Cambodia

Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ) is the official language. Bollards painted white and red can be found.

Rural areas of Cambodia have many houses built on stilts. Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate that is hot and humid year-round. The stilts help with the heat during the day and give cows and buffalo a place to rest at night. They’re also said to help protect against flooding during heavy rains in the rainy season(References 2021.April1 Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Sendai, Newsletter No.6 (JP)).

Parasols and signs often feature well-known Cambodian companies: Beeline for telecom, Coca-Cola for soft drinks, and LEO, Kingdom, and Angkor for beer, with the Angkor logo depicting Angkor Wat(References Beer in Cambodia (JP)). In the suburbs, bottled drinks are often sold under parasols like these.

Most Cambodians are Buddhist, so many buildings relate to Buddhism. There are also shrines dedicated to land spirits and ancestor spirits, often placed facing the house(References vol.348 Household gods close to home [Cambodia] (JP)). The small golden shrine in the photo is one example.

Trees like this are common(References Fan palm (JP)). Similar-looking trees are found throughout warm regions such as Brazil, but within Asia they’re especially common in Cambodia. The soil color is also distinctive.

Cornfields and rice paddies are almost non-existent on the east side (east of road No. 7) and along the coast(References USDA Cambodia Production).

The road number is written on the side of the bollard, and the distance to town is written on both faces. If you’re lucky enough to find one, it can narrow the location down significantly.

On roads near the western border, you can sometimes see rugged rocky mountains. In the agricultural distribution map above, the blank area west of Battambang is largely rocky mountains.

You may also spawn on Tonle Sap Lake itself. Villages of houseboats sit on the lake’s surface, with distinctive architecture.

Cambodian city centers often have a lot of French colonial-era architecture. Kampot was an important port town and still has an especially large number of Western-style buildings.

Siem Reap is home to Angkor Wat and the Bayon temple.

In Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located, local ordinances prevent tall buildings from being built(References Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Sendai, April 2021), whereas Preah Sihanouk has buildings of four stories or more. It also has an oil terminal and serves as a logistics hub.