Friday, May 29, 2009
hello again :D
ok so today's post shall be about Cambodia.
the information below are all taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia.
im sorry that there will be no pictures for this post as there is an error when i try to upload pictures, but you can find the pictures (eg. of the national flag) on the above website (:
ok, so here goes:
General information
· Kingdom of Cambodia was formerly known as Kampuchea.
· Population is over 14 million people
· Capital & largest city is Phnom Penh.
· Agriculture has long been the most important sector of the Cambodian economy, with around 59% of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihood (with rice the principal crop)
Geography
· Area of 181, 035 km₂ and lies entirely within the tropic
· It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast and Vietnam to the east and southeast.
· Has a 443 km coastline along the Gulf of Thailand
Climate
· Range from 21° to 35°
· Experiences tropical monsoons – SW monsoons blow inland from May – October, NE monsoon lasts from November – March
· Experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October
· Experiences the driest period from January – February
· 2 distinct seasons – rainy seasons (high humidity)= May-October, dry season = November – April
· Best months to visit Cambodia are November – January as the temperatures and humidity are lower.
Wildlife of Cambodia
· Has a wide variety of plants and animals – 212 mammal species, 536 bird species, 240 reptile species, 850 freshwater fish species and 435 marine fish species
· Has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world
Transport
· Has 4 commercial airports – largest airport = Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport, 2nd largest airport = Phnom Penh International Airport (Pochentong), other 2 airports = Sihanoukville and Battambang
Culture
· Various factors contribute to the Cambodia culture including Theravada Buddhism, French Colonialism, Hinduism, Angkor era culture, and modern globalization. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodian culture.
· Cambodia culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority, the Khmer but also of some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes.
· Rural Cambodians wear a karma scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing.
· Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer empire, has distinctive styles of dance, architecture and sculpture, which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand through the history. Angkor Wat (Angkor means "city" and Wat "temple") is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era.
· Bonn Om Teuk (Festival of Boat Racing), the annual boat rowing contest, is the most attended Cambodian national festival and is held at the end of the rainy season when the Mekong River begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow.
· Popular games include cockfighting, soccer and kicking a sey (similar to a footbag).
· Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takes place in April.
Food
· Rice is the staple grain while fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap also form an important part of the diet.
· Cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles.
· Key ingredients in Cambodian cuisine are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper.
Politics and Government
· Prime Minister of Cambodia is the head of the government, while the king is the head of state.
· The PM is appointed by the King.
Armed Forces
· Royal Cambodian Armed Forces consists of the Royal Cambodian Army, then Royal Cambodian Navy and the Royal Cambodian Air Force.
· The king is the Supreme Commander of the RCAF and the PM is the commander-in-chief.
yep that's about it. if you would like more information on Cambodia, please do visit the link provided above as I only "sieved out" the more important ones. :D
ok, i shall end here. so long!
11:06 AM
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
hey! (: have not been here for a really long time so here i am :D
alright, so this post shall be talking about a rice dish that is famous in a SEA country. and as for me, i chose cambodia to be the country and learn about these things about rice dishes:
1. rice is amongst the most popularly eaten food items in cambodia.
2. traditionally, the cambodians produce 2 different kinds of rice dishes - onei s the classic aromatic rice which is consumed with seafood items while the second is the glutinous sticky rice which is more of a desert item.
3. every cambodian chef must know how to work wonders with rice if he is to be truly considered a cambodian chef, as rice is part of every meal in cambodia.
also here are some facts that mr miza shared with us in class last week (21 may):
1. rice is grown in every SEA country except for singapore and it's a staple food
alright! so with all these information i went to the web and spent quite some time researching and finally i settled for a dish: BI PONG MOUN!:D
some facts about Bi Pong Moun!
1. it is a typical dish eaten in cambodia
2. usually composed of nothing more than fried eggs and white rice.
3. salt and soy sauce are used to flavour the eggs and soy sauce can be applied to the rice.
4. it is usually to fill the stomach than the taste
5. it is considered cheap and it's an easy dish that nearly anyone can make
source of information (and the place where more information can be found) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi_pong_moun
so after all these descriptions, aren't you hungry for a picture!xD so here's one to satisfy your appetite!:D
haha the egg looks so pretty but a bit uncooked :/
yay that's all for now. as for the research on cambodia, its already done but then i still need to edit it somemore so that it is neater and all (:
10:27 PM