Cambodia, Cambodia Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Kingdom of Cambodia

Cambodia has had a number of different names since independence from France. In the Khmer langauge the name of the country is Kampuchea. Cambodia is simply the anglicized version of the French translation of this (Cambodge). However, because of the Khmer Rouge's insistence on the use of Kampuchea in international circles during their brief and brutal regime, the term Cambodia is once again the preferred usage outside of Cambodia itself.

The people of Cambodia refer to themselves as Khmer rather than Cambodians.

Answer: Norodom Sihamoni

Norodom Sihanouk has had an eventful career. He was twice king of Cambodia as well as serving as prime minister and being exiled and imprisoned by various regimes.

He returned to Cambodia in 1993 and served as king until his abdication in 2004. He was succeded by his youngest son, Norodom Sihamoni, who was chosen by a succession council.

Answer: Burma (Myanmar)

Cambodia borders Thailand to the east, Laos to the north and Vietnam to the west.

Its total land area is 181,040 sqaure kilometres.

Answer: Riel

The dong is the currency of Vietnam, the kip of Laos and the kyat of Burma (Myanmar).

Although the riel is the official currency, both dollars and baht are readily accepted, particularly in areas with high numbers of tourists.

Answer: France

The French made Cambodia a protectorate in 1863, incorporating it with Vietnam and Laos in their colony of Indochina. Independence from France was achieved in 1953.

Answer: Its flow reverses

The river is really an extension of the Tonlé Sap lake, connecting the lake to the Mekong river. When the monsoon rains arrive the deluge of water coursing down the Mekong forces the Tonle Sap river to reverse its flow, filling the lake.

Answer: School

The school was transformed into Security Prison 21 (or S-21). Classrooms became prison cells and children were often used as guards.

About 15,000 enemies of the Khmer Rouge were imprisoned here, all but a few dying, either here or at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. Today Tuol Sleng is a museum - a particularly grim museum - and memorial to its victims.

Answer: Pol Pot

Pol Pot, sometimes known as Brother Number One, was born Saloth Sar in 1925. He achieved international notoriety as the head of the Khmer Rouge which overthrew the dictatorship of General Lon Nol and instituted a Maoist agrarian revolution which was far more brutal and repressive than the regimes of either Lon Nol or King Norodom Sihanouk.

Anyone considered an enemy of the revolution could be imprisoned, tortured and killed - often clubbed to death to save on bullets. All intellectuals (and simply wearing glasses could be enough to brand you an intellectual) were considered enemies of the revolution. Estimates as to the number of Cambodians murdered during the Khmer Rouge regime vary but most agree that it was over a million people.

Pol Pot and his government were overthrown by the invading Vietnamese in 1979 and fled into the mountainous jungles near the Thai border. Fighting would continue until 1993. Pol Pot himself died in 1998, never having been truly brought to justice.

Answer: Buddhism

Around 95% of Khmers are Buddhist.

Answer: Siem Reap

Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire which was one of the dominant powers in south-east Asia from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries CE, ruling over an area that included not only modern day Cambodia but much of Laos and Thailand as well as parts of Vietnam and Burma at its height.

The most famous building at Angkor is Angkor Wat which appears on the Cambodian flag and is a source of pride to most Cambodians. Today Angkor is an important source of revenue for the Cambodian economy with thousands of foreign tourists visiting every year.