Siem Reap
Home of Angkor Wat, one of the greatest religious monuments in the world, Siem Reap is a charming tree-lined city with a narrow river flowing through the center of town. While most visitors spend their time exploring the ancient temple ruins, there are plenty of other diversions in town. The Tonle Sap Lake (and river), considered the heart of Cambodia, is located near here and boat tours offer visitors a glimpse into the traditional Khmer way of life. Floating villages, sunset cruises and tours of the bird reserve of Prek Tuol are all worthwhile. Angkor, a few kilometres to the north of the town of Siem Reap, is indisputably the most famous, most enormous, most impressive and most important attraction not only in Cambodia, but in all of Southeast Asia, and maybe even in all of Asia.
Compared Angkor to the old Royal Palace of Bangkok, the Shwedagon Pagoda of Rangoon or the Citadel at the old Vietnamese Emperor's town of Hué fade, Angkor has many of the attractions, monuments and archaeological sites of other places appear small, if not irrelevant. Angkor is truly overpowering.
In its dimensions Angkor is best compared to the Egyptian Pyramids. But Angkor is far more than merely an agglomeration of huge geometrical structures. Despite its enormous constructional dimensions, it is ornamented in detail like Notre Dame of Paris and tells of an ancient art of architecture and sculpturing on a level of the Acropolis of Athens.
Phnom Penh
The capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia is located at the confluence of three rivers: the Mekong, the Bassac and the Tonle Sap. Once considered the loveliest city of Indochina, the city still maintains considerable charm. There is plenty to see in this small colonial capital. The many sidewalk cafes, established along the riverfront, invite the visitor for a rest. In addition to such tourist sites as the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda, the National Museum and Wat Phnom, there are several markets selling silk, silver, gems and antiques. Also worthwhile is a visit to the notorious "Killing Fields" and Tuol Sleng Museum, which chronicle the unfortunate years under the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge.
Rather significantly Phnom Penh's history is founded on an episode, in which the Buddhist religion played a part, contrary to the Khmer capital of that time, Angkor, which was shaped, and literally so, by Hinduism. Nevertheless, Buddhism had, since the beginning of the 13th century, become the dominant religion. (In Southeast Asia both religions are entwined to a much higher degree than first appears to be the case. For instance, numerous Buddhist temples in Thailand house altars of Hindu deities, especially Brahma, and the details of the royal ploughing ceremony in Bangkok are determined by Brahman, not Buddhist, palace priests... just like Thai coronation modalities).
In 1434, after the Siamese conquest of Angkor in 1431, the Khmer nobility unwilling to submit to Siamese overlords fled from Angkor and established Phnom Penh as the new Khmer capital, just 64 years after the Buddhist monastery had been founded on Penh Hill. However, the Khmer never succeeded in setting up a new kingdom to come close to the glamour of Angkor.
In fact, for long periods of time the Khmer kingdom centered in Phnom Penh wasn't a sovereign country but alternatively a satellite state of, or directly ruled by, the Vietnamese or the Thais. For more than 400 years - until the French made Cambodia their protectorate - the art of politics in Phnom Penh was just an exercise of balancing between the two powerful neighbours.
On April 17, 1864, the Cambodian king Norodom accepted for his country the status of a French protectorate. King Norodom expected the French to protect Cambodia from the neighbouring countries Siam (Thailand) and Vietnam.
However, the French protectors did not prevent politically strong Siam from temporarily annexing western parts of the country, including the town of Battambang. Nevertheless, by recognizing French rule, King Norodom preempted moves of Siam and Vietnam to entirely divide his country between them. In past centuries the loss of territory to Vietnam had been more significant. The Mekong delta, or rather the entire present-day South Vietnam, had been settled by Cambodians until well into the 18th century.
During almost 90 years of colonial rule the French reshaped and extended Phnom Penh according to their architectural taste. They built broad boulevards and the city received a touch of Mediterranean atmosphere.
During the Vietnam war the city grew to more than 2 Million inhabitants, creating an atmosphere of an overcrowded refugee camp rather than a French metropolis.
On April 17, 1975, 20 years after the end of French colonial rule, the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh. Within weeks the city was emptied, its population forced into provincial labour camps; Phnom Penh became a ghost town.
After an increasing number of incidents at the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, Vietnamese troops move into Cambodia and on January 7, 1979, take Phnom Penh. Since then, many of the city's former inhabitants have returned, and new folks have arrived. The city now, once more, counts over a Million inhabitants.
Since the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty in 1991, Phnom Penh experienced a great economic boom, despite the civil war still smoldering in far-off parts of the country. Although streets and canalization - destroyed by the Khmer Rouge - are not yet fully repaired, a large number of modern hotels have been built.
Sihanouk Ville
Cambodia’s only deep-sea port is located here and considerable international aid has been spent to improve the infrastructure in the province. Although tourism has increased over the past few years, the lovely beaches of Sihanoukville are some of the most unspoiled in all of Southeast Asia. It is a perfect tropical getaway, with facilities for swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving or just sun-bathing. Boat trips are also available to many of the nearby islands. There are several hotels and local restaurants serving fresh, delicious seafood on the beach.