Geography
Cambodia is located on mainland of Southeast Asia between Thailand to the west and north and Vietnam to the east. It shares a land border with Laos in the northeast. Southwestern Cambodia borders with the Gulf of Thailand. Nearly two-third of this country is accounted for flood plain area. Tonle Sap Lake (Fresh Water Lake) providing arable land for Cambodian lies in heart of the country while the surrounding plateau is densely forested. Besides Tonle Sap Lake, there are three more main rivers: Basac river, Tonle Sap river especially Mekong river that runs from north to south across the whole Cambodia and Mekong river plays a very important rule in maintaining the ecosystem with Tonle Sap Lake. The Dangrek Mountain in the north and Cardamom Mountain in the southwest form natural boundaries between Cambodia and Thailand.
Official Name:The Kingdome of Cambodia
Motto: Nation - Religion - King
Government Type: Multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.
Land Area: 181,035 sq. km (69.898 sq. mi)
Capital City: Phnom Penh
Country Code: +855
Population: (2007 est): 14 millions
Ethnic Groups: Cambodian (Kmer) 90% ; Vietnamese 5%; Chinese 1%; Muslim Cham (Khmer Islam); Loatian; small numbers of animist hill tribes.
Language: Khmer is an official language, French is spoken by old age and English dramatically becomes popular for the young generation.
Religion: Theravada Budhism 90%; Islam; Christianity; Animism.
Climate: Tropical climate (an average temperature of 27oC); From June to October is rainy season; other six months are dry season. However, there is a sort transitional season of cool and dry during the dry season between November and February.
Time Zone: 6 hours ahead of Central European Time (CET), 7 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Visa: Tourist visa US$20; business visa US$25; one-month visas are available through Cambodian embassies, on arrival at the international airports in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, on border crossing or online visas via MoFA E-Visa program. Extended visa, only one time, is available at Immigration Department in Phnom Penh city.
Airport Departure Tax: Domestic US$6; International US$25.
Currency: "Riel" is a local curency, but foreign currencies are widely accepted or exchanged at any places especially US Dollar.
Bussiness Hour: In generally speaking, Offices are opened from 7:30am to 11:30am and then are resumed from 14:00pm to 17:00pm. Saturday and Sunday are holiday for government offices, saturday afternoon and sunday are holiday for private offices like banks.
Transport: Plan, bus, pickup truck, motocycle, tuk tuk (motorbike Cyclo) are available; Trains in Cambodia are not practicall (old-fashioned).
Food: Rice and fish are main diets of Cambodians. A little bit spicy local cuisine can be found at any places in the town with reasonable price; however, international cuisine are served in many restaurants in the town especially in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Shihanouk.
Electricity: 220v / 50Hz
