Cambodia

=Cambodia =

**People and Culture**
Population (2008 census): 13.4 million. Avg. annual population growth rate (2008 census) 1.54%.Ninety percent of Cambodia's population is ethnically Cambodian. Other ethnic groups include Chinese, Vietnamese, hill tribes, Cham, and Lao. Theravada Buddhism is the religion of 95% of the population; Islam, animism, and Christianity also are practiced. Khmer is the official language and is spoken by more than 95% of the population. Some French is still spoken in urban areas, and English is increasingly popular as a second language.

**Resorts**
//Ratanakiri// Situated in the northeastern corner of Cambodia, where the Indochina Triangle (Laos,Vietnam and Cambodia) is, Ratanakiri is home of the country natural heritage and cultural diversityof multi-ethnicity population. //Ochheuteal// Ochheuteal Beach, known as ‘UNTAC Beach’ in the early 1990s, is the most popular beach in Sihanouk Ville with little shack-style seafood restaurants and bars lining the almost 2km of the sand’s edge from ‘Serendipity Beach’ to the development area at the south end.

Culture
Approximately 90 per cent of the Cambodian population follows Therevada or Hinayana Buddhism, though this is strongly overlaid with ancestor-worship and animist practices. Over the centuries Buddhist temples ( wats ) developed an important role in the preservation of culture and the provision of education, especially in rural areas. However, during the 1970s Buddhists were severely persecuted by the Khmer Rouge. Monks were forced to do manual labour with the rest of the population and many lost their lives; most of the country’s wats were destroyed during this period. Since the 1980s, with the encouragement of the government, Buddhism has undergone a remarkable revival and is now recognised in the Cambodian Constitution as the state religion

**Food**
The food in Cambodia is similar to that of neighbouring Thailand and other Asian foods, except we found it to to have a little less spice and variety, and seems to lacks the 'oomph' that makes Thai food so popular! In Cambodia you will find lots of fried rice and fried noodle dishes. Garlic is a major ingredient in many of the dishes — and they don’t chop it up too finely either! However, there are some local specialties which are worthy of a mention, which you can see below. A spoon and fork are used to eat most meals, the exception is that chopsticks are used with noodle soup. However the spoon and fork are not used in the conventional western manner — the spoon is used for putting food in the mouth while the fork is used for cutting and shoveling. We found that the cutlery was served at the table in a half glass of freshly boiled water — to sterilize them I suppose.

<span style="color: #00ff00; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Language
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The majority of Cambodians, even those who are not ethnic Khmer, speak Khmer, the official language of the country. Ethnic Khmer living in Thailand, in Vietnam, and in Laos speak dialects of Khmer that are more or less intelligible to Khmer speakers from Cambodia. Minority languages include Vietnamese, Cham, several dialects of Chinese, and the languages of the various hill tribes.

<span style="color: #00ff00; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Music
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cambodian [|Art music] is highly influenced by ancient forms as well as [|Hindu] forms. Religious [|dancing], many of which depict stories and ancient myths, are common. Some dances are accompanied by a [|pinpeat] orchestra, which includes a [|ching] ([|cymbal]), [|roneat] ([|bamboo] [|xylophone]), [|pai au] ([|flute]), [|sralai] ([|oboe]), [|chapey] (bass [|banjo]), [|gong] ([|bronze] [|gong]), [|tro] ([|fiddle]), and various kinds of drums. Each movement the dancer makes refers to a specific idea, including abstract concepts like //today// (pointing a finger upwards). The 1950s saw a revival in classical dance, led by queen Sisowath Kossamak Nearyrath

<span style="color: #00ff00; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sports
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Most of the native people do not play sports. Team sports played in Cambodia include football (soccer), basketball and volleyball. There are opportunities for swimming along the coastline and in the inland waters. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">An international half marathon in December is held at Angkor Wat, one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia.

