Cambodia

The Place

Cambodia is immensely fertile, capable of supporting with ease a population several times its current level. There is fruit aplenty, vegetables grow, quite literally, at the drop of a seed, and it is warm all year round.And yet, the very name "Cambodia" has become synonymous with hatred and murder. During the mid- and late 20th century the lush green rice paddies of this gentle land were first raped by B-52 bomber strikes and then converted into the Killing Fields of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.

It will take a long time for the country to heal these scars, but the reconstruction process is now well under way. Cambodia is, for the first time for decades, at peace. Major problems still exist: land mines, poverty, a devastated infrastructure, banditry and the scourge of AIDS; but Phnom Penh and the other cities are slowly being rebuilt.

Meanwhile, the ancient monuments of Angkor have been declared safe and opened to international tourism, as have the hilltop sanctuary of Preah Vihear and many other historical sites throughout the country. Roads are being resurfaced, railways upgraded, and international airports are functioning at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.