Amazing Ankor Wat, and Phnom Penh's Silver Pagoda

Since the 1998 elections resulted in a stable coalition government and the final collapse of the K’hmer Rouge, Cambodia has begun to pick itself up and take the first steps on the road to recovery. Its recent entry to the WTO should cement the country’s reintegration into the international community.

The county has a population approaching 13m, 90% of which are ethnic K’hmers. About 1.4m people live in the capital, Phnom Penh. The national religion is Theravada Buddhism. Exploration off the beaten track is limited by large quantities of unexploded ordnance from the tonnes of high explosive dropped during the 3,500 sorties flown by US bombers.

Siem Riep and Ankor
For visitors, Cambodia equals Angkor Wat, the stunning memorial of the brief golden age of the K’hmer Kingdom. Even now, its magnificence exhausts superlatives. It is indeed the jewel in the crown of world heritage. Although it has given its name to the entire site, Angkor Wat is but one of the elements in an enormous complex of temples, terraces, lakes and monuments spread across the 200-square kilometre Plain of Angkor, albeit the most impressive. Taking up an entire square kilometre, the volume of its sandstone masonry is equivalent to that of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, and practically every stone surface is exquisitely decorated with figures, images and Hindu motifs.

The nine square kilometres of Angkor Thom reflects the transition from Hinduism to Mahayana Buddhism and contains the remarkable Bayon, and the famous Elephant and Leper King Terraces. Other temples and monuments have their own distinctive features.

Phnom Penh
In April, 1975, the K’hmer Rouge, in its insane determination to create a peasant nation of uneducated peasants working the land, ordered the entire population of Phnom Penh to leave the city within 48 hours, and then attempted to raze it to the ground. Fortunately, some of its once-numerous temples and heritage buildings escaped the wanton destruction.

Two thirds of the contents of Silver Pagoda (the name derives from the floor of the main temple, fashioned from five tonnes of pure silver) was damaged, but it is still spectacular. Amongst other relics, it houses a life-size solid gold Buddha and other excellent Buddhist statuary. The National Museum contains a wealth of K’hmer artefacts and relics from the ancient Funan period to comparatively modern exhibits.

Some of Phnom Penh’s markets are worth a visit, particularly the New Market, (Psar Thmei – wide range of general goods, flowers and fresh food) and the Russian Market (Psar Tuol Tom Pong – real and fake antiquities: good for souvenirs)

Tonle Sap
The remarkable Tonle Sap is a very large freshwater lake in the centre of Cambodia linked to the Mekong River. During the dry season, the lake shrinks as its water flows downriver. When to monsoon breaks in June, the flow reverses as the Mekong swells and forces enormous quantities of water into the lake, flooding a wide area and acting as a gigantic natural reservoir. The mud left behind as the level drops is highly fertile, and the lake teems with fish, some of which have evolved to flop across land to follow the disappearing water.

Haivenu offers extensions to Angkor and/or Phnom Penh by air. For those that want a more leisurely experience, a boat trip from Ho Chi Minh City up the Mekong River to spend a couple of days in Phnom Penh, then a ferry across Tonle Sap to Siem Riep and Angkor Wat, includes most of Cambodia’s best attractions.