<span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Geography**
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cambodia is located on mainland Southeast Asia between Thailand to the west and north and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It shares a land border with Laos in the northeast. Cambodia has a sea coast on the Gulf of Thailand. The Dangrek mountain range in the north and Cardamom Mountains in southwest form natural boundaries. Principal physical features include the Tonle Sap lake and the Mekong and Bassac Rivers. Cambodia remains one of the most heavily forested countries in the region, although deforestation continues at an alarming rate.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sites to see <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Of course, most people will cite [|the temple complex at Angkor] and more likely [|Angkor Wat] itself as being the reason they visit Cambodia and indeed some 50% of tourists to the country make a beeline to [|Siem Reap], the site of the temples. But Cambodia has so much more to see. The French left a charming architectural legacy that the Khmer Rouge miraculously did not destroy and Cambodia has many beautiful natural spots as well as interesting cultural sites and sights, both religious and secular. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Like most Southeast Asian people, the Cambodians are unassuming, modest and extremely welcoming and these attributes make them good hosts; something that many Westerners greatly appreciate when there is a language barrier. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Angkor Wat** is the most famous ancient temple site in Cambodia, and visiting the ancient Angkorian temples is the reason most visitors come to Cambodia, and to Siem Reap. With its five lotus-like towers rising 65 meters into the sky, it is truly a monumental, and awe inspiring sight. This UNESCO World Heritage site was at one time the largest pre-industrial city in the world, and considered one of the ancient wonders of the world. Angkor Wat is the crown jewel of any visit to the temples of Angkor <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**History**
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Funan Kingdom, believed to have started around the first century BC, is the first known kingdom of Cambodia. The kingdom was strongly influenced by Indian culture by shaping the culture, art and political system. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">An alphabetical system, religions and architectural styles were also Indian contributions to the Funan Kingdom. There is archeological evidence of a commercial society in the Mekong Delta that prospered from the 1st to 6th centuries. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Returning from abroad, a Khmer prince declared himself the ruler of a new kingdom during the 9th century. Known as Jayavarman II, he started a cult that honored Shiva, a Hindu god, as a //devaraja// (god-king) which then linked the king to Shiva. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">He also began the great achievements in architecture and sculpture while his successors built an immense irrigation system around Angkor.. His successors (26 from the early 9th to the early 15th century), built a tremendous number of temples - of which there are over a thousand sites and stone inscriptions (on temple walls). By the 12th century, Cambodia had spread into other areas, now known as Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia (the peninsula). There is actually still evidence of Khmer inhabitance in Thailand and Laos to this day. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The 13th and 14th centuries were not as successful for Cambodia, some believe it was due to the increased power of (and wars with) Thai kingdoms that had at one time paid homage to Angkor. Others believe it was due to the induction of Theravada Buddhism, which was totally contrary to the Cambodian societal structure at that time. After this time historical records are rather sketchy at best regarding Cambodia and it is considered the "Dark Ages" of Cambodian history. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cambodia was ravaged by Vietnamese and Thai invasions and wars up until the 19th century, when new dynasties in these countries fought over control of Cambodia. The war, that began in the 1830's almost destroyed Cambodia. King Norodom signed a treaty that enabled the French to be a protectorate, thus effectively stopping the Viet-Thai war within. For the next 90 years, France in essence ruled over Cambodia

=
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Most families have little opportunity to do anything other than work as subsistence rice farmers. Rice is planted during the first two months of the rainy season, cultivated for several months and harvested over the last two months before the dry season. Then, during the five months of the dry season, the families hope they have saved enough money or rice to keep from starving until the next harvest. Few families own more than one small rice paddy, and many own no plantable land at all and work as tenant farmers. Field labor is paid 75 cents to $1 per day, but work isn't available during the dry season. Life has been very hard for these families, yet they love their children with all their hearts, and they work very hard to make their villages a better place to live. ====== <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Before Sustainable Cambodia began partnering with these families, they often had no drinking water other than what they were able to collect from small man-made ponds covered with algae and scum. And even the children had to work the fields during the few months work was available, to avoid outright starvation.

=
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> ======

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Works Cited**
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">People and Culture-[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Geography-[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Resorts/ Photos-[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Culture/ Photos[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">History-[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sports/ Photos-[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Living Conditions/ Photos-[]