Cambodia

Why it sticks

1. 1

   Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, appears on the national flag.

2. 2

   The Tonlé Sap lake swells to several times its size each monsoon, when the river feeding it reverses direction.

3. 3

   The Khmer Rouge regime of 1975–79 killed an estimated 1.5–2 million people, around a quarter of the population.

• Khmer script is very ornate, with curly letters and many stacked subscript characters.
• Drives on the right; lots of motorbikes and 'remork' tuk-tuks towed by motorbikes.
• Flat rice fields dotted with tall, spiky sugar palm trees and red dirt roads.
• Wooden houses on stilts and Buddhist pagodas with sweeping, pointed roofs.