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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