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AngkorWat Temple View, Angkor, Cambodia (2)
  If you’re feeling a little daring, you might want to try consuming some of the more intricate and “interesting” foods that you can find at the local food market from mysterious animal parts or herbs and vegetables that are unstocked in your local grocery store back home. Although Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the area, the people are generally friendly and you’ll often see monks in orange overalls pass through local scenes. Along with Thailand and Myanmar (formerly Burma) to its west, is the historic rice bowl of mainland Southeast Asia. Still, most of the country, which is about the size of the state of Missouri, is forested. The 16 percent of its total land area that will support crop growth is very fertile. Cambodia is a troubled land with a glorious past. In recent years, it has struggled to retain its identity through periods of invasion, misrule, and civil war. These conflicts have severely tested the resilient Khmer culture, which was forged over a period of 2,000 years by influences from much of the continent and even from Europe. Cambodia's golden age occurred eight centuries ago, when the Khmer Kingdom of Angkor rulec an empire that dominated much of Southeast Asia. At home, Khme-artisans built monuments whose ruins still dazzle the world. Much later Cambodia became a French-protected state—in effect, a colony—to-nearly a century before gaining full independence in 1955. Rainfall is variable. The coast receives nearly 200 in. (510 cm.) a year, while Phnom Penh gets less than 60 in. (150 cm.). Temperatures range from about 70° to 95° F. (21° to 35° C). The monsoon season is hot and humid, yet temperatures are highest during the dry season. | |
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