Cambodia

This Southeast Asian nation is bordered to the west and northwest by Thailand, to the northeast by Laos, to the east and southeast by Vietnam, and to the southwest by the Gulf of Thailand.

Phnom Penh is the capital.

Most of the population speaks the Khmer language.

Population, 16,978,117. Size, 181,035 km^2.

The Cambodian Riel (KHR) is the official currency.

Buddhism is the state religion and the government supports Buddhist education.

Major cities include Takeo, Siem Reap, Battambang, and Poipet.

Amok trey (coconut fish curry) is the national dish. Principal crops include rice, cassava, maize, mung bean, and soybean.

The climate is governed by the monsoon winds, which define two major seasons. From mid-May to early October, the strong winds of the southwest monsoon bring heavy rains and high humidity. From early November to mid-March, the lighter and drier winds of the northeast monsoon bring variable cloudiness, infrequent precipitation, and lower humidity.

The country has gone through five name changes since 1953. Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious building. Their flag is the only one in the world with a building on it, that being, Angkor Wat. Cambodians do not care about their birthdays but they place much important on funerals. Families often must group together their entire life’s savings and sell all their major possessions in order to cover the cost of their funerals. Cambodian weddings can go on for as long as three days. The Cardamom mountains are home to an array of fauna and flora unique to Cambodia, and the Tonle Sap lake has an astounding amount of rare and exotic marine and bird life. In the early 1990s, Cambodia was one of the most heavily mined countries in the world with an estimated 8 – 10 million landmines. It’s believed that there are still several million active mines buried throughout the country’s rural countryside.