CAMBODIA
The influence of the French is manifest in the breads and frogs'
legs sold in the markets, and tea and coffee are widely available.
Tap water and 'muscle wines' are best avoided. There is a
growing number of good restaurants, including Thai, Chinese,
Indian, Malay and Western, both in the capital and in towns that
attract tourists.
Activities
There are activities such as snorkelling in Sihanoukville and
elephant rides in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri, but you need a guide,
as landmines, bandits, and other dangers make hiking, outdoor
activities, or venturing off the beaten track, dangerous. There
are many leisure activities in Phnom Penh such as go-karting,
jet-skiing, mini golf and ten pin bowling. A network of national
parks is being established, complete with visitor facilities; Kirirom,
Ream and Bokor on the south coast are the most accessible and
extremely interesting.
Nature
The number of national parks is increasing, but illegal logging
has long been a problem.
Parks include Bokor, on the south coast; Ream, near
Sihanoukville; Kirirom, outside Phnom Penh; and Virachay,
bordering Laos and Vietnam.
Endangered species which are elsewhere extinct are thought
to be hidden in the more remote habitats, including elephants,
tigers, leopards, gibbons, bats, rhinos and crocodiles.
Butterflies, snakes and birds such as cormorants, cranes and
ducks are most common.
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