Angkor Wat Cambodia

Over a period of 300 years, between 900 and 1200 AD, the Khmer Kingdom of Angkor produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces on the northern shore of the Tonle Sap, near the present town of Siem Reap. The Angkor area stretches 15 miles east to west and 5 miles north to south. Some 72 major temples or other buildings dot the area. Suryavarman II built the principal temple, Angkor Wat, between 1112 and 1150. With walls nearly one-half mile on each side, Angkor Wat portrays the Hindu cosmology with the central towers representing Mount Meru, home of the gods; the outer walls, the mountains enclosing the world; and the moat, the oceans beyond. Angkor Thom, the capital city built after the Cham sack of 1177, is surrounded by a 300-foot wide moat. Construction of Angkor Thom coincided with a change from Hinduism to Buddhism. Temples were altered to display images of the Buddha, and Angkor Wat became a major Buddhist shrine. ... [Read More]

Cambodia

The town of Siem Reap and the vicinity of the Angkor Wat temple complex remain officially open to tourists.  The Embassy advises U.S. citizens to travel there by air and to limit their movements to the city of Siem Reap and the main Angkor Wat temple complexes.  ...

The U.S. Embassy advises its personnel who travel to the provinces to exercise extreme caution outside the provincial towns during the day and everywhere at night.  Many rural parts of the country remain without effective policing.  Individuals should avoid walking alone after dusk anywhere in Sihanoukville, and especially along the waterfront.  Some of the beaches are secluded, and post has received reports in the past of women being attacked along the Sihanoukville waterfront during the evening hours.  These security precautions should also be taken when visiting the Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) area. ... [Read More]

Background Notes: Cambodia

Country Background Notes, 1990-93Background Notes, 1990Background Notes: CambodiaPA/PCSource: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public AffairsDate: Dec 15, 199012/15/90Category: Country DataRegion: Southeast AsiaCountry: CambodiaSubject: Cultural Exchange, Resource Management, Military Affairs, History, International Organizations, Trade/Economics, Regional/Civil Unrest[TEXT]Official Name: CambodiaPROFILEGeographyArea: 181,040 sq. km. (69,900 sq. mi.); about the size of Missouri.Cities: Capital-Phnom Penh (pop. 4 ... [Read More]

REMARKS BY U.S. AMBASSADOR CHARLES A. RAY

_ Cambodia is home to an ancient and rich culture, best seen at complex of temples around Angkor Wat. ... [Read More]

Background Notes Archive - East Asia and the Pacific

U.S. Department of StateBackground Notes: Cambodia, January 1996Bureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsPrepared and released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam Affairs January 1996Official Name: Kingdom of CambodiaPROFILEGeographyArea: 181,040 sq. km. (69,900 sq. mi.); about the size of Missouri.Cities: Capital-Phnom Penh (pop. between 1 million and 1.2 million). Other cities-Battambang, Siem Reap, Kompong Cham, Kompong Speu, Kompong Thom.Terrain: Central plain drained by the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and Mekong and Bassac Rivers. Heavy forests away from the rivers and the lake, mountains in the southwest (Cardamom Mountains) and north (Dangrek Mountains) along the border with Thailand.Climate: Tropical monsoon with rainy season June-Oct. and dry season Nov.-May.PeopleNationality: Noun and adjective: Cambodian(s), Khmer.Population (1995): 10.56 million.Avg. annual growth rate: 4.1%. Births--44 births/ ... [Read More]

Report to the Congress on the Anti-Thai Riots in Cambodia on January 29, 2003

In the days prior to January 29, Cambodians became increasingly incensed over alleged remarks by a Thai actress, Suwanan Kongying, who had supposedly commented in a cable television interview that she would perform in Cambodia only after Cambodia returned the Angkor Wat temples to Thailand. Circulated by word-of-mouth through Cambodia for months, her alleged remarks were first reported by the Cambodian media on January 18 in a small pro-government newspaper, Reaksmei Angkor. We have seen no independent confirmation of these remarks, and she denied making them. On January 27, Prime Minister Hun Sen commented in a widely televised public ceremony that Suwanan was not even worth the "blades of grass" at Angkor Wat. Student demonstrators later quoted Hun Sen's remarks as justification for their activities. Anti-Thai leaflets were distributed to students in the days prior to the demonstrations. These actions exploited long-standing Cambodian wariness of the Thai, based on a widespread perce ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

Tap water in Cambodia is not potable and for drinking purposes most people at post use readily available and reasonably priced bottled water. All of the Embassy houses are supplied with water distillers that automatically boil and distill tap water for drinking. Tap water can be used if it is boiled first for 10 minutes and then filtered. Iodine is also effective in purifying water. Tap water can be used for washing and bathing. Fresh fruits and vegetables are abundant all year round, but they should be thoroughly cleaned and soaked in an iodine or chlorine solution and then rinsed with purified water before consumption. All meat and seafood must be well cooked before eating. Locally produced milk should be avoided, but UHT whole milk, dried milk, canned condensed milk, and imported fresh milk from Thailand is available. ... [Read More]

I) Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Drug Flow/Transit. Cambodia shares porous borders with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam and lies near the major trafficking routes for Southeast Asian heroin. Some heroin and marijuana are believed to enter and exit Cambodia via the deep water port of Sihanoukville (also known as Kampong Saom), locations along the coastline of Koh Kong (near the Thai border) and Kampot (near the Vietnamese border) provinces, and the river port of Phnom Penh. The country’s main international airport, Pochentong International Airport in Phnom Penh, suffers from lax customs and immigration controls, and some illegal narcotics are believed to transit there en route to foreign destinations. Under the Cambodian government’s "Open Skies" policy, direct flights from major Asian gateways, including Bangkok and Singapore, began serving the regional airport in Siem Reap (location of Angkor Wat) in 2000. Customs and immigration controls in Siem Reap are rudimentary. There was some concern in late 2001 that developm ... [Read More]