A few countries remain so authentic that a foreigner is deeply and immediately involved into the local life. Facing a rough reality and a strong strangeness feeling, a visitor will experience a mix between numerous and contradictory impressions, common to this kind of places. Cambodia is a part of it. Saying that this country is fascinating wouldn t be enough to describe how intense is the experience to travel there. I think my global vision of the World has been irreversibly modified since my visit to Cambodia. In Cambodia, everything s rough, starting from the landscapes to the local people s way of life. The daily life is true and immediately strikes the traveller s vision, as soon as he enters the country. Though the landscapes, jungles, rice fields and out-of-time villages, nothing is hidden in the daily scene and a visitor can quickly appreciate the smallest details of the environment. Travelling through this country is not an easy and relaxing vacation. Cambodia, called the Country of Smile, also sounds like genocides and misery. Almost 30 years of tensions ( the Civil War between 1970 and 75 opposing Lon Nol government to the Khmer Rouge guerrilla, the too well-known Khmer Rouge genocide that killed 1,5 to 3 millions people in 4 years between 1975 and 79, then a war with Viet Nam and the Vietnamese occupation until 1989, to end with the strong and endless tensions between Prince Sihanouk, the remaining Khmer Rouge factions and the actual prime minister Hun Sen ), that s a lot for a small country like Cambodia. If the population enjoys a relative peace since 1998, one of the consequences is obviously an out of breath economy. In the countryside as well as in the bigger cities, misery assumes many faces for an unique goal : to strike people in their daily life like a vicious snake. The scares from the recent and horrific history of Cambodia won t disappear so easily. As if the daily fight to survive wasn t enough for the greatest part of the population, more than 10 millions landmines still threaten their life. Nowadays, landmines still hurt averragely 70 victims a month. The substructures are very basic, starting from the electric network and the roads that are certainly some of the most terrible in the World. Unfortunately, foreign investments and international helps are not enough to allow great renovation workouts. Corruption also bridles the development of the country. Political murders and intimidations are still frequent nowadays. Moreover, if Khmer Rouge lost their power of decision, some factions organized into a real mafia remain in some remote areas. All those aspects can seem a bit frightening to a foreigner. On the other hand, local people s smile is certainly one of the most beautiful in the World. Here is another amazing point : In spite of the calamities that collapsed on them, Khmer people are incredibly kind and welcoming. As soon as we get into contact with them how could we imagine the atrocities they lived ? The simplicity of this population is at the image of the country : rough and authentic. Those people seem to accept the daily difficulties, as well as their terrible recent past, with a certain detachment, as if the past 30 years events made them a bit fatalistic. An encounter with any kind of people, an old monk as well as rice alcohol drinkers in a street bar, will always be good humoured in Cambodia. Sometimes passing through small villages or even in the poorest shanty towns, a traveller on his own as I was will often be a curiosity to inhabitants, but this fact is not disturbing at all so their simplicity is charming. The population strongly wishes to live normally, and people express it by an incredible vitality that can only seduce a visitor.

More than those interesting human aspects, Cambodia reserves thousands natural and architectural wonders. If in some parts the landscapes may seem a bit dry and desolated, greenness and a luxuriant flora add a very exotic touch along the dusty roads. In the north of Siam Reap Province ( North Cambodia ), infinite rice fields spread around houses-on-piles villages, of course, it s Asia, and it s a pleasure for eyes. Alternating jungles, hills and flat plains, the environment also left a great place to water. Tonle Sap Lake, a real inland sea, spreads along 300 km and is an useful way to reach Phnom Penh from the North. Crossing this lake ( 5 hours by rapid boat or 2 days by fishing boat ) shows enchanting sceneries ( floating villages, varied cultivations on the edges and picturesque fishing scenes etc...). Cambodia remains very rural and the environment lends itself to adventure. Going from a point to another is always an expedition. A 250 km journey can take 15 hours by bus. Generally speaking, those journeys are exhausting, but give the time to enjoy the numerous charms of the country along the road, the show is never tiring. The extreme broad-mindedness of local people and the perpetual satisfaction of our curiosity during this kind of trip make it more bearable. Cambodia, it s also Angkor, this famous antique city, witness of the Khmer civilization past splendour. Angkor is a mix between stones, lianas and dust and was often compared to a tropical Atlantis. This gigantic sight ( the temples spread along 30 km ) is a whole World in itself, like frozen in the time. Great restoration workouts has been done to preserve Angkor, more or less judiciously, but the place kept all its magical ambiance. Each stone carries a mysterious energy that makes the atmosphere a bit mystic. Walking from a temple to another is a trip through time and we can easily imagine how grandiose this civilisation was. By discovering this sumptuous witness from the past, a visitor can t help to feel a bit sad by considering the decline of the Khmer greatness and comparing this completed sumptuousness to the state of the country nowadays. A visit to Angkor also involves a bit of disappointments. If the rest of Cambodia is not very touristy, Angkor is nowadays crowded. By the early morning ( the best time to visit the sight ) dozens of tourists already start to invade the famous 3 towers of Angkor Wat standing proudly on the sky-line. By that time, the first groups also disturb the tranquillity of the quiet smiling Buddha faces of Bayon temple. Its getting worse later in the day. Also a visitor can t walk more than two meters without being heckled by insisting souvenir sellers, who are most of time young kids speaking a perfect English. Then, the fee to get in is ridiculously expensive ( 20 USD for a one-day pass, 40 USD for a 3-days pass ) and doesn t profit to local people, but to the private company that exploit the sight, in agreement, of course, with the Government

Good time, amazement, sadness, compassion, misunderstanding and many others contradictory emotions wait for a visitor travelling through Cambodia. This fact to not be able to define a global feeling about this country makes it fascinating. In spite of numerous difficulties ( misery, corruption, mines, unsecurity ), Cambodia can be considered as a pure country where joie de vivre is a richness far more important than any material value. This constitutes the strength of the population and a bit of hope for a nation damaged in many points. Through the best ( Angkor ) and the worst ( Khmer Rouge ), a trip to Cambodia is a torrent of emotions.

Know more about Cambodia, read my relating article : " Down the streets of Phnom Pen " : http://www.worldisround.com/articles/9864/index.html All the pictures are proctected by copyright.