©
Aleksandr Zykov
Cambodia Travel Guide
©
Aleksandr Zykov
Depending on what you want to read, there are lots of works, fictin and non-fiction, which pull you into the local culture, either during the colonial period or during modern times. If you are a film lover then there are the works of directors such as Rithy Panh or Davy Chou.
If you like novels, then some of Marguerite Duras' books are a must before your trip to Cambodia. If the only thing you know about Cambodia is the word "Angkor" then it's really interesting to read these books.
"The Sea Wall" is about disillusionment in Indochina and family life in the paddy fields in 1931. Marguerite Duras lived in Indochina during her adolescence and so wrote several books about the region, such as "The North China Lover".
There are many descriptions by survivors of the Khmer Rouge which can help to understand the issues of the period and how the population of today is still affected by them. "When the war was over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution" by Elizabeth Becker, tells the story of the Khmer Rouge and how they came to hold power in the country for four years.
And finally, if you love temples, there are plenty of books! Whether you are interested in history, archaeology or sociology, there is something for everyone. Among them, the firstbookthat is dedicatedédito the temples, is the one Henri Mouhot wrote after he discovered the temples at Angkor for the first time. He described his discovery in his book "Travels in Siam, Cambodia and Laos, 1858-1860".
The French Cambodian, Rithy Panh, is one of Cambodia's best known directors. His works are mostly about Pol Pot's regime of torture and how the population survived it. He has made an adaptation of "The Sea Wall", but his most touching film is "S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine". This documentary is about the prison at Phnom Penh. It has won lots of prizes in France and Europe.
Davy Chou concentrates on the art of cinema in Cambodia. Born in France, he went to Cambodia for a year to find out about its culture before the Khmer Rouge, the time between 1960 and 1975 which is called the Khmer golden age. The Khmer Rouge were intent on destroying as much as possible of Cambodian musical, literary and cinematographic heritage, but in his documentary called Golden Slumbers he interviewed actors, actresses and directors from the period.
Directors from other countries are also interested in the subject. For example, Roland Joffe, an English director who made the film "The Killing Fields", which is about the capture of Phnom Penh by the Khmer Rouge from the point of view of it's leading character, an American journalist.
Reading books or watching films or documentaries is an interesting way to prepare your trip. It's a good idea to have difference sources of information about the country so you can have different viewpoints.
