Sunday, February 06, 2011

柬埔寨王國 / Travel to Cambodia - A Developing Country



According to Wikipedia: "..... 柬埔寨王國(高棉語:ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា),舊稱高棉,是位於東南亞中南半島的一個國家,首都金邊,人口15,000,000(2009年)。柬埔寨國民通常稱為柬埔寨人或高棉人,其中大部分為信奉上座部佛教的高棉人,此外還有信奉伊斯蘭教的占人以及華人、越南人和一小部分山地部落。柬埔寨西部及西北部與泰國接壤,東北部與老撾交界,東部及東南部與越南毗鄰,南部則面向暹羅灣。柬埔寨領土為碟狀盆地,三面被丘陵與山脈環繞,中部為廣闊而富庶的平原,佔全國面積四分之三以上。境內有湄公河和東南亞最大的淡水湖-洞里薩湖(又稱金邊湖)。2005年,柬埔寨領海內發現石油和天然氣,商業開發預計於2009年或2010年開始,將對柬埔寨經濟產生重要影響。柬埔寨目前實行君主立憲的兩院內閣制,現任國家元首為國王諾羅敦·西哈莫尼,政府首腦為首相洪森。柬埔寨是東南亞國家聯盟成員國之一。柬埔寨是東南亞發展較為落後的國家,經濟以農業、加工業和旅遊業為主。2006年,國外遊客人數超過170萬。 ...."

The following notes are written Feb 6, 2011 in Bangkok:

This morning, K and I flew from Cambodia 柬埔寨王國 back to Thailand. During our approximately one week stay, we visited two major cities, the country's capital Phnom Penh 首都金邊, and Siĕm Reab 暹粒, plus a few villages and towns close by. There is no doubt that Cambodia is a developing country that needs to grow its economic base in a sustainable manner. According to Wikipedia:

" ..... As of 2005, GDP per capita in PPP terms was $2,200, which ranked 178th (out of 233) countries. The older population often lacks education, particularly in the countryside, which suffers from a lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid, although there has been significant assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors. Donors pledged $504 million to the country in 2004, while the Asian Development Bank alone has provided $850 million in loans, grants, and technical assistance....."

When we were there, we visited a village school as well as a community clinic. We talked to the administrators there and learnt that the country is really over-stretched financially and knowledge-wise, with little resources to satisfy the growing population.

Currently, Cambodia is relying a lot on tourism as a major source of revenue. Both K and I are quite impressed with the country's rich culture and especially historical sites such as Angkor Wat 吳哥窟. According to Wikipedia:

"..... The tourism industry is the country's second-greatest source of hard currency after the textile industry. Between January and December 2007, visitor arrivals were 2.0 million, an increase of 18.5% over the same period in 2006. Most visitors (51%) arrived through Siem Reap with the remainder (49%) through Phnom Penh and other destinations. Other tourist destinations include Sihanoukville in the south east which has several popular beaches, and the area around Kampot and Kep including the Bokor Hill Station. Tourism has increased steadily year on year in the relatively stable period since the 1993 UNTAC elections. ...."

Unfortunately, in the Prasat Preah Vihear region, Cambodia is currently having a military conflict over ownership of the UN Heritage Site with Thailand. Hopefully, that can be resolved satisfactorily in a peaceful manner.

I will report more abt Cambodia and post some pics on this blog upon my return back to Ottawa. Stay tuned !!!

References / Photo Credit:

* Wikipedia: Cambodia
* 維基百科: 柬埔寨

Haricot
Bangkok
(Feb 6, 2011, 17h15 local time)

2 comments:

the inner space said...

波爾布特 和 喬森潘 執政下的高棉,被稱為“紅高棉”。 他們進行了極左的共產主義,把很多人民“坑”了。

【維基百科】紅色高棉即赤柬(高棉語:Khmaey Krahom,法語:Khmer Rouge),1950年成立時為印度支那共產黨的分支名為柬埔寨共產黨,1980年後改名為柬埔寨民主黨(Party of Democratic Kampuchea)。

該黨是一共產主義組織,但奉行極左政策。於1975年至1979年間,先後在中華人民共和國及泰國的不同程度支持下,成為柬埔寨的執政黨,建立「民主柬埔寨」政權。

在柬埔寨共產黨的「三年零八個月」管治期間,處於戰亂的柬埔寨估計可能有200萬人死於饑荒、勞役、疾病或迫害等各種原因,佔當時柬國的人口五分之一,是20世紀中最血腥暴力的人為大災難之一。

目前在柬埔寨發現的埋人坑超過20000個。2007年9月下旬,赤柬第二號人物農謝由聯合國支持的特別法庭宣布,他正式被控以戰爭罪和反人類罪,之後發明一詞為自我屠殺形容紅色高棉。

2007年11月,柬埔寨警方拘留赤柬第三號人物,前副總理和外長英沙里及他太太英蒂迪(前社會事務部長),他們和另外兩人將移交聯合國種族滅絕法庭審訊。

2009年2月18日,聯合國與柬埔寨共同組建的柬埔寨法院特別法庭開庭提審康克由,拉開審判前紅色高棉成員及主要領導人的序幕,並初步認定紅色高棉時期有170萬人無辜死亡。

有關紅高棉:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E7%B4%85%E8%89%B2%E9%AB%98%E6%A3%89

有關波爾布特:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E6%B3%A2%E5%B0%94%E5%B8%83%E7%89%B9

有關喬森潘:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%96%AC%E6%A3%AE%E6%BD%98

既然微豆兄已經離開柬埔寨返到曼谷,再不能詳細詢問導遊,這方面的問題,我 HOLD 著不問了!

祝:新春快樂 plus Hari 兄 and K safely return Ottawa!

Haricot 微豆 said...

Space:

Thank you for the info.

I spent quite a bit of time visiting the Cambodian Genocide Museum (the notorious Security Prison S21), the Choeung Ek Killing Field, and the on-site commemorative stupa that is filled with the skulls of the victims.

The tour guide also provided us with his own personal/family experience and information during that dark period. So please feel free to ask questions and I will try my best to answer them.

Happy Chinese New Year to you and your family too !!!

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