Cambodia is a country with a history as tragic as any you will hear about. During the rule and subsequent guerrilla campaign of the Khmer Rouge between 1968 and the late 1990's, up to 2 million people were killed, representing a quarter of the total population. Most of these deaths happened over a 4 year period between 1975-1979 during the 'killing fields' era.

Despite a whole generation of Cambodians being wiped out, you can't help but see the positivity permeating in the country. The demographics are very youthful and there is an energy unmatched anywhere else. Sure there is still a lot of development that needs to happen as the difference between Cambodia and its two neighbouring countries, Vietnam and Thailand is extremely noticeable but changes are happening.

In this article I have included a selection of my favourite photo's that I took across the country, pictures that I think can give you a feel for Cambodia, its culture and its attractions.

In terms of tragedy, not many countries have the recent history that Cambodia does. Up to three million people (about 25% of the population) were killed in the Cambodian genocide carried out by the ruling Khmer Rouge party in the late 70's and their continued resistance into the 90's. There is hardly a family in the country that wasn't in some way affected by this mass genocide.

However, the Cambodia that I saw was a young, confident nation that had come out of the worst of its adversity and lived to tell the tale. It was a nation that paid tribute to its past but also looked confidently to its future.

There's not much to dislike about Cambodia, but here are the 5 things I absolutely loved.

South East Asia or South America. These two parts of the world have seen an explosion of popularity over the past decade and for most people the decision of where to visit first is often a difficult one. In this entry, I'll try and rate each of the locations on factors that are important to the average person and come up with an overall rating.

Before I get things started, its important to note that my experiences over the two locations will vary. I spent more time in South East Asia, and it was also the place I decided to visit first. There are important locations missing from both locations. I didn't visit Laos in SE Asia and I didn't visit Colombia and Argentina in South America. Personally, I feel that Argentina is a significant omission due to the size of the country and the number of things to see and do. Ratings and experiences are also very subjective, my experience could be significantly different from the experience of others so I'd bare this in mind when you make your decision.

Finally, a comparison between the two locations isn't an exact science. The phrase apples and oranges comes to mind. Peru and Brazil have completely different cultures, speak completely different languages, yet for the purpose of comparison they have been lumped together under a loose 'South American' category. This entry is a subjective rough overview of my experiences and can form part of your research into each location.

Battambang is the gateway to Thailand from Cambodia, but more than this it is an important city in its own right. It's the capital of the Battambang province, the second largest city in Cambodia and the largest city in western half of the country

The city itself was founded in the Khmer Empire in the 11th century, although its proximity to Thailand means that at various times it has been ruled as part of the Thai kingdom. The city is located by the Sankae River, which adds to its picturesque image.

It was a couple of weeks into my cross Cambodia road trip that I finally reached Siem Reap. I had specifically gone with a tour group to ensure I understood the history and meaning of the Angkor Temples, however, even if you go on your own, you can hire tour guides at the temples, something I would definitely recommend.

The first thing I noticed about the city was it was much smaller than some of the larger cities in SE Asia such as Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok. The city it most reminded me of was Chiang Mai with its small roads and large tourist population.

​The first night I had a walk around the night market, which is pretty large considering the size of the city and seems to stretch forever. As with other night markets in Cambodia, you can find anything from clothes, to paintings, little souvenirs and food stalls. The night market here is relatively cheap and you can haggle prices at pretty much every stand. I was told to begin at a third of the price and work my way up, which seemed to work well.

Massages are very cheap throughout Cambodia, and it was no different here, a 30 minute foot massage costing less than GBP 2. You can get all sorts from a back massage to head massages (which I couldn't really have with a patka/dastaar).

The drive from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is about 7/8 hours long, taking you through the beautiful Cambodian countryside. During the reign of the Khmer Rouge, government officials forced an urban depopulation, moving city dwelling Cambodians to work manual labour in the countryside, This had the inevitable consequence of causing large famines and many deaths. However, today, the countryside is full of farmers, ploughing their fields and tending to their crops. There was a lot of greenery during my trip and the vivid colours painted an amazing backdrop to this beautiful country.

Arriving into the Cambodian border town of Ba Vet via the Vietnamese town of Moc Bai, you could almost immediately see the difference in wealth between the two countries. As we entered the immigration office, we were stuck in  a hoard of people, with barely a working fan overhead in hot, sticky conditions. I'd like to say I was in the queue for about an hour, but it is less a queue and more a mass of humanity in one big shapeless group.

The process itself wasn't overly complicated, a quick scan of your fingers and thumb and you are off through the otherside and into Cambodia. The bus from Ho Chi Minh to the border was about 3 hours, but we had another 4/5 hours ahead of us before we reached Phnom Penh.