After one month of “summer” in southeast Asia, I was on my way to Verbier, Switzerland. I arrived in Ljubljana on 18th of December and on the 20th I was already on my way to Verbier. It was quite a change from tropical forests to glaciers and snow. I’ve also packed all my photo material from Asia, so I was able to edit it in my free time. I spend 14 days skiing with my family and friends in Verbier and it was great.

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometers, sharing an 800 kilometer border with Thailand in the north and west, a 541 kilometer (336 mi) border with Laos in the northeast, and a 1,228 kilometer border with Vietnam in the east and southeast. It has 443 kilometers of coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the lacustrine plain, formed by the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometers during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometers during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

Cambodia’s temperatures range from 21° to 35°C and experiences tropical monsoons. Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May to October. It has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures drop to 22 °C and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can raise up to 40 °C around April.

…near Kampot…

…”rabbit island” also known as Koh Tonsay…

…Koh Tonsay…

…national park near Sihanoukville…

…beach near Sihanoukville… 
…channels near Batambang…

BOKOR NATIONAL PARK

Bokor hill station was built by the French in the 1920s to be used as a retreat from the heat of the plains, a pre-air conditionning strategy familiar in all of Asia. You can see ruins of  Church, and Bokor Palace Hotel and Casino. There are some warnings that there are still some mines so it is best to stay on tracks and not wander around too much. On our way down we walked through jungle for about 3 hours to get down, it was really cool

…Church…

…Casino entrance…

…Casino from the front side…

…take the other stairs…
…road to Bokor hill station…

…amazing jungle at Bokor…

…fantastic landscape (Bokor)…

…perfect lighting in the jungle (Bokor)…

Very few people know where Cambodia is and where it lies on a map. Those who know, probably know only one thing about Cambodia and that’s Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is not the only temple, but is the most recognizable. There is also the famous Angkor Thom (ancient city), Ta Prohm (aka. jungle temple, where Tomb Rider was shot) and others.The country borders Thailand to its west and northwest, Laos to its northeast, and Vietnam to its east and southeast. In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong river. Cambodia is a very poor country. The United Nations Development Program’s 2005 Human Development Index ranks Cambodia 131 out of 177 countries in terms of quality of life. There are still a lot of people that are living for less than 1$ USD a day. GDP in Cambodia is $592 per capita and that’s low! Cambodia has a population of around 14 million people.

The dominant religion, a form of Theravada Buddhism (95%), was suppressed by the Khmer Rouge but has since experienced a revival. Islam (3%) and Christianity (2%) are also practiced.The median age is 20.6 years, with more than 50% of the population younger than 25. UNICEF has designated Cambodia the third most mined country in the world, attributing over 60,000 civilian deaths and thousands more maimed or injured since 1970 to the unexploded land mines left behind in rural areas. The majority of the victims are children herding animals or playing in the fields. Adults that survive landmines often require amputation of one or more limbs and have to resort to begging for survival. In 2006, the number of landmine casualties in Cambodia took a sharp decrease of more than 50% compared to 2005, with the number of landmine victims down from 800 in 2005 to less than 400 in 2006.

A few quick facts:
Index of Economic Freedom: 100 out of 157
Worldwide Press Freedom Index: 126 out of 173
Corruption Perceptions Index: 162 out of 179
Human Development Index: 131 out of 177
Global Competitiveness Report: 110 out of 131

I must say that people were very friendly, and that is was a really nice traveling around Cambodia. The country has some nice beaches in the South that are not so tourist crowded. It has nice national parks and of course a lot of temples. It certainly is an interesting country to visit. It is also interesting fact that the deadliest thing in Cambodia is transport so watch out.

BENG MALEYA

Not so well known amongst tourists, I was practically alone inside.

ANGKOR WAT

Probably the most known temple in Cambodia. Angkor Wat was built for the king Suryavarman II in early 12th century. It is the best preserved temple at the site and is also on the national flag. Everything in Cambodia is connected to Angkor (Angkor beer, Anchor (beer) etc…).

ANGKOR THOM

Ancient city of Angkor Thom. It was established by the king Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century. It was probably the most populated city of its time with population around 2 million people around 13th century AD.

…gate to the city…

…main temple in Angkor Thom – Bayon…

TA PROHM (aka Jungle temple)

Ta Prohm was built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.

The temple of Ta Prohm was used as a location in the film Tomb Raider. Although the film took visual liberties with other Angkorian temples, its scenes of Ta Prohm were quite faithful to the temple’s actual appearance, and made use of its eerie qualities.

So much about Cambodia and the temples in this post. In the following posts I will post some more photos of landscapes, people and places in Cambodia.

As far as I can say, Thailand is something I haven’t seen before. Amazing landscapes, perfect beaches, tropical forests, crystal clear waters, abundance of marine life…should I go on? My favorite things in Thailand were huge cliffs on Phi Phi islands, Long-tail boats, perfect beaches with white sand and Similian Islands (they remind me of Seychelles because the scenery is the same). Oh I forgot the marine life and diving in Thailand!

…cliffs…

…Long-tail boat…

…watch out for that small Long-tail boat…

…tropical forest… …fisherman’s huts on Bamboo island…

…Phi Phi island… …rock formations on Similian islands…

The name should say it all. The beach is located on Phi Phi Don island. I stopped at Monkey Beach when I was traveling around the islands. You must watch out because the monkeys can bite you. After you have fed the monkeys with bananas don’t be surprised if they jump on you wanting more food, trust me I have seen it. They are also very intelligent, they will take stuff out of your backpack if you leave it lying on the beach.

…I really like this shot…