I loved Cambodia. Very welcoming, generous, and kind people, who greet us with their hands in front of their hearts in namaste. There are already many people—especially in the tourism industry—who speak English, although the Cambodian pronunciation can be difficult to understand. Their friendliness, simplicity, and helpfulness make any communication difficulties irrelevant. The food is very tasty; the temples, Buddhist and Hindu, are among the most beautiful, iconic, and grandiose in the world; the museums are super interesting; the crafts are beautiful; the traditions are very rich; and the landscapes are beautiful. The ecosystems are very special, with some of the world’s rarest (and endangered) species (flora and fauna), like the adorable Irrawaddy dolphins, the beautiful clouded leopard, and the most exotic sun bear.

The nationals—more than 80% Buddhists—like to share trips with their family, maintaining gastronomic, cultural, and religious traditions; outdoor naps are a delightful common practice, and an increasingly popular sport is… boxing!

A very ancient civilization, the Khmer Empire is generally considered to have begun in 802 AD, when Jayavarman II declared himself emperor. Cambodia was a French protectorate from 1863 to 1953 as part of French Indochina, which included Laos and Vietnam.

Blessed be this country, with a fascinating history! I begin this chronicle with the hardest part: the recent history of Kampuchea—the name by which it was also known. The 20th century was a time of atrocious wars in the world, and for this country, it was also a space of conflicts, liberations, revolutions, and one of the worst genocides known. The Cambodian Civil War was fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, the infamous Khmer Rouge, supported by the Viet Cong of North Vietnam, against the government forces of the Kingdom of Cambodia and, after 1970, the Khmer Republic, which succeeded the Kingdom (both supported by the United States and South Vietnam).

The Khmer Rouge ruled the country from 1975 to 1979, led by the insane slaughterer Pol Pot. In fact, my “astrologer self” went into a brief investigation, and it turns out that this dictator of the 20th century, alongside four others, (!) was a Taurus (power)! He and Lenin, Hitler, Saddam Hussein (and the Portuguese Salazar). Coincidence of 50% of Taurus in this terrible Top 10??... Well, it was also the sign of Buddha (true power comes from Heaven/Spirit), but the level of consciousness with which one lives makes all the difference.

Ideologically he was a Maoist-inspired Marxist-Leninist and Khmer nationalist who converted Cambodia into a one-party communist state. His regime of terror attempted to “purify” the country to realize his utopian—and insane—vision of a rural society where money, education, private property, and religion were abolished (and fiercely persecuted). They wanted to “cleanse” society and start over by building a new one in the “year zero”: a “national democracy and a revolution that would provide rice fields for the masses” by ridding the nation of all forms of feudalism, capitalism, and imperialism. This meant the destruction of libraries, cars, jewellery, eyeglasses, money, clothes (other than the typical black ones worn by farmers), radios, and personal items of any kind that represented wealth, knowledge, intellectuality, class, or individuality.

An elderly lady told me, emotionally, that in her village the Khmer Rouge took the young people who wanted to study further, with the promise of placing them in more advanced schools, and… no one saw them again… they murdered them indiscriminately. They expelled all the inhabitants of the cities and towns, and those they did not slaughter were taken to work in agricultural communes. Where a Cambodian told me, people were, after all, very hungry. The “rice for the people” was, in truth, not for the people but for their Viet Cong and Chinese allies. Thousands died of starvation and overwork, and thousands were murdered in special detention centers—like the unspeakable S21 I visited, now the Genocide Museum, and in the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh. Pol Pot was responsible for the deaths of around two million of the country's seven million people. He said, “I prefer an innocent dead than a guilty one alive,” to justify mass executions.

He lived to be 73—it is not known whether Pol Pot committed suicide, was assassinated, or died of a heart attack. The Cambodian people continue to seek truth and accountability from those, inside and outside the country, who caused, permitted, or ignored one of the largest genocides of the 20th century. I visited, as I said, these prisons and camps of torture and mass extermination. I was deeply horrified, moved, and saddened. The photos that accompany this chronicle are from these hells of horror, even though I couldn’t take almost any in the S21—just too much for me to bear. I promised to write about them, not only to honor their memory and sacrifice but also to help us continue to raise awareness, defuse violence, and build peace. Here and now!

With an estimated several million active landmines still in the country—with around 30 people, mostly children, dying every year from one—the Cambodian people continue to rebuild their lives and communities and heal the past. They are writing new history, strengthening trust and faith, reviving arts and culture, and reinventing themselves. With a grand and beautiful ancestral legacy, I believe that their wisdom, spirituality, and quality will help them thrive in the best of life. So be it, namaste.

I also loved the boats at dusk on the Mekong River, lit up like the city, coloring the capital, Phnom Penh, with joyful nostalgia. The city has vitality in its streets, markets, and restaurants. I loved the rice and coconut water, silks, handicrafts, and Buddhist malas (rosaries). There is much to visit and absorb in this country—the Land of the Khmers—with a rich history and a vibrant spirituality present in a daily life where the profane and the sacred come together lovingly. Through daily rituals, the arts, where traditional dances play a special role.

Among many, the Apsara dance fascinates with women full of grace, almost like living statues in slow prayer movements. It is a symbolic dance that represents feminine energy, yin, spirituality, and the connection between humans and the divine. The National Museum is very beautiful, and the Goddess is everywhere! It was wonderful to bathe in the sacred waterfalls and rivers like the one with the 1000 Linghams dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu, at the foot of the Kulen Mountains, next to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Mythology comes alive in the riverbed where linghams, yonis, and the blessing of God have been carved.

Angkor Wat, considered the most extensive religious monument in the world, is a city of magnificent Hindu temples. Extraordinary testimony to a very rich historical period—the Angkorian period, from the 9th to the 15th century—the height of the powerful and vast Khmer civilization, highly cultured and which produced magnificent art and architecture. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ta Prohm is another mysterious and fascinating 12th-century Hindu temple, immersed in the jungles surrounding Angkor Wat, which became even more iconic (if that were possible) for having been the setting for the film "Tomb Raider," starring Angelina Jolie.

From the sunset stroll in Kampong Phluk to the stilt villages in Tonle Sap to Siem Reap's Pub Street to the beautiful beaches, there is so much to enjoy in Cambodia!

As the Cambodian Prime Minister said in 2023, “Cambodia is truly a ‘Kingdom of Wonders”… Come, feel the warm soul of these people and celebrate life.