The first known developed civilization in Cambodia arose during the first century AD.

Between the years 800 and 1200 AD the Khmer civilization flourished.
Left behind from their heyday, one can find the ruins of Angkor in northern Cambodia.

After being invaded by Siam, and a long time of neglect, the country fell under the French siege 1863, the Japanese occupied the country during WWII and was later declared independent in 1953.

During the Vietnam war Cambodia was severely bombed by the Americans in an attempt to stop the North Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong, the Vietnamese however had gone around the Americans by using the Ho Chi Minh-trail situated in the demilitarized zone.

The Lon Nol seized power of Cambodia and established the Khmer Republic.
Enemies of the republic, the communistic Khmer Rouge, fought their way into the capital Phnom Penh in 1975 and began a bloody reign of terror.
Under the leadership of Pol Pot over 2 million people were assassinated in an attempt to restore the agricultural traditions of the country.

In 1978, Vietnam invaded the country and drove the Khmer Rouge towards the countryside where they continued a guerilla-like war against the government.

The UN-supported elections of 1993 helped the country, to regain a somewhat normal condition, while the Khmer Rouge were almost wiped out during the 1990’s.

Cambodia is still a financially poor country, but rich culturally and historically.
Unexploded landmines remain one of Cambodia’s biggest problems.
The country has so been ravaged by war that major parts of it have been not only bombed but also mined and hundreds of people, many of them children, are each year either mutilated or killed by landmines.
This of course means that large numbers of disabled citizens giving Cambodia one of the highest rates of physical disabilities in the world.
The toll on the welfare of its citizens and the cost of finding and removing unexploded munitions has left Cambodia unable to provide basic services such as running water throughout the country.

Great many things have happened lately, however not all of them great, and well I'm not quite sure where to begin so I'll only make a small note about my future endevous.
I will soon be posting extensive information on Cambodia here soon as I plan to travel there in the near future and work for Unicef.
Anyways, that is a story for another day...I just thought I would start the journal today.

Hope you all will enjoy the future journals.