside, money and personal possessions were outlawed, and the country turned into a massive agricultural work camp.

In the following four years over 25 percent of the population were killed. Anybody associated with the previous government, teachers, doctors, lawyers, monks, dancers, artists and even people who wore spectacles were killed as they were considered intellectual dissenters.

Nowadays the country is much recovered. Whilst areas such as Siem Reap, the location of the Angkor Wat temple complex, have been overwhelmed by package tourists, Phnom Penh, is still for me, a totally civilised place to relax and unwind.