After gaining independence from France in 1953, the second half of the twentieth century was pretty traumatic for Cambodia. The Vietnam war spread into Cambodia in the 1960s, followed by a coup in 1970 and the communist Khmer Rouge era (that resulted in the death of two million Cambodians), then the Cambodian-Vietnamese War from 1978 to 1989.
In the early nineties Cambodia was governed by the United Nations mission which handed over to a democratically elected government. Since then numerous twists and turns have resulted in Cambodia having a superficial multi-party democracy while being governed by de-facto one party rule.
Cambodia is split in two by the Mekong river. There was no connection across the river other ferries until 2001 when the Kizuna bridge was finally built with support from Japan. The Mekong river is famous for its houseboats and villages. Cambodias most famous tourist attraction though is undoubtedly Angkor Wat a temple complex 50 times larger than Machu Pichu.
In terms of cuisine Cambodians are best known for eating insects, crickets, ants and even tarantulas. Cambodia also has award winning rice which is reportedly the best in the world.
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