Tropical Cambodia

Category : Cambodia, Landscapes, Travel

Date : January 23, 2009

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometers, sharing an 800 kilometer border with Thailand in the north and west, a 541 kilometer (336 mi) border with Laos in the northeast, and a 1,228 kilometer border with Vietnam in the east and southeast. It has 443 kilometers of coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the lacustrine plain, formed by the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometers during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometers during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

Cambodia’s temperatures range from 21° to 35°C and experiences tropical monsoons. Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May to October. It has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures drop to 22 °C and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can raise up to 40 °C around April.

…”rabbit island” also known as Koh Tonsay…

…Koh Tonsay…

…national park near Sihanoukville…

…beach near Sihanoukville…
…channels near Batambang…

BOKOR NATIONAL PARK

Bokor hill station was built by the French in the 1920s to be used as a retreat from the heat of the plains, a pre-air conditionning strategy familiar in all of Asia. You can see ruins of Church, and Bokor Palace Hotel and Casino. There are some warnings that there are still some mines so it is best to stay on tracks and not wander around too much. On our way down we walked through jungle for about 3 hours to get down, it was really cool 🙂

…Church…