Top 10 Most Memorable Tourist Attractions

in Cambodia

The very mention of Cambodia brings to mind obvious associations-
The beauty of the Angkor temples and horrors of the Khmer Rouge
reign. And then the inaccessibility of an unstable and devastated
country. But a fast healing Cambodia has managed to recover
adequately, turning the remains of the Khmer era into as much of a
tourist destination as its world famous temple complexes. For a
change in flavor, theres a hill station with colonial buildings from the
countrys French past. There are also tropical beaches and an
abundance of natural attractions for the tourist maxed out on
history!

Heres a countdown of the 10 most memorable:

Preah Vihear
Tonle Sap
Silver Pagoda
Bokor Hill Station
S-21 The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
The Killing Fields
Koh Ker
Sihanoukville
Angkor Thom
Angkor Wat


Preah Vihear
This Khmer temple from the 11
th
and the
12
th
centuries is perhaps the most
dramatically situated temple in Cambodia.
Away from the Angkor temple complex, it
is located on a cliff top in the Dangrek
Mountains. Dedicated to the Hindu god
Shiva, this temple has been a bone of
territorial contention between Thailand
and Cambodia for the longest time.
Tonle Sap
Tonle Sap is the largest fresh water in
South East Asia. It is also home to a
number of ethnic Vietnamese and Cham
communities that live around the lake in
floating fishing villages. It is also unusual
for the fact that it is a combined lake and
river system. In the dry season, it drains
into the Mekong but as soon as the rains
begin, it backs up into an enormous lake.
Its been designated as a UNESCO
biosphere.
Silver Pagoda
A visit to the royal palace compound in
Phnom Penh is a must.
A Cambodia travel guide will first take you
to the Silver Pagoda which houses quite a
few national treasures. The most
noteworthy being exquisite gold and
jeweled Buddhas. These figurines have to
be seen to be believed! One beauty is a
baccarat crystal Buddha famous as the
Emerald Buddha of Cambodia. Another
one is the 90 kilogram gold Maitreya
Buddha which is decorated with 9584
diamonds, the largest one weighing in at
25 whopping carats!
Bokor Hill Station
Now this is a strange place to visit..but for
a country with such a traumatic past, this
eerie ghost town encapsulates its struggles
and continual conflict. Built by the French
in the early twentieth century, this town
has been abandoned not once but twice!
Once by the French in the middle of the
twentieth century and then by the Khmer
Rouge..infact it was one of their last
strongholds. Now the Palace hotel and
casino, royal apartments amongst various
buildings are mere shadows of their
previous glory. Restoration plans are in
the offing.
S-21 The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
S-21 or Security Prison 21 was actually a
high school site amongst numerous others
which were converted into prisons and
torture chambers by the Khmer Rouge.
There are pictures of dead and missing
persons, human remains and also an array
of torture equipment. It is a very difficult
experience, but also a necessary reminder
of human cruelty.
The Killing Fields
If you managed to survive the horror of S-
21, any Cambodia tour guide will now
point you in the direction of the Killing
Fields. 15 kilometers from the capital city,
this is a unique monument. It has human
bones and skulls from one of the many
mass graves from the Khmer era. The
government chose to leave the other mass
graves unopened and the area has become
a sort of a hallowed ground.
Koh Ker
Koh Ker is an erstwhile capital city..Though
it was the capital of the Khmer Empire very
briefly, this short period was enough for a
number of spectacular buildings to come
up. The most notable of those being the
Prasat Thom, an imposing temple building
rising above the jungle. Left to the jungle
for nearly a millennium, this temple was
one of Cambodias most inaccessible sites,
but thanks to de-mining and a new toll
road, it is no longer so.
Sihanoukville
Also known as Kampong Som, is a beach
resort on the Gulf of Thailand. Known for
its pristine and yet unexplored beaches, it
is a perfect getaway spot for a weary
traveler.

Angkor Thom
Though not restored to the level of Angkor
Wat, this temple is a thing of beauty. It
has its own charm, with the entry bridge
that seats 54 stone warriors that seem to
be struggling with the sacred Naga snake.
Angkor Wat
This is what the majority comes to
Cambodia for. The famous Angkor Wat
temple was built over the course of thirty
years in the twelfth century but remained
undiscovered till the nineteenth century
when the French colonized Cambodia. As
such, it was quite well preserved and is
now one of the Wonders of the World. A
good Cambodia guide will make sure you
get a treat of the magnificent wall carvings
fill up the temple walls. Interestingly, this
temple was built for King Suryavarman II as
a home after he died.

On the whole, a visit to Cambodia is a dose in history, humanity and
nature all rolled into one. You cannot leave from here without
wonder and amazement at mans creative capability.