Phnom Penh-a great Cambodian City Time began with the Big Bang about 13.77 billion years ago. Our universe originated and began expanding from Day One which included the formation of our planet Earth. But not so long ago, on 17th April 1975, a Cambodian school teacher Pol Pot (who had been to Paris on scholarship to study Radio Electronics and returned to Cambodia to take up a teaching assignment) declared Year Zero in Cambodia. That was in line with the concept of Year One declared during the French Revolution. The idea was to discard and destroy all culture and traditions within the society and bring in revolutionary culture. President Lon Nol fled Cambodia on 1st April 1975 following a bloody civil war that lasted for five years. And on 17th April 1975, a swarm of locusts in the guise of Khmer Rouge descended on Phnom Penh to devour teachers, artists, and intelligentsia of the Cambodian capital. Pol Pot’s intention was to eliminate threats to his idea of agrarian society. That wa...

The Lost Kingdom—Khmer Empire Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post has affiliate links. If you buy a book through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Unveiling Angkor Wat: Siem Reap Travelogue, Heritage Temples & Local Culture 9 th Century AD. Angkor was the largest city in the world. For the next 500 years, it was the capital of the Khmer Empire. The city witnessed the construction of hundreds of world-famous temples built by the Khmer rulers. This sprawling complex of Angkorian ruins lies north of a safe, friendly, and pleasant town of Siem Reap on the shores of Tonle Sap Lake. Siem Reap earned its name after the Khmer Empire defeated and took over the Thai kingdom in the 17 th century. It literally means ‘Siamese defeated’. Because of its proximity to Angkor Archaeological Park , it has become one of the liveliest and most touristy cities in Cambodia over the last deca...