“The highlight of this part of my trip was definitly visiting the temples of Angkor. You read about them in travel guides and see countless pictures of Angkor Wat at sunset, but there is nothing like being there and seeing it for yourself. My favorite part of visiting Angkor wasn’t seeing the famous temples that iIve seen a million times on postcards, but exploring the surrounding areas and finding the small, crumbling temples hidden in the jungle. It reminded me of being a little kid exploring the woods behind my house, except instead of finding a new tree to climb, I would stumble upon ancient ruins. I spent three days exploring on a rickety old bike rented from my guesthouse and had an amazing time.” Siem Reip, Cambodia. 2007

Cambodia. 1960

During the 1960s the government of Prince Norodom Sihanouk was successful in colonizing frontier regions, especially in the northwest, with army veterans or poor farmers from more crowded parts of the country.

Until the mid-1970s, the vast majority of Cambodia’s people inhabited the central lowland region, where the rural village was second only to the family as the basic social unit. The typical Cambodian village in those days was made up of ethnically homogeneous people and had a population of fewer than 300 persons. The village (phum) was part of a hamlet or community (khum) with which it shared one or more Buddhist temples (wat), an elementary school, and several small shops. Cambodian villages usually developed in a linear pattern along waterways and roads, but often houses also were dispersed through the countryside on largely self-contained paddy farms. Houses in Cambodia generally were built on wooden pilings and had thatched roofs, walls of palm matting, and floors of woven bamboo strips resting on bamboo joists. More prosperous houses, while still on pilings, were built of wood and had tile or metal roofs.

y intensive in Batdâmbâng, Kâmpóng Cham, Takêv, and Prey Vêng provinces. Cambodia traditionally has produced only one rice crop per year because it has lacked the extensive irrigation system needed for double cropping.

In the traditional Cambodian society, men must enter the monkhood for at least three months during their lifetime, often at the age of twelve or thirteen. During this time, they learn Buddhist philosophy, social morality, and practice chanting. The wat (temples) where they study are centers of Cambodian life, not only for prayer but also for education, medical care, and administrative organization. Since the 1950s, the Buddhist education has been systematically organized to include general modern knowledge from the primary level of education to the university level. The religious institution where Buddhist knowledge could be acquired included the High School of Pali, the Buddhist Institute, and the Buddhist University. The monks (bonzes) who reside in these wat are at the highest level for achieving nirvana. They wear their distinctive saffron robes and shaven heads, and set out each morning to collect food from the local people.

Lon Nol: US behind overthrow of Shinanouk

Biography

Nol was born in Prey Veng Province on November 13, 1913, and was of Chinese–Khmer descent.[1] He was educated in the French education tradition, and turned to a life as a civil servant. He was appointed provincial governor in 1946, and rose to become the first leader of the Cambodian police. He subsequently held a series of important military posts. By 1960, he held the dual position of supreme commander of the military and minister of defense. From 1966 to 1967, he served as prime minister. In 1969, he became prime minister a second time.

[edit] Second Indochina War involvement

Following the removal of Sihanouk, Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak demanded that the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong leave Cambodia. He also closed the ports of Cambodia to military supplies for the Vietnamese forces. The government also assumed a pro-Western, anti-Communist stance. The proclaimed goal of American bombings in Cambodia was to destroy North Vietnamese and National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) bases in the area.

Soon after, the Chinese increased military aid to the Khmer Rouge in their fight against the newly formed Republic. Sihanouk, who was in exile in China, called the Cambodian people to oppose the new regime and was quickly joined by the communists.

[edit] Civil War

The Cambodian Civil War then began between the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) under the command of FANK Commander in Chief Sosthene Fernandez loyal to Nol and the Cambodian People’s National Liberation Armed Forces (which would progressively come under the total control of the Khmer Rouge). Because he had abolished the monarchy and established the Khmer Republic, Nol was widely unpopular in the countryside, where support for Sihanouk was strong. Sihanouk formed a government-in-exile in Beijing known as the Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea (GRUNK), and a political coalition known as the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK), urging resistance to Nol. Sihanouk served as a useful symbol of resistance for the Khmer Rouge, who consolidated control in GRUNK and FUNK and rallied peasants to join the insurgency.

With his country descending into civil war, Nol called on the President Nixon’s administration for additional help. On November 18, 1970, U.S. President Richard Nixon responded by requesting Congress to approve $155 million in supplemental aid for the Cambodian government ($85 million was allocated for military assistance.) The United States maintained strong cooperation with Nol’s government, having been frustrated with Prince Sihanouk’s semi-neutral policies. The United States was angered that, although officially neutral, Sihanouk allowed the NVA, PAVN and Viet Cong to shift the Ho Chi Minh trail within Cambodia’s borders. However, despite U.S. aid, Nol was unable to defeat either the North Vietnamese forces or the Khmer Rouge. Despite large numbers of inexperienced volunteers, the Cambodian Army was simply outmatched by a Vietnamese opponent with heavy weapons and years of war experience. Given that the entire country quickly turned into a war zone, economic destabilization and refugees meant that no amount of money could make the situation better. With the backing of China (and to a lesser extent Vietnam), the Khmer Rouge advanced their control of the countryside.

Cambodia. 2007

More than thirty years have passed since the Khmer Rouge took over control of Cambodia, in the process killing close to 2 million people, devastating the country’s infrasructure, and wrecking havoc on the region’s fragile ecosystem.

The retributions for those responsible for what might perhaps be classified as the world’s most drastic cultural re-engineering paradigm remain today unclear, as Cambodian Genocide Tribunal continues its trials of individuals implicated in the atrocities of Democratic Kampuchea.

Twenty-first century Cambodia remains an impoverished country, an exotic tourist destination of world citizens who flock to the region to visit the ancient temples of Angor Watt, the Choung Ek “Killing Fields,” and Phnom Phen’s Tuol Sleng prison.