Cambodia has a lot more to offer than the majestic ruins of Angkhor Wat. For those who fancy a few days of relaxation, away from the well—worn tourist trail, the place to go is the country’s beautiful southern coast, which straddles the Gulf of Thailand. Filled with sandy beaches and interesting landmarks, the coast is still at its infancy with regard to commercial tourism, which has resulted in a very laid—back beach scene.

The small town of Kampot, a mere five kilometers from the sea, is home to a number of charming guesthouses, resorts, restaurants and casinos.

Once the premier holiday spot for the French colonialists, ’La Perle de la Cote d’ Agathe’ is dotted by beautiful islands and islets. One of these picturesque islands once belonged to King Sihanouk, where many days of Royal revelry no doubt must have occurred. The Kampot region is also famous for its durian farms — the infamous smelly fruit with a custard—like pulp. Gourmands will also love this region as it purportedly has the best seafood in the whole country, with amazingly cheap but delicious crab buffets found all over town.

Returning to King Sihanouk, the southern coast is also the location of ’Sihanoukville’, or Kompong Som. This maritime port, the first deep—water port in the country, is easily accessible from the capital of Phnom Penh. Beach bums will be in heaven as the area has a large concentration of pretty palm—fringed beaches — some of them completely deserted giving one the feeling as if they were marooned in some exotic island.

The most popular beaches are the Occheuteal, Independence, Sokha, and Victory beaches. These spots are good jumping—off points for those wanting to island—hop, scuba dive, snorkel, or fish. A trip to Sihanoukville of course, is not complete without digging into a seafood feast at one of the many beachside restaurants, or simply watching the dramatic sunset with an ice—cold beer in hand.

Another place not to be missed in Cambodia’s southern coast is the Bokor Hill Station. Located in the Elephant Mountains, it was established by the French elite in the 1920’s as a summer retreat to escape the heat of the lowlands. The area is situated just 1,000 meters from the foot of the mountain and is famous for its pleasant, cool climate and peaceful surroundings. The Bokor Hill Station is sprinkled with old colonial buildings that were previously hotels, casinos, even Catholic churches, as well as attractive residences of French nationals — now abandoned.

Visitors can wander around these old, moss—covered structures and soak in the history of Cambodia’s colonial past. Nature lovers, on the other hand, can bask in the breathtaking vistas of the coastline and the jungle — which is home to monkeys, wild elephants and other exotic animals. The area has recently been declared a National Park to protect these historical monuments as well as the jungle habitat of these creatures.

Like most countries, Cambodia also requires a visa to enter the country, however, we got our visa when we arrived at the Siem Reap Airport for $20 (£10), and the entire process was luckily painless.

The day after our arrival, my aunt toured us to some of Phnom Penh’s famed attractions. Our first stop was the Royal Palace (they said the sunrise was most beautiful there but we missed it due to a languorous breakfast!) and to the Silver Pagoda, situated in the walled grounds of Sothearos. Thankfully, none of us were dressed in shorts that day, as this sacred place observes a strict dress code, with no exceptions!

We paid $3 (&pound1.50) per person and added $5 (&pound2.50) for the video camera that I brought along. Not a bad price to pay, as the sheer treasures inside were quite a sight to behold.

Cambodian Emerald Buddha

The temple featured a vast collection of the country’s religion and history, and I couldn’t help but be amazed with the Emerald Buddha and the golden Buddha behind it, which were decorated with thousands of diamonds, no less.

Next to the Royal Palace was the National Museum which housed thousands of Angkorian artifacts including the statue of the ’Leper King’, whose picture is a familiar sight in Asian History books.

After that interesting afternoon, we had a fantastic sunset dinner cruise along the river just in front of the Royal Palace. That was by far one of the best meals I have ever had in my life, and although I doubt I could repeat the names of anything that was served, just remembering the wonderful flavours make me long to return there.

Pol Pot’s Legacy

Two days after our first tour, my cousin and some of his friends showed me more of Phnom Penh. They brought me to Tuol Sleng Museum, a place that commemorates the terror of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot, which displayed instruments of torture and more disturbing pictures of the unfortunate souls who were tortured and murdered as prisoners.

