The capital city of Phnom Penh, which has an area
of 290 square kilometers, is generally considered the major center of
administration, commerce, communication, culture, economy, education, industry,
policy and tourism. It is also home to legal immigrants from Australia, Burma,
China, France, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia,
Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA, Vietnam, etc. Phnom Penh is a lifeline of
the Cambodian economy, as well as a tropical paradise for tourists and businesspeople.
Phnom Penh's resident population is said to total over two million people.
Besides the capital city of Phnom Penh, there are
23 provinces in Cambodia including Siem Reap, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey,
Kampong Chnang, Kampot, Koh Kong, Oddor Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Rattanakiri,
Steng Treng, Kampong Speu, Kandal, Kratie, Pailin, Prey Veng, Svay Rieng,
Kampong Cham, Kam Pong Thom, Kep Mondulkiri, Pursat, Sihanoukville and Takeo.
The average temperature is 27-28 degrees celsius.
It varies from region to region, from 20-27 degrees during the wet season and
from 28-35 during the dry season. The climate is comprised of two main seasons
affected by the tropical monsoon -- the wet season from May to October and the
dry season from November to April. The coolest period lasts from December to
January. The monsoon season may carry some heavy rains but these quite often
occur during the late afternoon and overnight in between August and October and
are unlikely to spoil your enjoyment.
Theravada Buddhism is the official prevailing
religion in Cambodia, and approximately 90% of the population are Buddhists.
The country also has minority religions such as Islam, Hinduism and
Christianity. Since Buddha's statues and images represent the Buddha, visitors
are asked to behave respectfully to all statues and images. It is illegal to
take any piece of sandstone out of the temple and also any Buddha statue out of
Cambodia without the express permission of the Ministry of Culture and Fine
Arts. Khmer is the official language in Cambodia. English is very popular with
Khmer people for communicating with foreigners in administrative, commercial,
diplomatic, economic, and industrial and tourist affairs. The older people who
were educated at the local comprehensive schools can speak French fluently.
Khmer-English road and street signs are found nationwide.
The king is the Supreme Commander of the Royal
Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the country's prime minister effectively
holds the position of commander-in-chief. The introduction of a revised command
structure early in 2000 was a key to the reorganization of the RCAF. This saw
the ministry of national defense form three subordinate general departments
responsible for logistics and finance, materials and technical services, and
defense services. The High Command Headquarters (HCHQ) was left unchanged, but
the general staff was dismantled and the former will assume responsibility over
three autonomous infantry divisions. A joint staff was also formed, responsible
for inter-service co-ordination and staff management within HCHQ. The minister
of National Defense is Tea Banh. Tea Banh has served as defense minister since
1979. The Secretaries of State for Defense are Chay Saing Yun and Por Bun Sreu.
Ke Kim Yan is the current commander of the RCAF.
The Army Commander is Meas Sophea and the Army Chief of Staff is Chea Saran.
Wildlife of Cambodia: Cambodia has a wide variety
of plants and animals. There are 212 mammal species, 536 bird species, 240
reptile species, 850 freshwater fish species (Tonle Sap Lake area), and 435
marine fish species.The country has one of the highest deforestation rates in
the world. Since 1970, Cambodia's primary rainforest cover fell dramatically
from over 70 percent in 1970 to just 3.1 percent in 2007. In total, Cambodia
lost 25,000 square kilometers (9,700 sq mi) of forest between 1990 and
2005—3,340 km2 (1,290 sq mi) of which was primary forest. As of 2007, less than
3,220 km2 (1,243 sq mi) of primary forest remain, with the result that the
future sustainability of the forest reserves of Cambodia is under severe
threat, with illegal loggers looking to generate revenue.
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