Product Description
A comprehensive guide to this destination, with evocative accounts of all the attractions from the atmospheric temples of Angkor and Phnom Penh, to the laid back resort of Sihanoukville and the jungle-clad hills of Rattanakiri. It includes a detailed background on Cambodian history, religion and the resurgance in cultural life since the end of the Khmer Rouge era.
From the Author
As the author of the Rough Guide to Cambodia, I feel I have to reply to John Ekins' review which seems to be describing a different book from the practical travel guide I wrote. Yes, there are pages of text, but there are also dozens of colour photos, maps, town plans and temple layouts, all of which make this a comprehensive guide book - not a coffee table glossy.
Cambodia is a country that I know well and love, and for whose people I have the utmost regard. By the time the Khmer Rouge were overthrown in 1979 the majority of the population was starving and the country devastated; however, like it or not, some Cambodians were Khmer Rouge supporters. Between 1989 and 1996 the town of Pailin was a Khmer Rouge enclave, where the Khmer Rouge leaders exploited logging and gem-mining to get rich. Here (and in Anlong Veng), the locals, isolated from the rest of Cambodia by fighting, lived a fairly comfortable life on the back of these illegal activities.
During my visit to Pailin, longstanding residents told me they were "looked-after" by the Khmer Rouge. This included the provision of healthcare and education, and food for the elderly. Things changed in 1996, when the area became accessible to the rest of Cambodia. It was soon flooded with urban Cambodians seeking to make their fortune from gem-mining and competing with the Pailin residents for "riches".
At Rough Guides we pride ourselves in getting under the skin of the country and make no apologies for this. In fact, for most people, the depth of our research is the main reason to buy the guide, and it is unusual for readers to be upset by it. We remain dedicated to providing our readers with authoritative and accurate information. Judging by John Ekins' other reviews, he may by now have actually visited the country and perhaps formed a different impression of the Rough Guide, as have readers at amazon.com.
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