Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia. The country is under a constitutional monarchy and is ruled by Hun Sen, who has been the head of the government of Cambodia for the past 25 years, establishing himself as the longest serving non-royal leader in South East Asia.
1. The largest religious structure ever built is Angkor Wat (City Temple) in Cambodia. The site measures a massive 1,626,000m2 (162.6 hectares) and was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II from 1113-50 to honour the Hindu god Vishnu. (Source: Guinness World Records) I cannot wait to visit this site as it is on my bucket list!
2. The Cambodian flag depicts the main building of Angkor Wat. Together with the flag of Afghanistan, it holds the distinction of being one of only two state flags to feature a building. (Source: Britannica)
3. Angkor Wat was also the principal filming location for the movie Tomb Raider (2001), starring Angelina Jolie. (Source: IMDB)
4. There are several previously undocumented medieval cities between 900 and 1,400 years old beneath the tropical forest floor in the area surrounding Angkor Wat. Some of these undiscovered cities are the size of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. The discoveries were made in June this year using laser technology. (Source: Guardian)
5. Sampeah is the Cambodian way to greet and bid farewell to people. There are five different ways to show respect to someone using sampeah depending on their age, relationship with you and social status. (Source: Visit Angkor)
6. The King of Cambodia is a trained ballet dancer. King Sihamoni was sworn in as monarch on 29th October 2004 after his father abdicated due to poor health. (Source: BBC)
7. A toilet estimated to have cost up to $40,000 was built for the personal use of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand when she visited Cambodia earlier this year. (Source: Guardian)
8. Cambodia was a colony of France for 90 years from 1863 to 1953. Under King Sihanouk, it became an independent country called the Kingdom of Cambodia. It was occupied by Japan during World War II from 1941 to 1945. (Source: BBC)
9. River dolphins can be found in the upper Mekong River in Cambodia. About 70-100 individuals live in a 190km-stretch of the Mekong River. (Source: WWF)
10. The US secretly bombed Cambodia from 1969 because the country sheltered North Vietnamese forces on its soil during the Vietnam War. (Source: BBC)
11. In Cambodia, it is considered impolite to point the bottom of your feet towards someone. Additionally, it would be completely unacceptable to point your feet towards anything sacred, such as an image of Buddha. (Source: Lonely Planet)
12. Between 1975 and 1979, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge guerrillas and their brutal form of radical communism were responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians.
13. Throughout this period, city dwellers were driven to the countryside, money became worthless, basic freedoms were curtailed and religion was banned. The Khmer Rouge coined the phrase ‘Year Zero’ to represent a return to “better times”. Hundreds of thousands of educated people were tortured and executed in special centres. Others starved, or died from disease or exhaustion. (Source: Britannica)
14. Today, the brutal period is remembered on the Day of Remembrance, formerly called the National Day of Hatred. The day is observed on 20th May every year. (Source: BBC)
15. Decades of war has taken a severe toll on Cambodia. The country has over 40,000 amputees: one out of every 290 Cambodians, constituting one of the highest rates in the world. It is also one of the most land-mined countries in the world. (Source: Huffington Post)
16. Tarantulas are eaten in Cambodia as a snack. During the reign of Pol Pot, Cambodians ate locally found tarantulas as other foods were often scarce. Many Cambodians developed a taste for the giant arachnids and they are still widely consumed today. Apparently, the “legs are pleasantly crunchy”.
17. Tigers were declared “functionally extinct” in Cambodia this year. The last tiger was spotted in the eastern Mondulkiri province in 2007. Cambodia’s forests used to be home to Indochinese tigers but intensive poaching of tigers and their prey has devastated numbers.
18. The rate of deforestation in Cambodia is one of the highest in the world; around 2,000 sq km (494,210 acres) of forest are being lost every year. In the 1990s, timber concessions were granted by the government and a rapid deforestation followed – so much so that by 2005 the country had the third highest deforestation rate in the world. (Source: BBC)
19. One of the more bizarre facts about Cambodia is the “special relationship” the country enjoys with North Korea. The totalitarian regime recently opened the $30 million Angkor Panorama Museum in Siem Reap as a “gift” to Cambodia. (Source: Independent)
20. Cambodia has been changing its name whenever a new government was installed: It was called the Khmer Republic during its republican years, Democratic Kampuchea under the Khmer Rouge regime, and People’s Republic of Kampuchea under the leftist group called Salvation Front. Today, in its latest government form, it is officially called the Kingdom of Cambodia.
