About the Country - Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia, formerly known as Kampuchea is located in Southeast Asia with a population of over 14 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh. Cambodia is the successor state of the once powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire. The country borders Thailand to its west and northwest, Laos to its northeast, and Vietnam to its east and southeast. It faces the Gulf of Thailand to the south. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong river and the Tonlé Sap ("the fresh water lake"), an important source of fish.

Cambodia has a distinct geographical personality where it is a wide basin surrounded by highlands. In this basin, farmers created a simple life with a philosophy of mildness. After many years of war, people started to rebuild and reconstruct industries in all fields. Cambodia is divided into 20 provinces and rich in resources, forests, rubber, gems, fish and has a big potential in tourism. Cambodia's main industries are garments, tourism, and construction. In 2007, foreign visitors to Angkor Wat alone almost hit the 4 million mark.
The civil war and wildlife severely damaged Cambodia's transport system, but as a result of assistance and equipment from other countries, Cambodia has been able to upgrade the main highways to international standards and most are vastly improved from 2006. Most main roads are now paved. Cambodia also has two rail lines and run from the capital to Sihanoukville on the southern coast, and from Phnom Penh to Sisophon. The resurfacing of a former dirt road with concrete / asphalt and implementation of 5 major river crossings by means of bridges has now permanently connected Phnom Penh with Koh Kong. As a result, there is now uninterrupted road access to neighbouring Thailand. There is also extensive inland waterways which were historically significant in international trade. Cambodia has two major ports, Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, and five minor ones. With increasing economic activity has come an increase in automobile and motorcycle use, though bicycles still predominate. The country has four commercial airports and connects other countries with Cambodia.

 
Like most of Southeast Asia, Cambodia is hot through the year. Its climate is dominated by the annual monsoon cycle with its alternating wet and dry seasons. During the summer months of June through October, moist air is drawn landward from the ocean bringing the southwest monsoon rains to Cambodia and much of Southeast Asia. During the winter months of November to May, the air pressure over central Asia rises, driving cool dry air back across Southeast Asia and bringing on a largely rainless dry season to Cambodia. From November to February, Cambodia is cool and dry with average mid-day temperatures in the mid 20s. The monsoon rains trail off through October and November, and usually stops completely by mid November. It is comfortably warm with clear skies in December and January making it ideal for a beach trip. The dry season from March to May sees short showers in the afternoons that slowly increase in frequency and intensity through these months. February and March are still comfortable but by April mid-day temperatures can hover in the mid to upper 30s.