We proceeded to explore the other pagodas or wats of the city, including Wat Ounalom, the center of Cambodian Buddhism, Wat Langka, and Wat Phnom. These pagodas were sadly vandalized and destroyed during the invasion but were since restored and reconstructed — reminiscent of the country itself, and how Cambodia has managed to slowly recover after the dark years of the 20th century.

The last stop of our one—week visit was, of course, shopping! We went to the Russian Market where I bought some lovely krama, a uniquely designed scarf, which is said to be ’the souvenir’ of Cambodia. My mother treated herself to some silk fabrics of different designs and a number of animal—shaped silver boxes. I also found a gorgeous pair of sapphire earrings, among other fabulous finds.

By the end of our wonderful but fleeting journey to Cambodia, I was in love with the country. A place with a rich heritage and fabulous places to see, delicious food and unassuming people, Cambodia is no doubt an undiscovered gem in Asia. I most definitely will be returning soon.

Recent history has been less kind to the country, culminating in the devastating Kampuchean holocaust instigated by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge in 1975 which led to over 2.5 million deaths from famine, disease and maltreatment. The brutal regime lasted four years before invading Vietnamese forces reached the capital and overthrew the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot and his supporters fled to the jungle bordering Thailand and he died in 1998.

Pol Pot’s death and the subsequent surrendering of the Khmer Rouge has given Cambodia a real chance for peace for the first time in 30 years. There are many signs that Cambodia is shaking off its past and looking toward the future with a cautious confidence. There is increasing development and modernisation in urban areas, foreign aid is flowing in and international investors are beginning to back business ventures there.

During the Angkorian period the ruling god—kings (devarajas) built imposing temples as a way of asserting their divinity. As different kings came and went, so new temples were built, and cities were built around them. What remains today are the stone—built monuments of that period, a legacy of more than one hundred temples built between the 9th and 15th centuries.

Spiritually, politically and geographically Angkor was at the heart of the Khmer Empire. The world renowned temples of Angkor, in north—west Cambodia are spread out over about 40 miles around the village of Siem Reap, which is itself approximately 190 miles from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

The first thing tourists run to see when they come to Cambodia is the vast complex temples at Angkor Wat in the north—west of the country.

It is one of the great archaeological and cultural sites of Asia. For hundreds of years Cambodian peasants who lived on the edge of a thick jungle around the Tonle Sap lake reported findings which puzzled French colonialists who arrived in Indo—China in the 1860s. The peasants’ stories of ’temples built by gods or by giants’ were dismissed as folktale. Until one day in 1861 the French naturalist Henri Mouhot stumbled upon this ’lost city’ and the legend became fact. Streams of explorers, historians and archaelogists came to Angkor to explain the meaning of these vast buildings.

Built in the twelfth century as a temple and mausoleum for King Suryavarman II (who reigned from 1113 � 1150) Angkor Wat represents the height of inspiration and perfection in Khmer art, combining architectural harmony and detailed artistry. It is surrounded by a moat 570 feet wide and about four miles long. Your first sighting of Angkor Wat will definitely be one that you will remember forever. It’s a truly stunning sight.

Angkor Thom, only 2km north of Angkor Wat, was the last great capital of the Angkor era. Like Angkor Wat, it was built during the late 12th century and early thirteenth century. It is an immense city enclosed by four defensive walls 8m high and 3km long on each side. A moat, 100m wide, surrounds the city. This was home to over a million inhabitants. It was an architectural masterpiece. Unfortunately, due to its construction being predominately in wood, much of it has weathered away, but the stone religious monuments remain as a testament to the city’s grand scale.

His search for rare insects forgotten, Mouhot plunged about for days exploring not only this great temple, which he called ’a rival to Solomon’s’ but also hundreds of other structures which he found half submerged in the jungle. Mouhot had stumbled upon the enormous ruins of Angkor, legendary capital of the Khmer Empire. The empire had once stretched from the South China Sea to the Gulf of Siam, including all of the present day Cambodia, part of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, and had embraced the most brilliant civilization ever to flourish in South—east Asia.