A Tropical Country
A Tropical Country
The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country located in Southeast Asia and is home to more than thirteen million citizens bordering Thailand Laos and other Asian countries. The people of Cambodia are made up of a variety of cultural backgrounds from Hindu to Muslim and a few traditional tribal villages are scattered throughout the outskirts. Cambodia is a completely tropical country on the gulf of Thailand with average temperatures ranging from sixtyfive degrees fahrenheit to ninetyfive degrees. Aside from the tropical climate a unique geographical feature in Cambodia is the lacustrine plain which takes up an estimated nine thousand square miles of land and is widely used for wet rice cultivation and is a designated ecological reserve. About seventy five percent of Cambodia is less than three hundred feet above sea level with the few exceptions being three mountainous formations the highest of which being less than seven thousand feet in elevation. With Cambodia being so low in elevation the rainy seasons can prove to be wet dreary and even dangerous due to violent Monsoons. Monsoon season in Cambodia lasts from May to October and is accompanied by violent gusts of oceanladen wind from the Gulf of Thailand and the Indian Ocean. During this wet season in Asia villages become flooded sometimes to the point of destruction and even fatalities can occur. During this fivemonth span of tropical monsoons and high humidity Cambodia comes to life with a colorful array of flora and fauna. The region is home to more than two hundred species of mammal eight hundred bird and reptile species and well over a thousand fresh and marine water fish. Lush plant life thrives in Cambodia and in particular because of the efforts of The Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve a unique environmentally aware project surrounding the lake. On a sadder note Cambodia has the highest deforestation rate in the world and in the past thirty years alone has lost an estimated sixtytwo percent rain forest coverage. Between the years of 1990 and 2005 Cambodia lost close to ten thousand miles of forestry leaving a mere thousand square miles of forest left in the country. This naturally leaves the country in a severely bleak state which is worsening because of illegal logging operations and poachers who capitalize off the downfalls of the region. The culture of Cambodia is lesser known than many of it’s neighboring countries in Asia but is very rich and interesting to say the least. The traditional cuisine of the inhabitants is decadent with inspiration from traditional French tastes a popular example being a favorite appetizer of Cambodians consisting of toasted Baguettes and red curry sauce. Curry is a staple spice and vital ingredient in many Cambodian and South Asian dishes. Other popular tastes in Cambodia are coconut tamarind lime fish sauce and of course rice. One of Cambodia’s favorite past time is football which was introduced to the South Asian country by the French during explorations. However due to economical issues competitive sporting events are scarce in this region. For more information on Cambodia visit http://cambodiamicroblog.com and http://asiamicroblog.com.
About the writer: John and Maggie Pelley are Geriatric Gypsies. Both of us are retired from the rat race of working. We are fulltime RVers who ran away from home. We began our travels on the East Coast and like the migrating birds seek the warmth of the seasons. No more shoveling snow in Chicago. We have discovered volunteering with the National Park System. During our travels we have found that each town has a story to tell: some are more interesting than others. Both of us enjoy good listening music as we go. John has a CD he has recorded of Native American flure music. We have learned that RVing has a learning curve. We want to pass on some advice the help others avoid this trecherous curve. Life is an adventure. We are living it to the utmost.
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