21. Traditionally, birthdays are not celebrated in Cambodia. Older people might not even know their birthdays.
22. In Cambodia, the head is regarded as the highest part of the body and shouldn’t be touched even in the kindest manner. (Personal note: I guess I won’t have to worry about people touching my head as I absolutely hate having my head touched especially my forehead hahahaha)
23. In recent times, the country’s biggest source of income has been the textile industry. The second largest source of Cambodian income is tourism.
24. Theravada (pronounced — more or less — “terra-VAH-dah”) Buddhism, which is practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population, is the official religion of Cambodia. The religion is also practiced in Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand and Laos.
25. This branch of Buddhism (Theravada Buddhism) follows the teachings of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, which is a collection of the oldest recorded texts of Buddha’s teachings. There are more than 100 million Theravada Buddhists today
26. The bodies of the people that were killed in the genocide were buried in the “Killing Fields.” The term Killing Fields was coined by the Cambodian journalist – Dith Pran – after he escaped from the regime that led to the killings of so many Cambodians.
27. Cambodia is also home to the first of its kind – “the Killing Cave” of Phnom Sampeau. The cave has the bones of the doctors, teachers, men, women, and children killed by the Khmer Rouge.
28. The Tonle Sap (Great Lake) in Cambodia measures about 2,590 square kilometers in the dry season and expands to about 24,605 kilometers during the rainy season. This is an unusual annual inundation (flooding) of the region. It is also densely populated and is devoted to wet rice cultivation. The region is also referred as “the heartland of Cambodia.”
29. It is a harsh fact about Cambodia that more than two and a half million people in the country live on less than $1.20 per day.
30. KFC, the American fast food giant is losing money in Cambodia, which is the only country where they are not profitable. There are only 6 of these fast food centers in Cambodia. Surprised? Cambodia also does not have McDonalds (nor does Ghana and Yemen).
11 Interesting facts about Khmer Rouge
#31. Khmer Rouge can be defined as a communist guerrilla organization. It opposed the Cambodian government in the 1960s and waged a civil war from 1970, taking power in 1975 (oxforddictionaries.com.)
#32. The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), also known as the Khmer Rouge, gained control of Cambodia on April 17, 1975. However, the party’s existence was kept a secret until 1977.
#33. Pol Pot (real name – Saloth Sar), also touted as one of the world’s most infamous dictators, was appointed as the party’s secretary and leader in 1963.
#34. The aim of the party (Khmer Rouge) was to establish a classless state with a rural agrarian economy.
#35. During the party’s rule, human life was disregarded; and repression and massacre prevailed on a massive scale. Nearly two million people died during the period between 1975 and 1979.
#36. Vietnam supported the Khmer Rouge only to withdraw from Cambodia by the end of 1972. Now, the major responsibilities of the war rested on the shoulders of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (the Khmer Rouge.)
#37. As many as 300,000 people in Cambodia were killed as a result of the bombing, which the Khmer Republic government did with assistance from the U.S. Many people who suffered from the bombing joined the Khmer Rouge.
#38. In an attempt to transform Cambodia into a rural, classless society, public schools, pagodas, mosques, churches, universities, shops and government buildings were shut or turned into prisons, stables, re-education camps and granaries. There was no public or private transportation, no private property, and no non-revolutionary entertainment. Public gatherings and discussions were banned during the period.
#39. The KCP, soon after getting hold of the country, arrested and killed thousands of soldiers, military officers and civil servants from the Khmer Republic regime led by Marshal Lon Nol.
#40. Known as S-21, the most important prison in Cambodia held almost 14,000 prisoners, only 12 of whom survived. The Khmer Rouge was responsible for the detention, interrogation, and execution of these many prisoners. (Personal note: I also cannot wait to visit this historical site as well as creepy as it may sound, but that is a part of history that I am fascinated by)
#41. In what is believed to have been the most brutal rule in the history of the world, Cambodians at that time were forced to grow at least three tons of rice per hectare throughout the country. The consequence of this torturous punishment was that the civilians had to work (forcefully) more than 12 hours a day throughout these years without adequate food and rest.
Some funny facts about Cambodia
#42. There are 1.3 million mopeds in Cambodia for a population of over 1.5 million people. Thus, you can find mopeds almost everywhere you find people in the country.
43. Cambodia has a young population. Most of its population is under 20 years of age.
#44. Funerals are quite expensive in Cambodia, and one may cost an average of $9,000. The procedure typically lasts more than 49 days, and the body is preserved for the first seven.
Cambodia – country at a Glance
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