CAMBODIA is situated in Southern Asia, and is bordered by Laos and Thailand in the North, Vietnam in the East, and has the Gulf of Thailand to the Southwest (in which lie numerous off-shore islands).

It is a country of tropical rainforests and fertile land, with many rivers, and with highlands in the Northeast.

Situated at the junction of two rivers, the Mekong and the Tonle Sap (which flows from a large inland lake of the same name), is the capital, Phnom Penh, which houses the Royal Palace, the National Museum of Khmer Art, and the chilling Toul Sleng Museum of Genocide.

Since the ousting of the Pol Pot regime, much of the cultural life of Cambodia has been revived, including the re-opening of the Buddhist Temples

In the Northwest are the famous Temples of Angkor, the remains of the capital of the mighty Khmer civilisation, which may be reached by flights from Phnom Penh.

At Oudong 30km (19miles) from the capital, can be found the Burial Chedis of the Khmer Kings.

The climate is tropical, with a monsoon season from June to October. Temperatures remain fairly constant ( although the winters can be colder in the North.