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PEOPLE
The population of
Cambodia today is about 12 million. About 90 percent
of the people are Khmer ethnic. The remaining 10
percent include Chinese-Khmers, Khmer Islam or Chams,
ethnic hill-tribe people, known as the Khmer Loeu,
and Vietnamese. About 10 percent of the population
lives in Phnom Penh, the capital, making Cambodia
largely a country of rural dwellers, farmers and
artisans.
CULTURE AND
TRADITION
Traditional arts and
crafts are abundant in Cambodia. Scuptures.,
paintings and curving done with great care and
attention. One can view such antiquities in market
place, shop or museum.
The variety of arts and
crafts are large in range and include such item as:
silver and gold jewellery, wicker were furniture,
fine hard wood furniture, silks, marble sculptures,
high quality China, leather ware and much more.
There is a sharp eye for detail here and much of the
products will be intricately carved especially the
furniture, sculptures etc.
Unfortunately, much of
these works completely ceased to exist during the
Khmer Rouge dictatorship. Artisans ware instead
forced to work in labour camps, where most of them
died painful deaths. Many arts and crafts also
purposely perished during that time.
Today there has been a
revival, due to a great deal of restoration work,
which has been initiated by foreign governments. Now
many centers have been established to keep the
ancient methods of the craftwork alive. You can see
examples of this throughout the country.
RELIGION AND
LANGUAGE
Cambodia's official language is Khmer. French is
still taught in schools and universities. English
increasingly predominates. The official religion is
Theravada Buddhism, which is also practiced in
neighboring Laos, Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka.
GENERAL ADVISE &
HEALTH
Drink lots of water.
Never drink tap water purified, bottled water is
available everywhere.
Use an insect repellent
against mosquitoes. It is the only way to be sure of
protection against mosquito borne diseases. Since
Cambodia has a hot and humid tropical climate,
casual and light-weight clothing is best. Clothing
made from natural fibers is the best option. A
jacket might be needed on cool winter evenings or in
hotels and restaurants using excessive
air-conditioning. A hat and high-factor sun block is
advisable as protection against the hot sun when
sightseeing.
When visiting temples or
pagodas, including those of Angkor Wat, shorts and
T-shirts are acceptable. Shoes are generally removed
at the entrance to pagodas. For visits to the Silver
Pagoda, which is within the Royal Palace grounds.
visitors are asked to dress more formally. Gentlemen
are required to wear long trousers and ladies should
wear long trousers or long skirts.
Standard film, (such as
Kodak, FUJI or Konica 100, ) and slide Non are
widely available. Photos are inexpensive to process
in the country. Any specialized photo equipment
should be brought with you. Photography in airports,
railway stations and near any military installations
is forbidden and discretion should be used when
photographing people, particularly monks. The
cheapest & best quality photo service in Phnom Penh
is SPK Photo Studio FUJI Shop.
HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
Although no vaccinations
are officially required for entry to Cambodia, they
are highly encouraged. Visitors are advised to check
with their doctor or a travel immunization clinic
regarding protection against malaria, typhoid,
tetanus, hepatitis A and B. Any essential
medications should be brought with you as there is
no guarantee they will be available in Cambodia.
FOOD
Khmer cuisine is closely
related to those in neighboring Thailand and Laos,
although it is not as spicy. Curries, stir tried
vegetable, rice, noodles and soups are staples of
the Khmer diet. Cambodia is well known in the region
for its Prahok, a strong, fermented fish paste used
in a variety of traditional dishes. Fresh serve
bottled drinking water and tap water should never be
drunk. Similarly, salad and fruit served at these
establishments are safe. All Tours are based on full
board arrangements. For full-day excursions, picnic
lunch can be provided if no adequate restaurants are
available.
Communications
The advent of mobile
phones has dramatically improved communications
between the main towns. That said, many of the
landlines destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era have
yet to be replaced, and the lack of phone lines not
only hinders ordinary business but also keeps
Internet access costs high everywhere except Phnom
Penh and Siem Reap. It's only been a few years since
mail destined for Cambodia had to be collected in
Bangkok, but the postal service is now reasonably
reliable, although inbound letter that attract the
attention of staff-there's no rhyme or reason to
this-often get pilfered.
Mail
All Cambodia's mail is
consolidated in Phnom Penh. Sending mail from
provincial cities seems as reliable as posting from
the capital, though it costs a little more as you'll
be charged for your mail to go to Phnom Penh first.
Within the capital itself, only the main post office
is geared up to accept mail bound for abroad.
Mail to Europe,
Australasian and North America takes between five
and ten days to arrive, leaving Phnom Penh for major
international destinations around twice a week the
specific days can be checked at the main post
office. Stamps for postcards sent from the capital
cost 1800 Riel to Europe and Australia, 2100 Riel to
America (add 300 Riel if posting from the
provinces).
Parcels can only be
posted in Phnom Penh, though at a whopping $17 for a
one kilogramme parcel going abroad, it's worth
deferring the task if you are subsequently heading
to Thailand. You'll be charge 3000 Riel for
the
Riel for the customs
form, detailing the contents and their value, to be
completed, but it isn't necessary to leave the
package open for checking. Post offices sell mailing
boxes if you need them.
Phones
You can make domestic
and international calls at post offices or telecom
offices in most towns. The government
telecommunications network; Camintel (W) (www.camintel.com)
usually runs these services, which along with the
Australian firm Telstra, also runs public call boxes
in Phnom Penh. To use these, you'll need a phone
card, available in denominations ranging from $2 to
$50; look for shops displaying the phone cards can't
be used in each other's facilities, but with a Tele
2 phone card, you can make international calls from
any call box by dialing the access code (T) 007
(instead of the usual (T) 001), then the country
code and number as usual. With any of these options,
making international calls is expensive at around $3
per minute, so It's worth looking out for deals
offered by internet shops, guesthouses and travel
agents, which can as much as halve the cost.
For domestic calls only,
the cut-price glass-sided booths, payable to the
attendant. The booths vary in their coverage of
Cambodia's various networks: accessible numbers will
be written on the side of the booths (usually (T)
012 MobiTel numbers - see below - plus the local
area code and sometimes other mobile providers).
Faxing is extortionate
in Cambodia, at $3-$6 per page. If you really must
send a fax, the hotel business central and internet
shops are the most reliable place to do so.
Mobile Phones
There are three mobile
phone service providers in Cambodia: Samart code (T)
011, MobiTel (T) 012 and Shinawatra (T) 015&016.
MobiTel is the most widely used network and has
transmitters in all major towns, although reception
is still limited to within the town boundaries.
Mobile phones can be rented in the arrivals hall at
Pochentong International Airport for around $28 per
week. Usage is by pre-paid phone card, available in
values from $5 to $100 add $2 for 011; in most
towns, you'll find outlets displaying the logos of
the various providers. When you get your card,
scratch off the panel on the back to reveal your
PIN, then call up the top-up number-also given on
the card-and enter the number to activate the card.
Call rates are around $0.20 per minute within the
same mobile network number or out to a local
landline.
Internet access
If you want to get
online, do it in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap - here
you're never far from an Internet shop or café and
rates are under $1 per hour. In the provinces it's a
different matter: even in Battambang and
Sihanoukville access is limited, and expensive at
around $0.5 or 2000riel per hour.
One
of the best ways to keep in touch while traveling is
to sign up for a free email address that can be
accessed from anywhere, for example Yahoo Mail or
Hotmail. Once you've set up and send mail from any
Internet Café, or from a hotel with Internet access.
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