Product Description

Angkor Wat is just the beginning. If you want to dig deeper into the real Cambodia, this guide is your key. Unlock the mysteries of the sacred temples, share the Mekong with endangered dolphins, and eat with pythons and cobras by your side. With Lonely Planet, you’ll have the adventure you always dreamed of.

Expert Resident Author – providing the best insider tips and tricks.

Unbeatable Accuracy – updated on the road, in person.

The World's Best Travel Maps

No Guesswork – pinionated reviews and inspiring highlight sections.

Listings For All Budgets – from pinching pennies to living large.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69805 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
Nobody covers the world like Lonely Planet.' --New York Post, May 2004

From the Publisher
Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Excerpted from Lonely Planet Cambodia (Lonely Planet Cambodia) by Nick Ray. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Cambodia is back on the map! The word is out, Cambodia is the place to be in Asia right now and no longer a country where visitors need fear tread. Peace has come to this beautiful yet blighted land after three decades of civil war and the Cambodian people are opening their arms to the world. Now is the perfect time to witness this rebirth of a nation before it becomes just another stop on the tourist merry-go-round.

For far too long, war combined with a vast communist-inspired 'experiment' removed Cambodia from the tourist map. The very word Cambodia came to be associated with atrocities, poverty and refugees. The tragedy of it all belonged to the Cambodians themselves, but is was also a great loss to travelers in Asia.

During much of the 1990s Cambodia remained a difficult country in which to travel due to the presence of Khmer Rouge guerrillas in many provinces. If that wasn't enough to scare people away, then the politicians in Phnom Penh usually managed to cook up a crisis that would deter those contemplating a fleeting visit. However, the long and bloody civil war is definitely over and the Khmer Rouge is no longer terrorizing the people of Cambodia. This is good news, not just for the country's stoical people, but also for tourists planning a trip to Cambodia, as all of the country is open for exploration, most of which could not be visited just a few years ago.

Cambodia lies at the heart of Indochina, bordered by Thailand to the west, Laos and Thailand to the north and Vietnam to the east. It is a fascinating place that, despite its tiny size and large, powerful neighbors, has managed to remain uniquely Khmer. Its cultural traditions have travelled the passage of time, predating those of Thailand, and unlike Vietnam, which was always influenced by China, its dominant influences stem from the Indian subcontinent.

Modern-day Cambodia is the successor-state to the mighty Khmer empire, which during the Angkorian period (9th to 14th centuries AD) was the cultural heartland of Southeast Asia. It ruled over much of what is now Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, and its legacy is one of the wonders of the world. The ruins of Angkor are in a class of their own: there is no other historical site in Southeast Asia that matches their grandeur. The traveler's first glimpse of Angkor Wat, which represents the full flowering of Khmer genius, is a breathtaking experience, matched by only a few places on earth such as the Great Pyramid of Giza or Machu Picchu in Peru.

Cambodia has enormous potential as a travel destination, and investors are moving in with an eye to the day when tourists arrive in the numbers that nearby Thailand enjoys. The land borders with Thailand are now open to foreigners and there are direct flights between Siem Reap and many neighboring capitals. Angkor is once more at the forefront of visitors' minds on a journey to Southeast Asia, as it was before the war cast a shadow over this kingdom. To talk in terms of millions may sound fanciful, but with the temples of Angkor, Cambodia has something unique that none of its neighbors can rival. It also has empty beaches and islands along the south coast, with barely a bungalow in sight, and isolated national parks that are just starting to see the first trickle of visitors. The meandering Mekong River holds the promise of boat trips through Cambodia, north into Laos or south to Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Its mighty waters also provide a habitat for some of the last remaining freshwater dolphins in Asia. In the northeast of the country are wild and mountainous landscapes, home to Cambodia's ethnic minorities and much of the country's diminishing wildlife and forest. Lost in the jungles of the north are countless mysterious temple complexes, forgotten to the world for several long and turbulent decades, offering the visitor the chance to capture the emotions of explorers of old.

Finally there are the people. Cambodians have weathered years of bloodshed, poverty and political instability. Somehow they have come through the experience with smiles still intact. Admittedly Cambodia needs the money that tourism brings, but there is an air of genuine enthusiasm and warmth towards foreign visitors. Nobody comes away from Cambodia without a measure of admiration and affection for the inhabitants of this beautiful yet troubled country.

Customer Reviews

Good.
Good book. I've found it best to bring both Rough Guide and Lonely planet. Each complements the other.

Lonely Planet
found this guide book very useful. I also have friends that use the Lonely Planet series as their guide books.

Get the Rough Guide
In the group I was traveling with we had both the Rough Guide and the Lonely Planet guide and we consistently found the Rough Guide superior to the Lonely Planet in terms of narration, history, accuracy, ease of use, and better maps. We traveled extensively throughout the country including many outlying / "off the beaten path" areas where there was not a tourist to be found. Neither book was entirely comprehensive but the Rough Guide was a must have to point you in the right direction to find more info.